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August 10, 2004
Tonight's Adventure
Tonight I was looking for an adventure. That is one thing I have learned to appreciate about my new cycling hobby; There are so many places we can ride our bikes and it can be an adventure. It’s like exploring the city.
My friend Dan and I rode from downtown St. Paul, to Fort Snelling, got on the light rail and rode to the Metrodome. From there we rode a few blocks to the West river road and went South again along the river. I had never ridden the light rail before, so this was a first for me. We also used the bike rack in the train which was really easy. We just wheeled the bike on, stood it up on it’s back wheel and hooked the front wheel onto a hook sticking out from the wall. Then we sat down and enjoyed the ride. It was smooth and quiet and spacious. Of course we were going the opposite direction as rush hour traffic.
Then Dan and I rode along the west side of the river. I had never been North of Lake street on that side of the river before, so it was nice exploring that route from the metrodome. I rode under the bridge connecting the East and West banks of the University. It’s a different perspective from under the bridge. Then at Lake Street Dan turned around and headed home, while I continued across to East River Road and back to St. Paul. In all I rode 20 miles tonight and got to experience a ride on the light rail. It felt great!
I don’t know what point in life we stop having adventures. It happens sometimes and we look back and wonder how we lost that. I think it’s because we often get so bogged down in trying to make things work that we forget to have fun. We forget to just go out and explore like when we were kids, maybe because we feel like we need to have everything planned out well in advance of doing everything. Surprises are not fun in much of our adult life. But honestly, it was really fun tonight! The temperature was cold, the wind was blowing, it was cloudy and threatening to rain, but it was fun!
This has to do with our attitude during life. We can live however we want, but it’s kind of sad when we take the adventure out of it. And it’s kind of refreshing when we put it back in. I’m not talking about recklessness or carelessness, but about a good attitude of freedom and a willingness to look beyond our small view of the world and expand it. To boldly go where we have not gone before, knowing that it will work out, but being excited about the next discovery.
Now I’m looking forward to more adventures, now that I remember it’s possible.
Posted by carl1236 at August 10, 2004 10:03 PM | Attitude