This morning, I awoke to carry out my usual routine. My alarm went off (baby crying) about 7am and I promptly hit the snooze button with a bottle. Once he was taken care of, the dogs and I took him downstairs so they could get in their morning sniff of the yard and I hit the brew button on the Keurig coffee maker.
After I got the little man settled in his chair on my desk, got in a couple of sips of hot coffee and clicked the mouse, I started my usual Monday morning catchup getting ready for the day. As part of my social routine, I clicked on the Bike198 Facebook page and found this. A post by Kevin Rightmeyer.
Maybe it was a release of endorphins today when I went riding, or maybe it was “nirvana” which is described as “freedom”
The dictionary describes nirvana as “In general terms nirvana is a state of transcendence involving the subjective experience of release from a prior state of bondage. This is the result of a natural re-ordering of the mind and body,”
I felt a euphoria that is both exciting and inspiring, all I did was let go of everything, and tried to “flow” with the trail and not hold back, giving everything as the trail demanded. I think I will try and ride tomorrow, even if my schedule does not agree.
What Keven is describing in this post on the wall is Flow in its purist sense. It isn’t about the bike, the trail or even the rider as each of these elements independently can not create this essence of flow. Flow comes when all reservations are let go in the pursuit of the perfect ride. All the elements and variables seem to effortlessly work together.
The mind is known to run into a state of peace as everything just seems to fall together. The trail is smoother, the tires have more grip, the rider seems to be unable to make a mistake and the legs do not want to stop churning out the power that propels the bike forward. In the world of mountain biking, this flow is where everything goes right.
It is the hole in one of golf. The perfect game in baseball. The half court shot made at the buzzer in basketball.
This flow is our pursuit. It is the feeling that creates and nurtures the addiction. Once it all comes together, even for a split second, you get the feeling of truly being free on the bike. All inhibitions, fears and negativity is gone. You and your bike can take on anything.
For us mountain bikers…true flow equals euphoria…and it is more addictive than crack. And that is what makes us want to sign up for more abuse even if our schedule doesn’t agree…