“Somewhere And Everywhere In These Mountains The Essence Of My Soul Is Contained. It Beckons Me To Go And Reveal Itself.” Author Unknown
I choose to reveal myself through cycling, whether it be on the road or dirt is of little concern to me. What is of concern is that I am pedaling, feeling the bicycle move over the contours of the road and dirt and rock, hearing the return of birds singing in the spring as I pass by sometimes very fast and other times very slow and steadily. I love the feeling of the wind pushing at my bike or the tires barely able to spin on a long and arduous rocky climb as beads of sweat roll down my forehead. I love getting the glimpse of light hitting a mountain off in the distance just as I look back to the trail to stay upright and moving. It is the immediacy of cycling that I love. Riding a bike is an instant cure for me, a cure of anxiety, a cure of the mundane, and ultimately a cure of all physical and mental ailments. I very nearly lost my life over four years ago now due to an extreme carbon monoxide poisoning. The poison initially threatened my very life, and then threatened my personal identity, it threatened to take away my mental capacity and intrinsically who I am and have always been. I lost all form of motor function, I walked and talked as if I were extremely intoxicated and my thought processes were severely debilitated. Through all of the testing and medical practices that I went through, the real cure for me came in the form of two wheels, my first bicycle purchased since I was a child. My beautiful and thoughtful wife purchased a bicycle for me and ever since that moment my mind, spirit, and body has formed a new and powerful connection with my home, the landscape that surrounds me, and it brought back my physical self. The act of pedaling a bicycle brought back my motor skills and before long I was ripping around on technical single track in Banff with my good friend and long time cyclist Scott Felter. I was riding trails that I probably should not have been doing as a beginner but the bike gave and gives me confidence that I may not have in other aspects of my life. It gives me the feeling of being five again and not concerning myself with scrapes and bruises, it releases me from my mind wandering in this modern and busy world, it brings peace and wraps that peace right around my heart and gives me a sense of quiet like no other. I have explored the valley and mountains that I live in fairly extensively by bicycle now and am becoming more and more interested in going farther and farther into these mountains that I live in. Every time I ride a trail, no matter how many times I might have been on it before, even if it was only the day before, that trail is always new, always fresh. The mountains and conditions are constantly changing, sometimes I am hearing the sound of my studded tires digging into the packed ice and snow while the brisk cold and arctic air is forming frost on my beard and at other times the light is turning gold on the aspen leaves late in a northern evening summer while I ride through a montane meadow full of elk and the occasional black or grizzly bear bringing me to a halt and turning me back in the direction from which I came. Sometimes I am riding on a dry and dusty trail very early in the spring season, the snow has come off early and the glacier lilies and prairie crocus flowers are just on the edge of the single track that I am riding. Sometimes I go slow and sometimes I go fast, but what stays constant for me is the ultimate happiness that pedaling a bike produces, no matter what the weather or trail and road conditions might be. I love riding in sun, snow, rain, mud, wind whether it be against me or with me, I always love it and can’t wait to come home and tell my wife all about my adventures and what I saw on my ride. A bicycle cured me and I know it cures many, it is a tool that was created so purely and so creatively that it will live through any time period and always keep its popularity. It is by far the greatest human invention and will remain so in my opinion. I have immense thanks to give to my wonderful wife who got me into bike riding, for she gave the best gift one could ever receive, the gift of a new beginning, a new life. I also have my good friend Scott Felter to thank for teaching me the ropes of the bicycle and giving me tons of technical advice and for getting me out there, it is greatly and immensely appreciated. Below are photos of either me riding my bike, the trails and roads that I ride, or things that I have seen along the way.
