I have been an avid runner for most of my life. However, things changed when I was met with an accident and it became difficult for me to run long distances. I needed to find an alternative to get my daily dose of adrenaline rush, and that’s when I took to biking. I started on the plains and as I recovered from my injury, I started cycling on mountains with my new mountain bike. It was an invigorating and fulfilling experience that changed my life in many different ways. Below are some life-changing lessons that I learned from my solo journeys into those steep yet mesmerizing mountains.

1. You Learn To Balance Bravado and Modesty

Nature can provide the most humbling of experiences to the most arrogant of people. A rain storm or a biting cold can stop the bravest of mountain bikers in their tracks. By biking, you learn to stay humble in situations that are too big for you to handle. At times when you need to go a few miles more to achieve your goals, you learn to stay brave and defy the odds. With biking, you grow stronger in your resolve; however, you still stay humble enough to know when to be headstrong and when to back off.

2. Teaches you to Stay Prepared for All types of Crises

Biking is not only about hitting the trail and being one with the nature, it requires you to be proactive and vigilant on all fronts. Crises on a mountain biking session can come from all directions, be it a flat tire or a brake malfunction, or even a major injury. You need to come armed with all types of gizmos and supplies to counter the hazards that you expect to face on your biking journey. This lesson, learned from your biking trip, can help you in taking on challenges in all walks of life. Whether it is a marriage in turmoil, a breakdown in a relationship, or the failure of a business venture, you develop a mind which is strong enough to handle life’s ups and downs.

3. Don’t Look Back in Anger

As well as all the fun that you extract from mountain biking, you also have to endure the pain of abrasions and scrape wounds on your journey, which can lead to immense annoyance and boundless irritation. Mountain biking teaches you to keep a lid on your frustration levels during a tough ascent, and assures you that the silver lining may be just around the corner. The essence of the biking experience on the mountains, when it diffuses into your real life, can keep you motivated during difficult times and give you hope when you feel all is lost and there is nowhere to go.

4. I Get Knocked Down, But I Get Up Again

The biggest lesson that I learnt from my biking journeys was to get up after falling and face life’s challenges head on, even when you are not at your best. I was quite frail when I took to biking; sometimes, I was unable to balance myself after hitting a pothole or a bump on the road. I fell many times and got up with ever-strengthening determination, every single time - and the same was true in my personal life as I encountered my own emotional potholes.

5. Teaches you Commitment

It is not easy to pursue mountain biking without complete devotion to the sport. Just like in real life, you need passion for a relationship to succeed; you require a deeply ingrained fervor for getting up each day and hitting the trails. Without commitment and exuberance, it would be hard for you to master the sport and find true pleasure in the activity. This reinvigorates your mind and gives you the ability to succeed in other areas of your life as well.