Alone time in College

You are young. You want to explore the world. But you don’t want to spend a million bucks.

You’ve come to the right place.

Enter the Low End Theory. The blog that helps you, the average college student, explore the wonders of the world. All without breaking the bank. Everything listed in this blog is meant to be as direct and straightforward as possible. “Minimal cash, Maximum adventure,” is the name of the game.

One of the few things that many college students don’t seem to realize, until they really need it, is the desire to enjoy personal time. A time when you have your own personal space, and aren’t out with your friends. Having time to oneself becomes valuable; a busy college career becomes refreshing when you give yourself time to be introspective.

TV, and video games are immediate activities that one thinks of when pondering for occupation of ones alone time. But, we live in a state renowned for it’s beauty.

A bike, specifically a mountain bike, can be acquired cheaply through Craigslist. Mountain bicycles consistently go for as low as $60, ready to go. While you certainly can get something more expensive, Low End Theory recommends looking for affordable bikes (as long as they appear to be sturdy, with nothing lose) and splurging on nice tires with slime inner tubes (so you won’t get flat tires).

EXAMPLES: $60 Schwinn Bike/$120 Trek Bike+$15 Slime inner tubes+(optional tire upgrade of choice)=±$75/$135

Of course all of this can be skipped if you already own a mountain ready bicycle. In which case, once you have a bike in your possession I recommend Trailsnet.com, Traillink.com, or any other useful trail mapping website. Try mountain biking alone, and ponder the universe while getting away from it all. Enjoy natural beauty, take photographs, or test your physical abilities, whatever it may be enjoy this low cost (potentially free) activity that can be enjoyed equally among friends, as with ones own thoughts.

Low End Theory tip of the week: Go on a bike ride through the Ralston Creek trail this trail traverses across Arvada, CO. It begins at the Clear Creek/Ralston Creek Confluence and goes all the way to the Fairmont Trail. It gives you a fantastic mix of urban, suburban, farm, and mountain scenery if you do the whole thing from start to finish. The good thing about this trail is that bus runs near it, should you decide you’ve had enough. In terms of difficulty, it’s an easy trail that turns into a hard one once you hit the mountains. It all depends on how far you would like to explore. It runs next to the Ralston Creek so it’s easy to follow and provides a great deal of fun.