Jay P’s Fat Pursuit – “Live, Learn, Finish, Return” (Part 2)

 (Photo CP1 Mile 80. Courtesy David Markman)

“Fat Bike...Fat Pursuit”....like a town crier, every fifteen minutes or so, Perry (founder of the most awesome Dakota 5-0) would let 'er rip. I bet you could here that joker for miles throughout the Idaho wilderness we’d all just recently immersed ourselves in. Many here I did not know...yet. Some were Facebook friends and it had been cool to put the people to the name the night prior and earlier in the morning. Others would become trail partners as slowly the field would separate. For now, we were all simply trying to find our groove. Settle in to a pace that suited us and soldier on. Perry’s joy was obvious. His “Faaaaaat Bike, Faaaaaaat Pursuit”, singing out like the old town square clock, right on cue.

If I were to hazard a guess though, each of us had a song in our heart. This was our happy place. This was the place where the ordinary, day to day, at times, soul stealing monotony of daily life could not touch us. Each peddle stroke over the freshly groomed, relatively smooth, snow packed trails of Idaho, propelled us further into the wild place, both outside and within. For however long each of us would persevere, we would do so as absolutely free beings, no more, no less than the bear, wolf, elk, eagle or mountain lion that called this magnificent, humbling wilderness home.

Time loses its meaning in these places, these events. The more remote the more so. Kevin Breitenbach once shared with me when talking about the Iditarod Trail Invitational, “There’s a certain weight, a gravity to it.” I believe what he was attempting to convey is how the environment, the task at hand, the risks associated with both are constantly on the mind. Sometimes consciously, others not, but always there. And with that, time has no place. One is in the moment...and as all of us knew at some level, get out of the moment and trouble can begin. The mind, specifically the chatter of the mind, is no friend here. With near perfect conditions upon us, none of that was of any consequence at the moment. However long we had been at it had been long enough to put Island Park easily into the rear view mirror and the expansive wilderness ahead. For now, the mind was content. The brilliant blue skies above, coupled with the glistening whites underneath our fast rolling fat tires enough to distract. Eventually, we all knew, the mind, in its efforts to keep us free from harm, would have to be dealt with. How well we did so would determine the ultimate outcome of our journey.

This concludes part two of “Live, Learn and Return” (subscribe if ya wanna get a notice when new blog posts drop)

Part three will drop soon. If you’re enjoying the reading you can download my first book “40 DAYS – Life, Love, Loss and a 1037 Mile Run” Free just by clicking the link.

This also gets you on the early reader list for upcoming book “Upside Down in the Yukon River”

Thanks for stopping by. 

#dreamBIGdreams

Steve Cannon