Learning a new sport can be intimidating.
It often feels like the ones already doing the sport have their own language and skills that you’ll never measure up to.
Take, for example, my short-lived venture in fly fishing.Talk about a learning curve!
Everyone sounded like Miss Othmar from Charlie Brown…
wanh wanh wanh wanh. I usually just nodded like I understood and then went and googled everything on my own or participated in ignorant bliss.
It was a short-lived passion -- I quit because I always felt bad pricking fish with a hook -- so I never got too deep in the culture. But for those few months, every time I turned around I needed a new piece of gear... a new reel, a new line, a new fly, the list goes on.
Mountain biking can feel a lot like that, too.
Even after 20 years of riding, I still respond with a blank stare when people ask me about the components on my bike.
I usually answer with, “I dunno… I just like to ride it.”
Candi Pennington
July 28, 2021
You’ve nailed it! Even for someone who’s been mountain biking as long as I have, there’s always new gear and information to explore and learn. Bravo on this!