Beaming

My school has a great photography / media program, and this year, one of their projects is to interview teachers and administrators and to take videos of our answers. Then, on the Friday of each week, we present the video to our classrooms, in an effort to help the students get to know the staff. Clever idea, and I was fortunate enough to be the first one interviewed.

This past week, one of our counselors in student services was interviewed. He was once in charge of our school’s leadership program, and as such, he is well spoken, dynamic, and very popular with the student population. When I saw that he was being interviewed, I really looked forward to his answers to the questions, and I was not disappointed.

I could bring up many of the things he said, since it was such a good speech, but what really struck me was his answer to the question: If you could have a superpower, what would it be? My answer, which turns out to be a common one, was to be able to fly. He said that he would not be comfortable with flying, since he was afraid of heights (I think I can relate to this answer, actually). Instead, he would like to be able to transport instantaneously from one location to another, and he even made reference to Star Trek, saying it would be like being beamed using a teleporter.

The reason he wanted this particular power was so that he could travel instantly to the most beautiful natural locations that the world has to offer. He happens to be quite the outdoorsman, and as such, he is really into camping, canoeing, and hiking … not to mention mountain biking, which is why I respect him so much.

His idea had me thinking while I was biking back home from school that day. And it soon became clear that I had to agree with him. I would rather have the ability to teleport, much more than the ability to fly. (This happens to me all the time. I come up with an answer with great confidence, and then someone else offers an alternative answer and I realize that their answer is so much better than mine. This is why I am a teacher, by the way. I have very few good ideas of my own, but instead, I am happy to share the great ideas and contributions of others.)

But the reason I want to able to beam to other places at will is a bit different than this school counselor’s reason. My motivation is less about being beamed to a remote natural location (as appealing as that is), but it is more about being beamed away from a situation.

One of my biggest fears when I go mountain biking in the mountains is the possibility of meeting up with a bear. I know that the chances are quite small, and the most likely result of such a meeting is that the bear will be scared and run away from me. But a small chance is still a chance, and when I am in the bush, my mind is consumed by this possibility. And I am terrified by it.

So, how cool would it be if, upon encountering a bear on a singletrack with nowhere to hide, I could simply will myself to beam back home, bike and all, and arrive completely unscathed and healthy. That would be amazing! I would be way more relaxed while I ride, and I would enjoy the experience so much more. And I would be willing to go on excursions into really distant and remote trails, all by myself, and delight in the natural surroundings in all their glory. Wow, that would be such a dream come true.

But even apart from this, I would love this superpower even for the local rides I do around Edmonton. One of the big dangers of riding for hours away from the house is experiencing a mechanical problem with the bike or having a big crash, rendering me unable to ride. I do not ride with a phone, and so when my bike is inoperable or my body is in great pain, I still have to find a way to get home on my own. So, inevitably, I have to walk my bike home, which I have done many times, or I have to ride my bike in an injured state (one time, I had to ride 2 hours to get home, after seriously cracking my ribs in a terrible crash). But to be able to instantly transport home? What a dream come true!!

So yes, when my trek becomes far too dangerous or I am seeing stars after a crash, beam me home, Scotty.

Backed up logic

All I did was bring my gloves up to the main landing of our house, and when I laid them on the floor, I felt the dreaded twinge in my lower back. Dammit!!!

I figured that my bike ride was done and over with, and I was about to change my plans and get on the stationary bike (because let me tell you, biking was going to happen, one way or the other!!!). But the pain subsided quite quickly, and pretty soon, there was only a tightness there. So, I proceeded to do some deep knee bends, over and over again, while assessing how my lower back responded to them. And it seemed okay.

Decisions, decisions. I suppose a wise person would have taken the safer path, choosing to do the stationary bike, knowing that at any moment the lower back pain flares up, then I could simply get off the bike and proceed to heal.

But no one has ever accused me of being wise, especially when it comes to biking. To me, pain is an inherent part of biking and its presence does not necessarily spell the end of a ride. On many occasions, I have been surprised to find the pain would dissipate as I pushed the pedals, suggesting some sort of cycling panacea, and I figured that I had to give my body a chance to heal itself and restore its health while I have fun on the trails.

So, my decision was made, especially when I was able to haul my fat bike up the stairs and deposit it at the front door. I mean, if I could do that, then certainly I could handle the rigours of fat biking on the snowy trails. (Like I said, bike and wisdom are mutually exclusive in my world.)

I raced out the door before I did too much thinking, since that might spell the end of my outdoor biking opportunity. And it was beautiful out there, with fresh new snow and quite mild winter temperatures (-12 degrees can be considered mild when we have been through temperatures dipping to -40 degree wind chill!). So I was on the bike and pedaling into a head wind, pain-free, thought-free, wisdom-free.

It was a risk, no doubt about it, and for the first 2 hours, it seemed to have paid off. I was riding fine, albeit quite terribly in the dry powder with absolutely no traction, and there were no more twinges in my lower back area, even when I had to do some big pushes up steep hills. I felt vindicated with every glimpse of snow-filled trees and with every successful navigation of a portion of the singletrack path.

But when I emerged from my trails and was crossing 34 Street to move over to the other trails, I could feel a tightness in my lower back again. I stopped for a bit so I could eat my frozen sandwich (there is nothing better than frozen peanut butter and honey … well, maybe anything is better than this, but it was still nutritious and provided me with much needed energy). While eating it, I moved my legs around, did some torso twists, and I even stamped my feet on the ground, all in the attempt to ascertain how much damage there was.

There was no doubt that I had injured my back in the process of my ride, and again, a cautious rider would immediately return home and begin the rehabilitation process. But I am not most riders, and I am certainly not a cautious rider. I was going to keep on riding.

Here was my logic (if you can call it that … maybe rationalization is better). My back was already toast, and whether I rode further or not, I would have to go through the same rehab. So, why not get as much riding in as I can, and then, when I returned home, I would have to hang up my gloves and cycling shoes and work on getting better. Fool proof logic, right? Or was that foolhardy?

Regardless, I got back on that bike and hit the trails. I got in an extra 1.5 hours of riding, and I enjoyed much of it. And on the way home, as a big middle finger to the medical industry (and to rational thought), I even pulled a couple of wheelies. I mean, why not? I was throwing caution to the wind, so why not have some fun in the process?

So, here I am at home, writing in my blog. My posture is extra good, and my right foot is only slightly numb. I am actually healing up pretty well. At first I had trouble walking around after sitting for a significant period of time, but now, my walk almost looks human. And when I look in the mirror, my torso is not disfigured with a scoliosis-like curvature in my spine, caused by tightened back muscles to protect my spine.

All ‘s well that ends well, right? Hey, be careful when you shake your head so vociferously. You could hurt your neck!