Adventures with Taylor…part 2

I hope you enjoyed my last post; this one is just a little add-on. I thought I would share a bit about our mountain biking adventures.

The first time we took the boys and a few friends mountain biking at Silver Star, we had quite the adventure. Kevin and I had done some biking in college and thought our adventurous boys would love it. We rented all the equipment from the hill, and off we went. We talked to them about not grabbing the front brake, or it would send you for a ride over the handlebars. We left the village and started towards the lift. Not 20 feet away from where we began, Taylors buddy decided to crash and get some road rash; he also spun his handlebars and tried to ride with them like that for a bit. That should have been a precautionary tale for Kevin and me, but we were just so excited. About halfway down to the lift, Taylor got a little bold and tried to do bunny hops.

He was pretty excited about being able to do one, so he went big. The next thing we knew, he was on his back. Yep, you guessed it, he grabbed the front brake when he landed and went for a ride.

We first asked if he was ok, then we all laughed pretty hard. He had a good road rash on his shoulder but wanted to keep going. Now, remember, this was on our way down to the lift. We hadn’t even hit the more challenging stuff yet.

We made it down to the lift and successfully loaded and rode the lift properly. We decided to go down an easy run to start. The boys were a little bored because it seemed like it was just a road.

We did eventually get on a trail and started to have fun. Everyone crashed once or twice throughout the day, but we all got back up and kept going.

It was a great start to a love of mountain biking, especially for Taylor. Funny end to this tale, Taylor’s buddy who crashed right off the get-go, we found out at the end of the day that he really didn’t know much about riding a bike.

He grew up out of town, and they didn’t really ride bikes. Awesome parenting moment! We had this kid hurling himself down a mountain, in the protective gear, of course, and he had to sit on his bike the whole day. He didn’t know how to stand up on the pedals. If you have ever mountain biked and bounced down a trail, you know the importance of being able to stand up. Let’s just say, for the next 3 days, the poor kid didn’t sit down. He was a great sport and did have fun though.

So that was the start of this adventure. That was about 8 years ago. We would take the boys and their friends biking whenever the opportunity arose. Taylor really started to get into biking when he moved away to college. He bought a bike, made some friends who did a lot of biking, and learned from them. It wasn’t until last year that Kevin and I could get bikes that would allow us to go with him. Although it’s a three-speed, my beach cruiser would not make it to the places we go now.

We did a lot of downhill biking at the bike park together last year. He would show me little things here and there to help me get down a little easier or clear a jump a little cleaner. Again, I just love being out there with him and seeing his enthusiasm and desire to learn.

The season ended abruptly for Taylor. He crashed hard and ended up with a pretty significant concussion. It was pretty scary for Kevin and me too. Kevin and I had to call in for help to get him off the hill and help him navigate a concussion recovery. It was scary, and it was difficult. He was 22 at the time and had to make medical decisions and life decisions on his own. I learned through this time that as a parent, you sometimes feel helpless. This wasn’t the first time as a parent I have felt helpless, but it was the first time Taylor had to make the decisions, and I couldn’t say boo. You know what’s right, and you want to help, but you have to let them make the decisions. All I could do was guide him. Let him know how I felt, but make sure he understood that the decision-making process fell to him. I had to point out to his doctor what his symptoms were because he never saw them.

That was hard for me because I knew that it would impact what he could and couldn’t do. I knew what was best for him medically at the time, but I also felt that I was taking things away from him that he really wanted, like to stay in school for the semester. He knows now that he would have never made it and never healed from the concussion if he had kept going in school. Still, it is difficult to make those tough decisions, especially in an altered state of mind. He missed the first semester this year but a few summer classes, and he is back on track.

Not all adventures are fun and laughter. Some are scary and teach us things we may not have wanted to learn. I think having that concussion taught Taylor to have a bit of patients and to listen to his body. We are still working on the latter, but it will come in time. I will keep trying to guide him on that front. He’s not the only boy in my family that I have had to convince to listen to their body and go to the doctor. We have worked on communicating with each other, and I believe the whole situation has brought us closer. When you are locked in the car for 4 months with your Mom as a chauffeur, as a passenger, you get to listen even if you don’t want to hear it, but in the end, you know that you are lucky to have someone who cares that much about you.

The good news, some may think it’s crazy; I personally think it’s great, he was able to get back on a bike this spring. It was scary for him, but he took it slow and feels more confident every time he rides. I love that we can continue to do this activity together, and I can still yell at him as he rides away from me to make good choices! I would say that to all the kids as they would leave our house.

It makes me feel like I am imparting great wisdom to them. Most of all, I am happy that, even though it was a long recovery, it was a recovery.

He is still Taylor and still able to go on adventures with his Mom and family. Here’s to more biking and adventure with you, Taylor!