Seventh Day Adventurist

Here's my latest editorial for The Local. I'm planning a nice long ride today so I should have some good photos.

Seventh Day Adventurist

“SLAP,” well, that’s the sound it made, at least, as it hit my cheek. I didn’t know what it was at first, but as soon as I felt the furry creature that was stuck in my helmet move, I pulled over and slid my brain-bucket off gingerly. The bee fell to the ground. This isn’t a story that would have happened last fortnight. A lot has changed since then.

Two Fridays ago, after we got the papers distributed, I went to Boulder for a magazine conference. Editors from some of my favorite adventure magazines were there sharing information about what the magazines are interested in and how to best pitch your ideas. It was a really interesting and informative conference, but most importantly for me, was the inspiration with which I was left. It reminded me of how fertile Steamboat Springs is for adventures and great story ideas. This should have been more apparent, just look at writers like Eugene Buchanan, Jill Murphy Long, Joe Carberry and Jennie Lay who have all been published outside of the Valley. But when the editors mentioned how foreign and adventurous our lives seem to the typical Manhattan magazine editor (not to mention all of the readers), I looked at life in the Yampa Valley in a richer, more Technicolor way. I left the conference with some great connections, some new skills and best of all, the realization that if I could up the ante on my Yampa Valley adventures, it would make my stories more interesting and possibly be my ticket to getting paid to have some adventures in far off lands. On the drive home, I decided that the next logical step in this process was to create a blog. That night when I got home, Idle Thoughts and Epic Adventures was born.

I never thought I would have a blog, but only writing one column every other week isn’t doing much for my writing, and Idle Thoughts aren’t lending themselves to enough adventure. If you put “Epic Adventures” in the title, you have to have some, right?

Blog-night-one got me thinking about adventure. By blog-night-two, the adventure had begun! This adventure personified itself in the form of a 2007 Kawasaki KLR 650, a motorcycle known to be great for cross-continent travel both on and off-road. I’ve ridden motorcycles intended for dirt before and I’ve ridden ones made for the street, but the possibilities that present themselves when you have one that can go almost anywhere are like a triple shot of espresso for a dreamers mind. I love my Toyota pickup, but when I wake up in the morning, twist the key on the KLR and push the magic button, its engine hypnotizes me. In the past week I have gotten lost on the way to the grocery store and ended up on both Rabbit Ears and Buffalo Pass, missed my turn to go home and ended up at the hot springs, and taken the long way everywhere else I’ve ridden. I haven’t needed it to get to adventure; the adventure has been in the act of getting there. I’ve also become aware of others riding the same motorcycle. I have probably seen five a day, and most of them carry saddlebags and have license plates from far away. Seeing them sends my motorcycle and me from jeep roads in the tundra to trails through the Amazon with the ease of a fly fisherman whipping his fly from eddy to eddy. It takes all my strength just to reel in the line to little jaunts around the Flattops or through Big Red Park into Wyoming. It seems these Idle Thoughts have been popped into gear and thoroughly revved. It’s time to squeeze the clutch and apply the brakes liberally.

It’s my intention to hone my writing skills as well as my riding skills while not forgetting all of the other fun adventures there are to be had in the Yampa Valley. I can hear the muffled whimpering of the other toys in my toy box, even over the rumble of the KLR’s engine.

Feel free to check out my blog at scottglackman.blogspot.com. If you read it I’ll be compelled to write in it. Let the epic adventures begin!