Dustin's Road to Nowhere: Lake Minnewanka - Spring Bike Ride

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Lake Minnewanka - Spring Bike Ride

Me and Marty drove out to Banff yesterday to ride at Lake Minnewanka for an out and back trip to the Warden Station resulting in a picturesque 22km spring ride. We lucked out with the weather as the forecast was cloudy with sunny breaks, showers and a chance of snow (I offer my thanks to the weather man for that insight). But after driving into what looked to be a day drink pints on a covered patio in Banff instead of riding, we arrived at our destination with break in clouds and they weather stayed that way for most of the ride. The first KM or so was slush and mud but as soon as we turn the corner after the climb the trails where dry and we had a great day of ridding. If you haven't ridden here before it's a nice spring ride before the loop has a lot of tourist, dries quickly, doesn't have too much climbing for the winter legs, and is a nice intermediate skill level ride (nothing to technical a beginner/intermediate rider could probably get through the trail with only some small hike a bikes.) Anyways enough chatting and here's some pics.

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Where to start: THE ROAD TO NOWHERE

So I've been looking back at my life and looking forward to where I want to go and find things are often a blur. So I thought why not do as every other person who seems to have access to the Internet and start a blog so I can one day look back and at everything that happened, and if want to, share with others the fun things I've done, allow those who are far away to see what's happened and if I feel insightful one day maybe even share some thoughts with you.

Why Dustin's Road to Nowhere - Many of you will see this title and immediatly expect this to be sad, dark, or negative but I don't see the analogy Road to Nowhere as negative, actually it's quite the opposite. I believe the Road to Nowhere is where I want to be. It's that place or state of mind you reach when you are exactly where you want to be and you are traveling forward in time but you aren't trying to go anywhere. OK for those you that are going what hell is he talking about here's an example:

It's late January or early February, it's been a stressful week (I can't remember why?) and I'm out Nordic skiing at Duntroon Highlands, it's about -5, fresh fluffy snowflakes are falling, I haven't seen anyone in over a half hour. I'm seemingly alone in the wilderness, I've skied about 7 or 8 Km's nonstop, I have a smile, the stress from the week is a distant memory, my thoughts are void (Similar to the state of mediation that the Buddhist monks try and achieve through mediation and stay in that state for hours, days, months or longer.). All that can be heard are my deep breaths border lining on breathless and the gliding sound of my skis, I still have another 7 or 8 Km's till I get back to the chalet But I'm not trying to get anywhere, I'm exactly where I want to be and would carry on like this forever. I may be moving forward, covering distance, you could say I'm travelling, but I've already reached my destination, my goal. At this point I'm travelling A Road to Nowhere.

These moments can be found anywhere and are found in different places and at different times for different people, it can be when you are surrounded with laughter and the people you love, holding that special someone in the middle of the night, beeing isolated in the wilderness away from reality, tying together curves on a motorcycle down a deserted twisty highway, or scaring the shit out of yourself riding off an unexpected rock drop on a gnarly mountain bike trail. However, I think there's a lucky a few that follow their dreams, whatever they maybe and reach a point where every moment of their life they are travelling that Road to Nowhere.