The term Zen is ubiquitous, and more often than not misused. There is a "Zen of" just about everything. According to Gavin Rossdale and Bush, Everything is Zen
If you ask people what Zen is, you will never get a straight answer. Some people say it is Buddhism, some say it's not, some have strange ideas of what it truly is.
For me, mountain biking cultivates Zen, it leads to a very Zen state whether you want it to, whether you realize it, or not.
Zen requires discipline, and mountain biking, even if it's just an occasional hobby, requires discipline. You have to keep your bike maintained, or it will fail at the worst time. You have to keep your mind on the trail, or you will crash. You have to gut it out and make it up that climb, so you can reap the sweet rewards of the downhill. You have to make sure you have your helmet, shoes, food, water, or you show up at the trailhead and have to turn around and go home.
For the purposes of this blog post, let's say Zen is just being; no thinking, no mind, no you, no "I." Mountain Biking seems to be one of the closest ways to reach that Zen state. You have to be focused, present, your mind cannot be thinking about anything but what you are doing.
How often have you had to tell the story, or heard someone tell the story, of how they crashed in the parking lot, or on the easy part of the trail, or when they are just messing around? That is the universe smacking you down for not paying attention to the present moment, for not being mindful of the least of your actions. Your mind thinks about what you are gonna do later, or what happened earlier, and next thing you know, BAM, you are on the ground. That is the universe saying WAKE UP and pay attention to NOW.
Do you know those days when you are "on"? When you lose yourself in the trail, it's no longer you riding a bike on a trail, it's just youbiketrailearthworld. You hit each turn perfectly, you flow like a river effortlessly, you nail each drop and each step-up? That, to me is Zen.
There is that point when you are no longer thinking, you are just doing. You're focused on the trail and then the focus melts away and it becomes you and your bike riding the earth, then it just becomes that magical special moment that human words cannot seem to accurately describe, where you forget there is a "you”, a “bike,” or a “trail." There is no job, no bills, no crisis, no
"then" and no "later," there is just NOW.
It doesn't always happen, but when it does, it is what makes a really really good ride into The Best Ride Ever.
And what happens when you have planned for your epic riding vacation, and injury, bike woes, weather, trail clousures, or whatever happens and you don't get to ride? What happens when your plans are shot and you are forced to do something you hadn't planned on doing? The acceptance of things not going your way, but working out in a way you didn't expect, knowing that you cannot control anything but your own actions and thoughts, that is Zen.
We hope you get to come to Fruita to ride your mountain bike, or road bike, or both. We hope, as you are riding the smooth flowy trails up at 18 Rd or the rocky and super scenic Kokopeli Trails in Loma, or the techy fun stuff in Tabeguache, you have a Zen moment, and you have the super best ride EVER.
Because that, more than doing the hokey pokey and turning yourself around, is what it's all about.
Come ride with us.