Bike Camping for the First Time
When I was a child my bike was my freedom (it still is). From the saddle I could explore as much of the world as one could reach before dinner. However camping was not an activity I had much exposure to. Other than a few outings in the Cub Scouts my childhood was devoid of the great outdoors (with the exception of day trips). See I was the last of eight kids and by the time I came around camping was something my folks used to enjoy but had grown out of. Well, except for a short time that my dad had a conversion van that we slept in on road trips. But that’s not camping in a true sense.
Don’t get the wrong impression I’m not complaining about my upbringing at all. My Mother used to sit on the beach every afternoon so I could paddle out for some surfing. Even my career willfully came from my father. And I’m completely sure that my ability to enjoy and even revel in being alone in adventure would not have been as strong had I been pushed into the normal childhood mold. The many hours my Father and I spent together building or fixing things has given me so much more than a good catch or a mean fastball.
I feel as humans we have become so connected to social networks that it seems solitude is unfamiliar to most. That’s why when I watched the video above about a father taking his eight year old son on his first overnight bike camping adventure. It gave me a warm feeling to know that future generations are being shown that there is a natural place for us in solitude and adventure. And that there is something worth leaving the comforts of everyday life behind for every once an a wile.