inigopete (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} inigopete) wrote,@ 2006-02-15 10:29:00 |
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out post
I posted a bit of a waffle on a thread on STW about man-made mountain bike trails and centres so thought I'd share it here. I learnt to ride off-road on my own, in the days before there were mountain bike centres as such, or mobile phones. I used to look at a map, find bridleways and green stuff and head out. Frequently underprepared - for those that have ridden with me, that's why I tend to cart around so much stuff...
I grew up riding my bike.
I grew up a lot more getting lost in fields, getting cold and muddy and stuck in the middle of nowhere with pinged spokes, dead tyres or gears that didn't want to play any more. I've shouted at the darkening skies, kicked my bike, fiercely blinked rain out of my eyes, gritted my teeth, cursed my weakness, felt like I was going to sick up my lungs and, just sometimes, laid on top of a hill panting, grinning and watching the clouds return to focus. My maps mostly got soaked, I lost my compass countless times, my clothes were usually scruffy and their holes could tell plenty of tales; I was late for tea an awful lot.
I'm not saying that to try and make myself sound good, I'm trying to say that I didn't do it for fitness, or to follow a fashion, to be "green" or to show off shiny toys. I did it for the same reason I used to climb trees and make "dens" with my mates in fields: it was an adventure.
I live in the middle of London now. My friends live near me, my job's a few miles away across a concrete landscape of traffic lights and buses. My girlfriend started riding a bike. Now she's my wife and really wants to go mountain biking more. Getting lost in the middle of nowhere and fighting the elements, your bike, the rising dread that it's getting darker and wetter and home's a long way away, isn't really her idea of fun. So the only off-road riding I've done recently has been with her. Man-made trails have been ideal for us, partly because it's a simple location to drive to and all the riding's in one place, partly because they usually have car parks, cafés and somewhere to get changed if you're really muddy and partly because you're rarely lost, far from help or in any real danger, especially carrying a 'phone.
I still miss adventure.
I posted a bit of a waffle on a thread on STW about man-made mountain bike trails and centres so thought I'd share it here. I learnt to ride off-road on my own, in the days before there were mountain bike centres as such, or mobile phones. I used to look at a map, find bridleways and green stuff and head out. Frequently underprepared - for those that have ridden with me, that's why I tend to cart around so much stuff...
I grew up riding my bike.
I grew up a lot more getting lost in fields, getting cold and muddy and stuck in the middle of nowhere with pinged spokes, dead tyres or gears that didn't want to play any more. I've shouted at the darkening skies, kicked my bike, fiercely blinked rain out of my eyes, gritted my teeth, cursed my weakness, felt like I was going to sick up my lungs and, just sometimes, laid on top of a hill panting, grinning and watching the clouds return to focus. My maps mostly got soaked, I lost my compass countless times, my clothes were usually scruffy and their holes could tell plenty of tales; I was late for tea an awful lot.
I'm not saying that to try and make myself sound good, I'm trying to say that I didn't do it for fitness, or to follow a fashion, to be "green" or to show off shiny toys. I did it for the same reason I used to climb trees and make "dens" with my mates in fields: it was an adventure.
I live in the middle of London now. My friends live near me, my job's a few miles away across a concrete landscape of traffic lights and buses. My girlfriend started riding a bike. Now she's my wife and really wants to go mountain biking more. Getting lost in the middle of nowhere and fighting the elements, your bike, the rising dread that it's getting darker and wetter and home's a long way away, isn't really her idea of fun. So the only off-road riding I've done recently has been with her. Man-made trails have been ideal for us, partly because it's a simple location to drive to and all the riding's in one place, partly because they usually have car parks, cafés and somewhere to get changed if you're really muddy and partly because you're rarely lost, far from help or in any real danger, especially carrying a 'phone.
I still miss adventure.
