- Stefanie
The Flow Project #4: Downhill
The Activity
It was time for another action-packed item on my flow list: downhill mountain biking in Austria's largest and most renowned bike region Saalbach-Hinterglemm. I'm a complete rookie when it comes to cycling and haven't been on a mountain bike for ages. Luckily a good friend is well experienced and managed the rental bike and equipment for me.
Side Notes: we went on a Saturday morning between 9am - 1pm. Bike rental is about 90€ for the day and a 4h ticket for the cable car is 40€.
The Challenge
On a scale from 0 to 10, I give downhill a solid 9. It definitely requires a good amount of general fitness paired with the ambition of an adrenaline junkie. I'm usually not one for risky business, but in this activity fun definitely helps to overcome fear. While the Blue-Line for beginners was manageable in around 30min, the Hacklberg-trail demanded high levels of endurance, stamina and courage. With a break in-between to recharge our batteries, we finished this advanced trail in around 1h.
The Objective
As it was my first time ever trying downhill, not to forget that I've never really been mountain biking before, I personally wanted to test my abilities. I set myself the goal to finish each trail without, frankly said, getting hurt.
Feedback
Apparently, I am a natural :D Obviously, I wasn't the fastest on the trail but I passed trickier and steep parts with flying colours. I guess this comes down to my generally good motor skills (my mum likes to point out that I was able to walk at the age of 9 months).
Happiness Factor
The activity itself has a high joyness factor. The adrenaline rushes through your veins, your brain concentrates on the obstacle ahead and your body tensely holds its crouched position - it's indeed a demanding sport. Hence, after finishing the trail I was overcome by the joy of completing such a task and felt mutually happy and exhausted.
Will I do it again?
Yes, but not as a regular hobby, because 1) it's quite expensive to rent a bike and equipment for the day and 2) right now I wouldn't buy a mountain bike for myself.
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