On Mountainbiking--Why Do You Ride?

Anyone who knows me at all knows that I have quite a commitment to the sport of off-road cycling. In fact it could probably be classified as a severe an unbalanced obsession. When I am not riding I think about riding. When I am driving I think about riding. When I eat--riding. On the can--you guessed it--riding! My mind is filled with a constant flow of images of frames, various components, tires, trails, past rides, past crashes, friends I ride with, and future rides I plan on doing. And yes, I have to admit that commitment might have crossed the line into full-blown obsession quite some time ago. Who know when?

The question I ask myself then is simply, "Why?" What is it about the sport that attracts me so much more than almost any other activity I have ever done? To pin down that one element, to describe that one attribute of the sport that so encompasses my existence is a hard thing for me to do. Funny--doing a thing is easier than thinking about a thing. To accomplish this task I think I need the help of an ancient Greek philosopher.

Aristotle said in his Ethics that "Every art and every investigation, and similarly every action and persuit, is considered to aim at some good." This is merely the first sentence of his work and I think that is all I need to get my mind working. My new question then is, "What is that 'good' that I am aiming at when I cycle?" There are many possible replies: general health, physical appearance, social connection, personal challenge, technical aspects of equipment, connection with nature, etc. Who can narrow it down to only one thing?

As for me, I greatly appreciate the health aspect of cycling. The concrete realities of increased muscle strength, increased cardiovascular strength, and improved balance and reaction time are all easily perceptible to a regular rider. Sometimes you can feel an improvement from one ride to the next. This is satisfying and makes one feel that he is doing something good for him. But if the health benefits were all I cared about then I would not hit jumps, drops, burms, or other obstacles with such a wide grin on my face, since there is obviously a risk to my health when those are involved. There must be more.

Do I ride to imporve my overall physical appearance? Well, I was beautiful before, and how does one improve perfection? Therefore, no.

What about social connection? I do get a lot of joy out of riding with friends. It creates a bond that is not work-related. A shared adventure and a shared challenge can give men a sense of increased connection. Besides that, those long climbs require someone to talk to besides one's imaginary friend from childhood. MP3 players are cool, but who can sing along when his heart is beating at 160 bpm? I can't. The friend at your side cures your loneliness and makes that grueling climb seem shorter. You also get to know the other guy and visa-verse, even though you are not speaking vis-a-vis most of the time. But on the other hand, I personally enjoy riding alone sometimes. It feels like more of a discipline and requires more focus, but is still enjoyable. So is it the highest good? Maybe not.

I could go on and discuss the other possible answers to the question, but for breviy's sake I won't. Instead I will cut to the chase and say what I think this highest good, this summum bonum, is, for me anyway. I am pretty sure it is not a rational thing but an emotional thing. It is the thrill, the adrenaline, the excitement. It is the expectation prior to the ride--the picture in my mind of what I think is about to happen. It is the anticipation of reaching the top--the focus on the prize, the reward that the top itself is. It is the pure thrill of a gravity fueled descent that I have earned through hard work and my own power. It is the danger that I barely escaped, the corner where I almost lost it but didn't, the difficult line I powered through flawlessly.

All of this could be summed up into one word: FUN. A humble word for sure--childlike and innocent. It is so simple that it seems far removed from the violent and deceptive world of men and their competitive struggles. Fun is pure. It is feeling and comes from within. It is a total satisfaction with one's self and the present situation. It is unadulterate, perfect. Fun's melancholy is higher than the peak of Everest. Fun requires no recognition, no fame, no history, no justification, no one else. Lance was right. It is NOT about the bike. I think it is all about fun.

Why do you ride?