50 First States...

Who’d have thought it. 50yrs old. I no more imagined I’d be writing about turning 50, than I imagined I would make it to 50!

You see, I have felt like I have been living on borrowed time since I was 17. The live hard die young attitude being very much a part of my die hard skateboarding youth. In fact, when I was (just) 17 and hanging out with my best friend from college, I recall her big brother was turning 21 and I could not get my teenage head around growing that old. The irony.

Maybe there is some truth in the old adage that life begins at 50 (or is that 40?), for we have certainly experienced many firsts in this, our 50th year. Talking of which, this picture is quite possibly the first time I ever wore a suit to anything, other than to school that is, which, judging by the crest on the patch breast pocket appears to be my school uniform! The crest, which was our school’s motto, reads Dum Cresco Spero: while I grow, I hope. And while I may not hope to sport that hairdo again, nor a pink tie for that matter, it would be nice if I had at least some hair to see me through the next 50 years..

Now, back in March the Brothers Minns ventured up the Mountain on their historical Big Zero snowboarding trip, which we embark upon whenever one of us reaches a Zero. We not only managed to ride Switch by the end of the week, but also Flatline; the term I use for gunning it straight down a mountain without carving. And while carving is one of the things which I enjoy most about snowboarding, not least as it reminds me of the innocence and purity I recall when I started out skateboarding back when I was 11yrs old it is, after all, designed to slow you down. Overcoming our fears on that trip, we also overcame hitherto our 30mph barrier and clocked 40mph. Not fast by most peoples standards, but it was a milestone for us.

Lest I forget, flatlining was not the only first on that trip, for we were also stretchered off the mountain for the first time. The less said about this incident the better, but needless to say it was an experience and for that reason alone it was exciting, if not a little painful at the time.

Not that it stopped me taking to the bouldering wall upon my return, just to ensure everything was still in full working order you understand. Bouldering may not be a first for me, as we used to be regular at the Wall over 10yrs ago, but we have recently been prescribed climbing by one of our practitioners as part of a curative regime to fix a supraspinatus injury, and I must say it is good to be back on the horse.

In fairness, I was expecting more than my fair share of aches and pains following this weeks epic adventure on the Dirty Sunday 100k, arranged by the cycling enthusiasts (read: sadists) at Forever Pedalling. This cross country ride, both on but mostly off-road adventure was most definitely a first. But I actually feel great two days on, which is usually when I start to seize up following any rigorous exercise.

And in the past week, we have recorded our first Podcast. Not my initiative I hasten to add, but very happy to be a part of this new project in collaboration with good friend the Symbologian. Watch this space.

Now, as my good friend the Major once said, there is no smoke without fire and there is no stag party without a wedding and this November I will take Saffron Darby’s name when we tie the knot. But not before I venture back to the promised land, Ibiza, to celebrate my nuptials as I did 22yrs ago to celebrate those of a very dear friend. We’re not expecting any life changing experiences this time around, certainly not expecting to be born again-again-again, but just being with friends old (some of them older than even me) and friends new, will be a pleasure in itself. At the very least, I expect to dance the night away, if not for thirteen hours straight as I did last time, then at least for one or two.

Finally, and not wanting to tempt fate this early in the day, to top it all this will be the first time that we have actually finished our annual blog on May 10th: maybe there is life in the old dog yet.

On that note, I leave you with a quote from Jay Adams, Z-Boy, surfer, skateboarder, ripper: “You did not stop skateboarding because you got old; you got old because you stopped skateboarding”. RIP

Keep rolling..