There’s plenty that I want to talk about here at FBF.

Stories to share, gear to review, opinions to help you get motivated.

Really there’s tons of stuff.

But, I think it’s important to explain a little further what that Tag Line under the blog title is all about:

 

Live Simple ~ Be Fit ~ Adventure Hard

 

The first two things up there I can explain away in one sentence.

Live Simple ~ Be Fit  = Get rid of all the shit that’s cluttering up your life and get into shape starting NOW!

(I know, easier said than done – we’ll touch more on this later.)

Adventure Hard is a little more complex because it’s unique to the person as to what adventure is.

Here’s the take from the FBF Staff.

 

What Makes an Adventure?

 

For me the answer is easy.

An adventure is doing something different.  Anything different.

Going to places I’ve never been – local, national, or global.

Running new trails, riding new roads, walking new streets, driving a new, unfamiliar way home from work.

As cliché as this is to say, life itself is an adventure.  It’s up to us to adjust our attitudes and recognize this.

The day to day routine of regular life can feel stressful and unfulfilling sometimes.  It’s sooooo easy to get complacent when it does.  And again, it’s up to us to remember that –

 

Complacency is the rust that seizes up

the satisfaction and transmission of life.

 

You counter this with adventure.

 

Adventure is the lubrication that keeps the gears in your happiness machine meshing smooth and seamless.

 

Okay, great, so how do you Readers do this?

Easy, go do something new.

I’ll give you a recent example:

I commute to work on my bike at least once a week – more when I’m not running as much.  I thoroughly enjoy the fact that I’m outside, that I’m getting good exercise (being Fit ya know), and propelling myself to work combustion free.

But, at lunch I suffer a little.  Usually I’ll take a quick nap in my car or just recline and relax away from the heavy fluorescent lighting and loud speaker pages booming through the workshop.

There’s no reclining on the bike, no recharge at lunch.  I sit in the break room, eat, and get sleepy reading the newspaper.  I return to work already counting the minutes to 5pm before I pick up a wrench.  Ugh!

But, I found something better recently.  Since I work in the ‘burbs, there are quiet roads around so I made myself get on the bike at lunch and ride some place new.

Just the act of getting outside already recalibrates my mood and outlook for the day.  I bumble down busy Dedham Street for ½ a mile and bang a left toward Signal Hill.

 

 

I’ve driven by this sign a thousand times.  I know there’s conservation land out there, but I also know that the “Hill” itself is less than 200 feet and the “lands” only encompass like three trails.

How good could it be?

Who cares, go there and find out – still better than nodding off INSIDE.

The road leading to the parking lot is about a mile long and a few small businesses populate the area.  They aren’t busy.  No one is moving around which means no cars.  The road is flat and nicely paved.  I’m flanked by woodlands to my left and wetlands to my right.

 

 

My biking defenses are off, my cadence is in wander mode.  This little cruise is surprisingly rejuvenating.

I roll up to the hill…

 

…And…

 

It’s glorious…

 

 

Not a 14er standing tall in the Rockies by any means, but the tranquility is abounding.

 

 

This is only 8 minutes from where I work – what have I been doing at lunch since this was claimed by the Trustees back in 2005?

Pay attention Dude!

I drop down into the granny gear and pedal the gentle incline on a sweet little access trail up to the top.

 

 

Hopping off the bike, I grab my water bottle and plop down on the rock edge of the hill.

Oh yeah, this is the place to come for that little reminder of how wonderful it is to get outside.

Looking straight North there are views of Boston.

 

 

To the Northeast is Great Blue Hill.

 

 

After I get acclimated, my thoughts and imagination take over.  Past successes and future ambitions flow easily.

My nose is in the air like dog with his head out the car window.

I’m day dreaming.

I’m recharging.

Just what I need at lunch.

These little interludes with the woods and trails fill in the voids between my bigger quests.

I rely on them.

 

That’s a nice little story Steve, but was it really an adventure?

Yes.  Absolutely YES!

I got out of my lunch comfort zone.  Though it was just an hour’s time and I traveled only 2 miles, it was brand new and lit up all those dormant happy chemicals in my brain.

For me, that’s the goal.

Ultimately, it should be yours too.

Maybe, the trails outside ain’t your thing.  But, make sure you know what your thing is.

The thing that charges up those neurotransmitters in that head of yours and gives you an impromptu smile.

That’s the adventure you are looking for.

Okay, this is the part where I yell at you Readers who are stuck and feeling complacent.

 

BE SOMBODY!

MAKE YOUR OWN ADVENTURES HAPPEN!

They don’t have to be huge, epic, or far away.

Find something local you’ve never done – GO DO IT!

Think of a place close by you’ve never been – GO THERE!

 

Trust me, this will help your mental state and give you a small victory against feeling stuck in the mud.

And don’t forget to tell me all about here at FBF.

Good luck People.

Learn more about microadventures from the master – Alastair Humphreys.  He is an English dude that has completed some incredible journeys (cycled around the world; rowed across the Atlantic).  But, he really pushes going small and finding adventure close to home.

Read more about it HERE.