Adventure: The best thing you can buy for your bike!

I am sure that like me, you have sat through endless conversations during and after rides, that essential banter that revolves around buying the latest innovation for your bike. Whether it is a new set of wheels, the latest in tyre technology or a new piece of carbon that guarantees to save you seconds, the pursuit for the perfect bike is endless. With a constant stream of new products and technology demanding our attention, catching the MTB bug is a sure fire way of emptying our bank balances.

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” ― André Gide — “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
― André Gide

But when we started biking it was never like that, it was never about the money, it was about the adventure and the joy that hooning around on two wheels would bring. As kids we made do, we scrimped and saved our pocket money and struggled to keep our shonky bikes on the trails. Broken spokes were wrapped and ridden, wheel bearings squeeked, chains lasted 5 years and tyres were thrashed until they were bald. When did it all change? Now, with good jobs and 4 figure monthly incomes, the latest in high performance is only a click away. Tyres are cast aside when they are no longer sharp and we think it is normal to drop the price of a small family car on our latest bike purchase!

“In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration.” ― Ansel Adams — “In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration.”
― Ansel Adams

“Exploration is a dirty game.” ― Tahir Shah — “Exploration is a dirty game.”
― Tahir Shah

“I just wish the world was twice as big and half of it was still unexplored.” ― David Attenborough — “I just wish the world was twice as big and half of it was still unexplored.”
― David Attenborough

In this world of media and advertising, it is easy to lose sight of raw potential wrapped up in our 2 wheeled companions, sometimes it is important to stop the spending, take a step back and think about why we ride. When was the last time you went somewhere new on your bike? When did you last charge into a corner not knowing what would be on the other side, when did you last try and stumble over directions in a new language or drink a beer that you did not recognise? When we started our journey bikes were simply a passport to adventure, a way of escaping our villages and exploring the playground of our surroundings. People always say that the world is getting smaller, but for us lucky riders, it means that our playground is getting bigger, we can now explore on a global scale!

“Adventure is allowing the unexpected to happen to you. Exploration is experiencing what you have not experienced before. ― Richard Aldington — “Adventure is allowing the unexpected to happen to you. Exploration is experiencing what you have not experienced before.
― Richard Aldington

“There were only three names on the map of the region we had brought with us, but we now filled in more than two hundred.” ― Heinrich Harrer — “There were only three names on the map of the region we had brought with us, but we now filled in more than two hundred.”
― Heinrich Harrer

“The perfect journey is never finished, the goal is always just across the next river, round the shoulder of the next mountain. There is always one more track to follow, one more mirage to explore.” ― Rosita Forbes — “The perfect journey is never finished, the goal is always just across the next river, round the shoulder of the next mountain. There is always one more track to follow, one more mirage to explore.”
― Rosita Forbes

With guiding companies popping up in the farthest flung locations, never before has it been so easy to travel with your bike. So next time you are sitting with your buddies over a beer, full of that post ride enthusiasm, when the talk turns to that next big investment, perhaps the next bike or a new carbon wheelset, ask yourself this, when was the last time you had a real adventure?

Milk is for babies. When you grow up you have to drink beer. Arnold Schwarzenegger — “Milk is for babies. When you grow up you have to drink beer”.
―Arnold Schwarzenegger

It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them. Ralph Waldo Emerson — “It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them”.
―Ralph Waldo Emerson

It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves. Edmund Hillary — It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.
―Edmund Hillary

Treat this as a call to arms, it is time to recapture that intoxicating sense of adventure when you first rode a bike, it is time to round up your buddies and plan that trip you have always thought of, tick of that epic ride and shred some unfamiliar dirt exploring somewhere new. The summer is here and there has never been a better time to do something epic!

Words: Trev Worsey

Photos: Trev Worsey and David Donnan

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Adventure: The best thing you can buy for your bike!

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