That familiar feeling of being dialed in the cockpit of your mt. bike. At any moment you can conjure up in your mind the feeling of having your hands grip the handlebars, envision yourself standing and hammering. One can imagine the rythym of your breath, the euphoric feeling of the approach of yet another challenge in the trail, the anticipation of the satisfaction felt by drawing nearer to a goal with every pedal crank. A goal being a jump, a climb, an attempt to once again feel the freedom enabled by spinning 26 inch wheels. All the while not dwelling on the final destination, which for many rides usually winds up being a simple circle back to our car, truck, finish line or home. Sure completing the ride or race is the goal, but we all know it's not that simple.
From my perspective mt. Biking is a spiritual experience for every one of us. Regardless of where your own beliefs lie, regardless of how or what you ride, for the ride is our temple. A pure simplistic expression and medium for searching for harmony and or reaffirming and measuring your place in this world.
So many aspects of the ride support this. The comraderie of riding with good freinds, and sharing the experience. As the wind hits your face it seems to untie the knots of the stressors of daily life and deposits them in the form of tire tracks left behind on the singletrack. Still not sold of your devotion to the cause? Look at your body then, and see the scars, and yet don't we feel a silly sick pride in them, and a lack of concern for obtaining more.
i for one am grateful for the experiences i have had, the people i have met, the beauty i have witnessed, the challenges overcome and upcoming.
So much substance to revel within "the ride". The learned appreciation of preperation, pain, and perseverance The joy of having passion for the freedom that mt. biking gives us all. Isn't life much better to not only enjoy working towards our dreams but also enjoying the journey there? Does not our sport/recreation mirror that philosophy and enable us to appreciate and realize a better life? And isn't it great that all of this really doesn't matter, for after all, we're a simple group. Give me air in my tires, some chain lube, and some good singletrack and i'm happy.
From my perspective mt. Biking is a spiritual experience for every one of us. Regardless of where your own beliefs lie, regardless of how or what you ride, for the ride is our temple. A pure simplistic expression and medium for searching for harmony and or reaffirming and measuring your place in this world.
So many aspects of the ride support this. The comraderie of riding with good freinds, and sharing the experience. As the wind hits your face it seems to untie the knots of the stressors of daily life and deposits them in the form of tire tracks left behind on the singletrack. Still not sold of your devotion to the cause? Look at your body then, and see the scars, and yet don't we feel a silly sick pride in them, and a lack of concern for obtaining more.
i for one am grateful for the experiences i have had, the people i have met, the beauty i have witnessed, the challenges overcome and upcoming.
So much substance to revel within "the ride". The learned appreciation of preperation, pain, and perseverance The joy of having passion for the freedom that mt. biking gives us all. Isn't life much better to not only enjoy working towards our dreams but also enjoying the journey there? Does not our sport/recreation mirror that philosophy and enable us to appreciate and realize a better life? And isn't it great that all of this really doesn't matter, for after all, we're a simple group. Give me air in my tires, some chain lube, and some good singletrack and i'm happy.
. Complete sentences can lead to a death sentence or worse. Correct spelling can get you corrected, or worse, r3sp3cted. Your grandma will disown you if your grammar is good. 
to make sure that I could take in all of it! 
