On Pressure

We Americans are pumped. In mountain biking, running lower tire pressures means more traction, less wheel deflection from pesky objects in your path, and a smoother all-around ride. The danger of running low tire pressures is that if you’re riding too hard or fast you could flat a tire and possibly even crash. We’re so afraid of failure, or merely falling behind the Joneses, that we’re running our lives at incredible pressures. Going flat out every day, we’re wired up and fired up, and the toll on our daily existence is high. We’re skidding all over the road, the slightest bump will whack our nervous system off-kilter, and the general “ride quality” of our lives? In a word — rough.

The rub of it all is that most of this stress isn’t external, governed by the whims of society or fate. There’s no mildly-drunk great bike tech in the sky jacking up our PSI to whatever maximum value nature and/or nurture has written on our metaphorical sidewall. The hand on the pump is ours, and we can choose to let some air out any time we want to. I find that mountain biking, and getting outdoors in general, helps provide perspective on life if one is willing to simply slow down and listen. Drop a little bit of pressure from your tires and from your life, and see where it leads you. I think you’ll enjoy the ride.

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