Play SCHOOL
ONE THING IS FOR CERTAIN – PLAY ISN’T JUST FOR KIDS
Describe why you ride a mountain bike and you’ll struggle to avoid using the word fun. Because it is. The reason we do this sport is because it makes us feel good. But do you remember the point when ‘playing on your bike’ became ‘going for a ride’? A ride sounds a bit matter of fact, ordinary, stale. It doesn’t sound particularly fun. Playing on your bike sounds fun. So how come we call it riding and not playing? While our frames and wheel sizes might have grown up, most of us haven’t, mentally at least, and when we say we’re going for a ride what we really mean is mucking about on our bikes with our friends. But, justifying going for a ride is somehow easier, both to others and ourselves, than going for a play. Play is perceived as frivolous and without value, while a ride is a more worthwhile undertaking. I think it’s high time to reclaim playtime.
The concepts of play and fun are intertwined. If you’re having fun chances are you’re playing, if you’re playing then you’re, by definition, having fun. And riding bikes
