Joy Ride

“I adore kids, and I love my job,” says elementary and middle school phys ed teacher Kim Stanley, who, as if to prove it, chose “livingmydream” as part of her e-mail address. “Still, every day is noisy, fast paced, and high energy—it can leave me drained,” she says. “Biking is how I reenergize and refresh.”

Biking became a regular part of the 47-year-old San Rafael resident’s life during college. “It started as a necessity,” she explains. “I was car-less, and biking was my means of transportation. A couple years later, I got into doing long-distance road trips with friends. In my 20s and 30s, I did races and triathlons, but I didn’t enjoy the competitive aspects. What I love about mountain biking is the exhilaration and peace I feel from nature, the recreation, the fitness rewards, and the camaraderie.”

But there’s even more to her affair with cycling than that. Mountain biking has allowed Stanley to combine many of her loves: exercise, nature, and kids. In her spare time, she volunteers with a local organization that takes inner-city kids biking through the woods. It’s another chance for her to feel—and share—the joy. “Most of these kids have never seen a forest, let alone a wildflower,” she says.

After school and on weekends, Stanley—who has more energy than a classroom full of 8-year-olds—hops on her mountain bike and heads to the redwood forest mountain trails just 5 minutes from her home.

“Even when I’m totally wiped out from a challenging day, once I get riding, I leave it all behind,” she says. “Within minutes, I’m under towering redwoods, next to lakes and streams, and taking in meadows of wild irises and scotch broom. Instantly, I’m calm and at peace but also exhilarated and flooded with gratitude. Sometimes, I like to ride hard all the way up the most challenging trail to the top of the mountain and then stop and just feel the blood rushing through my body. It’s in that moment that I feel alive.”