Since I was not mobile this summer, certain experiences are coming back to me as if they are new, but of course, they aren't really new.
For instance, on a couple mountain bike rides I got to re-experience how fun it is to start off with minimal information, and then bumble and stumble my way through the route.
Relatively small surprises can become puffed up into "discoveries" when you don't start off knowing what the answer is. Does the road connect with anything? If it starts rough, will it get better? The flowers were past their prime on a nearby road, but they were peak on this road, for some reason.
The scenery was excellent along this route, but that is not my point of emphasis. It consistently works better if I choose an area with mild expectations about the scenery, and then let Mother Nature surprise me on the upside.
So it is time to just admit that I think more like my dog than like the prevailing mountain bike culture, where people love dangerous acrobatics on rocky trails, seek ego-gratification over "how fast" and "how far", and where they research the trail for hours on the internet before doing it.
If what I am saying is true, then 98% of travel vlogs, blogs, visitor centers, and discussion forums are useless, if not destructive to the enjoyment of the readers. So I don't expect my opinion will be too popular. After all, it isn't helping anybody monetize their stuff.
For instance, on a couple mountain bike rides I got to re-experience how fun it is to start off with minimal information, and then bumble and stumble my way through the route.
Relatively small surprises can become puffed up into "discoveries" when you don't start off knowing what the answer is. Does the road connect with anything? If it starts rough, will it get better? The flowers were past their prime on a nearby road, but they were peak on this road, for some reason.
So it is time to just admit that I think more like my dog than like the prevailing mountain bike culture, where people love dangerous acrobatics on rocky trails, seek ego-gratification over "how fast" and "how far", and where they research the trail for hours on the internet before doing it.
If what I am saying is true, then 98% of travel vlogs, blogs, visitor centers, and discussion forums are useless, if not destructive to the enjoyment of the readers. So I don't expect my opinion will be too popular. After all, it isn't helping anybody monetize their stuff.
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"Now, in addition to self-driving vehicles (smartphones on wheels) and breakthroughs in artificial intelligence.."