When I started writing this blog my business card simply read, "Bicycle Enthusiast Extraordinaire." But times have changed my friends! Now on each imaginary card I'm handwriting in a second line that says, "and Firefighter 1." Some people my age train to run a marathon, others go back to school for advanced degrees. Middle age is the perfect time to add a new line to your business card, so I'm adding firefighter. But this is still a bike blog so for this post I will try to provide some clumsy parallels between fire fighting and mountain biking. Obviously there is the thrill seeking aspect, the adrenaline rush. Then there is the camaraderie, the feeling of belonging to a subculture, an interconnected tribe. I will also add the concept of 'embracing the suck' the feeling of looking up a trail and seeing only climbing. The mindset of pulling all your thoughts into one simple goal, keep going. I haven't experienced much true hardship as a firefig...