“I Wish I could feel 10 years younger again” AMIRIGHT? 

For the first time in literally 10 years, I can hand on heart say this week I’ve felt 10 years younger again. The pressures and stress of a busy job, extremely busy life with new houses, a mid life declutter and the disestablishment of my quaint but real bike workshop (right in the feels) all came to a (thankful) head. 

Picture this. 13 years ago, I was deep in a previous chapter of life, I loved riding bikes, being outdoors, spending time with my wife and being a clown in rally cars. 

3 years past that, I loved riding bikes, being outdoors, spending time with my wife, but being a (fun) clown as a Dad with my latest love project, our first child. The rallying chapter had closed for a better chapter, and I didn’t miss it (I say that). 

In that time I found my love for bikes was the past time that kept me feeling young and somewhat fit but healthy. I enjoyed sharing it with my kids (and still do) and my good mates. The outdoors is still my second home and I’ll never miss an opportunity to do anything fun in it. 

My kids are now basically both in their teenage years, I am in my prime and ripe 40’s and if there was ever a time to feel younger, it was now. 

A month back, after an enormous 18 year stint at our last house, we moved. For a few weeks either side I didn’t ride my bike. It was basically pack, do life, coach football, play hockey, begrudgingly travel to nice places for work, rinse and repeat. 

2 weeks ago I hit the wall. Burnt out. Sick, tired, flat and motivation low. 

So, I pulled my bike out, green snot and all, and took My teenage son for a ride. Up to the MTB park we now live within meters from we went. We clowned around on a little section, jumped our bikes at what felt like a red bull event. Adrenalin hit successful for both of us! We high fived and smiled. It was bliss.

The week after that, my good mate Ben twisted my rubber arm to come along and drive his rally car again with him in a grass roots event. I resisted for 10 years. I was a clean and reformed motorsport Addict. 

Long story short, I broke car number 1, so we jumped in car number 2. A championship car. Think the world cup of DH bikes. I jumped in with Ben. “Grins not Wins” he eloquently says. So we did. Grins, laughs, two clowns having fun and not caring about the world’s issues for 57 seconds. I was content to just ride along with Ben, but he had better ideas. 

I then had my teenager sit with me for 5 runs while “the ole man” showed him a trick or two. Just shy of 5 minutes across the day he witnessed me dust the cobwebs off, re-learn an old skill and experience first hand the true man vs machine part of life. But that aside, we had fun. We chatted about how it works and what I’m doing to the machine to get it to do what we were doing. We laughed, we grinned, we were just in our own bubble again. Just like the weekend before riding bikes together. 

Ben and I both in our 40’s were in our 30’s instantly again but sharing it with our kids who were grinning just as largely as the two clowns who took them there. Lifetime memories. 

I’d be lying if I said the activities and the material things were what made me feel that 10 years younger even if just for 5 minutes. It was the people I was with. The way we got lost in our own worlds even just for a moment of a day, and a micron of life. 

Chapters will always close in life, good ones and bad ones. But if I can offer one piece of advice to anyone, don’t close the good chapters without making sure the good people (not the materials) are in the next one in some form or another. Even if for the occasional 57 seconds, 5 minutes or an entire day. 

Today, I genuinely feel younger, I feel driven again to enjoy this summer more than I ever have. You can too if you revisit those people from the good chapters that may be now closed. And believe me right now, it’ll rewrite the next few chapters for sure!