ProVisions 4 - I Am the Trail

May 28, 2013
by Ryan Leech  
While shooting ‘Roam’, I found an amazing train track trials line, told the film crew, visualized it, dropped in and nailed the line perfectly first try. I was in the zone: I became one with the bike and the line, there was no separation, no boundaries, there was no psyching myself up, nor any doubt. I am the line.

I came out of the zone at the exact moment the reality of the situation became apparent. Turns out the camera guys weren’t ready to film yet! So I tried again and kept messing it up, doubting myself, and then trying to psych myself up; what was seemingly easy the first try became very difficult.

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The zone is much more than a cool thing that happens while out riding, we need that zone ability to deliver a clear and potent expression of our life purpose to the world. This article offers four common zone scenarios to help us navigate and translate our experiences, they are zone by chance, by force, vicariously, and by choice.

Chance Zone

Just like my example while filming ‘Roam’, it just happened, I didn’t plan it, I entered the zone by chance. There are many things one can do to increase the chance of entering the zone, such as practice and pushing your limits, but it’s still by chance.

Many times I accomplished extra-ordinary things while in the zone, and was often surprised by what I pulled off. Where does this performance come from? Many athletes, musicians, and artists comment that the music and display of skill came through them, as if channeling it from another place.

Being in the zone (or in flow as many like to call it) is such a wonderful experience, so once it happens by chance, we want it to happen again. The irony is that when we seek the zone, we further solidify the self, the same self that actually needs to disappear in order to be in the zone.

The zone by chance I believe is a teaser, a taste of what is possible if you can learn to let go of what philosopher Alan Watts called ‘the skin encapsulated ego’. If it is a teaser of what’s possible, what might it be communicating to you? How does it relate to other aspects of your life?


Forced Zone

Striving for the zone, and claiming the results of the zone as your own can lead toward a pseudo forced zone. I experience this state when I am doing a dangerous stunt on my bike. At the moment of pushing off and committing, I enter a forced zone, flight or fight is triggered, and thus I am forced to rely on my survival skills. The zone is secondary and dependent on the situation I put myself in.

Unbelievable physical feats can be accomplished this way, but they leave me more with a feeling of relief that I survived rather than a feeling of peace and joy. It’s interesting to relate it to a gazelle who is able to narrowly escape a lion attack. That gazelle is in the zone, doing incredible maneuvers to escape the lion…afterward, the gazelle stands there and literally shakes while the adrenaline pulses and dissipates through the body. The gazelle is alive though, and isn’t that what forcing ourselves in to the zone provides, an escape that makes us feel alive?

Reinforcing this alive feeling with praise from the friends or an audience confirms to the ego that this is the best path forward, while it’s good for some time, we may grow tired of having that lion chase us! If so, a standard solution is to fall in to the vicarious zone for our thrills...

Vicarious Zone

When an athlete drops in to the zone, whether by chance or by force, those watching may momentarily be transported beyond their own personal ego identity and vicariously experience the athletes zone. Many folks haven’t found a reliable and safe way to access the zone themselves, so could this be why the entertainment industry does so well?

It’s not just the athlete responsible for creating this entertaining zone experience though, they are in it together, I’d even say the athlete and audience co-create it. Many entertainers know this, and deliberately attempt to inspire the audience to take action in their own lives. The classic mountain bike film ‘The Collective’ is a good example, it was inspirational because for the most part they relied on athletes choosing to be in the zone; the film makers chose this zone themselves, further establishing that inspiration, the result: people getting off the couch and going riding.

Kill Kintner. 1st place women. On a 650b.
Watching Jill race DH is indeed a vicarious zone experience.

When the vicarious zone is acknowledged with awakeness and perspective, we are no longer mindlessly being entertained, we relate to what we see, and choose to support it or not. For example, when you notice someone taking risks on their bike above and beyond their skill level, how do you engage as a spectator and friend? You might get a vicarious thrill by watching them force the zone, but at what cost?

Choice Zone

What I’m interested in is whether one can enter the zone by choice? In my experience the answer is yes. Why you want to enter the zone becomes an important initial inquiry, but this is a slippery topic because as mentioned above the zone can’t be owned or created for our selfish needs. Just like a spiritual seeker will never reach enlightenment as long as he is seeking, because what you seek is always in the future and so it is inherently unachievable, the zone is the same, however it is always available in every moment, it just takes practice to choose and allow it, especially when in challenging situations.

www.margusriga.com
Choosing the zone during a solo ride in Mongolia

Classic sports psychology aims to give athletes tips and tricks to enter the zone to help achieve the desired result, namely gold medals. However, this is just another version of entering the zone by force, it’s a partial approach. There are no shortcuts to choosing the zone, it takes practice, a more holistic practice. For example, if you feel unfulfilled in some aspect of your life, riding can act as an artificial filler. In my work as a coach I help clients see this dynamic and mindfully change what they need to change in their life so they can approach riding pre-fulfilled, this prepares them to choose the zone.

Conclusion:

The big secret is that everything in life affects all other things, a mysterious connection, and this is great news! It may require you to address some challenges in your life, but won’t doing so affect your riding experience also? Growing as a adult in all facets of my life and doing my best to maintain a clear and progressive expression of my life purpose seems to be directly correlated to my growing ability to choose the zone.

Tag, you’re it Pinkbike: what is the relationship between your riding, your life, and the zone?

Ryan Leech is sponsored by Norco Bicycles, Ryders Eyewear, Kenda, Shimano and RockShox. He performs trials shows at select special events and schools. Intimate with the benefits of yoga for a thriving pro career, he got certified to teach and just released a new Yoga for Cyclists Video and offers yoga and mountain bike workshops around the country. As a Professional Integral Coach™, he works privately with people, such as pro athletes, during transition to help them discover what’s next more quickly and with less suffering.


The ProVisions Article Series:

ProVisions #1: Are you Crazy?
ProVisions #2: On a Crash Course?
ProVisions #3: Free Your Freeriding

Author Info:
RyanLeech avatar

Member since Oct 9, 2007
25 articles

18 Comments
  • 15 0
 The categories of zonage you define seem like reasonable distinctions: chance, force, vicariously, and by choice. I am originally from Humboldt where not unlike BC, the choice zone for riding is naturally induced which seems quite effective. As I get older and live in Alaska I prefer to be more clear headed and am able to consciously enter the zone. I broke my back in three places snowboarding leaving me in serious pain for 10 years. After recovery efforts I was in a second avalanche (heliboarding is dangerous) was buried for 8 minutes and was resuscitated. The whole dying by suffocation experience led me to a new path of riding everyday at least 1 hour as a way to stay in the zone in my life as a father, scientist and rider. Now I only stumble on moments of not being in the zone instead of the opposite. Since discovering the zone I have had unbelievable success with my personal and business life. You are spot on about vicarious zone which for most of us is provided by Pinkbike. I am humbled by Ryan's skills. I ride trials, XC, AM, DH, and Fatty: the zone is everywhere.
  • 5 0
 Your translation of the zone from riding to life by choice is exactly the intention of the article, so thank you Maituk for sharing a real, and scary, life experience to help illustrate. Glad you're well!
  • 3 0
 Great article! So good to be reminded of the need for mindfulness as essential for a grounded existence.

For me the zone is, like you said, all about being in the moment - really being in the moment. I found useful wisdom in the Gita with regard to motion as a metaphor for life: picture a horse and chariot, a driver, and a passenger. The horse and chariot is the body, the driver is the mind, and the passenger is the soul. The whole purpose of the endeavour is to transport the soul, the mind and body are just the vehicle and the navigator. When the mind and body take on too much self-importance, that is when the ego is in the way. To truly be in the zone, the soul must take in the experience fully. Thanks again for this.
  • 2 0
 Hmmm, thanks again Ryan, another thought provoking article....
Like many others I ride for several different reasons. Health, fitness, mindless abandon... Freedom...
I'm pretty sure that for me riding keeps me "safe". I need to exercise in order to maintain a certain level of calm to the raging torrent that can so often be flowing like a river below the surface.
A few years ago I suffered a brain injury, and while recovering from that I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I think that at that crossroads in my life I became stuck in a never ending cycle of selfishness.. Very different from who I was and who I want to be.. In becoming "selfish" I lost the ability to enter the Zone.. Or the ability to just be and enjoy the moment, regardless of what is happening around me... Losing the ability to laugh at oneself, to truly just enjoy peoples company, to be able to enter the Zone and be happy go lucky...
Riding forces me to just get back to basics.. Speed, dirt, air... Positioning, strength, cardio, relaxing... I can find the Zone while riding no problem, finding the Zone while being a dad, and a husband.. next to impossible.. The relationship of riding, my life, and the Zone is that I know that at least I can still get in the Zone. My hope is that by learning to focus on other things in my life, not how tired I feel, or how weak my body feels, but on things that are important, like my children, and my relationships with them. That I will be able to find the "Zone" again.
Thanks again Ryan.
Dave
  • 1 0
 You're welcome Dave, and it sounds like you're way past that selfish stage, glad riding is supporting your focus on the important things in your life; wouldn't you say mindful choice is a skill that gets easier with practice, and most certainly will leave you with more power than MS can take away...
  • 4 2
 Really great article Ryan! I hate to change this to anything other than biking, but if you look at martial arts etc it's quite common. I used to do Judo and in fights you can easily enter 'the zone', although it's slightly different because the forces working against you change constantly and are unpredictable. The zone as i know it is when there is no thinking, but everything comes naturally, even strength and speed. You don't consciously anticipate actions, but it all 'just happens' for want of a better phrase. I've yet to experience quite the same feeling on the bike, but i know it's there, somewhere.
  • 1 0
 I often have thought about "the zone" and the wonderful feeling of being in said zone. I also find it unbelievably annoying when I realize I am in the zone... and this realization causes my head to meet mother Earth. To me forced zone can differ greatly depending how one enters it. For me, if I just sit for a minute clear my mind then go for it, the zone feels pretty nice. However if I run up to a feature over and over... finally say "F" it lets do this! The zone is less of a zone and more terror/relief.... or in some cases terror/pain. Yet on that same note if one tries to sit and and rationalize with themselves as to why they should in fact be in the zone, the results tend to be the illusion of the zone with uncertainty and fear simply shoved to the back of ones mind.. yet still lurking in the corner. To me the zone simply boils down to getting out of ones own way. I think it was Tippy who said "Don't think, but don't be stupid".
  • 1 0
 The zone or "mode" as my wife says it. I have reached many times where the mind shuts off multiple thought streams and focus on one. My wife says she gets in a mode when doing her craft hobbies where outside distracations and secondary thoughts disappear and you can truly focus. I find the zone while riding is achieved very easy but not noticed until after and reality sinks back in. The zone is achievable just doing yard work, ever start a yard chore just to have to day slip by and have the chores done. All while never stopping for anything.
The "zone" or "mode" look for it in every avenue that you do.

Dustin
  • 1 0
 Ryan you just started backcountry skiing so perhaps this is a bit esoteric. Every now and then one encounters you fall you die situations especially on steep slopes with steep exposure. There's not many of us who've been doing this kind of skiing for a long time with consistent results (ie surviving while having some sort of fun). The common thing that most of us who do that kind of skiing do is to practice being able to make turns in any kind of condition and never ever falling; as falling would almost certainly lead not just to injury but almost certainly death. In these admittedly rare skiing situations one practices living in the zone - by building skills slowly and incrementally over time rather than diving into it.

Moves with consequences of death aren't that common in biking except in rare conditions of high exposure like say bike or muni trials (I'm reminded of our mutual friend Kris Holm riding along the edge of the Chief). Just as Kris and you practice riding skinnies so much that the possibility of falling on a relatively wide platform perched over a 100m drop is inconceivable so do people who practice skiing steeps ski snow of all conditions so the idea of falling on anything less than 60 degrees is inconceivable.

Sure entering the zone is mental - all things of skill are partially or mostly in your head. But practicing and practicing and practicing (that Gladwell 10,000 repetitions) gives you the bare minimum to do thing to excellence. Your physical abilities are no longer the question; the rest is in your head.
  • 1 0
 What's the experience like for you when you're in the zone in a life or death skiing situation? Before, during, and after?
  • 1 0
 Intense focus and concentration followed by euphoric relief and satisfaction after
  • 1 1
 IMO, calling it the "zone" can be an excuse as to why one does not perform to his/her best all the time. To me, a natural athlete (most of these people were natural-born talents) does not need to be in a specific "zone", everything just comes naturally. When you ask them how they did that, they should just say "I dont know, i just did it". Its where Nike gets their tagline from. No excuses, no philosophical "zones", just cut the crap and do it.
Not trying to be argumentative or contradictory to something that many prople probably agree with, just bringing a different point of view to this.
  • 1 1
 Because it is a philosophical stuff in this article... Don't you think that all points of view are based on experience? No, not in a sense that you need to experience something to have an opininon about it. I mean, the quality and content of your world view depends on what you have actualy experienced, and more you' e done and more you thought about what and how you did it, is going to make your statements more clarified. Fabien Barel might talk about cornering for days, while Sam Blinkinsop who isn't much slower will struggle to put together 10 sentences about it. So you might have a douche like me, talking double what Fabien could and you who "just does it" as you assume. And do what exactly? What level of mastery of execution of what? It's all so elusive that you are so right and so wrong at the same time, and my writing is completely useless. and this because The trouble is, we haven't reached anywhere close to Ryans level that he attained through all those years pf drliberate practice, so we have no idea to even imagine what it could be like to ride like him, we don't know the experience - we don't know what we are talking about, we should pursue the virtue of humble silence until we get there, and while we are where we are, we should STFU!
  • 1 0
 thanks jaycubzz...good perspective twist, when results/performance is the measurement for what the zone is then yeah, i think you're spot on...I think wakidesigns perspective is very important: that we all interpret the zone differently based on our worldview. Huge. The zone for someone going after competition results is going to be very different from the zone experienced by a 45 year old who is dealing with the existential questions of life....thanks guys
  • 2 0
 Yeah I suppose both of you are right. It is all based on personal experiences. Not everyone is the same, and I suppose that's what makes the world such an interesting place haha. Btw Ryan I met you probably about sixish years ago when you were doing your trials thing around canada (north america?) and had you sign my copy of cranked 6. Super chill dude, really humble, enjoyed the article.
  • 3 0
 I live in the danger zone.
  • 2 2
 What's with the long comments today?
  • 1 0
 sick







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