#mountain biking

Some watch the road, others fly over the edge. Courage isn’t wings, it’s a decision. 🚴🔥

Earlier this year son was facing his upcoming graduation and looking for a job - as one does. After lots of difficulties that I will not relate, he got a Park Svc job with the state; a short-term contract from July to early September. That was a delight; not in his degree area (fisheries biology) but a start is a start! And a paycheck is better than no paycheck.

He very quickly started looking for the Next Thing, no procrastinating.

Wait, sidetrack. When he was in his midteens, making decisions about college and career, he decided on fisheries biology as something that he cared enough about to do as a job, but also a career where jobs actually exist? Not that aspirational, unicorn, rockstar, impossible career that would require enormous luck on top of skill.

THAT job, for him would have been making biking trails. The enduro or downhill mountainbiking trails that he loved riding himself. However, that is a r-e-a-l-l-y niche job. Not something you'd want to pin all your hopes on.

So, off to college he went. Slogged on through, despite MANY obstacles and disappointments. Got the damned degree. At a time when environmental jobs, in general, are scarce as hen's teeth. Jeeeez.

Tuesday he had an interview with the owner of a company that creates. Unbelievably. Bike trails. They have a very large project going about an hour from us in West Virginia. The guy loves Son's cv (it is a pretty impressive one) and personal biking experience. The formal offer has not been made, yet, but. It looks really good. The subset of people willing to do this difficult, labor-intensive, off-the-grid job and also experienced enough in biking to understand the trail requirements is . . small.