Today was a good day (ride content)

Author	Message

i-t-o

Posted: Jun 3, 2009 at 21:18

Quote

I am constantly amazed at the ability of two wheels and a chain driven cog system to straighten things out in my life. I have plenty of physical and mental outlets, but when things are tough or I just want to let things go for a while I just have to let it rip.

Today I returned from my usual 8 days of work tired, but full of positive energy. I am confused about a couple of girls in my life, I am unsure of my housing arrangement, and I have some nerves about an upcoming climbing trip, so a ride sounded like the right thing to do.

My partner for the ride had less joyful thoughts going on and riding with him was like chasing a ghost or being followed by a raging storm. I struck lines hard and fast, powering on uphills and roosting corners, laying down some technical lines at speeds I rarely reach, all in hopes of outrunning the mess of emotions riding behind me.

At the top of a climb I let him have it, told him he was a fool and that if he couldn't get things figured out in his head, well, f*ck him. He got pissed and took off down the descent, me chasing and him cruising the lines that we both know so well. On a normal ride we are shouting and laughing, stopping at points to let the other in front, giving one another kudos for a line well rode. Instead we blasted through the rest of the trail, not stopping once until we got to the car.

He stopped, I muttered something about him being an a*shole and that I was continuing the ride and hitting Zen Trail.

Zen is brutal on the mind and body. A mini-epic with fabulous views the trail starts at the end of a steep jeep trail and winds through rocks that should not have a rideable line through them. The exposure at times is amazing, 100+ foot drop offs and loose corners and steep rocks. From there it goes through a maze of mushroom shaped rocks, picking a careful line with a few wild sections of open singletrack before diving back into technical and slow rock lines.

The trail gets blurry for a while, cairns dot the rocks, but no line seems obvious at first glance. Ultimately you just let the front wheel find the easiest path and at times you blaze your own trail. Then it is time to climb again, rising several hundred feet until you crest along a cliff line that rises 600+ feet above the desert below. Zion, the Virgin River Gorge, the Grand Canyon, and two separate mountain ranges are visible as you fly at 20+ mph down ribboned single track that snakes past boulders, creosote brush, and sage. Then the trail breaks east, descending towards town, seeking the canyon that will ultimately spit you back out on a jeep trail for the ride back to civilization.

Up until here the trail has been fast and smooth or slow and rocky, but now thing speed up as it gets steeper and rockier, twisting and rolling on itself as it finds the fastest line down. A brief slick rock fest breaks things up before you roll into a near vertical rock fest with gnarly turns and drops that look like they belong on the World Cup circuit. The trail then ends in a water worn canyon, finally finding itself in the open and flat grounds leading back towards St. George.

I cruised home along city streets, arriving to my home just as dark was setting in. I found my ride partner sipping on a beer, introspective and with an apology on his lips. We exchanged glances and I knew that whatever bitterness we'd had during our exchange had been brought to a close by the ride. I had broken away from the storm, stopped chasing the ghost, and he returned home, battling his own demons on the way. Solutions had come, as they always do on these rides.

My life is still twisted, girls still seem complicated, the place of residence is up in the air, and the nerves are still there, but my friendship is intact and we finally came to an understanding that helped us both. We rode the same trail that we always do, but tonight it gained a new significance in my life.

Riding doesn't always give us the answers we want, but every so often it gives us ones we never expected to find.

laurie1

Mod

Posted: Jun 3, 2009 at 21:26	Quote
Wow! You're alive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

munky

Posted: Jun 3, 2009 at 21:35	Quote
Yay, Ito stories. take note of the perfectly punctuated masterpiece groms. nothing can uncomplicated girls unfortunately. It's not bikings fault. whats with the name change to i-t-o, i always thought it was pronounced E-toe. Though admittedly i read it as i-t-o in my head for some reason.

i-t-o

Posted: Jun 3, 2009 at 21:56

Quote

munky wrote:

Yay, Ito stories. take note of the perfectly punctuated masterpiece groms.

nothing can uncomplicated girls unfortunately. It's not bikings fault.

whats with the name change to i-t-o, i always thought it was pronounced E-toe. Though admittedly i read it as i-t-o in my head for some reason.

Ask the site's admin. I kept getting messages saying that "ito" wasn't allowed.

And yes, it is E-toe and I am alive.

crazygeorge

Posted: Jun 4, 2009 at 8:01	Quote
Nice "story" - its good to ride and let other thoughts go away...

harriieee

Posted: Jun 4, 2009 at 12:51

Quote

Loving the allegory post. Everything in this story rings true - riding has the most fantastic ability just to make everything go away for a bit, and even when you realise it's all still there, it doesn't seem so bad. After a shit week back in early February I headed out for a freezing Saturday-morning ride, fell of a skinny, bloodied my arm nicely(kinda helped), rode an hour and a half more of trails, went bigger than I ever had before and went home at one with the world. Things didn't stop being shit, but I needed to get away from it all. Everyone needs a release from their personal stresses and problems.

gabor

Posted: Jun 4, 2009 at 14:25	Quote
Great post Ryan, I'd go ride if it weren't for me being broken. You're right, riding is a great outlet for when things are getting out of hand, for me there's nothing like struggling my beast of a freeride bike uphill for an hour without stopping only to be greeted by the most amazing view of the city and the sea, and then ripping down the mountainside back down to the bottom, it's insane.

Quik5ilver

Posted: Jun 5, 2009 at 19:49

Quote

gabor wrote:

Great post Ryan, I'd go ride if it weren't for me being broken.

You're right, riding is a great outlet for when things are getting out of hand, for me there's nothing like struggling my beast of a freeride bike uphill for an hour without stopping only to be greeted by the most amazing view of the city and the sea, and then ripping down the mountainside back down to the bottom, it's insane.

Agreed, well written and very true.
Nice to see you're still kickin'.

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