Life at home has been awesome. I was quickly able to get a job, and slowly started to make a dent in the debt. I got it all paid off in March of this year, and since then have been saving/spending in preparation for my trip. When it's all said and done, I'll be leaving with roughly $1,300 in my pocket.
Soon after my debt was paid I met him. I mean, I met the one. His build was strong and rugged, with a sturdy frame and a smooth style all his own. He glistened in the sun as he swept me away off my feet, and I was instantly in love. As we rode off together into the sunset I know we'd be together forever. He made me feel safe and secure, like I could really depend on him to get me through anything. I could tell he'd be in it for the long haul.
His name is Bonner,
a Surly LHT, and he's the most gorgeous thing on two wheels in the whole world. Now I know I said I was in love with my bike in RI, but I was mistaken. That was puppy love compared to this. I had no idea a bicycle could bring one so much joy and happiness. Bonner and I, well we have this indescribable bond, a strong and silent connection. We go everywhere together, two peas in a pod. He's my home now.I'm challenging myself to live in a new way. To traverse the world by bike and boat! Everyday is going to be a mission of survival. My new occupation will be peddling, mental and physical health my bounty. And with that health I will then give back to the earth, and do what I can to help. No paying job, no permanent shelter, no reliable food source, and no one else to rely on. Just me, Bonner, and the horizon. Only using money for emergency use and repairs on Bonner. As for food, I'm going to dumpster dive, scavenge, and take advantage of soup kitchens. I'll have an emergency two day ration in case I get stuck, but I really want to try and avoid buying food on a daily basis. I'm going to be camping a lot of the time, and every now and then I'm going to want some companionship, a living thing to talk to (sorry Bon), maybe a bed and a shower if I'm lucky. That's where http://www.couchsurfing.org and http://www.warmshowers.org come in. These non profit organizations contain like-minded travelers who open their homes to each other for free. Stragglers, dreamers, and wander-lusting thrill seekers are welcomed into a strangers' home where they are fed, offered a shower and a safe place to sleep. It's an awesome way to meet people all over the world, learn about their home town and culture, and make an instant friend. Since I've been planning this trip I've hosted a handful of earth-trod souls, each one inspiring me more and more to leave my key ring behind. I am so grateful to have this constant support line available everywhere I go. And the people are amazing.
After I've been on the road for a few weeks and gotten the hang of what it takes to keep myself alive, I'm going to spend the majority of my time volunteering around the country. Spending a week here, two weeks there, maybe a month or two at a time somewhere if I find a really intense project. I'm mostly interested in work on farms, but will gladly take on any opportunity that's thrown my way. Organizations like www.wwoofusa.org, www.workaway.info, and www.helpx.net are resources that I will utilize to find these volunteering privileges. These non-profits offer free room in board in exchange for an average of about 25 hours/week of your time to volunteer. Pretty fucking cool, I say. It's really important to me to do what I can to make each place better, to leave it better than I found it. Volunteering also will give me the chance to learn new life skills, to teach and be taught and to share with people. That alone is a gift with unmeasurable value. I'll keep what I learn with me for the rest of my life, replacing material possessions with mental ones.
Gradually I'm going to make my way east, and hit the southern coast sometime before winter. Port to port I'll be thumbing, asking those studly sailors if I can lend a hand. Hopefully I'll be making way soon enough, Bonner will be tied down and stowed away in the cabin and I'll be up on deck, sailing wherever the captain and the wind agree upon. I'm hoping to sail across the Atlantic sometime next season, maybe make it to Europe or beyond, and continue the bike tour when reaching land. I'll sail as long as I can, I have a feeling I'm going to fall in love with life on the sea. Maybe I'll even fall in love on the sea, who knows. I just know that I have to take advantage of this time in my life. I'm young and healthy, have zero debt, no kids, and astounding love and support from my friends and family. I have to prove to myself that I can do this, that I can be this independent, this strong. That I can survive in the wild, and still do good for people. I'm not running away from anything, not looking for anything, I'm just not interested in spending my life earning an idea. Earning silly pieces of paper with monetary and meaningless numbers and pictures vomited all over it. I'm not interested in filling my life and my space with society's idea of what is appropriate and proper. I don't fit into all of that, it doesn't make me happy. It's pretty silly to exist and be unhappy when you are in control of it. After all, happiness is a skill in itself. I want my time on this planet to matter, and to (although cliche) make a positive impact on the world, in one little place at a time, one day at a time. I want to experience total selflessness. I hope to learn to be completely self sufficient, have zero footprint, and survive with what would otherwise go to waste.
This is going to be a new way of life. I'm going to go out and see the world, and live this way as long as I can. After planning this dream for over a year, the time has come. I leave my key ring in the door in t-minus 5 days, 20 hours, and 6 minutes. Did I mention that I'm completely freaking out?
