Adventure

Adventure is like a drug for me, everything I do has to involve some sort of discomfort or unknowing of what will happen next. To ride my bike is a synthesis of this dysfunctional yearning. From the first ride I ever did, just cruising around Lake Tahoe one summer day, it felt like everything was new; nothing was staying the same; everything changing all at once - it's the seeing of things, the crazy shit people do in their cars, the funny people you see walking, the occasional animal.

Riding on the road is one form of this adventure. It's fast. It's flying in and out of cars in busy cities; it's banking perfect tarmac at 50MPH; it's the feeling of gravity and acceleration on three axis as you navigate an uphill hairpin turn; it's the salt covering your body after six hours of hard riding; it's the dazed moment before coming too after riding in close to zero temperatures and getting that defrosting cup of coffee. Mountain biking is whole different beast. Solitary. Quiet. More animals, less traffic. Banking berms at 20MPH; steering with your rear brake and legs; bunny hoping a root while climbing; aiming for the grass and not the oak when you're crashing.

Improvise - when you're on the road people are never very far, not so when you're on the dirt. Twist ties holding my cables to my chain stay come loose and you have to figure out how to tie it back, with whatever you have. It's like the McGyver of cycling sometimes. It's an extra element of not knowing, it's more adventure.

Growing up I used to be so timid of nature, of the outdoors. Scared of what lys beyond the tree line. I could not hike alone. Amazing to me it is that I've become the person I am today. I enjoy riding with people, but not for long.

Experiencing the world around me on my own is something I've hardened my mind to do, because it was not intuitive or natural. It felt wrong. But more importantly it scared me. Things that scare you - those based on specious logic in particular - are walls that need demolition. They are easier to break than you think; they are personal obstacles that are formative for not only your character but dive to the very heart of who you are. Their destruction is your growth.