Newsletter, February 1997 By Albert DeLima Its the middle of winter and you have no energy, or maybe the holidays have rounded you out a little too much. You might even have laundry or some other mundane, boring, lame excuse as to why you can't go out and ride. This is the most critical time to take charge of your body, mental health and general well being, your destiny so to speak. As Mr. Chevy Chase said in Caddy Shack to a young floundering man, "See the ball Danny, be the ball Danny." You control your Mountain Biking Des~any. We are all Danny one day or another; sick of the cold, the mud, the wet. Let's call this problem the Winter Blues. Fortunately there are lots of time proven remedies to lift our spirits and make Mt. biking fun again. The main ingredient to the cure is change. Right now it is easy to let your life get stuck in a rut, the days are short, the weather is less than ideal, the gut is hanging and its hard to find others with much motivation. You have to reach deep inside and say I will make the difference I will make a change, because no one else will do it for me. The best part about the cure for this problem is that it doesn't have to cost anything. Many cures are absolutely free (one of my favorite words) and one of the most important parts of these changes is getting outside. Its OK not to fide everyday, just get outside especially during daylight hours. The W radiation of the sun has strange mystical effects on ones spirits. Don't let the rain stop you, you're a tough Mt. biker, and little stroll or roll in the rain won't hurt you. Just in case you forgot, your body is water resistant, you know showers and all. "But I work and can't get out," you say. Heard of lunch tame. Enough said, get outside. Variety is another variation on change that doesn't have to put a strain on you wallet. Change where you ride. Plan a trip to the East Bay for some riding. Another interesting variation is to just simply reverse the direction of your usual loop. One of my favorite diversions since I'm relatively new to the area is exploring. So what if the trail is a dead end, at least you've ridden it, and gained from exercise. Varying your Mt. biking experience can also include trail building. It's great exercise, almost too good. It gets you outside with others who enjoy the same thing as you and it's a very positive experience. You ride for exercise anyway, why not have something to show for your effort, like a nice section of trail. It's wonderful smelling the fresh dirt and putting all that childhood sandbox technology to good use. Expect to be sore at the end of the day knowing you'll sleep well that night. Some things you should bring to make the experience more enjoyable are boots, snacks, liquid, work gloves and a smile. The list of cures for this all to common problem goes on and on, but you get the idea. Once you get things changing your life will brighten and it will be reflected in the rest of your daily activities. Control your destiny. See the mountain, be the mountain. ©1997 Bicycle Trails Council of Marin |
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