Do not make the mistake of thinking that because microadventures are small they must also be easy.
Seasoned adventurer Ron Lilwall proclaimed walking a lap of the M25 with me to have been harder than walking 3000 miles across China.
When I walked home for Christmas I arrived blistered, tired and starving.
Being pretty terrified of climbing, I don’t think I felt particularly less vulnerable climbing the Innaccessible Pinnacle than Alex Honnold was as he scurried up El Capitan.
And if you just want to beast yourself, get exhausted and have a lot of fun at the same time, then you could do a lot worse than entering a 24 hour mountain bike race.
Or go and do the Bob Graham Round. Put me to shame: I still have not succeeded at this 24 hour Lake District Challenge.
All that you need to have a challenging microadventure is to come up with a bit of a daft idea and then go and do it!
- Run to visit your granny in Wales.
- See how far you can cycle in 24 hours then get the train home.
- Canoe 120 miles into central London.
- Run for 250 miles non-stop.
Do you have any suggestions? Have you had a challenging microadventure? Share your story in the comments below.
If you do head off on a microadventure, please let me know. Tag it on Twitter with the hashtag #microadventure or pop something on the new Microadventures Facebook Page.
If you’d like to come on a microadventure with me sign up here.
If you have any friends who could benefit from a microadventure, please send them this link.
And I would be VERY grateful if you’d quickly complete this 2-minute survey about microadventures. Thank you.
Write your name on the map with GPS tracking minimum height 5km or 3mi for instance and then the length of your name :)
nice idea!
Small example version of the walk your name idea,
just a small test to earn my coffee ;) but the GPS seems to think I walked I N I S not I R I S ;)
http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/115974224
‘Actually, when I watch television, I don’t feel like growing old anymore,’ the owner of a camping said, looking depressed.
Thinking of your blog, I replied: ‘If you get out there, it is not so bad, there are merely friendly people… you need a micro adventure. Would you like to try my hammock?’
His eyes lit up with the idea. Being polite he told me I could use his bed instead.
‘Oh no, I promised myself to sleep outside this summer as much as I can,’ I said.
Next day there was no trace of depression left. ‘I am going to challenge my sisters sons,’ he said, ‘I bet they will love sleeping outdoors too.’
I feel like an evangelist, spreading the word^^ And I will continue doing so… as a micro-adventure can be the cheapest medicine against feeling depressed. No side-effects either, I suppose.
I am sorry, I think my comment should be somewhere else, not underneath the ‘training and challenging’ bit. Not all adventures have to be though, right? Maybe you can replace my words to a blog about the ‘uplifting and fun’ part of a micro adventure?