See this article and others in the Downtime Podcast EP1.
Words and photo: Pete Scullion
In the modern world, we can feel the pressure to make our rides worthy of note – constantly chasing altitude or distance goals, trying to get that shot for the ‘gram, or doing enough that we don’t feel left behind.
Social media peer pressure often leaves you disappointed during a ride because you’re not paying attention to why you started riding bikes in the first place.
In everything we do these days, we’re so tuned to quantity rather than quality that it takes an increasing amount of time to get our heads above the noise and see the truly unique things that are out there. All too often, we ride our bikes so that other people know we did, and that needs to stop. Part of the reason people fall out of love with anything is they start to feel like they’re doing it because they have to.
The first lockdown in 2020 taught me there was far more on offer than the trails I rode day in, day out and that exploring them would be a solid use of my daily exercise token. Time, distance and altitude seemed irrelevant. Early on during the lockdown, it simply meant more time to enjoy the stars that stretched across the horizon. The sky would rarely darken at the tail end, and I’d have nothing to come home for.
These kinds of rides have been vital to getting myself back to ‘normal’. We’re all so goddamn set on being high achievers, whether it’s in our future or not, that our rides become just a part of the routine rather than something wonder-ful in themselves. The entire reason we fell in love with bikes can be lost in making sense of the achievement of a ride. Care less about your Strava upload or Instabanger and take the ride for what it is. Practice your manuals, get better at wheelies, cutty into the loose gravel. You know the drill.
The next time you ride a bike, when someone asks, ‘Where are you going? How long will you be? Who are you going with’, consider answer-ing, ‘I don’t know’. The freedom we all enjoyed when we first took off our stabilisers is an often-cherished memory but a long-forgotten feeling. It’s time we reclaimed the rides that had no destination.
By Pete Scullion, an adventurer and photographer usually found on a peak somewhere far away.
If you enjoy reading this, you should check out the Downtime Podcast EP3. It’s got many features like it, plus loads more great mountain biking insight.
