Bird Dog
I never knew how much Travis Pastrana and I had in common until this morning. My body hurts. I’m always slipping something or pulling something or wadding myself up. The below photo was from a recent pre-work MTB ride on my local trail. I went OTB at about 25mph and laid on the trail at 6 a.m. wondering why the F I’m lying on the trail at 6 a.m. by myself when I have to get my kids ready for camp in an hour. And mother—— did it hurt.
Now every time I crash or pull or tear something, I kind of get scared. Then I shame myself for being scared. Then I go do it again until the fear lessens and this is pretty much the life I lead now. My wife stopped asking me to stop a long time ago but has no feeling of empathy towards me whatsoever.
This morning, after pulling my lower back out during a ride, I scrolled across this video of Travis Pastrana looking absolutely terrified while running throttle for his buddy @britilly66 in a speed boat and it made me feel like less of a little bitch.
Travis and I are about the same age I’d guess. And while I’m twice as gnarly as he’ll ever be, I can respect that he’s had a few dings along the way. Like me, he still loves to push the limits. I honestly was naïve enough to think TP had no fear, which is why he used to wear No Fear gear and all. But the sheer look of terror on his face in this video is evidence that I was wrong. I mean look at him. He looks like a six-year-old watching a Michael Myers movie or some shit. Totally and completely overrun by fear.
As I gingerly sit in my chair typing this with an icepack on my back, I’d like to thank Travis for showing me that fear is a natural human emotion and is no reason for me to feel like a mark ass bitch. Looks like Travis and I have more in common than I thought.
