It can save your life...

Aren't you glad your into mountain biking? The clean forest and mountain air that cools your burning legs is your air conditioning. The thought of you and your friends who love to ride on the weekends sitting and enjoying a nice cold one after a long ride brings tears to your eyes on Monday's. The gear, the packaged food and the adventure is so, well, mountain biking, and we love it! But, what about those who aren't into it? Are they suffering?

I have some family relatives who are of the teenage persuasion. Right now they are constantly in some kind of "trouble". Whether it is drugs, alcohol, grades, talking smack or something rebellious they are breaking the "rules" set up by their school or parental authorities. Now, the details that I have are easy to understand, and, quite frankly what they are doing isn't that out of the ordinary for a teenager. But, what if my relatives were into mountain biking? Would that change things?

I was known rapscallion in my day. I was into all kinds of other things that the authorities would later deem "punishable by probation". However close I got to the edge of prison, I never took the final step across the boundary. Now, why is didn't I? My answer to you is simple. I had training. I raced, I trained and I loved to be outdoors - the kind of outdoors where I can walk freely without a fence and an armed guard covering my every move. I knew that if I wanted to keep on visiting the nature’s playgrounds I would have to cut it back on the bad behavior.

From what I can gather it takes a hobby. Behaving, or, more or less, not caring about getting the wrong kind of attention takes being into something. Whatever it may be it takes having the guts to sacrifice and the will to do what you love.

I sure hope my family members wake up and realize what makes them special isn't drugs or alcohol (anyone can do that), but what the give to themselves and the world.

Comments

Walker Thompson said…
Captain Inspiration?