What defines an adventure? Is it swimming an ocean, walking across a continent, cycling through inhospitable mountain passes? Or can it be at the mundane level of the everyday?
What’s an Everyday Adventure?
Well…
- You won’t have to climb a mountain or even break a sweat (unless you want to).
- There will be no need to take time off work, leave your friends/family/life behind or “train”.
- Bravery is not a prerequisite and expertise are not required.
- And you most certainly do not need any money.
Au contraire! These are adventures that you can fit into your lunch break, squeeze out of your commute or manage on the weekend. These are adventures for everyone and the everyday. (More detail here if you need it).
The Everyday Adventures campaign first ran in 2010.
But it doesn’t matter what year it is now. Adventure still awaits you.
Everyday Adventure Ideas
Below are the ten Everyday Adventures run monthly in 2010.
Click a link to find out more and try an adventure for yourself.
#1 The Lunchtime Jailbreak – how far can you get before your boss notices your missing?
#2 Camping In Your Front Room – sleep with the windows open, camp in the back yard. Make tonight more adventurous.
#3 Commuting with Gusto! – going to work’s boring, right? Wrong!
#4 Embrace the Elements – rain, wind and snow are not to be avoided, they are an excuse for an adventure.
#5 Catch the Worm – no time for adventure? Think again. Set your alarm an hour early and do your worst.
#6 Chase the Horizon – look out your window, pick a spot and get there. No matter what.
#7 Lose Yourself – start running/walking/cycling and don’t take a map. Your challenge is to get home again.
#8 Reclaim the Night – still no time for adventure? Wrong again. There’s a whole lot of night time waiting for you.
#9 Head for the Drawing Board – when time/money/sickness are against you, use your time to plot and plan.
#10 Live on a Dollar a Day – not literally but setting a strict cash limit can make for a challenging adventure.
Midweek Missions
Following the success of my Everyday Adventures campaign, the website Outdoors Magic commissioned me to come up with some more outdoors-focused adventures. Here are the results…
1. Eat Breakfast Outside
You’re sitting in front of the TV with a bowl of Weetabix slowly absorbing the milk and turning the sugar into that guey delight. Or you’re lazily chomping spoonfuls of nuts, seeds and dried fruit into your mouth over the morning paper. You clean your teeth, pick up your rucksack/briefcase/pannier and head off to work, half an hour, forty five minutes, an hour of your life consumed with a necessary daily ritual.
2. Take A Stab In The Dark
It happened to me once on the top of Glyder Fawr. We climbed one route, the others climbed another and we didn’t decide where we’d meet at the top. It was before humans had evolved in-built mobile phones and, of course, I’d neglected to bring a head torch. Not something I’d recommend (I’m sure we needn’t have crossed the stream three times to get back to the road) but a brilliant learning experience and a memory now instilled with the fuzzy edges of nostalgic recall.
3. Keep your feet off the ground
As I turn the corner the red hue sinks my heart. This was the last real test before my destination and it wasn’t going to be easy. I applied the brakes from a distance of almost 80 yards and set about criss-crossing slowly this empty street.
4. Flapjack for breakfast, de-hy for lunch
There is no way you’d eat that at home. Your mind says no but your body says yes. Mushy pasta that’s cold the moment you turn the gas off. It looks like hell but tastes like heaven as its contents hits your stomach and your blood tingles with the anticipation of sugar. “I don’t normally like these”, you say sheepishly handing back to your mate an empty packet of what were once fig rolls as you stomp your way up the hill.
5. Scale a Mountain at Work
I used to work in the Royal Geographical Society. Tough gig, I know. Bored one lunchtime, I found some old sketches of the building and, with the addition of a small ruler and a large measuring tape, I worked out how high it was. Or, more specifically, what height would be gained if I went from the basement to the attic.
6. Office Training
No mission this week folks. You’re in training.
You’re planning a cycle tour through the Pyrenees and you need to get your quads in shape. You’ve not been up a hill for ages and you’ve got a big one set for Scotland next week. Your mind has been set on that Grit Stone route for too long but you’ve lost the strength in your fingers.
7. Climb a Fence
You know what it’s like when you’re away with a bunch of climbers, maybe you’ve been into town to gaze at shiny karabiners or curvy axes you’ll never need, and you’re walking home when one of them suddenly decides they want to climb a lamp post. Or maybe they’re trying to get into the first floor of the hostel without using the stairs.
8. Catch the Sun
I bet if you cast your mind back to some fond hill memories, there’ll be at least one that involves a sunset and probably one with a sunrise too. And with good reason too. Firstly, they are responsible for making beautiful places look breath taking, and they happen every day. That last bits particularly important: every day.
If you take part in an Everyday Adventure or Midweek Mission then share it. I’m on Twitter, Facebook and email.
For more adventure ideas, visit my Ideas & Inspiration page >>
