Chaotic Peace

 

I have never surfed the giant waves of Hawaii or the tiny waves of Rhode Island for that matter.

 I have never taken on the snowy mountain sides of Colorado or even the small hills of Hidden Valley Mo with a snowboard.

But I now get it. Without sounding like some trippy hippie I get the spiritual side of these endeavors. When I found Mountain Biking, as you have read in my earliest post it was to reconnect with the ten year old inside me, and to get some exercise.

 What I found was what I call a Chaotic Peace. I can understand a surfer and their views on the soul of a wave. Because you could possibly die out there if you do not know what you are doing (part of the reason I never surfed, I can’t swim extremely well) Yet ask a surfer and they will tell you it is relaxing, even with the work they put into it.

When I get on my mountain bike the Chaos is the constant shifting of both gears and body, pedaling your heart out to beat the next hill, adjusting to everything that comes your way, twists, turns, roots, rocks and drop offs, while the whole time trying to keep your body on your bike.

 

The peace comes once all of this chaos around you slows down, your bike and you become one machine cranking through the quiet of the woods, birds and the breeze singing a symphony all around you as your shoulders loosen and you take it to the trail.  

 

The greens and browns of your surroundings are all taken in even though you are in reality cruising by all of it. An Hour or two pass you by and it seems like only a short amount of time has expired. The ride is over and you now have to get back to the real world, but for a moment God has let you experience heaven on a dirt trail. And I cannot wait till the next few free hours so I can transport myself to the place I call my Chaotic Peace.