Mountain Biking

I rode for the first time in about a year with Cong and Sunny yesterday in the Santa Monica hills. It's nice to be outdoors doing a healthy activity. My bike needs some repair. Hopefully, I can get that done during Spring break and ride it more often.

I bought my first bicycle when I was in college. It was a $60 Huffy Backwater from K-Mart, and it weighs close to 40 pounds. My buddies and I make fun of it, but it's a good bike. "The Huff" features a kick-stand that is unavailable in most high-end bikes. I actually completed an off-road triathlon with it. I still have it.

A year ago, it was time to upgrade. I splurged and bought the Trek 6000 above. It's an awesome ride. After only a couple of practice runs, I used it in an off-road triathlon. It's a rookie mistake, and I paid for it by crashing. Luckily, I was okay. More importantly, the bike was okay. Despite some nasty injuries, I completed the race. A big motivator for me was that I wanted to prove to my students that quitting isn't always an option. A mentor once told me that quitting is only difficult the first time, after that, one gets used to it and it can become habitual. Lance Armstrong famously wrote in his book, It's Not About the Bike, that "Pain is temporary, quitting is forever." I often persuade my students to not quit, and to not give up. I've shared these quotes, and pictures of my injuries, with them. I also find it interesting that quitting is almost always an option, and at some level, quitting always works. But to be strong, one mustn't chose what's easy and available. Dig deep.