Risk and Reward

I've been reading a pretty interesting book by Aron Ralston titled "Between a Rock and a Hard Place". You might remember Aron Ralston as the guy who got his arm caught in a falling rock and had to cut it off. He had hiked into a slot canyon near Moab, Utah and, while scrambling over a free hanging boulder, dislodged the rock and got his hand wedged in-between the rock and the canyon wall.

What most people don't know about Aron Ralston is that he was not just some kid out fooling around in the wilderness but an accomplished mountaineer. Aron has soloed over fifty 14,000 ft peaks in the Colorado Rockies (affectionately known as fourteeners in the climbing community). Not only did he solo them but he climbed them in winter. Here is a guy that has already has a number of near misses with death yet he keeps on going back for more. Why?

Why… is exactly what I'm thinking as I'm riding to work this morning. It's been around freezing all week in Reno. The snow is melted off the streets but puddles and run off make for black ice each morning. It doesn't take much ice when you're riding on a racing bike with 23mm wide tires and a rubber contact patch only an inch long. Couple the black ice with frostbite and the lack of daylight and the commute doesn't make much sense.

From my viewpoint it all comes down to calculated risk and reward. The reward is the sense of self accomplishment in pushing yourself; to know that you are doing something beyond the ordinary. I see some reward in riding my bike.

To further my viewpoint, consider the fact that lots of people take risks everyday. Think of the overweight guy who goes out for fast food every day for lunch (I'm sure you know a person like this). What is his balance of risk and reward? How about the person who consistently drives 15 to 20 miles over the speed limit? What is his risk and reward like? Is there enjoyment from weaving in and out of traffic? For getting home a few minutes earlier?

There are risks in everyday life. To Aron Ralston scrambling down a slot canyon IS considered everyday life. It's easy for us to be judgmental as not many of us are the outdoors person that Aron Ralston is. Admittedly he pays for his risks with the loss of a hand (I'm about half-way through the book and just getting to the part where is contemplating self – amputation). It should be interesting to finish this book and see if Aron alters his lifestyle or has regret about his accident. I suspect, like most people in the examples above, that he won't.

If anyone gets some free time and reads this book I'd be curious to learn what you think of it.