The kids are alright

You know when you start a streak? Maybe you start clearing a section without any flaw. Maybe each time you ride the park you do one new thing you haven't done before. My friend Matt will bang out six, ten, twelve days in a row at Left Hand. Streaks are fun. I'm on a streak, it started in Arkansas and followed me home. Each time I ride I meet someone cool. I'm engaging just as many people as I normally do. I just keep meeting more bangers than duds. It's totally random, sometimes I just fall into pace with someone on the climb, other times it's waiting to drop-in on slopestyle. Interactions can go lots of ways, but it's nice when it results in some positive back and forth for a quick moment in time. Like Tyler Durden describes it, a "Single Serving Friend" for a few laps.

Experts tell me today's young people are in distress. I hear they are afraid to face challenges, they don't know how to interact socially and they have no drive. I think the experts should interview more 20-35 year-old mountain bikers, they seem to be doing fine. With each new young person I meet on the trail, I have more faith in the future of humanity. Do cool people go mountain biking? Or does mountain biking make people cool?

Social media tells us young people are addicted to social media. Last weekend I asked the 25ish guy if he was on Strava. He grinned under his mustache and said, "No man, I just ride."

Today I noticed a couple young guys hitting I jump I still hadn't tried on slope. I asked if I could follow them in and the jump felt perfect. Then I led them over to the trick jump and got both of them to try it for the first time. One guy went for it quick, but the other took a long time to work up the nerve. I pointed out that he was feeling anxiety over clearing the jump, I was feeling anxiety over whether or not I could do a tire grab. Biking always gives you something to be scared of. No matter what level you are at. Both of us pushed through our fear.

Cycling kinda breaks down age barriers. I ride with a twelve year-old who gives me grief if I don't extend my legs on no-footers. Division in cycling has more to do with what style of bike we ride than who we do it with. Once you know what tribe you belong to it's easy to find your people.

If someone wants to learn a trick and I know how to do that trick. It only makes sense that we would share some common ground regardless of an age gap. Or maybe it's my appearance that makes me approachable. It's the Santa Claus effect. A really old guy shredding dirt jumps seems trustworthy.

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The White Room (a short story)

FRIDAY After a short struggle I located Cliff at the airport. It was good to see him again. I had my bag packed and my skis on the rack of my Audi. Instead of going back to my house, we blew past the exit and cruised through Denver. We made a quick stop at a dispensary, then started climbing into the mountains. Five hours later we rolled into the town of Crested Butte. Matt had driven out from Arkansas the day before and we all converged on Kevin’s house. This was a reunion almost thirty years in the making. We pulled into Kevin’s driveway, kid’s bikes and other toys were poking out from the snow in the yard. A master bedroom had been added to the house, but it still lacked siding, leaving the insulation exposed. Kevin came out to greet us wearing slippers, jeans and a tee shirt. He gave us each a hug. Nice addition Kev, that’s new since the last time I was here. Cliff said. Yeah I started it four years ago, maybe in another four I’ll finish it. Kevin’s just doing what he can...

2025 Goal: keep dirt jumping

I think I mentioned that I bought my first mountain bike in 1994, then I got my first dirt jumping bike in 2002. As I roll into my 50th year I gotta say I'm pretty happy with the dirt jumping aspects of my life. Instead of slowing down, I'm actually learning new tricks and getting them dialed in. No-footers have been a struggle for me, they seem to come and go. I find them to be much less dependable than no-handers. So I set a goal for 2025 to dial in my no-footers on the dirt. A good friend met me on New years Day and we got after it. I made one warm up lap, then I started throwing one no-footer after another. I probably did about ten of them. Some were a little weak, but a few I was pretty happy with. The no-footer is one of the foundational tricks. It's the first step to higher level tricks like no-foot cans, supermans and even the tailwhip. There are a few tips I use for this trick. The biggest one for me is to not take my feet off too early. I make a real effort t...

Spectator Sports

I’m not good at ball-sports, or really, team-sports all together. In little league I once tried throwing the ball from right field to first base. Instead I threw the ball out of the park and hit a guy sitting in the bleachers. As a high school freshman I tried out for soccer and qualified for the sub-sub-JV team. The cross country team needed runners, so I quit soccer after a week and I ran. I ran in the fall, and then I ran again in the spring for track. I wasn’t good, but I could do it. All that really mattered was that I crossed the finish line. Running helped me develop the mental state that I use nowadays when I’m tackling a long climb. I don’t need to enjoy it, I just need to zone out and keep putting one foot, or pedal, in front of the other. My state had one professional sports team, a hockey team called the Whalers. But they broke up, or moved on a few years after I moved to Colorado. I love the atmosphere of a Rockies game or watching the Eagles. But I h...

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