From Dirt to Dreams: A riders journey of letting go

This one’s about letting go. I recently upgraded from my old Santa Cruz v4 Nomad to the latest V6 frame. Instead of tackling challenging mountain trails, I decided to explore my local trail system, located just 18 miles from my house. If you’ve been following my journey, you’ll know that I invested thousands of hours during COVID in transforming this trail system. I constructed an entire flow trail complete with jumps and berms. This endeavor significantly elevated the quality of riding in the area, inspiring riders to go bigger, faster, and more aggressively. It even led to the formation of a local youth mountain biking league.

Time Away and Unexpected Challenges

Fast forward a few years, and my work as a specialty welder in the energy sector had me traveling extensively. I spent a lot of time away from home and had little opportunity to return to my local trails. About a month ago, I made a brief return, which ended in disaster as I broke my old alloy Nomad bike frame attempting a drop I had created at the end of the trail system. A mysterious rock had been placed in my path, damaging my bike. Sorting out the frame issue consumed the next month.

An Unwelcome Surprise

Returning to the trails with my new frame, I felt a sense of melancholy. As I took my usual route to the flow trail, I was greeted by a disheartening sight. The downhill section I had meticulously crafted, complete with playful jumps I called “trail candy,” was in ruins. The berms I had built, with their wooden lumber backs, were stripped bare. The jumps, once solid clay and rock constructions, were crumbling. It was as if a once-thriving civilization had fallen to decay.

Lessons Learned: Letting Go and Moving Forward

As I continued my ride, I encountered similar deterioration throughout the trail. Features were eroded, jumps were bare, and it all felt incredibly precarious. Even a jump I had repaired a month prior was tampered with again. The unsettling feeling lingered throughout the ride, and by the end, I realized that my era at this trail system had come to a close. This experience taught me the importance of letting go and accepting that the trails I had poured my heart into were no longer mine to control.

I contemplated the past, recognizing that my initial efforts were driven by my desire to create a place where I could enjoy riding. While others benefited from my work, it was, at its core, about fulfilling my own needs. And now, with my impending return to the mountains, I realize that the effort I invested in the trails here has prepared me for a new chapter. The place I’m going appreciates and requires the kind of dedication I can provide, and it feels like I’m rejoining my mountain biking community at just the right time.

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