A conversation with Adam last night reminded me of a ride that Rebecca and I did last summer. We went camping at Hanging Rock State Park in Central North Carolina. We took our mountain bikes and headed over to "Moores Springs" trailhead. I later recorded the following in my Journal for June 23, 2018:
...I got a
recommendation from a guy who just finished the trail – he said counter clockwise
was a good direction, and that we could do all three trails ["Original Loop", "Land of the Lost", and "Major Tom"], and then reverse
direction and do them all clockwise, depending on how long we wanted to go. He
also mentioned that there were some good technical sections. We launched and
found the trail to be like many in North Carolina, with roots and hills and
gullies, but quite a few more rocks than in the Raleigh area. There were a
number of places where rocks had been placed, either as “features” or as
crossings over historically muddy spots. These were a bit challenging to ride.
In some cases the flow of the trail was pretty nice and it was possible to use
momentum and lift cleanly over obstacles. I was concerned about how Rebecca was
doing – because of her broken toe, her knee injury and her previous crash at
RTP, which undermined her confidence. She walked over the majority of the rock
sections and slowed her speed significantly on the fast downhill sections, which
then required more time and effort on the subsequent uphill portions. I mostly
waited for her at the top, where the trail crested after a down-up segment, and
sometimes waited at technical sections to make sure she got through all right,
or to offer encouragement. But she clearly lacked confidence to push through
the technical sections or maintain enough speed to make it easier.
We did all three loops, with a fun, fast set of downhill
switchbacks that ended up taking a while for Rebecca to complete. When we
finally finished and I got back to the car, I noted that the ride took about an
hour and 40 minutes, but my moving time was just an hour (meaning I spent a
total of 40 minutes waiting along the way).
As Rebecca re-joined me at the car she had a pained look on
her face – partly from the rigor of the long ride, partly from the pain in her
neck, but mostly from the realization that just like on a previous trip down
the Rush trail in Corner Canyon, she had completed the whole ride with her
front and rear suspension locked out.
We discussed how often there are challenges in life, as well
as tools and aids to smooth out the rough spots and make the journey more
enjoyable. But if we forget, neglect, or reject those aids, we may find that
we’re taking a beating in life instead of enjoying the challenge. The aids that
come to mind for me are:
- Daily study, prayer and communion with God;
- Sabbath day observance;
- Hearing and responding to the Holy Ghost;
- Eating healthy and avoiding bad stuff;
- Enjoying the company and fellowship of good friends;
- Looking for good in others;
- Forgiving others
No comments:
Post a Comment