Random gear on a bookshelf
I read a great post on RunNature this morning about how one of the realities of being an outdoor athlete is the accumulation of ‘stuff’ that occurs around the home. As I read the description of how RunNature’s friend Hari had running gear spread around his kitchen, and how RunNature herself has running gear scattered on shelves and in drawers around her home, I found myself nodding knowingly because my home suffers a similar case of ‘outdoor gear explosion’.
So, on the pre-race rest day, let me describe the manic process I go through as I try to pack my gear for various races.
Firstly, there’s the random head torches, gaiters, maps, map case and other assorted gear that I have to collect from a bookshelf in the front room of our home. The collection on this shelf changes on an almost daily basis depending on what I decide to shove on the shelf.
Running shoes drying outside
Then there’s my front porch where my wet, muddy or otherwise dirty shoes sit amongst the wind-blown leaves so that they don’t stink up the house as they dry. It occurs to me as I look at this photo that I should probably check my shoes for spiders before wearing them, given the pile of leaves that have accumulated in this spot. Should I admit that this is the first thing people visiting our house see when they come visit?
More shoes randomly dropped
There’s currently also a pair of wet shoes that I dropped on the spare room floor when I got home last night. I was too lazy to open the door and throw them outside. I didn’t want to put them in our wardrobe because that would only result in everything getting stinked up. Oh but wait, we don’t have many clothes in our wardrobe because most of the clean clothes are … prepare to be horrified … lying on our laundry floor in a big pile because we’ve not found time to put them away.
Bikes cluttering the garage
For adventure racing and Audax events I need to fight my way through the clutter in my garage to get at my bikes and cycling gear. I got my mountain bike serviced (did I mention I got new brakes installed?) earlier in the week and still haven’t quite got around to putting the wheels back on. I’ll do it tomorrow when I take it to the race. I should mention that I sweep my garage once a month but the wind always blows the leaves straight back in. At least the bicycle stuff is now contained to one side of the garage, rather than being even more spread out like it used to be.
The rest of my gear is randomly stored on shelves and in cupboards around the rest of our home. Tents, sleeping bag and hiking pack in the linen closet; hiking stove, gas and billy in the pantry; clothing all over the laundry floor; Goretex jacket in my wardrobe; wet weather pants in my motorcycle top box; my hiking pack and hydro bladder are currently on the floor of my office at work (I must bring them home tonight); First Aid kit in the medicine cabinet (at least that makes sense); kick board and hydro belt in my wardrobe; hats variously dropped around the house.
For a Virgo I sure am messy. I always plan to keep my outdoor gear together in a tidy place, but I’d rather be out training and racing than spending time keeping things neat; so I expect that my gear will just be dropped in puddles for the foreseeable future 🙂
Who else has outdoor gear scattered all over their homes?
Transventure 
Oh my, with all the activities you have going on, Andrew, I can only imagine all the stuff you have around the house. We don’t have a garage, so we also have a closet stuffed full of camping equipment. And my husband is a runner, touch rugby player, and former triathlete, so we have all his bikes and stuff all over the place, too!
Oh my! With a husband who also plays sport I can only imagine the volume of gear you have. My partner doesn’t have any exercise gear other than the pair of shoes she goes walking in so we are quite fortunate in a way … I am a little concerned now about how we’re going to fit all my stuff into an apartment later this year (or early next year) now that you mention the lack of garage thing. Especially if I add kayaking and rock climbing to my list of sports (one of the reasons I want to move to the city is to be nearer the Brisbane River (kayaking) and Kangaroo Point Cliffs (outdoor rock climbing venue).
All my kit is mostly ‘tidied away’ i.e. on shelves or in cupboards – but it does appear to inhabit almost every room of the house! I live in a flat (well, an old tenement block), but I made sure it was big enough to dedicate one whole room to bikes and bike kit 🙂
Ooh … I wonder whether my partner will let me dedicate a whole room to my race gear when we move … 😉
Tell her it’s an essential feature! 🙂
LOL.
My husband and I live in an 800sqft condo. So whatever the sport of the season is…the gear resides out in the open in our living room (in a neat pile, of course). We do have basement storage, but it’s a %$^#@ getting the bikes up and down the narrow stairway (because that’s where my 12ft kayak lives!)
Sounds like this outdoor gear messiness is an epidemic – LOL. 🙂 .
I completely sympathize…. after every hike I feel like it takes us all week to find a place to stash our stuff!!! Good luck on your impending race!
Oh yes, the whole cleaning up thing is so painful isn’t it. I imagine you’d have a bit of kit for your hikes, what with you walking in the snow and all. I am picturing lots of layers of warm clothes.