Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492… Ahh, but his friends said – you must not go as everyone knows the world is flat & surely you will fall off. {Bah, go ahead you fool, just make sure you pay me back before sailing} Thus starts this week’s Let’s Blog Off, what is your edge of the world or looking a little deeper – what is the edge of your comfort zone & did you choose to push past it?
While many may consider packing up the entire family and moving from a state I had lived in almost my entire life, without a job or home to move directly into as jumping over the edge… I didn’t. Spending $50,000 in equipment & training when the economy was at a standstill to add “green,” energy efficient, sustainable solutions & services in a state whose unofficial motto is “thank goodness for Mississippi” & was currently tied for 48th in those arenas – a calculated risk…
The real edge…
The picture above is a scale model of my backyard & playground that I grew up with. Bike rides, camping trips & backpacking were basically just a heartbeat away. Well it was on one of those backpacking trips that I got to see the edge, quite close & personal. A group of us decided to spend a three day weekend backpacking down to Colorado River. Based on the composition of the group we were sticking with a known route (i.e. a few had done it before even though it wasn’t a well know trail – you know one of those 5th dirt road on the right past the stunted cactus…) that didn’t require any ropes & kept us away from any big drop-offs.
Even though many of us had free climbed, backpacked, etc… we all went over the basics like keeping three points of contact when going down a few of the steeper slopes, blah, blah, blah and then we got on our way. With only about a mile to go, we reached another one of these semi-steep sections which was only about 40’ with a 45 to 50% slope. Being third from the last, I was able to watch how everyone else handled it having never been to this area before. My turn came and I started down, scampering over the same bolder about a 1/3 of the way down that everyone else had. No big deal until it decided that it was time to come free…
After the first roll or two I was able to push away from it & managed to slow my fall and almost get stopped so I could stand up. Heh, I think that boulder must have had my name on it, as it decided we were not done dancing & this time it took me for another 300+ feet before I could get away from it & then was able to stop my fall/slide. Well not 50’ in front of me, was a nice little 1,000’ or so drop off to our destined target… (not really the best way to get there but it definitely would have been quicker). After doing a quick self-check I got up and headed over to everyone else who were scrambling to get to me. With the exception of a slightly bent frame, a few scratches & bruises everything was ok. Shoot even the eggs I had in a special container were fine…
Yes, I know that was odd as everyone else had… thank you for letting me know I did everything right and… can we please just get going as I would like to get our camp set up & cool off in the Colorado- I’m fine… Well at this point, the only couple with us & two others decided that this was far enough for them & they were simply going to camp here & head up in the morning – want to stay here with us. Yeah I remember being a little flabbergasted & possibly even saying, but why, I am fine and we are almost there? Ahh, the joys of being young & thinking it is all about you. By the way, yes the water was great & having scrambled eggs cooked over a camp fire is oh so delicious.
Past & Present:
Speaking of being young (and dumb), not 9 months before this I was living in Tucson and biking between work & home. I recall seeing a poster about a 109 mile ride around Tucson called the El Tour de Tucson. Now that definitely sounded cool & something I wanted to do. I even recall doing the math – shoot I ride 7 miles each way & easily cover that in around 15-20 minutes, so this should only take me 4 hours or less. Heh, I can probably win this & even if I don’t I still can get a gold medal if I make it in under 6 hours & oooh, get it handed to me by Andy Hampsten (winner of 88 Giro) – sign me up.
Heh, let’s just say there is a major difference in riding short hops as compared to long ones & while I normally biked to work, the sun generally had been out for a while before I started. So with frozen legs, and being completely demoralized I rode into the 25 or 30 mile station two & a half hours after starting… At this point I stripped everything off the bike including the pump, spare tires, etc… & left it all with some friends. (It has to be the weight right?) I wasn’t going to quit, but if I got a flat – well that would be another story…
Fortunately the day warmed up some & I was able to hook up with a few riders that gave me some encouragement & advice before they rode on. After riding with one gentleman where we manage to knock out a 15 mile stretch in just under 25 minutes, I thought I might be able to at least salvage the ride & at least get a silver (under 9hours). Heh, who knew Arizona had so many bloody hills – 9:15. Talk about being sore, I could hardly walk to get that Bronze, but hey I got to shake hands with Andy Hampsten.
Fast forward a decade plus and I am freaking out about all the weight I had been gaining lately so I decided to get back into cycling again (Thanks Lance). Well if I am going to do that, you can d@mn well be sure I want some redemption. Almost two years later & two weeks before the one that I knew I was going to smoke, I crashed out during a 65 mile charity ride that I was using for preparation. Sorry, I can’t give you any real details, as all I can recall was thinking man we are flying & we only got 6 or 8 more miles to go… The next thing I know I was looking up at a blond lady in a helicopter, and then I was in the hospital & hearing “he doesn’t have a concussion, let’s get him discharged”. With the way I felt, and knowing how close the ride was, I recall thinking – there is no way I can ride that at all… With a lot of encouragement & support from my wife, friends & the great guys at the Bicycle Ranch I was healed up enough and on a new bike to at least give it a shot & finished in 6:21:15.
Looking back, forward, and comfort zones:
Looking back, I know I didn’t consider any of those activities as expanding my comfort zone, or going out on the edge, but they definitely had a major impact. The camping trip could have quite simply been just one of a hundred but it wasn’t and I moved on. The cycling further drove home the point, even when you are knocked for a loop, you can always move forward if you choose to. Maybe that is one reason why I don’t see the move or other company as going outside my comfort zone. Shoot if anything is going out of my comfort zone, it is actually writing this post as I really do not like talking about myself. Shoot I don’t even like having my picture taken, but there I find myself doing a TV interview… Shoot who knows, maybe one day I might actually put a picture of me up for my profile, or write an “about us” page… Nah, I don’t think so, though I am more apt to do that than try any of these…
Speaking of “the edge” & comfort zones, I highly recommend you check out the other participating bloggers takes on this. Who knows what it may inspire…
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Those are definitely some wild adventures. It is interesting to me how some seemingly mundane tasks can be one person’s edge while more extreme adventuring can be right in that same person’s comfort zone. Amazing!
So you grew up near a lake on the Colorado! So did I. One lake downstream! Interesting adventures at that lake.
So you grew up near a lake on the Colorado! So did I. One lake downstream! Interesting adventures at that lake.
Those are definitely some wild adventures. It is interesting to me how some seemingly mundane tasks can be one person’s edge while more extreme adventuring can be right in that same person’s comfort zone. Amazing!