Who hasn't experienced it: the trail has the perfect gradient, the next key section comes at just the right moment, you find the line with momentum and, as if in a dream, you always shift your body's center of gravity precisely to where it belongs. In situations like this, we experience what the American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi observed in professionals and musicians: flow. This occurs when the challenge corresponds to our own ability or is only so far above it that we can meet it with a little effort. You are completely focused, live only in the moment and are absorbed in your work. In 1975, Csikszentmihalyi published his psychological model for the first time. He did not have the first mountain bikers, who were just developing a new sport in California, in mind.

Harald Philipp's flow show

Harald Philipp, known for spectacular alpine bike rides, applies the flow concept to his experiences as a mountain biker. The result is his multivision show and the accompanying book entitled ... yes, that's right: FLOW. Using anecdotes, encounters and impressive rides, he shows how mountain biking triggers feelings of happiness on various levels: through focus and dedication, by offering opportunities to learn, achieve and dare. Or how shared experiences enrich us and how searching for and finding new trails drives us mountain bikers.
You don't need to be a riding technique god like Harald Philipp, you don't need sponsorship contracts or fame in the scene to use the mountain bike as a source of happiness. Anyone can experience flow at their own level and in their own environment. The only requirement is that you fully commit to it. Harald Philipp has been giving his FLOW lecture for years and it hasn't become any less fascinating in that time. Just like the flow on a mountain bike.
More from Harald Philipp