Is it worth it?

This question sat with me at the top of the start tower in Zurich, Switzerland before I attempted a new trick that I was planning on taking to competition. Have you done enough practice? Is it the right jump? Is there any wind? What If I take off wrong? Are my tyres pumped up? I mean seriously, what does a guy have to do to have a clear mind for a few seconds. I lined up for the trick, pretending like my heart wasn't beating out of my chest, and ended up in the dirt with my bike on top of me.

This was the miscalculation in risk that lead me to exploding three bones in my foot on my first overseas trip. The trip was planned to be 4 months of travelling Europe and Canada but was ended in a week with this injury.

Risk assessment is definitely not slopestyle specific, but a lot of my lessons in the category have been through this sport. It's a pretty simple one to identify. Should I risk severe injury right now or not? But with the competition side of things, it adds another layer to it. The extra risks are things like competition points, travel budget, sponsors and public humiliation. I think risk comes down to waying up the potential rewards against the downsides which for slopestyle, are similar things like increasing sponsor value and points but also the built in factor of HOLY S**T I didn't die! Which is a fairly significant part of it. And can often be enough to push a rider over that line.

I think I went wrong in Switzerland way before I even got there. I had this run planned out in my head before even seeing the course and convinced myself that I was better at that trick than I actually was. I hadn't done the trick on that type of feature before but I managed to tell myself a good enough lie to go and try it.

But it doesn't usually happen that way and there is an opposite end of the spectrum.

Usually it's an endless spiral of analysis of whether to do the thing, that leads to holding back. I experienced this particularly in my first ever year competing. I had pretty much secured an overall podium position for the series and had to finish 6th or higher in the last comp which seemed 'easy' at the time. I didn't push myself too hard in practice and despite getting exactly 6th and the overall 3rd place, I wasn't proud of the run I'd put together.

Like most things, It ends up being a balance of the two positions. Over the years competing in Slopestyle, I drift back and forth with this balance and the most important skill I've learned is just to be able to recognise if your confidence or competence is lacking, and having tools in place to get yourself closer to the middle. I've found that the recognition aspect comes down to being truly honest with yourself. Figuring if you have the ability to pull it off and your motivation behind wanting to pull it off.

So as I continue training for next season, and also as I go about risks in other parts of my life, I'm trying to keep in mind that risk itself isn't the issue. It's the cost of entry for doing cool stuff and as long I stay honest with my motivations and ability, nothing can go wrong. Right?

See ya next week...