Keep The Fun Between Your Legs

Biking was always a fun summer activity for me growing up in Tulip, IN. A good workout was to ride the two miles on Tulip road out to highway 157 and back. An epic ride happened once a year when a group of us would saddle up the aluminum steeds and ride the five miles into Bloomfield to purchase a watermelon, then bring the prize back to the homestead and devour it.
Now...well, I never envisioned mountian biking being such a big part of my life. The transformation from a flatlander who toyed with mountain biking to a true mountain biker occurred in Albuquereque, NM on two separate visits to my future wife. The first time I visited Tracy there and the sparks were beginning to fly she suggested we ride some trails in the Sandia foothills. I was excited to show off my athletic skills, so I donned my tight black tanktop and tropical dewrag and really stunk up the trail with my inept skills to the point I knew she knew that I was trying too hard and not really any good. A year later after riding some with our buddy Ken in Bellingham, WA I thought I was much improved. That was until Tracy and Ken suggested we ride down the Sandias in clipless shoes from the Sandia Crest. I had such a hard time keeping up with Tracy and Ken that I was almost in tears. Afterwards Ken readily admitted that Tracy was a better rider than me. Fortunately Tracy stayed the course with me and together we became better riders. When you live and bike in the southwest you are bound to improve because of the elevation and the ruggedness of the trails. So over the past three years I have made mountain biking my number one sport and hobby. I have excelled at it more than any other athletic endeavor I have ever tried. It is so satisfying to look back and see so much improvement, but more than that, biking in the beautiful environments that we bike in are spiritual times of reflection of our Creator and his creation. Just like my journey in mountain biking, we as spiritual beings are works in progress if we allow Him to take over and work.

Recently Tracy and I completed our fourth straight Chuska Challenge. This was also the third straight year that I led a group of eighth grade Navajo students on the ride. This year's ride was a one day 30 mile ride in the heart of the Chuskas. The weather was beautiful and the Aspen leaves were bright. It is always a good experience for the kids who live nearby but never enjoy the mountains from mountain bikes. This year's ride was also unique in the fact that it offered a single track option for more technical riders. I didn't take the kids on that part, but the week before I helped the Chuska Challenge director, Tom Riggenbach, pioneer that option and named it "The Bear Chute Loop". It is an amazing descent through aspen groves, douglas firs, and ponderosas. And to think the hordes of riders from Moab don't know about it yet. Speaking of Moab...
Tracy and I braved the crowds to meet up with Brian and Holly at the mountain bike capital of the world two weeks ago. The weather was awesome and the biking was the same. We cranked through the two classic rides, The Porcupine Rim Trail and The Slickrock Trail. Both trails were reminders as to why Moab is so great, and they were both reminders as to why we only do Moab once a year---Moab trails are brutal on the equipment. Tracy had to take hers into the shop and mine definitely got beat up pretty bad too. It was also another reminder of how far I've come as a rider. Three years ago on the Slickrock trail I pushed my bike up at least 12 of the hills. This time I cleaned the whole thing except for one insane hill, which proved to be a total yardsale for all the riders we watched attempt it.

Mountain biking challenges you physically and mentally. It gives you amazing times for spiritual reflection. It allows you to draw nearer to others you bike with. And it costs $0.00 per gallon.

So what's keeping you from keeping the fun between your legs?