You know those kids who truly believe that if they try hard enough, they can actually fly?
Well, I was one of those. In my dreams I could do it, so there must be some way to make it happen, right? Well, as you might have guessed, it never did.
Funny thing is, having my dream of flying squashed at a young age didn't deter me from dreaming big. My whole life has been a series of "I can do this" notions followed by my best attempt at completing whatever I signed on for.
Why not play varsity volleyball in university even though I hadn't played since Grade 7? Why not go tree planting when I'd slept in a tent five times before? Why not ride the GranFondo even though I'd never ridden a road bike?
I guess you could just say I have difficulty resisting appealing yet challenging options.
But when I arrived in Squamish 16 months ago, I quickly realized it's not really the place to say "I can do this" unless you mean it.
Don't say you can climb if you've done it indoors twice five years ago someone will invite you and quickly realize you don't know the difference between a crux and a cliff.
Don't say you can mountain bike because you had your training wheels removed early you will end up on Powerhouse Plunge wondering which of these roots (pun intended) is the supposed way down.
So last summer when I looked up and realized skiing was over, I decided to try mountain biking. I figured it's kind of the summer version of skiing - finding the best route and having the confidence to go for it.
I had a small team of supporters who were kind enough to ruin their day of biking by taking me with them and by the end of the summer, I felt somewhat competent.
That competent feeling must have been running high when I decided I would sign up for the famous 67-kilometre Test of Metal.
When I realized I had less than two months to be Test-ready this spring, I started pushing myself a little harder and decided the Orecrusher would be a good way to get my mind in gear.
I fumbled my way through the course and had a darn good time doing so, despite being dead last - by a long shot.
On my last lap, much to my dismay, I heard someone coming up behind me.
No, it was not someone slower than me - it was mountain bike coach and personal trainer Mark Bunyan, doing the sweep lap of the course.
I can only imagine what he was thinking as he watched me meander through the course. I assume it was something like: "Wow, this girl is trying so hard and she has no clue."
Which would be fairly accurate.
Whatever he was thinking was sympathetic enough to offer to help me train a few times before the Test of Metal, and I readily accepted. Once again, saved by the generosity of Squamish residents.
Mark and I went out two times last week and I learned some essential skills like posture, bike set-up, turns and looking ahead, to name a few. By the end of our second session, with a week to go before the Test, I was feeling better than ever.
So here we go. Another day, another challenge, and, fingers crossed, another successful adventure to cross off the bucket list.
