Enjoy life, start with the smaller things
Let's face it, I'm married, I have three young daughters all of school age and still at home, one dog, seven chickens and three and a half guinea pigs. I have a job like most people and we have to admit that "real" life quite often gets in the way of our dreams. This can't be any truer than with bike touring.
We read blogs, graze through websites and drool with envy over the ultimate cycling experiences. The three months through France, throughout Spain and Southern Europe etc. Our visions are filled with endless miles of open roads, Scandinavian bike paths, the endless sights, then the alarm goes off and its back to earth we come, usually with a big thump...lol.
If you're like me, you see a Youtube feed up and go how awesome is that, jump on Google and start checking things out. But only to get about ten minutes in as the reality bug starts to bight. You look at your empty wallet on the desk beside you, your wife reminds you about the kids football game on the weekend. It is then the dream starts to be buried with all the others, the laptop closes and you drag yourself up from the chair disgruntled and disappointed.
But there is a bigger reality, a real way you can get out touring on your bike without crashing the credit card, without divorcing the wife/husband and kids, and without never reaching you goal of going on your ultimate bike tour. OK, admittedly it is not a three month stint touring the Mediterranean, but it can be quite the achievement and it can certainly satisfy the soul. A shorter more local trip.
Why spend years yearning for something that is continually put off due to commitments, or because of finances, or simply just because you think its out of your reach. It's like a miracle, why look for the big ones which we claim daily never to see, only to miss the smaller and more real ones right in front of us.
When you look at your local area closely enough, you begin to see the beauties that can be explored by bike. Whether it be a day, a weekend, a few days away, it's a start, and a great one. I, in reality will probably never get to some overseas cycling mecca to pedal contently away the miles in a euphoric paradise. But do I need to?
OK, I admit, I'm no bike touring expert, but it has become a real and profound passion for me. So much so that I am seriously contemplating selling my beloved Domane roadie and Hillbrick track bike. I have come to the conclusion that I would much prefer pedaling my days away in relax mode then everything being a training session or a race. So I have to find a reality in all this.
Shorter, more local trips are much more affordable and far more obtainable. They don't need the planning that goes into an "ultimate" trip. You can get to see your local area close up and personal like. Taking a few days away with the tent loaded up in the panniers can help calm the nerves and spitritualise the soul. It can mend the heart, clear the mind and it's just plain fun. The great thing about them is that they "can be as long as you can", what suits you and what compromises your lifestyle.
My first trip was four days long. I haven't long completed it, so again, I do not claim to be an expert. I just no that it works. I am currently in the process of planning my next one, possible a fourteen day stint out through to Kingaroy and down into Brisbane via the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail. Then back home again possibly via the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. But my job allows this, I'm not sure if my wife does but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it...lol.
I am a school cleaner at present and this enables me to have the majority of all school holidays off. This permits me to be able to plan a trip for at least four to five days long, three times per year with a longer one at Christmas time. So you see, I am touring, and touring in a way that can fit in with all of my real life commitments. Now, because of these planned smaller trips, touring has become part of my real life too.
Shorter trips enable you to include the family as well. We don't have to leave the family behind although it is a very inviting thought...lol. Smaller trips can be started from home and with a little forethought cycling friendly routes can be found. There is always the option of making a cycling trip a family holiday, traveling by car, train etc to a particular destination. Then exploring the area either by day trips or touring on the bikes. Many areas in Australia are really getting behind the Rail Trail concept, these can be traveled to by various modes of transport, the camping gear packed and spend some days exploring the magnificence of the trails and the areas' rich history. I couldn't think of a better way to spend family time.
There are ways, we don't always have to go for the big is better scene. We can start and focus small and still meet our needs for the get away we just need in our lives. These things are common practice in overseas countries. I have my sights on Norway, and I was amazed at the amount of Norwegians tour Norway, I now I shouldn't be. Ironic isn't it? It's just that when it comes to bike touring it is always about going overseas, and I kind of thought that everywhere thinks the same, silly I know.
I strongly believe we have so much in this country worth seeing. Overseas visitors flock here in their droves. I'm sure if we look hard enough we will see what's worth exploring too, starting with our own back yards. We don't have to plan the once in a lifetime, epic trip to accomplish seeing it, we can do it piece by piece, little by little, weekend by weekend, holiday by holiday. Quality does not necessarily mean quantity.
Cheers, and ride safe.
No comments:
Post a Comment