Don’t call it a comeback: Part 2, Racing makes me nervous!
This is Part 2 of an essay US Editor Daniel Dunn wrote after racing his first enduro race, and 8 years after any type of mountain bike racing. You can find Part 1 here.
This weekend in Moab is my first crack at it. I’ve been shooting enduro races for the past two years, so am familiar with the sport. I have the gear, (well, most of it), I have the skills, and I have the wisdom to not push myself too hard. I will certainly push myself, for the thrill, for the satisfaction I get from learning new things and the level of physical fitness all this riding brings me. But I know to not get in over my head. That peer pressure to “just do it” is not there for me these days. And anyway, I know the course, for the most part, because I was there last year shooting this races, and I know all the other available terrain in the immediate area. It’s a great race and venue for this inexperienced race to get back into the sport.
Race morning started with a certain feel in the air. Actually, a couple certain feelings. One is the feeling that a place like Moab, Utah produces. The other is the feeling you get on any race day, coming from deep inside. No matter how calm you try to be and appear to the outside world, it’s that amped up kind of feeling. The jitters. The butterflies. You feel the need to force yourself to concentrate on simple tasks, because your brain is going 200 miles per hour and you just cannot sit still for half a second and eat breakfast. It’s the excitement that only comes on race day. And if you have any sort of racing history, it’s a feeling you are probably familiar with. I hadn’t felt that feeling in quite some time, but it was back. And pushing me into constant movement.
At the end of the day, the racing was fantastic. I had an awesome time, saw many folks I know from the last couple years of chasing this sport around. The organization and flow of the race was spot on and smooth. Timed results came in quickly and accurately, and I didn’t hear the smallest negative comments. I did however see a lot of tired, smiling faces, enjoying the sun in the Moab desert.
Summer is almost here, and mountain bike season certainly is. If you haven’t yet given enduro racing a shot, go ahead and do it. It’s fun and smile inducing. You’ll be glad you did, you’ll probably make some new friends, and maybe experience what many are saying is “what got them into mountain biking in the first place.”
Thoughts Months After
Life happens. I say that a lot. This piece was written at the beginning of the summer, 2014. I look back and laugh. Because I’m a nut job and an emotional wreck at times, but I’m also a passionate guy that loves to ride a bike. And because riding bikes saved my life. I was returning home from a bike camping trip when I crashed my car head on into another vehicle. The paramedics later told me that if any body position was different by a couple millimeters, I wouldn’t be here today. My best friend told me that he visited the police impound yard before he came to see me in the hospital, and he vomited when he saw my car, because he didn’t know my condition at the time.
I don’t say these words because I want the world to feel sorry for me. I say them because I want you to go out and ride. And enjoy life. Really ENJOY!
And because I also believe that bikes can change the world. One ride at a time.
Words: Daniel Dunn
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