The Trail Always Lies Ahead

The season has begun in earnest, though the weather has been incredibly bad here in Denver these first few weeks of June–daily tornado warnings, wicked heavy hailstorms. Plus, as usual, I am a very busy man, with classes to teach, kiddos to hang out with, garden plots to weed, lawns to mow.

Sometimes I wonder how much I would ride if I had no job, no home maintenance tasks, no kids, no worries. Every day? Twice a day? Or does this ironic idea exist somewhere in truth: you do it because you love it, and because you can’t do it every day.

Image027Maybe I love it because each time I get out onto the trail, the suffering is pure and brilliant, and because it’s a precious and fleeting thing, something I have to fight for, something for which I have to sacrifice and stress.

It has value because it requires that I give up (or squeeze time and energy out of) other things: sleep, care, love, attention, writing, work, etc.

Just something to consider.

Dream On

image007

I keep surfing craigslist and ebay, admiring from afar–and in an abstract way–single speed 29ers.

I’ve converted my old 26er into a single speed, and rode it a few times last summer. It was, of course, a completely different experience, and an exhausting ride. And therefore a complete blast.

I really dug it, though during one ride up Mt. Falcon I kind of tweaked my knee, sitting and pedaling a bit too hard. Alas, I am getting old.

Maybe my knees won’t take 29er single-speeding, and certainly I shouldn’t blow money on something I can’t actually do. (I think as you get older it’s sometimes more fun buying expensive gear, and less fun actually using it. A very dangerous trap.)

I guess I’ll wait on that. Maybe I’ll do something truly profound: ride the bikes I already have in the garage.

Though, in the meantime, I’ve begun spying the process of getting my shock and fork Pushed.

Gotta spend money somewhere, right?

The season Begins

Welcome to my new biking-specific blog.

I am a writer and I like riding, and so it seems only natural that I ride and write, write and ride.

Of course, the idea is not to write a boring personal journal about riding, but to tell stories in a way that engages and entertains an audience. You are out there, aren’t you?

flying-debris

%d bloggers like this: