Off The Beaten Track

Opinion

by 2

This piece was originally published as the editorial in our Weekly Word newsletter. It’s free and available to anyone who signs up. There’s also the Members’ newsletter – only available to paid up subscribers. Sign up to both or either here. When we put on our rose tinted spectacles and look back on our childhoods, or perhaps imagine the childhoods we hoped our kids might have, what do we see? Hours roaming the woods, building…

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Author Profile Picture
Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.

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Viewing 2 posts - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)
  • Off The Beaten Track
  • willard
    Full Member

    I wonder what specifically has changed in the last 30+ years though? Is it technology keeping kids in because it is more attractive than climbing a tree? Or changing attitudes to risk communicated through the news, schools or parents themselves?

    I spent my formative years walking, cycling and exploring but, I think, I had the advantage over a lot of people in living on the outskirts of a town with friends that lived on farms. It was a lot easier for me to jump on a bike and head out than it was for a lot of my friends in town. Come to think of it, I didn’t get a computer until after I had left home. When I did get one I stayed in a lot more. That could have played a huge part.

    Posted 6 months ago
    pmurden
    Full Member

    I have had similar thoughts to this about biking. I used to just go to a wood and follow a trail. Often it would lead to a dead end but every now and then you’d find some amazing singletrack that made the whole thing just more enjoyable. Nowadays with all the trails at centres marked out and colour coded I often think do the young ones even bother with just normal woods anymore. If not they really are missing out in my opinion.

    Posted 6 months ago
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