"Good for Kids"
These days, I have been daring myself, deliberately, to try new things. It’s a slow process, especially once you have a routine and get set in your ways (am I that old person now??), but with being unemployed, I have been trying to push myself to explore new worlds, whatever that may be. One of the most recently challenges I have put in front of myself has been mountain biking. I have never been a big adrenaline sports kinda gal, but with my love for nature, fitness, & being intertwined in all of these gorgeous trails, I thought I'd dabble. I use mountain bike trails a lot for trail running back home, so I have an idea of what at least some levels of trails are like; in some sense, I have spent my time watching film to know what to expect, I just hadn’t actually competed against them on 2 wheels.
I have a hybrid bike - I bought it off of Craigslist years back and it’s more of a gravel bike that I historically have used as a road bike. BUT it is a gravel bike and some strangers have swooned over it and have explained to me its off-road capabilities. Jake has a mountain bike with and we are in Utah, so it’s been encouraging me to give mountain biking a go! We have dabbled in some easy gravel trails over the past couple months which has worked up my confidence to keep trying (mostly because I haven’t eaten shit yet. I did eat shit on my bike a week back or so, but it was actually on tar :p). After just a trail or two, I realized how proud of myself I was for making it through. Just that little push of “you can get up that rock” & actually getting up that rock - the epitome of setting your mind to something, really believing in yourself to do it, and doing it at something you are less than experienced at is rewarding.
“Good for kids":
Tackling a new challenge is a humbling experience. I consider myself an athletic person, so starting at the beginner levels requires me putting my ego aside. When I look for trails to tackle to get my beginner-self out there, I search reviews for words like “good for kids” and “virtually no elevation change” and “don’t even need a helmet!” - you get what I’m saying. I am essentially at a child’s level in this new sport. And it’s not that I’ll be there forever, but for now, I will put the ego aside & put the training wheels on.
Just do it:
I am usually terrified on the trails, but also super excited. I grip my handlebars so tightly and just hope that the next curve doesn’t bring me something I can’t handle. And the more I do it, the more I am okay with the next corner bringing me something I can’t handle because the only way to get better is to do more and more technical routes. BUT in the moment, I pray for the ease. Mountain biking is intense. And I haven’t even close seen the most intense of it. I have learned a skill though that has helped me through - it’s called RUNNING my bike. When I get to a part that is too technical or a rock that I have to jump that I am sure will knock me off my socks, I get off my bike, grip the handlebars, and walk or run my bike over the obstacle.
This past week we were in the Needles section of Canyonlands where many of the roads are limited to 4WD vehicles. My inexperienced self thought “well if a jeep can do it, there is no way it can be that challenging for my bike”. Ohhhhh baby. The trail was completely filled with sand, most of it pretty deep, sifty sand that just sucks your tires in. The fun thing was it wasn’t that scary to fall in - it’s like tipping on the beach! But it was a challenge! & I was the queen of running my bike that day, proudly - and not because I chose to stop, but because my bike literally came to a stop and I could not move no matter how hard I pedaled. It would have been quite comical to film!
Rewards:
But the interesting part of trying something new when you are in your adult years, is that you have to start at the beginning. I mean, just because I’m 28 doesn’t mean I can start with level 28 in something I have virtually no experience doing. That’s a common misconception I have had on myself for many years. The older you get, the wiser you get, the better you should get - just in general, older = better. I read lots of books and listen to podcasts that tell me to continue doing what you are good at when it comes to your career - find what you do well & keep finding jobs with more of that thing. Don’t focus on your weaknesses, life doesn’t have time for that. So it’s a mindset shift to focus on the unknown and give it a go, but there are benefits on this side of living! Just because you are new at something doesn’t make you “bad” at it or weak at it, but it does make you a beginner. #beHumble
Hindsight:
After each one of my excursions, no matter how big or small, I have walked away (so far mostly scratch-less) feeling so proud of myself. I realize that I really don’t set myself up in these out-of-comfort-zone experiences very often. Or when I am out of my comfort zone, I am still in something I know well (i.e. giving a presentation on material I am an SME of to our CEO - I am an expert on the material, just slightly out of my comfort zone for audience). But to be completely attempting something from the ground up is different - and exhilerating. It all makes me feel like a kid again - playing on the jungle gym and just not caring if you fall on the monkey bars or not, except now I don’t have Daddy to catch me. Because you’re just learning. It’s like my niece who just turned 1 and is learning how to walk - she doesn’t go from crawling to one day walking. She goes from crawling to pulling herself up on the couch to taking a step & tumbling 802319730 times (so adorably) before she can take two steps without tumbling, until one day, she’ll be cruising.
It brings you to a competitve spirit against yourself as well. I know I can’t look at the other mountain bikers on the trails in kneepads and think that I should be at their level. I can’t even compare myself to Jakers because although he is also new to the sport, he usually waits about 3 minutes for me around each corner. I meet people that mountain bike over 100 miles in a day while I’m over here playing around on 0.5 mile loops. If I compare myself to them, I will never get myself to keep going because I let it defeat me before I even begin.
In summary:
I have thoroughly enjoy my new hobby although I don’t know how seriously I’ll continue to explore it, but it’s not about if I get serious about mountain biking, it’s about the experience TRYING something new, stepping out of my comfort zone, and being vulnerable. What I have enjoyed more than anything is not the mountain biking itself, but the feeling of accomplishment from moving from level 1 to level 2 - not from level 12 to level 13. It has reminded me how invigorating and powerful it is to just get out there and TRY something for the first time - no matter if you are 5, 36, or 77.
Because how do you expect to be good if you have never put in the work to be good?
Peace, love, & find your kid-self,
yo’ girl Jen
““When you compete against everyone else, no one wants to help you. When you compete against yourself, everyone wants to help you” ”
