Mellow Velo

365 Days of Play

Posted on 20. Jul, 2010 by KFullerF4 in Cyclocross, Hike/Run, Life, MTB, Road, Thoughts

Making a home in Colorado’s Front Range

I think I was on the edge of the last generation to grow up without being plugged into technology. My friends and I belonged to one of those old-fashioned groups that had to be dragged forcefully back inside for dinner or bed or darkness. Sure, we had toys with batteries, but our greatest toys were our imaginations, hands and legs. Cell phones didn’t land in our midst until high school and even though we grew up with computers, most homes didn’t have internet until I was in middle school – internet that was slow, limited and extremely expensive.

Last week, I heard a book review of “Hamlet’s Blackberry” on NPR. The author traces communications from the great Western philosophers to modern times and the degradation of our relationships with one another. A few hours later, I flipped through an old issue of Mountain Bike magazine in the bathroom and read about how to make sure mountain biking is fun for kids (as if it might not inherently be so). Those two in combination resonated with the grass- and fresh-air-loving child still inside me.

Outside, dirt, bikes and T-shirts are four things I never outgrew. In a way, I think my journey westward is an attempt to get back to the carefree way I found happiness in childhood. In a place that celebrates playing outside, I just might be able to go back to the joys of leisure being as simple as hopping on a bike and rollin’ with the neighbors, no battery-powered, networked technology necessary.

Today is day three of life in Golden. Living in Colorado is – for me – a victory and a celebration. It is a victory because a childhood dream is coming true early in life. It is a celebration because mountains and trees and open space comprise a spiritual sanctuary and soon I will be in a place to worship it daily via foot travel and bike riding.

After we are settled and get out from under all the cardboard and wadded-up issues of the New York Times, I will begin work on my goal of getting outside every day. Riding, running, hiking and backpacking are the primary means to this end, but I will also try volunteer trail building, kayaking lessons, cross-country skiing and other things that weren’t available to me when I lived in San Antonio. For many people, this is called “life” and doesn’t require a specific effort, but I find myself in a whole new world. Also, there are a few reasons 365 days of outdoor play will be an interesting challenge:

1. I’m not used to snow or extreme cold.
2. I’m not a runner. Really not a runner…
3. I have never lived at elevation.
4. Our house is small and we don’t really have room for more gear…

At the moment I’m deeply involved in a work project and can’t tear myself away, but I did experience a strange and powerful urge to put on my shoes and go for a run. I imagined doing so from my apartment in San Antonio and was depressed at the idea. But from my door in Golden, I am four blocks from a park, three blocks from downtown and almost always able to see the surrounding hills and mountains. I can’t wait to get started!