It’s been an interesting seven years, and I can’t help but smile when I think about the incredible people I’ve worked with along the way. There aren’t many jobs where the positive memories so overwhelmingly outweigh the negative ones.
At least, that’s been my experience in my working career.
I have Doug Milne to thank (or blame) for my foray into mountain bike coaching. Over seven and a half years ago, I remember seeing a post from him on behalf of the Gold Coast Mountain Bike Club, looking for coaches to help revitalise the club’s presence on the trails.
Back then, I was a rider who clipped in with no real idea of how to help others ride better. I volunteered simply to give the club a hand, feeling that I owed something to the community for the role mountain biking played in helping me start overcoming my depression at the time.
2018 was a turning point. Somehow, I found myself as Vice President of the Gold Coast Mountain Bike Club (again, Doug’s fault), where I ended up managing social and coaching rides most weekends. That year, I met some amazing people. Even though depression can make it tough to maintain friendships, the memories remain.
In 2019, I decided to see if I could make a living from mountain bike coaching. There’s an old saying that if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. There’s another, more contradictory saying that if you turn your passion into a business, you won’t stay passionate about it for long.
I’ve experienced this twice. Maybe 2.5 times, actually.
By late 2019, I decided to go back to “adulting” and retire from the “professional” mountain bike scene. But the local community seemed to have other ideas.
Despite landing a full-time job—the first in about eight years—I received countless requests to continue coaching. For those who know me, you’ll understand that it’s hard for me to turn down a request for help.
So, for the next five years, I continued coaching.
Through COVID. Through the crazy highs of the mountain bike industry. And its eventual return to normality.
There’s something most people don’t realise about me: when I feel like I no longer have anything to learn from something, I move on.
I’ve learned so much from being a mountain bike coach. How to be a better rider. How to organise and plan. How to manage risk. How to read people. How to help people develop through different learning styles. How to communicate better. How to lead more effectively. How to catch people when they go flying over their handlebars.
But perhaps the most important lesson has been learning to believe in myself again. To realise that I can make a difference in people’s lives. That I can matter to others.
That’s a crucial lesson for anyone overcoming the devastating effects of depression.
And so, here we are. I find myself in an “adult job” with the opportunity to learn more and to make an impact that’s even greater than what I’ve achieved through mountain bike coaching—hard as that may be for some of you to believe.
My decision to retire from coaching isn’t because it’s affecting my day job. On the contrary, it’s my day job that’s hampering my ability to give my all to mountain bike coaching. And as the saying goes, if you can’t do something properly… well, you know the rest.
I have a few classes scheduled—the Gold Coast City Council’s Active and Healthy programs for the next financial year and some of my own, which wrap up in November this year.
I likely won’t run any additional classes beyond what’s already on the calendar.
To everyone who’s been part of my classes over the years, thank you for believing in my ability to help you and for supporting my coaching journey.
And if anyone out there is interested in taking up the mantle of coaching on the Gold Coast, please reach out. I’d love to pass the torch.
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