I’ve biked some trails many times, sometimes a handful of times through the years, sometimes multiple times a year. Yet somehow the trail is always different, different conditions, different seasons, and time of day.
Why I keep going back.
Its something about the peace, the quiet. The wind in your face, the million calculations going on in your head a minute as you navigate the trail and yet it feels so peaceful. I often stop on the trail and think about how people never stop and just enjoy simple things such a nature.
I also just love being in nature, its calm. Refreshing. It just feels like where we belong, everything is not concrete, its beautiful and different around every turn and twist in the trail. Maybe its because I never fit in town, I always longed to be in nature, fishing, biking, hiking just enjoying the beautiful earth.
Nature through my life has meant a great deal to me, it saddens me that the younger generations are not at all spending much time in nature. Its a great place of reflection, relaxation and time to just breath. That’s why I go back. With a big family of 5 children and days, weeks, sometimes months of commitments between daily life and pure survival. Its nice to just relax in nature, the first true escape before modern technology and the internet took over.
Biking has taken me to some amazing places I never would have seen before, you dont need an expensive full suspension bike, even a hardtail (bike with just a front suspension fork) or a hardtail can be fun on more machine groomed trails. For me I like the rugged old school mountain bike trails, closer to a hiking trail in comparison to a purposely built machine made trail specific for mountain biking. I find the technicality of it fun, picking good lines and the natural terrain is a blast. That’s not to say machine made trails specifically are not fun, because they are with their big berms, and features made specifically for mountain biking and purposely built jumps and drops. My love for the woods started with hiking, but biking can cover more ground and its a good adrenaline rush, so get out there and ride a new trail!
A small note.
Spending time in nature is a great relaxing escape from the normal hustle of life. One should always be prepared with proper hydration, a small first aid kit and the proper tools and clothing for the conditions. Nature can be far from civilization so being prepared for what you may encounter on the trail is always smart. I carry a small packable tool kit for bike repair (Flat patch kit, hex wrench for adjustments, small tire pump), a small first aid kit and plenty of water.
Just a note from the yard.