Can’t Stop: Physical Exhaustion and Mental Health

Recently, on a mountain biking Facebook group I’m part of, someone mentioned getting hurt because they didn’t listen to their body on a particular day; they went out and rode when they should have listened to their body and stayed home, taken the day off.  I wrote a reply, relating my two broken elbows the…

Broken Rider: The Art of Getting up After a Fall

“You’re gettin’ too old to be doin’ this shit!”  That’s my wife, giving me the ol’, “I told you so” speech.  Two broken arms, bone contusions in both wrists, and a concussion are the proof, she piles on.  In my mind, I respond to this in two ways.  First, maybe she’s right.  Maybe this is…

The Simple Joy of Walking in the Woods

“Being accustomed to climb trees in making botanical studies, I experienced no difficulty in reaching the top of this one, and never before did I enjoy so noble an exhilaration of motion. The slender tops fairly flapped and swished in the passionate torrent, bending and swirling backward and forward, round and round, tracing indescribable combinations…

Adventure Time: Redefining Adventure for Everyone

When modern readers think of or read about adventure they’re probably reading about epic journeys of discovery, or thinking about trail blazers who risked life and limb in search of an ultimate prize:  Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian explorer and his team of four were the first to make it to the geographic South pole in…

In the beginning…

First Blog Post!   It’s humbling to think as I sit here and write this that I’m participating in a tradition that includes such names as Wendell Berry, Aldo Leopold, Annie Dillard, Emerson and Thoreau. And while I would not include the quality or import of my writing in such esteemed company, here I am…