From the Singletrack archive: this Last Word column first appeared in the Premier edition of Singletrack Magazine Issue 111 (2017). Words & photography by Hannah.
Sometimes it is good to get away.
New sights, new smells, new light.
Do something different.
Head reeling with jet lag, dehydration and landscape overload, I’m grinning at the wonder of it.
Me. Here. In this. Me!
Blue sky, warm sun, towering orange rocks, wide roads, cars as big as trucks, trucks with front ends that only existed in films.
Maybe it’s the time zone, or the morning coffee, but it’s a bit much to take in all at once.
Neither my head or my camera can capture the scale, the panorama. Left, right, there’s always more to see here, there, left, right.
Sometimes it is good to be alone.
To explore and absorb, to discover.
To wander and wonder at whatever pace you wish.
Overwhelmed by the big, I start to notice the small.
Plants: prickly, juicy, succulent, dry, burnt, bleached, twisted, peeling, flaking.
Colours: morning gold, evening red, midday so bright it’s black and white among the silver shrubs and grey-green leaves.
Overexposed to sunlight, it’s a bright out.
Me. Little me. Out here in this.
Dust, rock, gravel, stones. Step off the trail and there are no features to guide you back.
Is this slightly scary, or deeply relaxing?
Follow the trail, twist, turn, flow, find a rhythm.
Pedal on, choose a fork, choose a line, whoop when it works.
Sometimes it’s better to have company.
Someone to follow, to show the way, to illustrate the possible.
New obstacles, not obstructions.
Someone to cheer you on, give you faith in you.
Whoop with you and for you.
High fives take two.
Record the moment you did that.
I did that. So could you.
Bikes. Go places.
A big thanks to Liv for the trip (liv-cycling.com) and Over The Edge for additional bike loan, guiding, and modelling – thanks Jason! (otesports.com)
