I’m a little bit country, I’m a little bit Rock n Roll
KristenLodge June 15, 2008
I rode my bike to work today. I’m wearing black Pearl Izumi bike shorts, two-toned Cloudveil biking jersey, and a purple Giro bike helmet. As I get off my bike at the end of the ride, an older model pickup truck with a bright red canoe on the top drives by me. I think instantly what two very different perspectives of the outdoor life there are: the girl (me) in the high tech gear riding a bike versus the truck driver with a canoe on his car possibly driving from a day spent exploring Grand Lake.
Alternatively, I’ve been both these people. I am currently a triathlete in training but I was also that girl driving with a canoe on top of her car to the Mount Blue in Maine with my fisherman boyfriend. We would spend a weekend day on Mount Blue Lake exploring and relaxing. I would paddle and he would fish. We would sit in a cove and I would read; he would study the water hoping a fish would eat his bait. We occasionally camped on shore or would just go up to the lake for the day.
When I went on my first hiked in the White Mountains in New Hampshire in the late 80s I wore red ragg wool socks, heavy Dunham boots with red laces, and bought an A Frame Eureka tent (I still have the tent).
This was a good 15 years before I became a triathlete and started wearing polypro and spandex. Now my outdoor lifestyle includes high tech apparel, some light weight equipment, swim-bike-run-training, and schedules. The canoeing country-life days seemed much more simple; the only equipment was the canoe and fishing pole, and a car to transport it. Then, once you were on the water, relaxation, exploring, and more relaxing.
This Rock n’ Roll life of a triathlete is filled with adrenaline, training, more training, travelling to events, and meeting other triathletes (all who seem more competitive than I’ll ever be).
Eureka (pun intended) – this is why I need to make sure I have backpacking and hiking in my life; for balance. Seeing the canoe on the truck today makes me remember. My backpack is still in the closet with water filter, Nalgene, and stove. I’ve been daydreaming about an overnight trip but haven’t put the plan on paper, yet. I haven’t done a long hike (more than 10 miles), yet. There are no excuses because the snow in melting and the gates to some higher elevation trail heads are open here on the western slope of the Colorado Rockies.
My first long hike will be my first cross training for my Long Course Triathlon race in August.
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[…] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptI think instantly what two very different perspectives of the outdoor life there are: the girl (me) in the high tech gear riding a bike versus the truck driver with a canoe on his car possibly driving from a day spent exploring Grand … […]
I know what you mean about living the tri life-it’s pretty demanding trying to fit three additional sports into an already busy lifestyle. It’s definitely a good idea to slow down and simplify every now and then.
What tri are you doing in August (the link isn’t working)?
Bill - I fixed the link - thanks for letting me know. It’s the long course in Boulder - 1/2 Ironman. Thanks for writing a comment.
Will I see you in Boulder?
Kristen
No problem.
I’ll be doing the Sandman sprint in Santa Cruz that week, so I probably won’t make it. How’s the training going?