 |
 |
|
|
|
August, 2006
My Mountain Biking Manifesto
By Deb Moulton
Fellow emergency room workers look at me and my MTN biking friends, shaking their heads in wonder and bewilderment. What could possibly be fun about having a front wheel hit a root causing you to go flying over handlebars?
I have shown up to work with lacerations, scratches, bumps and bruises. Once I had an ER patient say "Did you know you are bleeding?" And I went to get a fellow nurse to bandage my arm so I wouldn't frighten the patient.
In the last few years I have:
>separated my right shoulder
>had the large chain link slice into the back of my right calf. (Cool scars)
>scratched the cornea on my right eye
>multiple bumps bruises and falls.
This week I smashed my hand on some rocks and was worried I may have broken it, but I have put off having an x-ray because I don't want to be told I can't race on Sunday. Oh, and I was hit by a car. Last November. (This was on my road bike and did cause about 2 months of Post Traumatic Stress) I know fellow bikers that have been stabbed by sticks and branches, broken their collar bone, banged shoulders, shins, split helmets, also hit by cars and still climb right back onto the bike for more.
While not every mountain biker is an extreme sport addict, there is this group of enthusiasts that push their personal limits and boundaries of physical skill, endurance, pain, excitement and keep coming back for more.
What draws us to this form of legal self-abuse?
Let us explore…
Adrenalin and endorphins.
Natural chemicals made and released in the blood stream during moments of high stress. Think of it as what the body releases when you need to run away from a tiger (This how it was explained in my anatomy and physiology class in nursing school).
In simplistic terms, the heart rate increases, blood flow increases to the muscles, the lungs open wider to exchange oxygen more efficiently, and there is this tremendous surge of energy that flows throughout the body.
A fellow rider, Rick, said "When I am on a single track trail its like a slalom course with the trees. The faster the better. There is nothing like airtime. PURE ADRENALIN."
Recently, while going down a steep hill, my front tire hit a root causing me to do a complete somersault while attached to the bike. I was pretty sure the bike was going to land on top of me, but as I curled up in a ball to roll the bike flew over me and the pedals released and it went down the hill. I jump up, all parts move, heart still pounding and OH YEAH!!!!! Hey did anyone see my somersault?
The sensation of overcoming challenges also feeds the self-supply of adrenalin.
The challenge with physical movement and exertion of cycling. The feel of pushing and pumping the pedals as hard as I can up a hill. Getting off the bike, and carrying it over or up whatever obstacle I cannot pedal. Sensations in the air and wind surrounding me, reveling in using my arms and legs to grind up and over trails bringing feelings of physical exhaustion that comes from going so far for so long … I keep going using every square cm of my lungs. "OH Yeah!!!" I am thankful and lucky for this physical ability. (Admittedly, there are also the "Have To Stops" because my body simply cannot take in enough oxygen. Nobody's perfect.)
Escape
The ability to escape from the daily grind of life and the battles within. Mountain biking is out-of-the-house, away from the TV, phone and the daily demands of household life (Unless you carry your cell phone which is dangerous for the phone. I have broken my cell phone on the trail. Biking.). No one is going to be disappointed if I run off the trail, don't make it over the log bridge or fly over handlebars landing in the water. It usually brings on laughter. (Most likely after the "Are you OK!?" conversation turns to "Dude, that was funny. So how does it feel to have to be soaking wet? Are you bleeding anywhere? Cool!!") The flip side, when making it over or through an obstical conquered, everyone cheers!!!! It feels good. And that cannot be taken away, by anyone or anything. Even with the realization the obstacle will be there next time. There is always the moment when "I did it!"
The Friends
My friend Mike captures this very well. When I asked him why he mountain bikes he said:
"I originally got into biking - about 10 years ago - to compliment my skiing and for exercise. Got a good deal on a Trek mountain bike and the plan was to ride on the road 3 or 4 times a week for an hour or so. Mark wanted to try the trails behind his house (Atherton Hill), we did and I loved it - I had zero mtb skills, but I still loved it. The challenge to get good and to keep getting better was on. And, I loved being out in the middle of nowhere away from it all. Then I found "Rage" on the Internet and met Matt Crom. We'd ride once or twice a week, with a few other list members and friends joining in, but no one rode consistently with us until Steve L. and Troy joined, and the 4 of us were the core of Rage for a couple of years! Then Rage started to explode and we were making a lot of new friends. The best part of biking and the biggest reason I ride is the people! I would still ride if there were no Rage, but the fun factor would decrease greatly!"
I have found the closest of friends and people I trust the most are the ones I have met mountain biking. It is not easy to explain the relationships to others. It is a connection of trust, being oneself without fear. Facades and pretense drop to the side pretty quickly.
The true self comes out. The ability to be flexible, troubleshoot, look out for each other cannot be masked. It becomes apparent who is patient, who is not, how they deal with stress, exhaustion, etc. There are those who do it with humor and a smile. (People who throw tantrums don't last long.) It is a friendship of shared accomplishment
Overall, the adrenalin, the escape, the people and the moments replenish and rebuild my soul. And no matter what happens in my lifetime, none of this can be taken away. It is ingrained. In my life, my heart.
I have noticed with age, time speeds up. I have not met some of the people or made it to all the places I had planned to at this time in my life. But the biking, the mountains, the trails, the friends, remind me more often that not, that while I may not be where others or myself thought I should be or would be at this time, I am in a pretty great place. On the trail and within myself.
Deb Moulton is an emergency room nurse at Mercy Hospital in Portland. After the Sunday race, she did get the x-ray: small break in her right hand. The ortho doctor gave her a pink cast.
Email nick [at] noumbrella [dot] com with your questions, comments and concerns.
Design and Content © 2002 to 2006 No Umbrella
