By James Durand
I remember in my 20’s having lots of time. I lived in a townhouse that required almost no maintenance, I was kidless, and I worked a regular Monday to Friday job. I played a lot.
As I got into my 30’s, I took my career a bit more seriously and I moved into a house with a small yard, so my responsibilities increased, but I still managed to find lots of time to play, and never felt like I was missing out.
These days, time is at a premium. Between kids, the bike shop, and building a new home for Swicked, I can’t find enough hours in the day, and what suffers most is my riding time.
So this last Sunday when Chenoa had to work and I was hanging out with my kids all day, I was stoked to get some time with them, but there was a small part of me that was missing my bike. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to ride for an entire Sunday to the point of exhaustion.
As you can imagine, I am not one to sit at home very often, I don’t like coloring, and watching kid shows is way down my priority list. So, I asked the kids what they wanted to do for the day and hoped they chose something adventurous.
Usually, they ask to go to a playground, sometimes they want to visit grandparents, and once in a while they want to have a beach day. I would have been happy with anything outside.
Then Rhyley suggested we drive down to the Stevie Smith Bike Park in Nanaimo for a day at the pump track. Regan was so excited he was jumping up and down asking for his bike … but I didn’t really hear much after Rhyley said “pump track.” I was loading bikes, helmets, and kids so fast they didn’t know what hit them. Before anyone could second guess Rhyley’s idea, we were on the road.
I had an amazing Sunday with my kids, they wore themselves out on their bikes, and I got to ride a pile of laps too. It was my perfect day.
I can’t wait until we get our local track up and running, maybe we can replace the playground with pump track sessions on every outing.
I’m James Durand and I’m Goin’ Ridin’…