schnauzers.ws

I was reading a thread in the Passion forum a few weeks back, about how life changes and few things remain consistent. I am paraphrasing, but I was intrigued with the author’s view of friendship and how it had changed over the years he was riding. Relocating to various parts of the country, meeting new people, losing touch with other people, growing older, developing differences among those you knew. I couldn’t help but realize how true this all was and that the one consistency that existed, was going on a ride. Faces and names had changed, but the passion for putting a wheel on the dirt was still there.

I think back on my years of mountain biking, from it’s humble beginnings on the flat trails of Southern New Jersey, to riding a singlespeed in the mountains of Colorado. Dirt. Plain and simple. The one thing that brings the locations together.

The dirt makes me happy. It always has, yet I have had some mixed feelings about the friends I have made, lost, and found again. I appreciate all of the rides we had together and I miss some of them. I don’t know that they feel the same way about me, but that is life.

Today, I went on a nice long ride with some of my newer friends, in a location that has brought out the best and worst in me.

We passed a couple of cars parked near a new trailhead off of 543 and I started to think about some of the “worsts”.

These were people with whom I shared good times with. People with whom I shared mutual friends with. I started to feel a little sad about it.  Sad about how the friendship was lost. I didn’t see them, because they were probably flagging things out in the hills. If I did, I think I would have apologized. Easy to say when you don’t come face-to-face, but the feeling was there.

Then I ran into a few people with whom I have met over the years, while living in Colorado. Some who were friends with the people in the paragraph above. Some that I was downright rude to in the past. Yet, we were happy to see each other. Remembering names and exchanging a friendly greeting. It made me smile. There is a redeeming quality to the dirt. Is this my salvation? Did it take all these years to have an effect? I am confused, but I like the outcome.

Now I sit here at my desk, writing my thoughts in this blog. I am thinking about all of those people I have had good and bad times with. Then, I think about the bike and the dirt. I am trying to put it all together. What were the reasons I lost touch with so many people? What was the commonality? This could drive a person mad. Then it hits me! It wasn’t the riding that caused the differences. It was the other activities I thought would make the riding better. I won’t get into the detail of what they were. For now, I will focus on the one commonality that feeds my need for friendship. Riding.

Thank you Tim and Stephanie for the enlightening singlespeed experience, today. You may not know what was going though my head, but it certainly helped to be riding with friends.