You gotta lean into it

I was awkward and uncomfortable when I first started riding my new mountain bike. I didn’t seem to have very much control. For some reason I couldn’t turn very well and was nervous about hitting large obstacles. I knew deep down that my bike could handle it but I sensed that I didn’t trust it.

On the Grand Loop in Cuyamaca, I repeatedly overshot the corners, unable to turn. Once, after pseudo-crashing into a dead tree, I sat and watched everyone zoom past. Later, I asked my brethren what I was doing different and the answer was simple:

You gotta lean into it.

It made perfect sense and the more I thought about it, the more I realized its how the whole world works.

First, how a bike works: You control your bike with the front wheel. If you lose traction with the front wheel, you can’t turn – no control. The more you lean back, the more your weight shifts off the wheel and the less traction you have.

Now, how life works: There is stuff in life we’re afraid of, so we lean back. Whether it’s a job interview, relationship or a sharp sandy turn at the bottom of a rocky descent, it scares us so we lean back. And by leaning back we lose control and our ability to land the job, date the girl or stick the corner.

Isn’t it funny how life works?

Lean into it.

Tagged as: Life, Mountain Biking