Are Adult Riders in Denial?

Are adult snowboarders psychologically underdeveloped? That’s the suggestion of Geoff Olson, who writes at CommonGround.ca.

Drawing heavily on Neil Postman, Olson laments the conflation of the generations:

The author held that childhood, as it is commonly understood, is disappearing, in large part because parents have lost control of the information environment in which their children are raised. The flip-side is that adults are becoming increasingly juvenilized through mass media.

Adults, in this viewpoint, are in denial about the inevitable decline of their bodies: “older, amateur athletes … blow their knees” out on sports because they are “playing something not designed for 40-plus bodies.”

Writing in the Sacramento Bee (in an article widely distributed through other papers throughout the nation), Cynthia Hubert picks up on the theme of “boomeritis.”

Yet read past the cautionary tales in Hubert’s piece, and you find some encouragement as well:

“The benefits of fitness in middle age “far outweigh the risks” of suffering an injury, said Bean, who is 35 and enjoys mountain biking, skiing and running. “The good news is that anyone of any age who is planning on participating in athletic activities can do some conditioning to decrease their risks.”

(Dr. Meredith Bean is director of sports medicine at Kaiser Permanente Sacramento.)

There are risks, and then there are risks. Driving to the grocery store carries a risk. So does going to the top of a mountain on a snowboard and plunging down a double-diamond run on your first day.

In other words, you can’t eliminate risk. Taking it on can be stupid and ill-advised, or it can be commendable and worthwhile.

“Progression” is a word used a lot in snowboarding. It means always improving, always learning. That’s a good word to keep in mind. Take it slowly, take it incrementally, and you’ll be fine.