Pilgramage

Today in class we mentioned pilgrimages. I was really impressed to hear that a couple of classmates had done some very impressive treks. For Doug to have hiked the AT (Doug, did you hike the whole trail?) and biked from Virginia to Montana is awesome. Also, Rio walking to Austin Texas was very fun to hear of. I would think that walking is perhaps the most authentic experience you could get when going to a place-- refer to Emerson's essay on "Walking". I'm sure that these two learned some valuable experiences on their journeys.

Hopefully I will be joining the ranks of these men soon. Today my touring bike finally arrived and, at the first sight of it, I saw so many possibilities open up it was incredible. I was so stoked that I took it on a little ride up to campus and back down. It felt great. I imagined myself riding across the Rockies, the plains, settling down by the Yellowstone river, camping under the stars and all the glorious imagery of the American tourist.

Before I continue I think it is necessary to provide a defense of tourists. At its core the word tourist is someone who tours. At its heart touring is not the picture-happy fanny pack and visor experience we all know it as. Touring should be considered as getting to know a place by delicately experiencing it... not being boisterous and a nuisance.

With this in mind, I plan on being a tourist of America. Exploring all the backroads that get glossed over by interstate highways, biking past little farms, and finding my way through the cities. Walt Whitman will be my companion on my pilgrimage through America as I try to find where he has been waiting. I'm supremely excited and cannot wait until May 15th when the world will open up as far as my legs can take me.