Riding towards recovery

[Timothy B]

It's been a tumultuous time for me that is certain. Today is my last treatment day for chemotherapy and all reports back have been positive. The decision to be proactive in my treatment will effectively kill off any unseen cancerous cells that could have spread into my lymph nodes and into my body. Certainly a blessing in that it was caught in time.

To a lesser degree i've gone through life knowing of people that have succumbed to this horrible disease, my grandfather passed away from prostate cancer. Some persons i've known that have had cancer and have recovered, and some people whom i wasn't aware but through my pleas for support, i was made aware of their experience. It certainly is a disease it seems that effects most everybody. Seems like you would be a rare statistic if you've never had someone close to you at some point in your life that wasn't diagnosed.

Throughout the process especially in the beginning there was quite a bit of uncertainty. Obviously a big part of my life for me is biking and before the diagnosis it was certainly effecting my riding. Having an aggressively growing tumor for a testicle makes for an incredibly challenging obstacle in the saddle, and subsequent imflammation would manifest in significant lower back pain which was making riding nearly impossible.

Mountain Biking to me has always been a great source of freedom. When you are a kid and get your first bike, your capability to ride to your friends house was a great thing. No longer dependent on your parents having to drive you there, your territory expanding exponentially.

The simple joy of riding a bike as a kid looking for adventure be that gathering on the dead end road on a makeshift jump made from scrap plywood and old bricks to the simple pleasure of riding bikes in groups to get to a fun destination. Be that the sandpits where no adults were in earshot for whatever dirty jokes and/or new cuss words you could share, or a mission of blowing an allowance of quarters on a run down to town to blow on Pac-Man or Donkey Kong at the local quickie mart.

Certainly as i've grown many of the applications of living life as a Native American, i've really adopted and found mt. bikes an incredible embodiment of the Medicine Wheel. A significant symbol which can really be used as a tool or guide for self awareness. Coincidentally the goal is to achieve balance and since my Medicine Wheel has spokes, and the first fundamental requirement for riding requires physical balance, well it's been a perfect marriage for me.

Providing lessons mountain biking on the physical side has enhanced my awareness of my body and health. Everything from diet, to understanding my heart rate, knowing and challenging my cardio and athletic limits. Sometimes that has led to palpitations and broken bones, but in more ways than not, i have reaped so many physical benefits in cycling.

Lessons on the emotional side have been a constant intangible. From the joy of overcoming adversity, be that finishing a big ride or managing a tricky obstacle. The joy of camaradarie of sharing great trail with new and old friends. Mastering the assortment of fears which provide for the challenge of the backcountry or the adrenaline of the freeride trail.

Lessons on the spiritual side in the form of floating across track. The day you are so dialed you feel as if you are flying, and not the slightest thought disturbs you as you flow across the trail. To the quiet calm solitude of sitting on a mountain, feeling the wind and sun, and looking at the incredible expanse of creation laid before you, and from this time feeling so incredibly validated in your role among this Earth that is our Mother.

Lessons to the mental side where sometimes you actually have to get off the saddle and problem solve. How many times you thought for certain that you took a left here instead of a right, and now find yourself unraveling a puzzle, so that you can make it off the trail before darkness. To the occasional mechanical you have to sort through, to the intangible incredibly complicated lessons from advocacy that await the few who sacrifice, and apply creative ideas and firm knowledge to the many causes and challenges this relatively new recreation face.

These are all carried over to lessons in challenges that occur in my case for now Cancer, as you can disseminate all these lessons in everyday life. When you are not balanced you will pay some kind of price. And for me mt. biking is inexorably linked and essential to my recovery from Cancer. i am certainly grateful for my opportunity to share more time on this world, i am quite aware of how lucky i am when compared to the many folk who struggle with this disease whose prospects are poor. Many who become sickly and who bravely journey forth knowing that their time is short. It is with this understanding this lesson in my life has me returning again to mt. biking with renewed vigor. We all are afforded a great gift in having a life to live, and from this i am afforded a moment of clarity. It is from this i will endeavor to remember and appreciate and rejoice.

How appropriate the path of living parallels the lessons we learn in actively living. The rewards that cycling affords, all within reason and balance of course. Be they tangible or intangible it's always good to have the capacity to identify lessons and learn. There are so many twists and turns on the trail and they can all be a reminder to acknowledge that living life is an opportunity and therefore cause for celebration.

[Greg B]

This is all news to me, being a newbie to Got Singletrack. Not being a newbie to Skookums wise words, I have to be relieved to say that I'm thankful you are mending.

I have lost many family members to cancer. It robs so many people of a full life. We're all so lucky that you are still with us. Get stronger, and we'll ride this next year.