WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Off the Trails: New Outdoor Hobbies for the Summer

Episode Date: May 28, 2025

Join Nicole Sighiartau as she discusses some of her wildest experiences in the great outdoors! This week she shares her top tips for getting into a new outdoor hobby this summer. 

You're listening to Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. Welcome to Off the Trails. I'm Nicole Segueratau, and I'll be your adventure buddy as I discuss some of my wildest stories from my outdoor endeavors. This week, I'll be sharing some of my top tips for getting into new outdoor hobbies. Or really any hobby, but I mean specifically outdoor hobbies, considering the nature of this podcast. I've certainly had my fair share of getting into some new activities. over the past couple of years. And some of these activities are things that I never used to like. So hopefully by me sharing my experience, it could inspire you or help you get into a new outdoor

activity this summer. But before we dive into the episode, let's do trail markers. So my trail marker from this week was biking to Ohio. Yesterday afternoon, I decided to go on a little bike ride. Actually, more like a long bike ride, but Hillsdale is around 18-ish miles away from the Ohio border, and I was kind of bored. I knew I wanted to go for a bike ride, but didn't really have a plan of where I wanted to go specifically. So I hopped on my bike, and as I was peddling out of the parking lot, I thought, you know what? Let's go to Ohio today. So that's what I did. It was around 39 and a half miles round trip, I believe. And a fairly flat ride. It was very manageable. Nothing too crazy. It took me two hours and 37 minutes. Had a crosswind most of the way.

And then that actually ended up shifting into a headwind, kind of on my way back. The wind just really doesn't like me at Hillsdale because I swear I start every bike ride trying to pinpoint where the wind's coming from so that way I don't have a headwind on the way back to campus. And regardless of any direction I go in, the wind will clock so that way I have at least somewhat of a headwind biking back to campus. And at this point, I just think it's avoidable. And it's not even a consistent clocking pattern because I thought that the wind usually clocked right here and then yesterday afternoon it clocked left. So there's really, I think the wind just sees me riding home and says, oh, let's go right in Nicole's way to make her life miserable. But overall, it was a super fun bike ride

and very sunny, very beautiful, around 60-ish degrees, so I didn't get hot. Kind of a lot of traffic leaving town. I will say that's probably my fault, considering the left. Hillsdale around three-ish, so kind of peak traffic time, you could say. But once I got out into the main road, it really wasn't that bad. And biking actually works perfectly with today's topic, because biking is not a hobby that I used to enjoy. In fact, I really didn't used to like biking a lot. When I first started as a little kid, I thought it was fine and okay. and my parents love to bike, specifically my dad. My dad is a very avid biker, and I would go on bike rides with him when I was younger, and that was kind of, I just never really enjoyed it. I always liked

the idea of biking. I grew up watching the Tour de France with my dad, and watching the Tour de France is actually my favorite sporting event to watch. I love it so, so much. I think it's so fun if you've ever watched the Tour de France. It's a 21-day bike race across France. And it takes place in July. And there's around 130 guys or so, depends on the year. And they all represent different teams. And basically every day, there's an individual stage winner, and that's the yellow jersey winner of the day. But there's an overall tour winner. And so you've got like the top guys, Taja Pogacha, won the past three years or so, I think. And they're battling to get first overall for the course of the tour. And it's so fun, especially on the mountain stages. It is just so, so impressive how they

can bike uphill for 13 miles straight and steep uphill, okay? It's really, really steep. They're going up through the Alps and the Pyrenees, and it's just really impressive. So watching them when I was younger, I always thought, wow, it would be so cool to get into biking. So it wasn't as if biking wasn't an activity that I wanted to get into. I just think I was approaching it the wrong way when I was younger. And obviously, there are some limitations when you're young in the amount of freedom that you have. And so I would bike with my dad. And I think when I was really little, it was fun because obviously I was slower.

And on some cases, my dad and I even had a tandem bike, or it was kind of an attachment to his big bike. And so I would go on that. But yeah, I would always go on bike rides with my dad. But as I got older, I realized just how much slower I was than him. And I think that was really disheartening. Obviously, my dad was a whole lot bigger than me. And he bikes a lot. So in my brain, it should have made sense that he'd be going faster.

I just think it was a little frustrating because with hiking, I could keep up with him. I was good competition for him for sailing on the lake. I don't know. In other aspects of my life, I was able to kind of compete with my dad, but in biking it felt like there was just absolutely no competition because he could flat out destroy me if that makes sense. And I know it's not a competition, but I am a pretty competitive person and I like to at least be able to hold my own next to someone. And so, um, especially as I started hitting 13, 14, I would go on longer bike rides with my dad and my mom, and I was just struggling.

To be fair, they were on road bikes, which are a lot lighter, and they were wearing the clippless petals that clip into the petals. So you're able to pull up as well as push, as opposed to just flat-based pedals that you wear with regular tennis shoes, which was what I was biking on. And I was also on a mountain bike, not a serious mountain bike. So it was lighter than a really heavy-duty mountain bike, but it was still a heavier bike. And it just, it was not super fun, especially during COVID, 2020, when the pandemic first hit, my parents and I went on quite a few more bike rides. And this was kind of the start of me getting into longer bike rides. So I remember one day we biked over to my grandma's house and actually we kept going to this

location called Cook's Corner. And I remember that being a pretty tough ride. Another thing that freaked me out was I didn't like biking on the road, which looking back, I totally understand why, but now it is a little funny considering I do all my biking on the road. But I really didn't like biking on the road. I was super afraid of cars hitting me. And I think a big part of that was I hadn't started driving at the time, so I didn't

realize just how much control you have over a vehicle. Once I started driving, that fear really dissipated completely. Honestly, it dissipated during COVID, and I was not driving during COVID. A big part of my biking journey took place of the course of English over the course of COVID. So, yeah, we went on a couple bike rides, and then I remember when the last family bike rides we did in 2020 was biking the back bay loop in Newport Beach. And I actually did pretty well on that ride. My uncle went on that one too. And so that I think helped. But I was able to kind of keep up with my dad towards the end of it. And once the pandemic really got into full swing, I found myself a little five-mile biking loop, which I was so proud of at the time. I thought five miles, well, that's a really

big deal. Even though I had gone on much longer bike rides beforehand, I mean, even when I was, younger. I think my dad and I did 20 mile bike ride one time. But I found myself a little five mile loop and I did that almost every single day and that really helped me get into the swing of biking more and fighting my own pace and allowed me to push myself on the hills that I wanted to push myself on. And so I think that's kind of my first biggest tip is if you're trying to start a hobby, whether that's biking, running, surfing, trying to think of other summer hobbies that people might be starting, don't be afraid to go alone and do it by yourself. I think there is a lot to learn from those situations and it's a lot easier to go at your own pace and not feel

pressure to keep up with people and to not feel bad if you want to take a break because I definitely did that as well. There were times where I would take a break and I didn't feel bad about holding anyone up because it was purely just myself. I remember specifically this was in going into ninth grade, some were going into ninth grade. My parents and I went to the Grand Teton's and we brought our bikes and we ended up biking, I believe, almost 40 miles, which is very impressive, especially in the Grand Teton's because it's a very hilly area. But we, We biked all the way down to Jackson and then back up to Jenny Lake. I think that's where we had our car parked.

But there are so many times on that ride where I really wanted to take a break, but I felt bad and felt like I couldn't because I didn't want to hold up my parents. But once I started biking by myself, I was able to go slower. And then when I felt good, I was able to push myself harder in areas that I felt like I could push in. You're listening to Off the Trails on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM, and let's get back to some of my other tips for getting into new hobbies. So not only is going by yourself a big help, but I also think there is a lot to say for kind of having a goal with whatever activity it may be doing. So obviously this past semester, I had the goal of training for my marathon.

And I was already an avid runner at this point. But it did encourage me to continue running further distances, which is something I would not have done if I were not training for that marathon. And then specifically this past summer, I really got into biking rather seriously a lot more than I ever have beforehand. and that was because I lived in Steamboat for the summer, and in Steamboat there is this pass called Rabbit Years Pass, and when I first got there for the summer, I kind of had the idea that, oh, it'd be cool to bike this by the end of the summer, and I held that idea loosely in the back of my mind, but as I went on more bike rides as the summer progressed and 20-mile rides became easier for me and even fun to the point where I would have so much fun listening to my music and singing

while biking. The idea of doing rabbit ears was something that I really held on to, and I knew it was something that I would regret not doing if I didn't get around to it. So rabbit ears is seven or eight miles straight uphill. Obviously, you're at elevation, steamboat is around. six or seven thousand feet, maybe even 8,000. But you go uphill for around 1,000, 2,000 feet even, because I think the top of the pass is around 10,000. So it's a pretty serious ride, and I wasn't really sure exactly how that would go for me. So I believe I loosely trained for it for around a month, a month and a half maybe. And the weekend before I did it, I rode up part of the pass. Just spur of the moment, I was out for my evening bike ride and I just decided, why not? I might as well

bike up part of the way. And that was Friday. And I ended up biking the pass on Sunday afternoon. Sunday afternoon is generous. Sunday morning. By the time, I, by the time, I, I finished. Yes, it was afternoon, but no, it was Sunday morning and it was a 43-mile bike ride, so very, very far. It's the furthest I had ever biked. It took me four hours and 16 minutes. A lot of that time was biking straight uphill for seven or eight miles. But I will say I felt really good. quite a bit of research beforehand on how much water you should be drinking while biking, how much food you should be eating, in what frequency and what kind of food. And equipment is also a big deal. I was riding on my aunt's bike, which is a hybrid mountain bike road bike situation.

So not super light. I also did not have the clippless pedals. So I was just wearing my regular shoes on the bike. So not the ideal setup. but her bike still had good shifters and it was it was doable I got up the pass and I was so so proud so happy when I got to the top and I decided to keep going to the East Summit because there's West Summit East Summit and I wanted to go to both so I ended up biking to the other summit turned around and the bike down I think took seven minutes down the pass versus the, gosh, hour in 30 minutes of straight climbing, whatever it might have been. But it was super fun and so rewarding to see that I could accomplish something that I never really

thought was possible up until that summer. And then I actually kind of wanted to hit 50 miles for the day because I was already around 40. And I thought, what's another 10 miles? but there was a thunderstorm rolling in and so I just biked home and thank goodness I did because it was a bad thunderstorm. And so having goals like that can really help motivate you in different hobbies. So if you want to get more into hiking this summer, maybe set your sights for the end of the summer to do a longer hike, a more strenuous, challenging hike with more elevation gain. And then as you build up to that, just keep increasing your mileage, the amount of weight that you're carrying, working on

maybe doing some more technical stuff, whatever it is, just build up slowly to it. And eventually, before you know it, you'll be doing some pretty impressive stuff, things that you may have never dreamed of doing before. Another tip is related to the whole equipment side of things. after this summer, when I went back home, I went on a couple of bike rides with my dad, and I learned how to bike with the clippless pedals and clipping my feet into the bike. This idea absolutely horrified me. I was so, so scared of it. I mean, the thought of ever being attached to a bike was just really, really frightening before this summer. but after doing rabbit ears, I was like, wow, I wonder how much faster I could do it is if I were on a road bike and, you know, had the clippless pedal so I could pool up with each push and pool that I would do with while cycling. And so allowing yourself to use more technical gear and practicing with that can certainly

make a huge difference in the enjoyment of whatever activity you may be doing. Another thing is biking shorts. Oh my gosh, they make a world of difference. Your butt does not hurt extremely, extremely bad if you wear good biking shorts. I was wearing a pair of my mom's cycling shorts and they were not the best. They did the job. They got me up rabbit ears and were comfortable enough. However, I invested in a nice pair of Stio cycling shorts that were on sale. So they were not the full price, but they were still a pretty penny. I feel like they were around 50 or 60 bucks. Actually, they may have been around 40 because they were on sale.

But originally when they're full price, they're very expensive. However, they have made cycling so much more enjoyable and even comfortable, dare I say, for me. So if you're getting into surfing and the water is cold, maybe it's a good idea to invest in a wetsuit because it will just enhance your overall enjoyment of the activity and won't make your life quite as miserable. And there are certainly cheaper and more affordable ways to invest into activities. There's a lot of second-hand gear stores out there, especially in mountain towns, and you can find pretty good, pretty decent gear for less than half the price of what you may find in a store where it's brand new. My skis, for example, I believe were $150 when normally those pair of skis probably would be around $600, $700, and my skis have lasted me four years, and they are fantastic. So there's lots of ways to get into activities using secondhand gear and or even borrowing from people that you may know who do those activities.

Obviously, buying a nice road bike is very expensive. Thankfully, my mom has one, so I am just able to use that and borrow it from her because she doesn't care. I'm not saying go borrow your neighbor's bike every weekend, but if you're looking to maybe get into biking and you want to try going. going out on a road bike, you could see if you could borrow it from your neighbor. And then if it's so much better than you could ever imagine, because I will say, biking on a road bike is a lot easier and a lot more fun than biking on a hybrid mountain bike, then you could look into potentially making that purchase or seeing if someone would get it for you as a birthday gift, like a partner birthday birthday gift, as in multiple people getting you a bike for your birthday.

But I think there's lots of ways where you can do your research, figure out the best gear, figure out what works for you, and that that can really help you enjoy a new hobby more. Another thing is just research in general. There is so, so much to learn. And it's very easy to learn a lot when you're getting into something for the first time. So for biking, I know I did a lot of research on the kinds of foods to be eating while you're biking because I've had issues in the past of eating while biking and it really hurting my stomach. So testing different things out, what works for you, you can't ride on an empty stomach. You need fuel to go. And so I learned that dried mango is something that I really like to eat while biking. Granola bars are not my favorite, but I will stomach them down if there's nothing else I have. But like dried fruit bars, those are really good. peanut M&Ms, those got me up rabbit ears, and I also like putting electrolytes in my water

because it makes it taste a whole lot better. And then there's so many beginner mistakes that are also made. A mistake that I definitely made with my bike up rabbit ears was probably drinking too much water, which is not something I really knew was possible until I felt extremely, extremely nauseous that evening. Another reason that could have happened is because all the blood probably went from my stomach to my legs while I was biking uphill for an hour and 30 minutes to fuel my muscles and to keep them going. And so when all that blood rushed back to my stomach, it made me very, very nauseous. And these are all things that you don't really know or don't really think of when you're getting into activities for the first time. But yeah, just do your research

and that can help a lot with getting into new hobbies and enjoying them. So overall, I hope that these tips will inspire you to start something new this summer. You never know how much fun you can have with an activity that you may have used to hate in the past. But if there's something that you've been thinking about doing for a while, then this is your sign to go outside and try it. Because why not? If you don't like it, then you can always quit, but you never know. tell you try because now I love biking and yesterday would have not been as fun if I hadn't

bike to Ohio. Thank you for listening to Off the Trails on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. I hope you have a great week and make time to go outside and enjoy the great outdoors. I'll see you out there. Happy trails. Bye guys.