Am I a MAN yet?

     Journal:
     Leaving on a journey is not a new experience. As one fellow traveler poetically told me, "Living on the road is an old way of life." It is interesting though how technology can and has impacted this. While I personally have chosen to avoid using a GPS or smart phone, however useful those tools would be, I still opt to occasionally check my facebook and google maps, and update my blog.
     If you have not had this experience, I can not tell you how surreal it feels being utterly and completely alone in the woods one night, then logging into facebook the next day to see what everyone is up to.
     On the one hand, it's nice to be able to know that my friends and family that I left behind are safe. I suppose that in the past, travelers would have an undying sense of worry, never really knowing how their loved ones were doing, until the invention of the telegraph. Now though, I can see a picture of my mother having wine and cheese on a kayak at the lake she lives at—in real time if I'm sitting at the computer. How amazing is that!?
     On the other hand, a part of me doesn't want to know. A part of me doesn't want to see everyone's worlds passing by normally and happily, without me a part of it. Sure, I could leave a comment and sure, I could even chat with people on their, but that doesn't change the face that I'm not part of their lives anymore. I knew, of course, that this was what I was choosing in leaving, but knowing and experiencing are two different things. Many of us tend to forget that.

     Now I'd just like to say that I do try to put on a brave and friendly face. However, I'll admit to you now that I am tired, sore, really dirty, lonely, and occasionally scared. I'll admit that I definitely would not have made it this far if not for the love that I feel every day from my loved ones back in Connecticut. I'll admit that I would have made it this far if I had not encountered so many kind and amazing people on my journey so far. Every smiling face I encounter boosts my morale and that has been especially crucial. If you are one of the many many people that has simply spoken to me, smiling and interested, and are reading this now—Thank you. From the bottom of my heart thank you.
     Now I'd like to say, beyond the face, that I will not turn around no matter what. No matter how tough it gets, no matter how many difficulties I encounter, nor how miserable I am, ever, I will not turn around. I will die before I do that. I swear I will.
     This blog is important to me. I give it to people not in some vain attempt to gain fame and notoriety, but because knowing that there are people I have met along the way that are inspired by me inspires me right back to keep pushing myself to do what I am doing. I've got about 300 miles from here to my next destination, Asheville. I hope I can do that in 5 days, getting to Asheville on Monday, just in time for another post. Guess we'll see how I do. Let's hope that North Carolina is as good to me as Virginia was (once I got past Fredricksberg. North of there was rough).
     Sorry there's no story this week. Lots of amazing things happened in Richmond and I met many amazing people there and through all my travelings in the beautiful state of Virginia, but unfortunately my heart is just not in a narrative mood right now. Besides, I've got to get started on this stretch! Hmm, main roads are a surer and faster shot, but back roads are nicer. On the other hand, it's easy to get lost or hit some kinda dead-end, and riding becomes really hard when you don't know if you're going the right way or not. Cycling is just like life in that way—when you know you're going the right direction, applying yourself is easy!


     Advice:
     Whether I am qualified to give advice or not I do not know, but saw a younger man on facebook expressing how I used to feel years ago and decided to share just a bit of what I've learned with him. This is what I wrote:

     I always wanted to ride my bicycle across the country. It was a long time dream of mine that I always said, "someday" to. Well, recently, I made it happen. I'm currently in a little library in Henderson, North Carolina, and I've got riding to do to find a safe place to sleep tonight.

     There was a time, however, when I felt like you Mr. So-and-so. Incompetent, worthless, weak... I can't tell you how to get from that to here, that's up to you to figure out—it's your path after all, not mine—but I can tell you that it is possible, and give you a couple tips (that worked for me).

     Firstly, it's all about how much you want. I don't really know you or what you want to do, but whatever it is, you have to choose: That, or the various other things in life you have. For me, I had to let go of everything to do this. I quit my jobs, sold my collections of thigns, said goodbye to my friends and family, people I loved (there's still facebook though lol, thanks technology).

But the point is that was all a CHOICE. I chose to subject myself to the elements, to nights of loneliness, to an uncertain future, because I wanted this. That's the difference between success and failure. It's what you choose, and you choose what you want. If you want to live in your parents attic and play video games with your friends most of your life and scrape by on whatever meager earnings you get (that's who I was) then that's what you are gonna choose.

I decided I wanted more than that. I decided I wanted to be more than that. Now I'm here.
Whether I will be or not is yet to be seen, but I'm working towards it, and that, I think, I hope, is the point.

Decide what YOU want, then put your everything into it. Succeed or die.

     That's pretty harsh though, right haha? The other piece of advice is, after you decide what you want, take little steps towards it. If you want to be an Olympic swimmer, but currently don't know how to swim, don't try to swim across Long Island Sound straight away. You'll drown. Open your mind to the relevant information you need and begin working up your skills and knowledge at whatever it is. For me, I always rode my bike whenever I could. Then I started riding my bike to work, getting about 20-40 miles a day. Then I rode my bike to Brooklyn, which was 91 miles. Then I rode to Montreal, which was 360 miles. Then I challenged myself to get to Boston, 165 miles, in two days. I actually just passed the 1000 mile mark today on this journey, and I'm pretty excited about that.
Good luck figuring it out brother. There are an incomprehensible number of paths that each of us can take in life. I say, choose the one that you can look back on with no regrets. If you don't know what path that is... Well that's what you need to figure out!
(I suggest traveling. It'll give you perspective and knowledge that you didn't even know you needed, but that's just me).

     Poetry:
     Firstly, here is a poem that I did not write. It was on a Freedom is Not Free memorial in the town of Lunenburg, Virginia. I stopped there to rest on Memorial Day. I paid my respect, played the harmonica a bit, and left my map of Virginia by the monument. My camera was dead, otherwise I'd of taken a picture. I'm in the midst of writing my own poem about my experiences in Virginia, but it's not done yet so here is this for now:

     Day is done
     gone the sun,
     from the lakes
     from the hills
     from the sky
     all is well,
     safely, rest
     God is near.

     Fading light,
     dims the sight,
     and a star gems the sky
     gleaming bright,
     from afar,
     drawing, near,
     falls the night.

     Thanks and praise,
     for our days,
     neath the sun
     neath the starts,
     neath the sky,
     as we go,
     this, we, know,
     God is near.

     Secondly, I visited the Richmond Art Museum and saw this piece:

     It moved me to tears, and I took that feeling and wrote this poem.
     As always, thank you for reading, and feel free to share a thought or comment!

     "Befitting of Nature"

     Would that I could sculpt you of bronze
     Your face, perfection, with reality bonds
     my hand, never in want, yet never she fawns
     Caress, that moment, the heart again dawns.

     And would that your hair I could cast of silver
     Poor imitation—no way to feel her
     Speckle of your magnificence—constructed metal glitter
     Still of worthiness—placed atop tallest pillar.

     And would that I could chisel you a body of marble
     Your dots, your lines, yours curves, no longer novel
     My thoughts, my needs, my wants, all now noble
     Our play, our dance, our embrace, eternally immobile.

     Would that I could have you for all of time
     Sweet safe illusion—to behold one as mine
     Paths we walk—beating of life in rhyme
     'Twas only there and then were I truly alive.

     Would that I could create you such masterpiece
     Vainly sign my name in some small niche
     Nay! This replica... Your skin was softer than fleece
     though cold and hard, my gaze it shan't release.

     Would not that I could craft of you what is known
     though memories fade away and are gone
     for love need not be captured in stone
     'tis always free—to fly from your heart—into mine own.


     Pictures:

 Takin' a break on my way to Richmond.
I'm more tired than I look.
The flies there didn't let me nap though.

 One of the coolest places in Richmond is Belle Isle!
For my CT friends, think East Rock but waaaay more easily accessible.
There's this cool bridge leading to it.
Lots of people are there hiking, swimming, and just chillin' out!

 What the heck are these!?
I'll stick with mulberries haha.

 The landlord of the kind dudes in the background here did not share their same spirit of Southern Hospitality.
Quite passive-aggressive for a Southerner, no?

 

My view from my tent after I left Richmond.
Lookin' out over that river, I blew into that Harmonica through the night!