The other day I stopped to chat briefly with an acquaintance. During our discussion, he asked whether I was still doing bike trials (he had seen some of my videos). I responded that I was definitely still riding trials, and absolutely loving it! He replied that not long ago he had considered starting a new hobby, but was wondering whether he was too old to begin that specific type of thing. Then, he said, he reflected on the fact that I had started trials biking at almost 50 years old (he’s probably 15-20 years younger than I am). He caught me off guard (in a good way) by saying that my trials biking had inspired him. If I could start trials at my age, then certainly he could certainly start his new hobby. So he did!
There are two reasons I share my trials experience with anyone who will listen: (1) I want to grow the sport here in the US – both overall awareness and the number of riders, and (2) I want to inspire people to chase after their passions and do things that are challenging, regardless of their age!
Learning that my experiences in trials biking had inspired someone to take action, to stretch and try something new lifted my spirits that day. My hope is that this blog and my other social media channels (YouTube and Instagram) will inspire others as well, whether they decide to ride trials or do some other difficult thing (if it does, let me know with a comment or via the ‘contact‘ page).
Reaching ‘middle age’ doesn’t mean you have to stop learning or doing things that are physically or mentally demanding. I would encourage you to stretch yourself. Try something new. Do something different. Push yourself to grow and excel. Pursue new goals, or chase dreams that maybe you thought were out of reach. You still have plenty of life left at fifty.