Summer or no summer
it seems that in ‘magazine land’ the sun always shines as the latest issues try
to seduce us with stories of epic road trips taken and ultimate adventures had. Indeed, if the twitter tales
are to believed, journalists are literally tripping over each other in the
remotest of locations to bring us vicarious moments of loch side sunsets
savoured and classic descents negotiated, in a bid to capture the essence of
true mountainbiking for those left sitting at home.
Sometimes it can feel
like there’s a never ending diet of riding aspiration being served up on glossy
pages, pricking at the globetrotting trip ambitions of the select few, or
keeping the faith with - ‘never mind you can still find adventure in your back
yard’ - features, for the people for whom austerity was a way of life long
before it became popular policy parlance.
But - no matter where
you sit on the spectrum of ‘adventure potential’, as mountainbikers there’s just
something innate and undeniable that happens when the spirit of ‘what could be’
is ‘floated’ whether on the magazine pages or over coffee with friends. A passing thought or the kernel of an
idea only needs to be batted back and forth a few times, in the moment or over
a period of days through electronic wizardry, before it starts to take root and
grow in minds and hearts.
Maps, guidebooks,
route planners, kit lists, often these elements are seen as hurdles to get
over - the planning stuff is after
all just a precursor to the action part when the real adventure gets going. But to me, the faffage, rummaging for
kit, ordering maps, hunting out route descriptions from long lost blog pages –
these are actually some of the best bits.
Why? Because these are
the key ingredients of anticipation.
Anticipation is often
relegated in the adventurers’ mind as the period before the good stuff happens.
It gets demoted in the scheme of things because of course everyone knows that
it is in the visceral moment of the experience itself that the real memories
get burned into the cortex. If
this is you, rushing headlong into your adventure, then you might be interested
to know that science has shown that the expectation of something can actually
enhance and extend the memories of it, long after the event has happened. Anticipation, it turns out, isn’t
delaying your path to adventure and its subsequent treasure trove of memories;
it’s actually ensuring a more vivid and long lasting experience.
So, take your time
planning, especially if your windows of escape are limited and your adventures
are long earned, and hard won. Enjoy the anticipation of what will be, because this way the
pictures and the feelings you create for yourself will have a richness and a
longevity that means you won’t be needing the magazines quite as much, to keep
the fire alive.
Ruthx It's a minxy adventure!
