Goals are for soccer

The New Year has begun and the time to make those pesky commitments is upon us.  We as humans are notorious for making promises to ourselves that defy our very nature, yet we try to accomplish these feats anyway.  The basis of this promise always seems to revolve around some type of self-improvement or in some cases, organizing our environment, either way with a failure rate of about 90%, it’s probably mentally unhealthy to even try to resolve anything that goes against our vary nature.

Here is a thought. Instead of psychologically impaling our self esteem by doing what we really do not want to do, how about we promise ourselves to do something fun, let’s say … visit the American River Parkway and see why it’s one of the great remaining parks in California, better yet let’s do it while we ride a bike.  The parkway has more than 65 miles of paved trail you can follow as you ride, and with bathrooms, picnic tables and drinking fountains located about every three to four miles; you can spend hours along the Sacramento River and its wonders.

The great thing about the trail is that you can take your time as you visit, there are never any lines to get in, and with every visit the park changes, flowers bloom, grasses grow and leaves change from green to brown, it’s a seasonal thing. Along with the vegetation, so do the critters that inhabit the parkway, the mornings are alive with creatures big and small, you can watch as the deer go from velvet, to antlers, as the year progresses.  In the evenings the owls search for field mice and birds flock to the trees for a nights rest, coyotes hunt as squirrels and rabbits return to their burrows to sleep.

The trail is also full of people, bike-commuters winding their way to work or home, joggers and walkers setting new goals, and cyclists looking for a car free environment.  The trail is a place you can feel safe, hear nature and get healthy in mind, and in body, and isn’t that what we all want, to be better, happier and healthier, to improve ourselves in some way.

We have enough goals in our lives; maybe we just take it a little easier on ourselves and start with a bike, a smile and a ride down a trail.