Grab a helmet and some pads, you might get a splinter.
Friend posted a thing on her blog about how some rocks got removed from one of her favorite mountain biking trails, apparently because somebody complained about the rocks being "too hard" to go over. (I'm paraphrasing, I wasn't there for the conversation and if I had been, somebody whiny would've gotten smacked and I would probably be in some form of detainment facility at this point)
Isn't that the whole point of having a bicycle with big poofy tires and 30 gears to choose from? Riding over HARD things?
There are indeed bikes made specifically for riding over very smooth, even, non-bumpy, un-rock-strewn places. Go get one of those and stay away from the dirt if you can't handle a rock or two.
There's a reason some obstacles are really, really hard. It's so that as you get better at riding over obstacles, you can continue to improve by finding harder, more technical (and more fun) obstacles to ride over. It's how you get better. It's how you improve your skills. It's how you progress as a rider and as a person. The willingness and ability to work at something until you get better is one of the hallmarks of being a human. Yes, you may have to look like a weenie and walk around the big rocks at first, but hey, we all crawl before we walk before we run. And trust me, I know we all fall at least once on that journey. Sometimes with painful consequences. I know I have some scars, but luckily I don't scar very easily so there aren't a lot of testaments to some of the really dumb things I have attempted. Most of these dumb things were the result of successfully completing the previous level of dumb thing, so I progressed up the dumb scale quite proficiently. This has led to a proficiency and willingness to try and maybe fail in other areas of my life that leave me ready and willing to try things most others walk away from. This is a big plus in my work, where dumb things are sometimes essential and failure costs real companies real money, time and reputation. Seat of the pants flying sometimes leads to severely abused pants seats. But when you get it right, the feeling is like no other.
All of this makes me sad for the people that, for whatever reason, felt the need to remove some rocks on a trail because they couldn't just ride right over them. I can't understand that. Even if I never made it over those rocks, I would completely admire the people that could/had and I would never stop trying. Maybe not every time I encountered them (sometimes you really just need to walk around), but by golly some days you just need to slay a few dragons. And sometimes those dragons eat you, because you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup (as Scott Adams says). Even if the dragon gets me, I know I'm going down fighting and I will most certainly give him indigestion and heart burn to the best of my abilities. (I will totally bleed all over those damn rocks!)
And the other thing I know is that I will get back up after I fall. It may take longer now that I am old and fat, but I will drag my bruised, bloodied, pain filled carcass back up eventually and I will charge (eventually) back into whatever it was that knocked me down because I really, really want to know if I can do it. "It" being whatever "it" was I was trying. Maybe eventually I will finally just let it go. Everybody has limits, truly.
I guess I'll never understand the "move the rocks" mentality. If you move the rocks, how do you ever beat the obstacle? If you keep moving rocks in all areas of your life, how do you know what you are capable of? And above all, who are you to move the rocks for other people? Why is it you get to decide how much padding is applied to my life? Or her life? Or his life?
You know, rock movers, I am absolutely certain that on that trail, on any given day, there is at least one person that knows how to get over those rocks. This person is almost certainly (knowing how most mountain bikers are under those helmets) willing and happy to show you how to get over the rocks. They want you to get over the rocks, too. They want to see you progress and defeat the rocks like they have. They know you will fall a few times because the rocks aren't easy. They most likely fell many times themselves. Don't worry, I'm betting they have band-aids with them in the little bag under the bike seat or a jersey pocket. Even if you don't get over the rocks that day, you'll be better armed to try in the future. Will this enable you to solve world hunger, enact world peace, cure diseases or even just be a better human being? I don't know. That's all up to you. It will make you a better bike rider, at least as far as those rocks are concerned whether you make it over or not. And that's one thing better than you were when you strapped on your helmet this morning. So you've got that going for you, which is nice.
I guess I should feel bad for you, rock movers, that you feel the need to pad down other people's lives so that you don't feel badly about your own. That probably hurts your feelings or dents you self esteem or something, I know. And according to all that's holy to you and your kind, that would be wrong.
I don't care anymore. You and your self esteem and your spoiled kids and family can get over it.
Isn't that the whole point of having a bicycle with big poofy tires and 30 gears to choose from? Riding over HARD things?
There are indeed bikes made specifically for riding over very smooth, even, non-bumpy, un-rock-strewn places. Go get one of those and stay away from the dirt if you can't handle a rock or two.
There's a reason some obstacles are really, really hard. It's so that as you get better at riding over obstacles, you can continue to improve by finding harder, more technical (and more fun) obstacles to ride over. It's how you get better. It's how you improve your skills. It's how you progress as a rider and as a person. The willingness and ability to work at something until you get better is one of the hallmarks of being a human. Yes, you may have to look like a weenie and walk around the big rocks at first, but hey, we all crawl before we walk before we run. And trust me, I know we all fall at least once on that journey. Sometimes with painful consequences. I know I have some scars, but luckily I don't scar very easily so there aren't a lot of testaments to some of the really dumb things I have attempted. Most of these dumb things were the result of successfully completing the previous level of dumb thing, so I progressed up the dumb scale quite proficiently. This has led to a proficiency and willingness to try and maybe fail in other areas of my life that leave me ready and willing to try things most others walk away from. This is a big plus in my work, where dumb things are sometimes essential and failure costs real companies real money, time and reputation. Seat of the pants flying sometimes leads to severely abused pants seats. But when you get it right, the feeling is like no other.
All of this makes me sad for the people that, for whatever reason, felt the need to remove some rocks on a trail because they couldn't just ride right over them. I can't understand that. Even if I never made it over those rocks, I would completely admire the people that could/had and I would never stop trying. Maybe not every time I encountered them (sometimes you really just need to walk around), but by golly some days you just need to slay a few dragons. And sometimes those dragons eat you, because you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup (as Scott Adams says). Even if the dragon gets me, I know I'm going down fighting and I will most certainly give him indigestion and heart burn to the best of my abilities. (I will totally bleed all over those damn rocks!)
And the other thing I know is that I will get back up after I fall. It may take longer now that I am old and fat, but I will drag my bruised, bloodied, pain filled carcass back up eventually and I will charge (eventually) back into whatever it was that knocked me down because I really, really want to know if I can do it. "It" being whatever "it" was I was trying. Maybe eventually I will finally just let it go. Everybody has limits, truly.
I guess I'll never understand the "move the rocks" mentality. If you move the rocks, how do you ever beat the obstacle? If you keep moving rocks in all areas of your life, how do you know what you are capable of? And above all, who are you to move the rocks for other people? Why is it you get to decide how much padding is applied to my life? Or her life? Or his life?
You know, rock movers, I am absolutely certain that on that trail, on any given day, there is at least one person that knows how to get over those rocks. This person is almost certainly (knowing how most mountain bikers are under those helmets) willing and happy to show you how to get over the rocks. They want you to get over the rocks, too. They want to see you progress and defeat the rocks like they have. They know you will fall a few times because the rocks aren't easy. They most likely fell many times themselves. Don't worry, I'm betting they have band-aids with them in the little bag under the bike seat or a jersey pocket. Even if you don't get over the rocks that day, you'll be better armed to try in the future. Will this enable you to solve world hunger, enact world peace, cure diseases or even just be a better human being? I don't know. That's all up to you. It will make you a better bike rider, at least as far as those rocks are concerned whether you make it over or not. And that's one thing better than you were when you strapped on your helmet this morning. So you've got that going for you, which is nice.
I guess I should feel bad for you, rock movers, that you feel the need to pad down other people's lives so that you don't feel badly about your own. That probably hurts your feelings or dents you self esteem or something, I know. And according to all that's holy to you and your kind, that would be wrong.
I don't care anymore. You and your self esteem and your spoiled kids and family can get over it.