I declared August 2021 Adventure-a-Day Month (yes, I can do that)! Every day of August, I embarked on some type of adventure, 31 days, 31 adventures, some big, some small, some physical, some mental. It’s my way of making adventure part of everyday life. I write about each adventure below.
Dusk bike ride
It’s not easy coming up with and executing an adventure every single day. That’s what I attempted for the month of August. Not every day’s adventure has been notable, and some days it’s been a bit of a stretch to even call them adventures. But, I argue, every day of August I did something out of the ordinary, at least a little risky, usually with travel involved, and some kind of challenge – all the elements of adventure, by my definition.
My final adventure was by no means my grandest, and really, my August Adventure Month ended with somewhat of a whimper. It was nearing dusk. I’d spent a long day at the office. I was tired mentally. So, with barely a thought about it, I hopped on my bike for a contemplative, relaxing ride around Easthampton, thinking back on this interesting month of daily adventures. I wended my way through Nashawannuck Park and along the streets near downtown, watching people enjoy the waning days of summer. I enjoyed the ride; not much of an adventure, but perhaps that’s a fitting way for a month of daily adventures to end: quietly, without unnecessary fanfare, a silent, unhurried homage to those that came before it, and their meaning not as individual achievements, but as a totality of lessons learned, about imagining, planning, pursuing, achieving and pondering adventures. This is life. An adventure every day.
Adventure: One-hour bike ride at dusk.
Distance traveled: About 14 miles cycling.
Challenges: Getting on the bike and completing this month of adventure.
Risks: Traffic and other cycling risks.
Difficulty scale 1-10: 4
Highlights: Riding through town at dusk, savoring the final days of summer; the feeling of accomplishment from completing a month of adventures every single day.