"I was built for this"

So there I was. Doing the hike a bike thing up a steep shoot or crumbling shale. The Appalachian mountains are the oldest in the world, and while they are smoothed by time and weather they still have so many surprises and I am constantly blown away that I live in an outdoorsman’s playground like this. On this day I was not marveling in the slow beauty of the mountains though, oh no. I was hiking to the top of a favorite local trail. Full DH gear including baggies, long sleeved jersey (stupid idea) and backpack with a small shops worth of tools and all my camera gear. I had planned the best video ever! I was going to conquer the mountain, shred to the bottom, and get all the video I needed for an epic video. As a part of the Flight Crew I work to produce video’s for Airborne. I try and showcase the bikes that I ride and why I love them. Sometimes it can be a difficult job. But not today-- I had a plan!
I remember thinking back to that morning when my wife told me to be careful and drink lots of water because it is going to be hot. Hot! PHHHSSSS….whatever! I work outside! I do this for a living! I can handle pushing my bike up a hill and riding down, and smiling for the camera. “I was built for this”. I think those were my exact words. Still pushing I could have kicked myself. She was right and it was hot. Not desert hot. It was humid, slimy, wet hot. The kind of hot that makes you feel like you will never cool down again. No breeze, no relief. I should have turned back when I found the tear in my camelback but I couldn’t! I felt ok! I could beat the heat! Plus I have some emergency duct tape to fix the tear so it will be fine. If it leaks a bit that’s ok. “ I was built for this!”
Thinking about it made me thirsty, and a few sips later my water is gone…….wait a sec, GONE? No way. Yes way. The tear that I saw was only a small sign of the larger problem. Well that sucks. Keep pushing. “I was built for this.” I am about half way to the top, and I decide to take a breather on the side of the trail. “I hope this is not one of those days,” I think to myself. You know the days I am talking about. Nothing seems to work right. It usually happens when you have been looking forward to a ride for a long time. You get everything packed the night before and head out only to remember once you arrive you forgot your clipless shoes. NO, I was not going to let that happen. It’s ok, so I am out of water. So what! “ I was built for..……air conditioning” I get my sorry butt up and keep trudging to the top. This is important I remind myself. I decide to get my mind off the sorry state I am in. I need to think about how I want to set my shots up. I start feeling better about myself, I can see the video in my mind, I can hear the music. “Jeez it’s hot, what was I thinking about again?” The Airborne guys will understand. Maybe I should cut my losses and head down. “Jerry Hazard would not give up.” I swear I hear a tiny voice say. Uhh I am going to keep moving. I am nearly there. A long time later I finally drag my sorry carcass to the top of the mountain. 1,100 ft higher than I started my day.
Man my head hurts, what is wrong with me? Yep the dreaded “BONK”. If you are a mountain bike rider you know what I am talking about. I decide the prudent thing to do it to rest re coupe and plan my shots. “What were my shots again” I better get the GoPro out and start getting it ready. “what does it mean when the battery light flashes? UHHHHH Ok I need to take stock of my situation. No water, my head is pounding like a fat kids hand, while waiting for cake. And my GoPro has no batteries. I can still make this work with my little hand held HD and my point and shoot cam. I go on with this plan until I turn the point and shoot cam on. I find this message waiting for me “Memory Card Error”. For the love of Pete! Ok Dan breathe, I count backwards from 25 and try to calm down. I had fallen into the bonk trap. Once a Bonk has a hold of you it is hard to snap out of it. I think the bonk and that Murphy guy with the law are in cahoots.
What am I going to do? “Ride”. Now, I am not crazy, but I swear I heard a tiny voice in the back of my mind say it. You know what? The voice is right! I am not going to let all that ruin what I planned to be an amazing ride. I look down at my bike. Three quarters of my ride has been spent pushing up a mountain to this moment. All I have done so far is piss and moan about my bad luck. I forgot why I was out here to begin with. My trusty tin donkey was ready to ride, and I had not even thrown a leg over it yet. I was ready to quit before I even started. One short sweet hour later I am at the bottom. I got all my shots, I rode all my lines perfectly, the trail was in the best condition I have seen it in a long time, my headache is gone, and I feel like a million bucks! “What happened there?” I say aloud to my TAKA.
Sometimes I think we put too much into the ride. We plan and plan. We create a ride in our heads before we even hit the dirt. We lose sight of the reason we spend loads of hard earned coin on circles to turn circles. I was out for all the wrong reasons that day. We all have a ride like that sometime. I think we all need that ride to set us straight. I sure as heck needed this one. It puts things into perspective and reminds us that the ride does not have to be perfect to be a ride to remember. Even though I am dehydrated, sweaty and starving I leave the trails a much happier man. It’s funny how things happen. “I was made for this!”