...as soon as you hit the trail it’s just you, fresh air and the ride ahead. All my other thoughts disappear, I’m present and just me. ​​​

​Growing up I was always a pretty active kid with dreams of being a professional soccer player but as time went by my priorities in life change. Like most people, my focus changed into striving to achieve good grades, getting into university and finding a corporate job. It was during the corporate life that I found I had lost more desire to explore and became caught up in the rat race. I was caught up in working too hard and wanting to please people that I forgot about who it was I wanted to be. 9 -5 became 24x7 and I didn’t know how to switch off from “work work work” mode. It was at this point that I realised I needed to change my lifestyle and decided that as a part of this I would get out and explore the outdoors.

​It started as a hikes on the weekend. I would look forward to the weekends where we would drive to the national park, pack the sandwiches and snacks and then set out for the day. It was a great escape and allowed me to switch off, be present and focus inward. After some time, a few friends started mountain biking and in typical millennial spirit I got FOMO. So I splashed out some money, bought a mountain bike and out on the trails we went. The first bike ride was hard. My butt was sore, I had to concentrate on pushing my weight back and the climb up the hills really made you feel the burn in your thighs. Surprisingly I persevered through this and have really come to enjoy the weekend rides.

​For me, the best part of mountain bike riding is that as soon as you hit the trail it’s just you, fresh air and the ride ahead. All my other thoughts disappear, I’m present and just me. ​​