From here to there and back again.

scorpion dagger
Via.

As soon as one post is done, it’s time to write another and as soon as that one is done, it’s time to write another and so the process goes. Back and forth between good and evil, yin and yang, Hayzeus, and El Diablo and so on.

No telling which side of the table today’s effort will fall upon.

Firstly Joe turned me on to the following link that folks might appreciate.

Notable Diamond Dave quotes;
quote-i-would-just-like-to-say-that-after-all-these-years-of-heavy-drinking-bright-lights-david-lee-roth-70-53-08
I read through all of them but was able to find one of my favorites.

After someone foolishly referred to him as a has-been, he turned and simply shot back-

It’s better to be a has-been than a never-will-be.

Bam. Mic drop. Go on home to your mama, because the show is over.

Now then- As I dig into my desktop I find that I have an array of random bits and pieces I’ve been waiting for a time to do something with. Clearly that time is probably now.

What do you get when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?

This, probably;
artmeetslifemeetsart
Conversely, what do you get when said force meets a object that is not only movable, but veunerable?

Again- this, probably;
1000words
One picture=1,000 words.

Moving onto other matters of a far less maddening sort… Some folks might recall this post in which I detailed an event at North Carolina’s Whitewater Center called The Rumble In The Concrete Jungle;
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Photos courtesy of Pink Bike and Go Jam Media.

In light of a recent brain eating amoeba incident there, it seems like it might be a lot drier, for a lot longer this year.

Anyway, that very event was immediately what I thought of upon coming across Athens’ abandoned Olympic venue, but most specifically, this photo of their whitewater center;
funzone
Which made me think of a video I saw at some point or another of some kids skating a dried up kayak whitewater center, but I’ll be damned if I can find it.

The best I could find was this;

I even tried this time, and only took a fifteen minute detour into cat videos a couple of times. If anybody has sharper Google skills than I do, give your boy a hand.

Then, because my mind is generally a swirling war zone, all of this also made me think of this video that El Gato sent on exactly four years ago;

To that end, sucking at something I love is certainly thing I can relate to and will allow us to circle back to a topic we broached on Monday.

The phrase ‘risk versus reward‘ is one that I keep reflecting on, and relates to a conversation I had with former downhill pro/mechanic/current medical professional Jenry Rollins pictured below, during our days on the NORBA circuit);
JR
Years ago she had one particularly bad crash resulting in a broken back, after which time we discussed pushing one’s self beyond one’s ability to such a degree that one becomes a more capable rider, but not to such a degree that one winds up in the hospital.

As you become a more capable mountain bike rider (or kayaker, or downhill skier, road cyclist, or whatever), in order to become even more so, one needs to consistently flirt with scary territory until said territory becomes comfortable. Then from that point, one needs to push it even further, and then repeat the process. It seemed to me at the time to be fairly common sensical, and remained so until I myself got flung into the abyss on two separate occasions on sections of trail that I was as comfortable with as I am the back of my own hand, which is to say very. That was a curveball I was in no way expecting or prepared to contend with either mentally or physically.

It was a smackdown that I will continue to deal with for some time I suspect, and may result in just having to tread with a tad more caution, as every day I’m a bit older/more fragile as I was the day before.

I would like to sincerely thank folks for the insight provided in Monday’s comment section. They both gave me comfort in knowing that I’m not alone in my plight, as well as provided me with a great deal of valuable insight.

It’s a work in progress, and as long as wheels stay beneath me, with time I’ll ping back to where I was before, but now I know that the ever-present pong is always an eventual inevitably.

Spread this like it's sick

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2 Responses to “From here to there and back again.”

  1. Velocb August 3, 2016 at 8:05 am #

    Stevil!!!

    Great post. And as always I am a day late and a dollar short. Your last paragraph about Risk Vs Reward resonates very well with me.

    1.) I am right there with you. As would be any sane person. Part of the issue is age. As you (we) get older you start to realize you aren’t bullet proof. And the reality of being older is it takes waaayyy longer to recover. When I was young I could bounce right back. Now if I mess myself up it could be years to fully recover if at all. So if the risk is be off the bike for months for some stupid drop or gap jump screw that.

    2.) My worst crash ever and one that still fucks with me happened in 1994 in the Presidio. Blew my arm out. Had to have surgery. Arm still isn’t the same. I went back to see the culprit. In my minds eye I high sided off a 6 foot retaining wall. In reality it was about a 2 foot wall. But still I fell wrong and messed my arm up for life. I can ride obviously but am in constant pain. The elbow and wrist are not right even now. But that is the life we live. Point is sometimes it is the nothing feature that messes you up.

    3.) Countless friends have been badly hurt riding easy stuff. The really scary stuff makes you focus so intently. And it is often self limiting. East coast trails seem like they are literally trying to kill you so you make concessions. But I swear it is the little wood bridges, the tricky rock gardens that we have all ridden a million times that F up me and most of my friends

    4.) Back to risk. Break your arm or hand or what ever sucks but you can bounce back. What is making me more and more nervous are all the concussions I have sustained. I have had 3 since I have been on the east coast. Who knows how many I have had in my life. A bunch of friends (and myself) are suffering post-concussion symptoms. I think it is the unspoken 600-pound gorilla in the corner of cycling. It really makes me nervous

    5.) Never ever feel bad for not riding something or being afraid. Fear keeps us safe. It is a good instinct. Skill can settle fear down. As can familiarity with a section. Meditation and yoga can help too. But I swear there is stuff I will never ride. I live 5 minutes from one of the most technical mtb riding areas in Boston. It is my own personal white whale and quasi shame. The place scares the shit out of me. Scares Thom Parsons as well. But we go in maybe to get scared or feel alive or maybe to wrestle with that demon. It does make me a better rider but I don’t go in there unless I am 100% on my game. And I always keep my ego in check.

    Hang in there amigo

  2. Toby August 3, 2016 at 12:39 pm #

    I’m sick of seeing young athletes on stretchers. Moderation in all things.