A_M _B_2015_02_03_

http://www.ambmag.com.au - 19

Need to get something off your chest? Got

a riding issue you just can’t get your head

around? Go on, send us a cool letter and

we’ll do our best to answer it.

LETTERS

Hey AMB,

For the last year or so, other interests have taken
precedence over mountain biking. The other
day I stopped to ask myself ‘why?’. Why would I
suddenly stop participating in a sport that used
to take every extra moment of thinking, every
spare half an hour I had after work and every
single weekend? The answer surprised me in its
simplicity: I stopped having fun.

Somewhere along the way, I stopped enjoying
myself and I got competitive. Now I’m not saying
competition is bad, not at all! What I am saying
is that for me, I started concentrating more
on Strava times and catching up to those guys
who passed me on the trail. Instead of actually
enjoying my ride. It stopped being a way for me
to relax and unwind, and so I moved on to other
things.

Now that’s all changing. When I see a picture
in one of your mags, it fills me with a sense of
longing to be outside on the trail again. When I
drive past a feature in the landscape I’ve again
started to think to myself ‘is that rideable?’. For
some crazy reason that perhaps only riders will
understand, I’ve even started to miss that feeling
that you get from limping through the doors to the

emergency ward in your riding gear, covered in

blood and dirt and feeling like a badass.

So I think the message is clear. I’ve given it some

time. I’ve got my priorities straight. It’s time to get

on my bike again. I’m coming back!

Dan

Hi Dan,

Thanks for writing in. I think you’ve summed up the

kind of ebb and flow that many riders experience

with riding. Sometimes it comes with the seasons,

other times with mates who you are riding with,

and of course it comes from whether you’re truly

relaxing when riding. We’re all stoked to hear you’re

pumped to ride again.

WINNING LETTER

Dear AMB,

For a long time I have picked up your magazine at

the nearest newsagent and devoured every article

from cover to cover. Late last year I finally took the

leap and bought my own mountain bike, a Giant

Trance 27.5. Thrilled with my purchase, and armed

with months of studying the various techniques in

your magazine and the on-line lessons available,

I tried some of the trails in Hong Kong where I

work. A few months ago, whilst back with my

family in Brisbane, I was out taking a gentle ride

on my motorbike around Mt. Coo-tha, after brunch

with a mate. An SUV driver was distracted by her

children and her mobile phone, and initiated a

U-turn just as I was near her.

Two months on from the accident my left limb,

following a below the knee amputation, is still

busy healing. I think it is easy to be swallowed up

LETTERS

by events like this, but with the amazing help and

support from my family, and also friends, I am

determined to get back to work (I am an airline

pilot), and also back on my mountain bike. The

time in hospital has not been unproductive, and I

have researched many prosthetic web sites, but

just today I included “amputee mountain biking”

in my search, and found a few American sites, but

nothing in Australia.

I am 57, and not trying be a Jack Moir, I just

want to get out and enjoy the outdoors on fire

trails and approved tracks, and wondered,

through the wide reaches of your magazine,

if there are any other amputees who have

successfully got “back in the saddle”, and how

they approached it? If there was sufficient

interest, perhaps one day you might even devote

an article to the perceived challenges and ways

to overcome them.

In the meantime I will continue to read your

magazine from cover to cover (or from beginning

to end, as my subscription is now on my iPad!).

Best regards,

Keith Fincham

Brisbane

Hi Keith,

Thanks so much for writing in. Mountain biking

offers so much to so many – and it’s rarely just

about what makes it onto the cover. Perhaps the

best known amputee to do a lot of mountain biking

would be Michael Milton. The man is unstoppable,

certainly skiing faster than just about anyone – and

he wouldn’t be too far behind on his MTB too. Check

out his website: michaelmilton.com.

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