Tom Vanderbilt eloquently describes the joys of downhill biking, a sport that truly forces you to be present in the moment. Determined to push himself further, he seeks out how to get air and truly fly.

Perhaps that’s why, as small as my jumps were, they felt like magic. It reminded me of being a ten-year-old on Peter Pan’s Flight at Disney World in the 1970s, when the roller-coaster-like track you’re riding in your pirate ship comes to a visible end and then you somehow soar into the air.