Lessons from mountain biking

Today was my first mountain biking ride of the season in Wisconsin.  A few things I told myself as I went along seemed like good advice for a nutritarian.  Mountain biking is all about riding over obstacles--well that's what makes it challenging and addictive--it's also about enjoying the pretty scenery.  I got some good advice a few weeks in Florida and that is to think about where you want to go, not where you don't want to go.  So if you are riding on a narrow plank, think about the center of the plank, not falling off the plank.  Or if you want to thread some rocks, focus on the path you want to take, not the path that runs you into the rocks.  That's probably good advice for a nutritarian too.  Some people might get motivation from thinking about the diseases they want to avoid, but I'd rather think about how much I enjoy feeling good when I eat my food and contributing to good health with each bite.

Here's another thought I had on my ride:  I think I can overcome every obstacle on this ride.  By obstacle I mean the short steep climbs that usually come with rocks and tree roots and sometimes cause me to stop and walk.  Maybe I should make it my goal for this season to ride through every single obstacle.  On this particular ride, I think they are all doable for me.  Now I don't think I could ride through all of them on one single ride, but I bet by the end of the season I could have ridden through all of them at one time or another.  And I could aim to have that perfect ride too, and if that were to happen, I'd feel like an olympic athlete (we can all fantasize).     Well, for the next year, the 52nd year of my life which starts tomorrow, I'm going to aim for eating like a champ.  No SAD food.  But like in mountain biking, I'm not going to beat myself if I'm not perfect. If I fall, I'll just dust myself off, adjust the elbow pads and kneepads, and continue on.  It'll still be a good ride.