Yes
[ Day 7, Part 2 – June 19, 2012 ]
I changed into my cycling clothes at a nearby town park and rode counterclockwise around the lake towards Tahoe City. Dean’s generosity had saved me an entire day of hard riding and I rode with great levity of spirit. The fifteen miles around the lake were easy, and I arrived at Niko’s in time for lunch. Niko, a rising senior at Cal and an occasional running partner, was spending the summer in Tahoe, working at a resort and staying at his family’s summerhouse. I brought him up to speed on my adventures in between big bites of a homemade chicken sandwich.
Lake Tahoe
After lunch, we walked down to the water for a quick swim. A long, private dock extended from the water’s edge, and as we walked down it, I marveled at the surroundings. I had never seen Lake Tahoe before, not even in pictures, and the blue water rivaled that of my wildest imagination. The sun was shining but there was a stiff breeze, and the water was cold. Still, we had resolved to jump in—and jump we did. It was a brief swim for each of us; our exit from the water was almost as hasty as our entrance.
There’s a certain thrill found in voluntarily jumping into cold water, throwing oneself into a situation that most avoid by instinct. When intent renders into action, our bodies propel us towards the all-in moment, the point of no return: jump—splash. The initial shock subsides, replaced (we hope) with a feeling of invigoration, but the feeling isn’t just about the water—it’s also about the jump (and the battle). To borrow Niko’s words, the whole experience is a life-affirming act.
As we laid flat on the dock, warming ourselves in the sun, it dawned on me that an adventure is simply a series of life-affirming acts: a willful process of heeding life’s mixed hand of opportunity, obligation, risk, and reward—and saying, “Yes!”
[ Daily Miles: 45 ] [ Total Miles: 350 ]