THINK PLAN DO!

Recently on the 100+Project website I wrote a series of posts entitled "THINK PLAN DO!" about some of the steps to get your adventure off the ground.  The series is by no means a step by step instruction guide but you will find some useful insight (I hope).  I've provided the links below if you are interested.

This morning it occurred to me that so much of what ROCK Racing does is from those simple steps. THINK PLAN DO!

The SHITR (check out SuperKate's post about what went down this year.) started out as a crazy idea, that you have embraced whole heartedly, and for that we thank you.  It was planned out and, well the actual "DO!" part was up to you.  I for one am already looking forward to the Turd Annual SHITR, and I know you are as well.

Right now we are all entering into adventure bike training mode because someone thought it would be a good idea to ride the Dirty Kanza 200 this year.  Anyone who knows me knows that I am not the strongest rider and I don't really enjoy "training" on my bike so a 200mile bike race through the Flint Hills of Kansas is really not my thing.  That's why it's good to have a plan, and a whole bunch of people to help keep me focused.  For me this will be a one time event no matter what happens.  It should be a lot of fun for all of us.

We are also the creators of National Adventure Day(s), which takes place over the Columbus day weekend in October.  This is the perfect opportunity to execute a THINK PLAN DO! strategy.  Keep it simple or make it last for three whole days.  What you do with your NADS is your business, but we would like to hear about it, and even see pictures and video if you have them.

There are so many adventures just waiting to be had.  Go find yours!

There is also a new event on the horizon.  Something more relaxed and easy going but still promises to be fun and enjoyable.  More details will follow as they become available.  I will say that there has been very positive feedback from those who know.

Here are those links:

• THINK PLAN DO!
• THINK!
• PLAN!
• Do!

My NADS: An Epic Tale

So you probably remember that way back in October Chuck came up with the idea that there should be a nationally recognized day for adventure.  We thought it was a great idea and so did a lot of other people.  We created a facebook page for people to like and it started to generate  some interest.
Chuck, Robin, Lori and Mark decided they would set out to ride the Triple Crown.  An epic MTB route not to be taken lightly.  You can read about their ride here.

While the Triple Crown seemed like an awesome adventure, I had been thinking about a multi-day adventure for a while and needed an excuse to pull the trigger.  I wanted to do something multi-sport as well.  The original idea was to ride my bike to Jefferson City along the KATY trail, and then paddle back to St Charles.  My friend Cheri had recently purchased a kayak, so I asked if she wanted to paddle with me from Jeff city to Hermann.  She agreed and everything was set!

I am finally finished with the Epic Tale of my NADS, you can read about it at the links below.

• National Adventure Day: Part 1
• National Adventure Day: Part 2
• National Adventure Day: Part 3
• National Adventure Day: Part 4 The Final Chapter!

Four installments might be a bit indulgent, but I had a lot to say.

I hope you enjoy reading about my NADS!

National Adventure Day 2013

Mark, Chuck, Robin, Lori

 October 12-13 was National Adventure weekend.  To honor such a great weekend we decided to attempt the Triple Crown of Mountain Biking.  

What is the Triple Crown you ask, well it’s just like in horse racing, it’s 3 different tracks, but unlike horse racing, you do all three in one day. 

We started and finished the ride at the Weldon Springs Mound, took the Hamburg and Katy trail to Klondike, while there did the Hogsback loop, rode to Matson Hill, yes that means we had to ride the 2 mile uphill to get to the park, rode all of the Matson trails, then rode to Lost Valley and got to ride all the new single track there.  When we made it back up the hill to the Hamburg trail, we rode back to the mound.  

Here is a short video I shot while at Matson Hill.

Below are some pictures we took during the Epic event, and no one even got hurt, there was a bit of blood and lots of dirt, so all in all, it was a great day.

Beautiful Cliff Face

Hanging out by the river

Just finished riding Matson Hill

The Time has Come for National Adventure Day

I've written before about how all my best ideas come during a trail run.  Well, this story is no exception to that written in stone rule.

A couple of weeks ago I had discovered that the coming Saturday was going to be National Bacon Day. I googled it and read a news story about National Bacon Day.  It was the brainchild of three students, who just loved bacon.  They just up and decided to create a new holiday in honor of the fried pork strips we all love.  Apparently it took of like mad and went viral on social media.

http://www.bubblews.com/news/1043084-bacon-has-a-national-day

A holiday for bacon!  Thats freaking awesome and has to be celebrated.  So I bought a pound of the best thick sliced smoked plastic package of pork goodness I could find.  Lori cooked an entire pound of the bacon for Saturday breakfast, smashed it between some toast and, it was sooo good.

So a few days later I found myself running the Lewis and Clark trail in Weldon Spring Wildlife Area.  The trail has some steep hills and some pretty rocky technical sections, so you can't really get too zoned out without coming to a face-first crashing halt.  Somewhere between reminiscing about the previous weekends adventure race, that bacon sandwich, and watching the trail.  An idea crept into my head.

If bacon can have its own holiday.....Adventuring should have it's own holiday too!  

I couldn't stop chasing the thread of that foggy thought for the rest of the run.  National Adventure Day!

I contacted some of my adventuring co-conspirators from Team Virtus , the 100+ Project, Trail and Error, and SuperKate.  They really helped put the idea together and got this project going on the right track.

We decided that National Adventure Day should take place the weekend proceeding Columbus Day, which is always the second Monday of October.

We also talked about a good acronym for the day.  Maybe the Great Outdoor National Adventure Day (GONAD - or just NAD for short).  And since one day probably wouldn't be enough we decided to make it both weekend days, causing another acronym change (NADs).

So start planning your NADs now, its coming up October 12 and 13 this year!  And go LIKE the National Adventure Day page on Facebook!