Page 72 of Entwined in Norway

Distance, and the cold light of day made him see that Ida not begging him to stay had been for the best, and he should never have expected her to ask him to stay. Why would she? He’d kept the reason for his visit to Norway a secret, even after they had shared so much of themselves with each other. Of course, she felt betrayed. And even if she had said she wanted him, how crazy was that? They’d known each other for a couple of weeks. They’d left each other in better places than they’d found each other, but it wasn’t the basis for starting a relationship.

Banff in July was beautiful with no snow, except on the highest peaks. In the resort where he lived, none of his friends were around because they had followed the snow to New Zealand or South America. When you were at the top of your game, you couldn’t afford to sit and wait for the winter for snow to appear again.

Chasing the adrenaline rush was the only way Erik knew to shake off this melancholy. After his accident, there had been nothing he could do but wait it out, but having had a taste of it on the bike ride in Voss, he could try that again.

This time of year was popular for mountain biking. His friend Brad, who hired out ski gear in the winter, switched to bike hire over the summer.

‘Good to see you, man,’ said Brad, giving him a one-armed hug and a clap on the back that Erik reciprocated. ‘What brings you back this time of year?’

‘I’m chasing a high,’ Erik said, knowing his friend would understand.

‘I get you. Road or mountain?’

‘Mountain, for sure.’

‘I have a great electric model,’ Brad said, pulling out a new-looking bike with a slim battery. ‘It’ll help you on the ups without making it too easy.’

Erik shook his head. He needed to work for it. ‘I’ll take a regular bike.’

Brad looked as if he might say something about that. He knew what the deal was, but in the end, he shrugged. ‘You know what you’re doing.’

He absolutely didn’t know what he was doing. The ride uphill was pretty gruelling, and he wished he hadn’t been too stubborn to reject Brad’s suggestion of an electric bike. But it was too late now, and on some level the pain in his leg felt good. He deserved it, and it wasn’t only the one leg either. It was a brutal ride that would have been tough at his old fitness level.

At the top of the trail, the view over the resort was spectacular. Very different from the Norwegian landscape around Bergen and Voss, but amazing in its own way. He propped the bike against a rock, took his helmet off and sat down, laying out and stretching his aching muscles. It felt so good to be up here again, even without the snow and a board. It was an achievement, and he knew the best part was yet to come.

After a quick lunch of the sandwich he’d packed, a banana and a swig from his water bottle, Erik fastened the strap on his helmet, and sat on the bike again, ready to enjoy the feeling of the wind in his face as he barrelled down a different trail to the bottom. He started out slowly, a little nervous to let the brakes off entirely and submit to the mountain, but once he could see a good stretch of the trail, clear in front of him, that’s just what he did. It was as close as he’d ever get to the feeling of boarding, and after a few seconds, he realised he was grinning. The wind in his face felt wonderful. He felt as if he were flying down the mountain, just like he used to, although in reality probably far more slowly.

As he neared the bottom of the straight part of the trail, he braked, but although the brakes engaged, the traction his tyres had on the dry, dusty ground was non-existent, and the bike skidded sideways. In that split second, he knew he had to fall off the bike, or he’d be over the edge of the path and down the mountainside. Fighting his instinct to keep the bike on two wheels, he fell to the ground, both he and the bike skidding to a halt several metres further down the trail, but thankfully not over the side.

He lay there for a moment, assessing himself. The right side of his body — the parts that, like an idiot, he hadn’t covered — his arms and lower legs, were burning from being scraped against stones and rocks, but his leg didn’t feel any worse than it already did. He’d reacted automatically, not to put a hand out to break his fall, a mistake he was well-versed in after a wrist fracture early in his career, but his elbow and shoulder had taken the brunt of the fall and hurt like hell.

Groaning as he sat up, he shifted the bike off himself and tentatively stood up. He was sore, but it could have been worse. He didn’t think anything was broken.

The ride down the rest of the trail was slow. His shoulder was too sore to stand having his hand on the handlebars, and without both brakes, and a little off balance, he had to have his feet ready to drop to the floor to slow him down. He made it, with some relief, and headed back to Brad.

‘Shit, Erik.’

‘I know. I guess I should have taken it easy my first time.’ He winced as he handed the bike to Brad and unclipped his helmet.

‘Sit down. You want some help to get cleaned up?’

‘No, I’m good.’ He would need help, but it didn’t need to be Brad. ‘I’m sorry about the bike.’

‘The bike’s fine,’ Brad said, scanning it quickly. ‘I think you came off worse.’

Erik grinned and shook his head. ‘I’ll be back.’

‘I’m not hiring to you if this is what happens,’ his friend said. ‘You look far too happy for someone who took a fall.’

‘It felt good to be heading down a mountain again. You know?’

‘Sure. I get it. But this is no different to snowboarding. You’ve got to have control, right?’

That sobered Erik. That was what had ended his career; someone who wasn’t in control.

‘You’re right.’

‘I’m glad you’ve found something to give you that high again. It sucks that you can’t board anymore, but if this works don’t screw it up for yourself.’