It would be easy for me to aim this account at those of you who are already committed adventure seekers. The hikers and rock-climbers, the skiers and mountain-bikers, wildlife photographers, wild swimmers, vintage car drivers, para-gliders, horse riders, martial artists, sailors, divers, skaters and everything else that people do to add challenge and excitement to their lives.
But instead…
I want to talk to the folks who don’t see the appeal, or worse, those folks that think its all about the ‘adrenalin rush’, and who find the idea of seeking adventure puzzling, odd or plainly non-sensical.
Why?
Because that was me a few years ago. I enjoyed walking and gardening, cooking nice meals, reading interesting things, dinner or drinks with friends, a freshly brewed coffee, a brandy by an open fire, and of course… good conversation!
But I was yanked out of my comfortable existence by the illness of a friend, or more accurately his recovery from a serious, life-threatening illness.
As part of his recovery, said friend had put together a bucket list of things he would do if and when he recovered, and as friends, a group of us had agreed to join him in these various tasks.
As a consequence, sometime later at the age of 37, I found myself learning how to snowboard, down at my local indoor slope, and then, a few months later going on my first winter holiday.
Which, without exaggeration, I can confidently say, changed the course of my life.
It’s easy to get the wrong idea about things before you’ve tried them, and that was what I’d done with snowboarding. I associated snowboarding and skiing with all those ridiculous ‘adrenaline junkie’ activities, which people only did to show off to their friends, or to prove something to themselves, to recapture lost youth etc.
What I’d completely failed to understand, is that skiing and snowboarding are highly sociable activities, holidays you can enjoy with friends. And that the mountains are some of the most beautiful places on earth. That the air is fresh, sunny days in the middle of winter are common, and that moving through the snow-covered winter landscape at your own pace is, for anyone who enjoys the outdoors, a delightful experience.
So, I quickly became addicted to snow-sports and winter holidays, learning to ski as well as snowboard, on-piste and off, in good weather and bad, how to use avalanche safety gear, how to assess snowpack. Adding snowshoes to my kit to reach better terrain, or as an activity in its right, including night-time snowshoeing with a wild-life guide. All fuelled by sociable meals of hearty mountain food, around rustic tables with friends.
Fast forward a few years, and after becoming comfortable in the mountains, the next bucket list item was learning to rock-climb.
Something else I’d never aspired to or dreamed of doing.
But, I took the lessons, I literally learned the ropes, harnesses and techniques, built my strength, learned to read the routes, first with traditional rope climbing, then with low level bouldering (climbing without ropes, but rarely going higher than 25 feet).
After learning the basics it was time to venture out with friends, to tackle some of the easier bouldering sites in my area, and then after getting a little better, it was time to head to Mecca for bouldering in Europe, the Forest of Fontainebleu, just south of Paris.
By this point, I’ve learned my lesson, these activities have their risks, but those risks are managed by developing some humility.
You may feel comfortable taking a silly risk for yourself, but when you you hold the life of a friend in your hands, and when you doing something silly will could imperil your mates when they try to help you, you quickly learn humility.
Now, I am not a great climber or snow-sports adept, I’m just good enough to enjoy what I’m doing, to recognise my limits, and dream of having enough cash and free time to be able to spend more time doing these things that I love.
All of which brings me to motorcycles…
In my next post on this Motorcycle Touring series (which I aim to publish next week), I will actually start talking about motorcycles… How and why I decided to add yet another expensive hobby to my list of expensive hobbies. As well as a quick guide to getting really wet on a motorcycle without even trying!