Mountain biking (an all to rare occurrence for me these days) is not a purely physical exercise; the brain is given a real workout, too. I’ll concede straight away that it’s by no means an intellectual exercise - I’m not necessarily thinking of anything at all (also a rare occurrence, one to be encouraged). But sometimes I become aware of the sheer mass of calculations that the brain is performing whilst I’m on the bike. It’s thinking almost as hard as the legs are pumping.
Of the many types of calculations buzzing around in my head, the most satisfying for me is the “hit or miss” question. I’m pedalling along a trail, at best upwards, and there’s a rock in the way. Now, I can miss the rock with my wheels simply by steering away from it. But if things are tight and there isn’t much room for manoeuvre, I start wondering if I’m going to bottom out with my pedals - which is usually a worse situation than hitting a rock with the wheel.
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| Is that pedal going to hit that rock (and who's going to come of worse?) |
Pedals don't have big fat tyres or squishy suspension. What they feel, you feel.
With the pedals entering a zone of uncertainty, the brain embarks upon a series of vector-style calculations, that goes something like this:
- my current gearing (including wheel size) is such that
- if I keep pedalling at the same rate
- from this current rotational position
- and with my pedals at this height from the ground, I will
- miss / just miss / hit that rock
If I am going to grind the pedal on that rock, with all the ensuing discomforts, I can take action with a few more calculations:
- at this vertical incline I have sufficient momentum to be able to stop pedalling briefly without completely losing forward motion
- I can change gear to change the rate of rotation of the pedal in question
- I can incline the bike to one side, raising the pedal height
- I can attempt to raise the height of the whole bike (by trying something silly like a bunny-hop)
- I will need to ride over the rock (thereby starting a new set of calculations)
But by far the most satisfying result of all of this is the near miss. It's a confirmation that everything the brain worked out was correct, and that gives it an immense sense of pride - whatever that means in brain-speak (hormones, of course).
So, whenever you're next out on your bike, even if you're out and about in town rather than downhilling, just be aware of and amazed at all the things you don't hit.
