I started riding seriously and regularly sometime around ‘94. Never really lost any drive to be out as much as possible and progressing until my early 30’s when I experienced illness and a bout of injuries that persisted into my 40’s. Those breaks between recoveries resulted in me addressing some things in my life that I really needed to (adult type shit). The riding I did get to do between injuries was never taken for granted despite at times wondering if I should call it quits. That period launched a phase of riding alone that I’d not experienced in a long time. I needed that to remember that this activity is primarily for me. I learned to love solo missions for that. Now in my mid 40’s (ok, 47 soon) I’m still battling injuries and a chronic illness; the injuries both an outcome of that that but also the repercussions of a lifetime of hard sessions (skateboarding and MTBing). As I’ve built back and learned to adapt, my love of riding is now close to the strongest it’s ever been. Maybe that’s in part the result of some mid-life anxiety and the need to ‘soak it up while I still can’ but more so, because I realized that the passion had somehow endured and returned stronger after some really hard times. Every moment I decide to go out is now cherished and if I’m not up to it any given day, I don’t go...no pressure.
Nov. 16, 2021, 9:58 p.m. - Mike Kittmer
I started riding seriously and regularly sometime around ‘94. Never really lost any drive to be out as much as possible and progressing until my early 30’s when I experienced illness and a bout of injuries that persisted into my 40’s. Those breaks between recoveries resulted in me addressing some things in my life that I really needed to (adult type shit). The riding I did get to do between injuries was never taken for granted despite at times wondering if I should call it quits. That period launched a phase of riding alone that I’d not experienced in a long time. I needed that to remember that this activity is primarily for me. I learned to love solo missions for that. Now in my mid 40’s (ok, 47 soon) I’m still battling injuries and a chronic illness; the injuries both an outcome of that that but also the repercussions of a lifetime of hard sessions (skateboarding and MTBing). As I’ve built back and learned to adapt, my love of riding is now close to the strongest it’s ever been. Maybe that’s in part the result of some mid-life anxiety and the need to ‘soak it up while I still can’ but more so, because I realized that the passion had somehow endured and returned stronger after some really hard times. Every moment I decide to go out is now cherished and if I’m not up to it any given day, I don’t go...no pressure.