The following is from Pedro Del Busto, local McKinney TX rider.
It’s interesting that sometimes it takes the holidays, a new job, a life changing experience or something else to make you reflect and put things into perspective. Luckily for me, I do have the holidays and a significant life-event all rolled into the last 30 days to give me a reason to reflect and material to write about.
A few days ago, we finalized what has seemed like a never ending process of agreeing to move to Seattle – the actual move will happen in April, but all paperwork is signed. The headquarters for the company I work for is based there, and I hear the riding is pretty good (I don’t want to sound too enthusiastic about it in case my boss or wife read this and think this is the only reason I’m so excited to move).
Although we’ve been thinking about moving for a long time, it never got to more than talking about it for a few minutes and continuing with our lives in McKinney. So, I never really thought about not being in DFW and all that I would miss about it. Clearly, family and friends are at the very top of the list. But, as I shift my thoughts to cycling and how different it will be there, I realize how good we have it here. Not that I didn’t appreciate it before, but knowing that I won’t live here for much longer makes me appreciate it even more.
I’ll stick to Mountain Biking in the interest of brevity and relevance. Yes, DFW is flat, hot and all concrete. When we moved here, we knew that. Not knowing too much about the area personally, I remember going on www.dorba.org and asking where people thought I should live if I wanted easy access to decent trails, good schools, etc. I was overwhelmed with the amount of great feedback I received. Shortly after moving, I started riding as many of the nearby trails as I could. I met many people on the trail and was surprised with how friendly everyone was. 7 years in, I am happy to report that I still get that vibe from everyone I see out on the trails!
We have DORBA, and regardless of how you feel about current, past or future leadership, it is like nothing else in the country. We have upwards of 20 trails (correct me here fellows) that DORBA built, maintains or supports. What would we do in this urban jungle without those trails? We can complain about how our trails are being dumbed down for beginners and not really making us better riders (I know I do), but the reality is that any work being done on the trails is done in the interest of preserving the right to ride those trails. I cannot imagine going a day without checking the site or their Facebook page to see what’s happening, what trails are open, who’s new, who got a new bike and therefore are to blame for the rain.
We have The Spinistry. I don’t think I need to say too much about Kevin and the Spinistry because if you know them, you love what they do. If you don’t know what the Spinistry is or does, I’m sorry. Their events are world-class grassroots sufferfests with darn good food at the end. I’ve gotten to ride a lot of pretty cool routes and gather stories thanks to Kevin and the Spinistry.
We have Shawn and Texas Mountain Bike Trails here, who works really hard in creating and compiling useful and relevant content for the DFW mountain biker. Shawn also has great grass-roots racing series in the summer along with a couple of other events like Rudolph’s Revenge (January 26th) coming up.
Our community is great and even though we may disagree sometimes, I think we all realize how lucky we are to be part of such an active and passionate group. So, as we enter into the New Year and we plan our rides and races, let’s remember to be grateful for all the volunteers and the countless hours that go into trail building and maintenance, running a race and organizing a ride. Let’s remember to be thankful for our trails and those who allow us to play on their land. Let’s be thankful for our LBS and the employees there for putting up with our nonsense all year and making it so easy to spend money there. Let’s be thankful for each other and our friendships, and for how hard we push and motivate and support each other.
Sometimes, it’s not about being fast or efficient, about training or winning… sometimes we need to stop and look at how good we really have it.
Happy New Year!
