Getting Lost on an MTB trail

In the investment space, we are often confronted with different routes and different signs. Staying on the right route is key to achieving the right financial outcome. If you lose focus and follow the wrong signs, or get distracted by all the noise around you, you might end up on the wrong route and find yourself lost.

I love riding my mountain bike on a single track in the bush. My favourite place to do that is the Buffelsdrift Trail Park, situated in the Buffelsdrift Conservancy just outside Pretoria. Not only is the Conservancy a stunning place where nature rules and time stands still, but it is also the place we as a family call home. MTB trails are fun, but also exhausting and dangerous. Many a rider has experienced a bruising encounter with Mother Earth or felt like passing out from sheer exhaustion.

One of the most important aspects of MTB trails is to follow the right signs, or else you end up on the wrong trail and bite off more than you can chew. A few years ago, myself and two children decided to tackle the Kudu on a nice Saturday morning. The Kudu covers a distance of 24km, starts off nice and smooth but then hits you with the torturous and steep Cement Climb of 1,5km. A winding road leads you down for a while but after that, a long climb follows again. It is in this section that it became interesting. My son had a mechanical issue, which we started to fix, but my daughter indicated that she wanted to continue up the hill at a leisurely pace. As I could keep an eye on her, I agreed and continued to demonstrate my horrendous mechanical skills to my son.

A few minutes later the bike was fixed and we started to ride briskly to catch up with her. When we got to the top of the hill, she was nowhere to be found. Her cell phone was also off, adding more drama to the day. We worried that she took the wrong route, so my son went in one direction and I started flying down the winding road. When I got to the bottom she was nowhere to be found. I continued on the Kudu but couldn’t catch up. She was either very quick or had taken a wrong turn.

Sometimes we become disheartened in periods of low or no returns and want to change our strategy in an attempt to generate better returns. On other occasions, especially in times of crises with high market volatility, we might feel tempted to take all the risk off the table and switch to cash. When emotion takes over, or when we become impatient, we often select the wrong route. This is what happened to my daughter, who got confused about the route of the day. She ended up on the Buffel – 50km’s of torture meant for more experienced riders. After a while, she realised her mistake and turned back to the right route.

As investors we often feel the need to take a different route, but as I told her over a milkshake afterward: “Stick to the right route and you will not get lost.”

The opinions expressed in this article are the opinions of the writer and not necessarily those of PSG. The information in this document is provided as general information. It does not constitute financial, tax, legal or investment advice and the PSG Konsult Group of Companies does not guarantee its suitability or potential value. 

PSG Wealth Financial Planning (Pty) Ltd is an authorised financial services provider. FSP 728