Falls, Spills & Getting Up

I have never really played sports. Not the type that people seem to care about, anyway. I did play sports where the underlining philosophy was "when you get hurt" not "if you get hurt."

The phrase, if you didn't know, goes something like this - "What are you going to do _____ you get hurt?"

"If" comes from sports like baseball, basketball or soccer. Sure, you can get hurt pretty badly doing ANY activity, but, most kids don't walk away with life-altering injuries. Else little-league would totally be shut down, amiright? Even football, which has a higher "if" - and higher and higher with people suddenly realizing you can't smack your brain around too much without suffering deadly or life-altering situations - still remains an "if."

"When" comes from sports like hockey and equestrian sports. The odds of you taking a hit and not getting back up is probably on the higher end. All "extreme" sports fall under this, too. You are probably not going to "walk off" the field and you probably are not going to return to the sport with any ease.

Cycling is one of those sports with a "when." 

Now, before you lock up your kid's equipment and ban the precious cherubs from ever engaging in these "when" sports - there is a lot to be learned from "when."

There are a number of lessons in life you learn when you play a "when" sport. At least, in my opinion - 'cause it's my blog. Here they are:

• You understand that courage means something more than "give it your best." It is actually looking at the worst thing that ever happened and making a decision to do it again assuming you'll get different results.
• You learn to act or not act - you learn never to hesitate (that will almost always result in disaster).
• You need to be able to think four steps ahead - you need to be able to quickly predict everyone's actions and behaviors and maneuver yourself in a matter of seconds.
• You must learn how to be uncomfortable. You learn to play through some pain.
• You learn how to rest - too many people power through injury or play scared and that will only result in failure. You learn to rest, to take it easy to recover. 
• You must always be paying attention and focused at all times.
• You learn not to panic because panic will kill you faster than any action out there.
• You must focus on skill and technique to keep yourself and others safe.
• You must be resilient.
• You learn to respect fear - not in the irreverent way it is depicted on t-shirts - but as something to acknowledge, listen to or power through. 
• You learn to take a hit. 

So, I took a hit. I did have to peel out the gravel from my arm, that was about the worst of it. I fell because I stopped moving and I couldn't get my feet unclipped. This is a pretty common when it comes to biking. 

This is a few days after - here is my knee. I didn't have a matching bar-bruise on the other side of my leg. 

Here is my elbow - hardly anything to write home about.

Still can't wait to get back on the bike! You gotta get up. You need to get up to continue or get up to be standing - life lesson.