I just returned from our annual dirt biking pilgrimage to the Crested Butte region....and the smile on my face has not diminished even one small bit with thoughts of blasting through the woods on my sweet machine with my pals. Check out the very tongue in cheek "movie trailer" from the trip.
Every year I come home from that part of Colorado convinced that it is one of the most magnificent destinations on the planet. It offers such a wide range of activities, stunning landscape panoramas, sick dirt biking and close in opportunities to swing by one of the coolest towns around for a beer, burger and run ins with the colorful local Crested Butte community.
But enough of that from the CB Chamber of Commerce...
The real issue that I keep thinking about as this foray comes up every year is how doing trips like this rejuvenate my soul with a confirmation that aging does not equate to submission. As I get older it becomes clear that in order to retain my youthful perspective, I have to continue to challenge myself both physically and emotionally in ways that I used to a decade ago... albeit with a somewhat realigned level of acceptable risk.
I understand that the healing process is a bit more lengthy than it was a few years back (a few more Ibuprofens than I used to take)... and I understand that getting injured in a way that would keep me from work would be a huge hit to my family.
But what would be a worse alternative would be for me to walk around wishing I still "got out there" and had fun in this adventure filled world we inhabit. Complacency would lead me to be a grump... which I know absolutely no one would appreciate.
To feel my body sore after expending so much energy is a very satisfying sensation. To feel sweat pouring from my brow and stinging my eyes gives me a sense that I am doing something worthwhile. To crash my dirt bike on a rocky trail, pick up all 230 lbs of it again and again reminds me that I will not give in to the wonders of aging. I will face it head on and challenge it to knock me down. Ultimately I know it will win, but I will not go down without a fierce fight. My call to adventure will continue in spite of what the calendar tells me.
Life has a way of conspiring us into complacency with work, tasks and commitments. It's easy just to allow it all to envelop us and pull us away from the arenas that provide us the wonders of adventurous challenge.
Fight it! Seek out opportunities to challenge yourself in the outdoor realm. It calls to us. It's up to each of us to answer.
