intro:
We were something long ago. Before taxes and minivans, before the stock market and world wars, we were inspired to create and explore. Before all this we had a sense of adventure. What happened to us? We used to trust each other.
Technology made the world so small. And, unfortunately, as soon as we found out that we were all neighbors we couldn’t get along. Soon the world lost some of its luster. In the past we only lived to an average age of about 30 or so. Penicillin changed all that. It broke the threshold in the timeline of human longevity. Interestingly though, as soon as we passed beyond that threshold, we changed. We’d been given more time, but in this time we boomed into technology.
New technology made it much easier and much faster to kill many with the efforts of few. Unfortunately, we took full advantage of that. We’d finally started living longer, and the first thing that we could think to do was come up with new ways of shortening our lives again.
Did this make us afraid to meet new people and go to new places? Did we loose our sense of exploration because we were afraid of what we’d find? Is this why we stopped seeking out and started settling down? In the past travel was a way of life and a way of guaranteeing the existence of our families. For profit or pleasure, travel brought us to where we are today.
Every time I tell someone about my plans of travel, their first response is usually a warning. “You have to watch out for those guys over there, you’ll get mugged,” they’ve said. “Those people would just as soon kill you as look at you,” others might say.
Comments like these make me think that people truly have disconnected from any sense of exploration. A lost sense of exploration makes me wonder; are we living more, or simply living more years?
I was the black sheep of my family. I was always out for an adventure. And listening to stories from my father about the places he’d been and the things he’d seen, made me salivate. I knew when I was young that I was destined for travel. Home or abroad, I was built to keep on truckin’.
The historic escapades of famous travelers had to be proven within their short 30 years on this planet. So I plan to hit the road and challenge myself to see and do many of the things I’ve read about. Dreamed about.
I don’t get along with bosses or bills. So I suppose I will just have to settle for travel. I want to know everything about this planet we all share. But since I can’t do that, I will have to settle for what I can figure out this time around here on earth.
The connection that could be in place between people today is one that holds the possibly to bind us in such ways that prosperity and ascension would be paramount. It is my belief that there is no limit to how connected we can become.
And so, I hope you all will enjoy the journals to come and continue to join me on my voyage.
To the TBA Cycling Club in Virginia Beach, Patrick and Co. at HDK Cycles (soon to be Bike Beat), Joe and the Fat Frog crew, Tom F. and the “Spoke’N Word”, to the friends and family who receive this email. I’ll be traveling far and long (and sometimes hard) in the spirit of… well free spirit, so that I can be for you all a vehicle for the embracement of adventure.
My mission as well as my promise to you, while staying true to Mother Nature in letting her guide me to places new and foreign, is that on my self sustained, low-impact voyage across America and beyond, I will stay true to the following testimonial:
It is my hope that, in my travels, I might inspire someone along the way to reach for their own goals in life. Travel and exploration, for me, is just that. Traveling has been a goal of mine for some time. I have traveled extensively here in the states for many years and in doing so, have found new places within myself I didn’t know were there.
As I continue finding new places and meeting new people I will probably find something much more glorious than a breathtaking view of a waterfall or the rolling landscapes of new places. I will be expanding my horizons and settling into yet even more places within myself. I just hope that I might have an opportunity to share this with others and in a small way contribute to betterment of humanity.
Please feel free to email me any comments and share any thoughts you may have. I am not near a computer all the time, but as soon as I am I will respond to each one. Don’t hesitate to request that I add your email address to my list and I will make sure I add it to my personal email list. And by the way, I am not rich, so if you would like to make a donation to help support my trip I will mention your name or organization on an upcoming website. For more information and all your comments please email me at cyle@cyleodonnell.com.