I was lucky enough to check out a pretty inspirational slideshow last night in Queenstown. Max Grant, Kiwi sea kayaking guru, put on a great talk, with stunning imagery of his recent trip paddling around Fiordland (The Southwest corner of the South Island of NZ). Along with his daughter and a few friends they tackled some really far out sections of the coast – miles and miles from any sort of civilization in weather that alternated between picturesque and utterly horrible. The sea conditions were everything from mill-pond flat to churning white-water that was severe enough to give one expedition member sea sickness to the point of evacuation. It was a great show – but what really stuck was a sentiment Max put through right at the end. Every year he uses his holidays to go on these amazing trips in New Zealand – he isn’t some sponsored athlete. He’s just a normal guy with a lot of ambition and vision; he ended the talk by saying, “you guys are so lucky down here, this sort of landscape is right on your doorstep.”
The comment sent a slight shutter through the crowd and a collective, “shit, we better do something cool this weekend.” Now here is a similar story, half a world away – good British friends, Steve Brown and Leyla Fuad are in the midst of riding a tandem bike the length of the UK, raising money for Leukaemia research. It’s an amazing trip, and they’ve almost completed it – if you want to help them raise some funds check out their site (http://www.justgiving.com/steveandleyla). What do these two adventures have in common? The proximity to home.
Too often we assume that adventures, cool trips and worthy goals have to take place a million miles from home. Not so, as these two very different trips prove in spades. It’s a concept that has been near and dear to my heart for quite some time and it’s an idea that I’ll sing from the rooftops. Adventure is everywhere and available to all of us. Yes, I’m getting ready to ride my bike across Egypt and Sudan – but in my mind Steve and Leyla’s trip is just as exciting and all they did was head out the front door.
The great Walter Bonatti once said, “The mountains are the means, the man is the end. The idea isn’t to reach the top of the mountains – but to improve the man.” Adventure, challenge, travel, climbing, cycling, kayaking – they are all the means. And all of us can find the means – and with that seek out our dreams. Dreams plus effort become reality - just ask Max, Steve and Leyla.
sk
The comment sent a slight shutter through the crowd and a collective, “shit, we better do something cool this weekend.” Now here is a similar story, half a world away – good British friends, Steve Brown and Leyla Fuad are in the midst of riding a tandem bike the length of the UK, raising money for Leukaemia research. It’s an amazing trip, and they’ve almost completed it – if you want to help them raise some funds check out their site (http://www.justgiving.com/steveandleyla). What do these two adventures have in common? The proximity to home.
Too often we assume that adventures, cool trips and worthy goals have to take place a million miles from home. Not so, as these two very different trips prove in spades. It’s a concept that has been near and dear to my heart for quite some time and it’s an idea that I’ll sing from the rooftops. Adventure is everywhere and available to all of us. Yes, I’m getting ready to ride my bike across Egypt and Sudan – but in my mind Steve and Leyla’s trip is just as exciting and all they did was head out the front door.
The great Walter Bonatti once said, “The mountains are the means, the man is the end. The idea isn’t to reach the top of the mountains – but to improve the man.” Adventure, challenge, travel, climbing, cycling, kayaking – they are all the means. And all of us can find the means – and with that seek out our dreams. Dreams plus effort become reality - just ask Max, Steve and Leyla.
sk
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