Reflection

My problem is that anything that I want to be good at, I take it seriously and have the tendency to get obsessed with it. Years ago, I raced bicycles at an elite level and for 12 months a year my life revolved around bicycles and the bicycle racing scene. It was eat, sleep, train, travel all over the place to race plus I had a full-time job on top of that.

This time of my life was way before the internet, social media, and Instagram so I had subscriptions to every bicycle magazine on the planet to get my constant fix. Success back then wasn’t measured by how many followers or likes you had, real or fake ones that are easily bought for a few bucks but actual credentials and race results that got me free bikes, clothing, and a small stipend towards my race entry fees and travel expenses. After 15 years of spending every free moment on my bike and missing doing other outdoor activities, especially in the summer, I got burned out and walked away from the sport and didn’t want anything to do with it.

I’m passionate about chukar hunting and love the sport but I’m almost glad the season is only four months a year. I’m also happy that I’m not in the upland hunting industry because it’s nice to take a break, change focus, and do other things the other eight months. My chukar hunting obsession needs to take a break, yes there is too much of a good thing and I don’t want to get burned out on upland bird hunting like I did on bicycle racing.

I’m a goal oriented person which made me be a successful bicycle racer but I made a mistake at the beginning of this past chukar season to try and hunt my age which is 57 plus hike further and gain more elevation than the season before. I didn’t achieve my goal on the last day of the season and felt a little bit of a failure.

I like the off-season and I’ll be outdoors trail-running, hiking, fly-fishing, and sometimes even riding my bicycle. My plan is to be fresh and excited to switch gears back to chukar hunting this coming fall. Who knows what my next what obsession will be. Mountaineering? I kind of doubt it but who knows, ten years ago I never thought in a million years I’d ever carry a shotgun and kill birds. I do know one thing for next season, I’m not setting any goals for anything.