June 23, 2011
Not having a schedule is weird feeling. Being able to sleep in, sit at the table and just look out the window, or watching the rain while deciding what you feel like doing, can be very terrifying. Some have said that responsibility is what drives a person to work. The lack of responsibility is what prevents a person from applying themselves to work. Now there may be some truths to this, as the greatest fear people seem to have is dying shortly after retirement. People, who spend large amounts of time in one setting, suddenly panic when they are turned out and exposed to a new environment without any structure—prisoners being released after years of incarceration, employees stepping into retirement. The same may apply to those who worked full-time going back into the home to care for a loved one.
If we do not have something or someone to be responsible for, we quickly begin to withdraw from our environment and avoid personal interactions which eventually lead us to be reclusive and depressed. Transitioning to full-time can create similar anxiety; particularly when such isn’t necessarily a complimentary move into retirement.
I felt the same back in 1981-1982 as I prepared for the TransAmerica Bicycle Tour (TAE 517). Long distance bicycle riding is pretty much a solitary act. It can be difficult to find other riders who look forward to 100 mile rides on a Saturday morning, unless you belong to a club. Then the folks in clubs tend to be speed riders and have a time frame in which to complete each segment of the ride. I rode primarily for distance, not speed. I did however try to maintain a 10-15 mph average for my rides. Initially I had no schedule or route for my rides. I had a general idea where I wanted to go, but sometimes I would ride 50 miles straight out from the starting point and 50 miles back, other times I would ride a circular route winding my way back to the beginning.
I took me awhile to grow comfortable with aimless wandering. By the time I left Williamsburg, Virginia in 1982, I was right at home with unstructured schedules.
I forget how great it feels to have no task master. Being able to set a destination based on route, events, or just to see something is very exciting. If it rains today, that’s ok, because we can just go tomorrow. If we need an extra hour because the attraction doesn’t open until 10:00 A.M. we can wait. The only obligation we are willing to accept will be for our own employment—setting up web sites, blogging, or photographing scenes for resale / publication. I suppose what we really want is the right to be flexible and ignore any and all time restraints in our lives ASAP!
Tim and Mary
On the road in Michigan
21st century American Nomads
Showing posts with label Williamsburg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Williamsburg. Show all posts
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Destination unknown
I am not really sure when the idea of going on the road full-time came about. Not that I am against such a move.
In 1982 I loaded up my trusty Schwinn Voyager 11.2 road bicycle and headed to Williamsburg Virginia. My mom and brother drove me to the hostel I was staying at while others on the Trans America East (designated TAE 517)bicycle tour scheduled to leave Williamsburg on May 17, 1982, drifted into town over the next 3 days. We walked Williamsburg, went to Jamestown and other interesting places in the area.
On MAy 15, all the members of TAE 517 had arrived, and we spent the day getting aquainted. One member, Annie, had a sister graduating from William and Mary, so we all crashed the party. On May 16, we all rode our bicycles to Jamestown and placed our rear wheels in the Atlantic Ocean. In a little over three months, we would ride 5,000+ miles and place our front wheel in the Pacific ocean on the coast of Oregon. I am not really sure how this idea of riding cross country came about either.
Other than this inate desire I have to wonder, I mean wander. Seems I have always been on the road to someplace. If not on a bicycle, then in a car or by plane. Once I even went by train--Amtrak from Chicago to Detroit--round trip.
As I matured, not necessarily aged, I tried to convince myself I needed to be more stationary. More responsible and normal. (Actually it was the voice of friends and family around me saying this, I just accepted it as gospel.)
I initiated project "settle down and comform" in 1983. It lasted all of 3 years. I was half way there when I partnered up with my neighbor to do automotive body work. When that failed in 1984, I was determined to stay the course. I then signed on to work with a company that was owned by Huffy Bicycles. As a technician, I would go to area retail stores and assemble bicycles, power wheels, scooter, physical fitness equipment and ready-to-assemble (RTA) furniture both for display and point of purchase.
It was a pretty good job. I traveled the southeast area of Michigan and serviced most major retailers. By 1985 I was traveling to western Michigan and northern Ohio. I knew traveling was my Archilles Heel, but staying close to home base kept me from straying too far for too long. Then I was asked to go to the east coast.
Like the gambler, I was sure I could handle just one road trip. I told myself I was in control, not the wander-lust. I spent 4 weeks in Delaware, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and along the highway 15 / 11 corridor in Shamokin Dam, Pennsylvania. Just like the gambler, I had fallen, from being settled down and responsible, into the abyss of wander-lust: I was swallowed whole.
I knew I shouldn't have done it, but I wanted more. The following year I was back on the road with Huffy heading for Philadelphia. I wanted to go to New York City. I would have continued to Maine or even Maryland if Huffy had asked. Knowing I had to feed the addiction, I eventually went to Oil City Pennsylvania (without Huffy) to work with adjudicated youth for a group called VisionQuest. Even while I was with VQ, I was able to move to Honeybrook, Pennsylvania, to St. Michael's, Maryland, to Ye Haw Junction, Florida before I left and returned north for operation "Settle Down, deux."
In 1982 I loaded up my trusty Schwinn Voyager 11.2 road bicycle and headed to Williamsburg Virginia. My mom and brother drove me to the hostel I was staying at while others on the Trans America East (designated TAE 517)bicycle tour scheduled to leave Williamsburg on May 17, 1982, drifted into town over the next 3 days. We walked Williamsburg, went to Jamestown and other interesting places in the area.
On MAy 15, all the members of TAE 517 had arrived, and we spent the day getting aquainted. One member, Annie, had a sister graduating from William and Mary, so we all crashed the party. On May 16, we all rode our bicycles to Jamestown and placed our rear wheels in the Atlantic Ocean. In a little over three months, we would ride 5,000+ miles and place our front wheel in the Pacific ocean on the coast of Oregon. I am not really sure how this idea of riding cross country came about either.
Other than this inate desire I have to wonder, I mean wander. Seems I have always been on the road to someplace. If not on a bicycle, then in a car or by plane. Once I even went by train--Amtrak from Chicago to Detroit--round trip.
As I matured, not necessarily aged, I tried to convince myself I needed to be more stationary. More responsible and normal. (Actually it was the voice of friends and family around me saying this, I just accepted it as gospel.)
I initiated project "settle down and comform" in 1983. It lasted all of 3 years. I was half way there when I partnered up with my neighbor to do automotive body work. When that failed in 1984, I was determined to stay the course. I then signed on to work with a company that was owned by Huffy Bicycles. As a technician, I would go to area retail stores and assemble bicycles, power wheels, scooter, physical fitness equipment and ready-to-assemble (RTA) furniture both for display and point of purchase.
It was a pretty good job. I traveled the southeast area of Michigan and serviced most major retailers. By 1985 I was traveling to western Michigan and northern Ohio. I knew traveling was my Archilles Heel, but staying close to home base kept me from straying too far for too long. Then I was asked to go to the east coast.
Like the gambler, I was sure I could handle just one road trip. I told myself I was in control, not the wander-lust. I spent 4 weeks in Delaware, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and along the highway 15 / 11 corridor in Shamokin Dam, Pennsylvania. Just like the gambler, I had fallen, from being settled down and responsible, into the abyss of wander-lust: I was swallowed whole.
I knew I shouldn't have done it, but I wanted more. The following year I was back on the road with Huffy heading for Philadelphia. I wanted to go to New York City. I would have continued to Maine or even Maryland if Huffy had asked. Knowing I had to feed the addiction, I eventually went to Oil City Pennsylvania (without Huffy) to work with adjudicated youth for a group called VisionQuest. Even while I was with VQ, I was able to move to Honeybrook, Pennsylvania, to St. Michael's, Maryland, to Ye Haw Junction, Florida before I left and returned north for operation "Settle Down, deux."
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