Riders Republic

I never thought that I would write an article about my enjoyment of extreme sports but here I am, regaling you with the fact that I have had a fantastic evening of skiing off-piste down mountains and leaping in the air with my skis crossed. And as if that wasn't stimulation enough, I visited Zion National Park, Utah for the second time and careered over ledges and scrub while the sun was going down, on my sports bike. No shuttle for me!

It was a little hair-raising on occasion when I managed to leave the tracks and some of the jumps were tricky but you know, as someone who's skied in the Rockies and survived, it was a breeze. Also, the fact that I was seated in a warm room whilst doing it might have had something to do with my relaxed approach. I had been persuaded by my eldest son to join him in exploring an Ubisoft game called Riders Republic. He insisted that I would like it and he wasn't wrong.

I'm going to sound a bit of a granny now but modern technology never fails to surprise me. Sometimes this is in a bad way but, in this instance, I have to say that I am suitably impressed. This game is awesome, in that it inspires awe in me. High praise indeed.

For those of you not familiar with it, Riders Republic is an extreme sports simulation game where you can race against others in mass races, choose a competitor to race against, do tricks and score points or, and this is what I like best, explore. The "Riders" part of the title implies that you are in charge of something vehicular (or maybe a horse) and this is true to some degree as you can be on a bike, or a snowmobile but you can also be self-propelled on skis or a snowboard. You can also fly.

Yesterday, I raced around Bryce Canyon, Utah, another remarkable place that I have also had the pleasure of visiting in "real" life and today, I have been to Yosemite, California. The game allows you to switch the way that you view your journey around these vistas - you can see yourself with a detached view from behind or you can very much be in the first person, experiencing it as if you are on that bike, or that snowmobile, or those skis, or snowboard,...so many ways to travel in this scenery. It is very realistic.

I think that what my boys like about it is the pace that you can go at but for me, the attraction is different. They are always trying to get me to join in with their video games but I have limited interest in doing it. I am useless with controllers, their many buttons and joysticks and "bumpers" (as I am advised they are called) seemingly overly complicated for my simple brain and a real challenge for my hand co-ordination as well as my memory. I am often invited to play Fortnite but have to use my sons as bodyguards as I can't shoot people. This is not out of some strange video game pacifism - I literally am unable to aim at someone else in the game and shoot them. Never happened, never will.

But I do like to explore and when injured, I like to "eat" bandages - a phrase that I used when I needed to replenish my health which I have never lived down. I like to find the trunks that have the goodies but mainly, I like to immerse myself in this wonderfully imagined world and run around, to see what that tower is in the distance and what might be just over the brow of that hill. It drives my boys mad as they are torn between shooting others and protecting their poor old mum and there are regular cries of "Where's Mum going?" as my character heads off into the opposite direction to them, attracted by some interesting roofline.

In terms of what Riders Republic offers, it takes this exploration to the next level. I mean, just imagine being at some of the most visually stunning real outdoor spots, renowned for their association with extreme sports or simply being known for their natural beauty and ruggedness, and being able to race around them at high speed!

Whilst I am no adrenaline junkie by any means, I understand the thrill of being outdoors and engaging in activities which get your blood pumping and consequently, make you feel alive. I remember when I "mastered" skiing - I use the word loosely as my proficiency in this sport is hardly Olympic level - and zoomed down a snowy slope in Andorra, controlling my direction and speed with confidence and relishing the cold on my face and the wind through my hair and whistling in my ears.

I still ski but maybe not with quite as much gusto. I certainly have never hurtled down a ravine on a mountain bike, through scrub bush and avoiding boulders and, to be honest, I'm happy with that. I've only been on a snowboard once and my knees have never forgiven me. And a snow-mobile was a Canadian dream that never quite materialised. However, to have a virtual experience that allows you to do all of these things is pretty special.

Racing at breakneck speed around Bryce Canyon without fear of injury if I miscalculate the distance to a boulder or take a corner too wide and launch myself off a ledge, was exceptional. When I walked in the canyon back in 2019, I did it at a slow plod, especially on the climb up. It was unbearably hot and the climb was very steep. There was a rather lithe looking gentleman who was running the the Navajo Loop multiple times - he looked like he was enjoying it which to me hints at one of two things: extreme training, perhaps for a desert marathon or deep-seated madness. Who knows?

There was no way that I would have been able to join him. There's a reason that there is a water fountain at the end of the Loop, I discovered. I was happy to have plodded those last few metres up with breathers in the shade. The prospect of seeing this wonderful natural landmark at anything other than a slow pace with laboured breathing was unthinkable. Walking into the heart of a canyon provides such a completely different perspective and experience than viewing it from above. It was remarkable and I am privileged to have walked (slowly) through a landscape of such strangeness, brilliance and heat.

But with Riders Republic, I have expanded on that initial tour. I can unequivocally state that I have journeyed over the canyon, soaring on wings above the golden hoodoos with my virtual power pack; I have swerved uncontrollably towards the edge of precipices, leaning to keep my bike of choice from heading into sandy oblivion; I have had an inordinate amount of fun while I was doing it.

There can't be many nearly fifty-something women who can say they have done that, can there? Extreme sports' experience without the extremity. No real-life replication needed. Thank you, Riders Republic.