Liberation

That first mountain biking fall was a long one.

I spent a month riding in the rain. We were blessed with warmer weather that month. Sometimes I wore shorts, sometimes ski tights. I always returned home muddy and felt absolutely wonderful clothed in that brown gook that plastered the trails and my bike.

Riding in the rain is unheard of for some. Most people are chased inside to workout with their trainers, stair climbers, stationary bikes, elliptical machines, treadmills, spinning bikes, and whatever the new indoor invention of the year is. Not I. I couldn’t do that. I didn’t have the strength to drive to a building in an effort to consume the energy I had locked up inside me. The truth is that energy is never really there without inspiration. There is something about getting on a mountain bike and rolling through the woods as fast as you can that makes you reach way down inside and pull out everything you’ve got – without even realizing it!

I discovered something about riding in the rain that I began to discover as an aspiring runner. Riding in the rain forced me to surrender to the idea that I was going to get wet no matter what. I couldn’t do anything about it. Once I accepted that, it suddenly felt good. It felt incredibly good to be out there in the mist, hearing the pitter patter of rain drops hitting the few leaves on the trees and the bed of leaves on the ground. Under the protection of the trees, it was more of a drizzle. I got lost in that sound. Surrendering to the rain and the mud, accepting that I was going to be wet and muddy for the next two hours and it was okay - it was liberating!