By Susan Davies
Special to The Gazette

If you bike, hike, snowboard or ski, it’s likely you’ve suffered a hard fall at least once. Your response probably matched mine: you wriggled your fingers and toes, made sure they still moved and breathed a sigh of relief that everything still works.

In March, I endured a day of firsts. On my first run, I took a hard fall, sullenly took my first ride on the Ski Patrol toboggan, followed by my first ride in an ambulance. I broke a bone in my back and am still in a brace. I am finally able to take easy hikes and hope to bike and perhaps even ski again.

“You know that you’re over the hill when your mind makes a promise that your body can’t fill” — it’s a great lyric and has become far more meaningful as I grow older.

Right now, the weather is improving, and it’s time to be more active. You’ve been to places where mosquitoes outnumber humans 800 to 1 and humidity is close to 80%. We live in a region where bugs are few, humidity is low and if we stay on trail and keep our eyes on the sky and ground we are likely to avoid lightning and rattlesnakes.

But how to keep from falling?

I recall catapulting off the front of my mountain bike, brushing myself off, making sure my helmet was secure and finishing my ride. That was before my balance and bones began their precipitous decline. I still bike but choose much easier trails and never hike without poles.

I am annoyed that I seem to injure myself more often since I retired. But I’m moving more, attending fewer meetings and spend less time at the computer.

I’ve latched on to role models who encourage me. Marge, 83, hikes with me almost weekly and still rides a bike. She used her e-bike to complete The Broadmoor Cycle to the Summit last August and was surprised to win her age group. When I broke my “L1,” Marge checked with a 90-year-old buddy who had done the same and fully recovered. Another role model in her 70s who works out regularly and hikes circles around me is gently but firmly encouraging me to strengthen my core and improve my balance. It’s time to align mind and body.

Aging is a shared experience, if we are lucky. Surrounding ourselves with those who share our love for the outdoors and strive to keep us healthy and moving is a gift. As I write this, my pooch is poking me, urging me to take her outside. Even if she does it for selfish reasons, I’m appreciative.

We all have friends who either won’t or can’t be active. Those who can move freely should relish that sensation as they absorb the exquisite bug-free beauty of the region.

And while age or an accident might alter your routine or slow you down, commit to having a completely Colorado summer.

Davies is the former executive director of the Trails and Open Space Coalition.