Trail Boss

Are you riding the same old loops, tired of the boring regular trails. Why not challenge yourself and your riding buddies to be "trail boss" for a day.

It's very interesting how we tend to default to our regular rides and our regular routes. I have seen this over a couple decades of riding in different areas and it was one of the reasons I began racing. Racing takes you out to  new zones, something in itself different, then you are put on a track likely to have never been seen before and with any luck showcasing the areas finest.

Mike Traslin, Wade Simons and Dre Hestler

But riding at home in the months or weeks between races can become monotonous, either because we are alone or with the same group. Usually the guy at the front is dictating the direction, it's hard to back seat drive while aerobically suffering and gasping for every breath.

In this case some preamble to starting the ride or posing the switch to your group can drastically change things and give some much needed variety.

I have taken some time over the last few years on my solo rides to explore every nook and cranny of my backyard. It gives me great pleasure when I take out other locals and am rewarded with responses like "I never knew that was there" or "I didn't know you could ride that trail that way". This gives me incentive to continue thinking about my zone in a different way.

Steve Mitchel and Paul Kalish

My crew has been kicking around an idea for the last few months about a daily designated 'Trail Boss". On any given weekend we will pass the conch over and there will be a new man of the hour, or hours depending on how long your ride is. They will have prepared and given thought to a route that is different and exciting. If the parameters are opened and a bit of hiking can be included - then even more terrain will become available and an adventure is sure to unfold.

Don't forget to take your GPS and record the route for posterity and future missions, sometimes re-finding someone else's route can be a daunting task and we don't want anyone lost in the woods.

Riding the backyard can be fun again but we have to turn it upside down sometimes to appreciate how others see it.

The 'Battery Theory'

“Jazz is music made by and for people who have chosen to feel good in spite of conditions.” Johnny Griffin

Mountain biking and sports in general are for people who choose to feel good in spite of the daily grind. Who are your friends and who inspires you? These questions at the root give us a clear understanding of who we are. 

Over the last few years I have taken time to explore the feeling of inactivity or passivity,  though some will laugh at what they consider my lack of activity for me it was a serious slowing down. I seem to have passed that 'less active' phase, found my motivation and along the way found a different respect for physical exertion. Around me I see neurotic sports enthusiast, passive arm chair athletes and all woks of physical activity levels but what I came to understand from within myself and to reflect on others is the 'battery theory'. 

Photo courtesy of Patric Graham

Battery Theory explained:

We humans are physiologically electric, our hearts pump when stimulated to do so - think about a heart attack and the paddles to revive - pure electricity "charging"! Our brains are firing and so to are our muscles all this takes place at a cellular level by the exchange of chemicals and the atomic spark of a passing electron. So like the movie the 'Matrix' cannot we then make a conscious decision to charge up daily at a time of our choosing?

I have noted in my observations two things

1) personal daily energy levels

2) how to 'get going' by sporting at different times of the day

Personal daily energy levels vary for many people; 'Activity' by it's Greek or Latin root (my personal interpretation)

Ac; to accelerate, to increase to obtain

tact: a state on which two things touch, feet on pavement, feet on pedals

Vit: pertaining to Live, Life

If we know our daily energy levels and needs and understand how our activities can effect this then we can manipulate our energy levels to get the most out of ourselves. Getting up early is against my personal philosophy, but when I do manage a 'dawn patrol' or something early I am charged all day. When I do an activity later at night I am charged and find it difficult to sleep. All this is common sense of course but when we look at not doing activity we see a decline in energy, a decline in motivation and for me - a decline in the quality of life.

Batteries need charging, those charged batteries are our best form of defense for a complicated world of energy demands. Work, play, family and all the other demands of the modern world take time and energy to deal with - what are you doing to charge your batteries and give your 'all'. 

When we look at those around us, we realize that we are within a like minded community -all of our friends are charging hard, living life to it's fullest, but mostly because they take time to prioritize having a full battery.

This quote on Jazz rung a chord within me-people making a choice. Perhaps the conditions around us aren't terrible, aren't truly that bad, but they are trying times and we do live very full lives. Perhaps the best way to combat this is to make a choice and charge your battery. Charge it when it makes sense for you and at a level that Gives you energy.

Remember also it's the rest and recovery that allows those charged batteries to 'give their all'.