Choose an Adventure

By Jay Bartlett

Do you like to ride bikes? Sure, we all do! Well, those of us “in the know” do, anyway. Wink! You know how it goes: you hop on your trusty steed and pedal off on a ride like any other. Maybe it’s to your favorite trail (the old stand-by) or maybe you just take a quiet ride around the neighborhood because that’s what you’re comfortable with. And really, that’s great! You’re getting out. You’re getting exercise. You’re doing something fun. No one can fault you for that. But when was the last time you went on an adventure? What is beyond your neighborhood? “Of course, I’ve been out of my neighborhood, you twit!” I hear you shouting at the inanimate object that is this magazine. But when you venture out on a bike, the city can become an adventure. Have you ever tried to ride from one end of the city to the other—say, from Bloomington to Washington? There are paved paths that will do just that (and much more). All you have to do is start exploring. Venture out a little farther and see where you might end up. And mountain bikers, have you been riding the same trail over and over the last few months? Sure, it’s conveniently located. You know how long it takes, so it’s easy to fit into your schedule, and it’s fun. Yeah, I get it. For instance, I have ridden the Green Valley Loop perhaps a thousand times over my riding career. It’s always fun, but there was a time I got the feeling that this trail was pretty much all I was riding. One day when I got to the top of the trail, I looked into the distance and thought, “I might be able to ride all the way to the trails in Santa Clara.” It seemed daunting to step outside my “comfort” trail, but once I set out to do it, I discovered that not only could I ride “all the way there,” but the adventure hit a reset in my mind of what I was capable of on a bike, with the added bonus of introducing me to this twentymile lollipop route that has become one of my favorite rides. Once you’ve broken away from your comfort trail (don’t worry, you can still visit) and you’ve taken an adventure of your own, from there, confidence rises, and maybe the adventures become bigger. You ride further; you enter endurance races; you trek around the world. Or maybe that first adventure was a bit much—perhaps you took it a bit too far beyond your borders. Not to worry. Not all adventures have to be life and death (although those do make for great stories!). Most just have to broaden your horizons a bit. You had an adventure! You shook things up. I’m pretty sure adventures wouldn’t be such a big deal if they were always easy. So, pull up a map and plot out a new path or trail. Or you can travel. There’s a multitude of options for road or mountain biking all over this great big world. Really though, any road or trail you’re not familiar with is just primed to turn into an adventure. All you have to do is turn the pedals and see where you end up.

About the Author Mountain bike veteran, amateur filmmaker, and lover of long rides, Jay Bartlett has been riding trails in Southern Utah for over thirty years. Jay has over a decade of experience as a bike mechanic at St. George’s oldest bike shop, Bicycles Unlimited.