2011 Sabbatical Ride

If you could take a month-long vacation would you? I believe it's safe to assume that almost everyone would answer an immediate "Yes!" to that question, which begs the next question: is the reason so few of us do because we are not given the opportunity, or because we don't make it happen? It has been 18 years since the last time I had a vacation longer than 2 weeks. To say these types of breaks don't come around often is an understatement, at least for most Americans. We're focused on family, work, our homes and material possessions. We take vacations but usually in small segments because we really don't want to hop off that treadmill for too long. That approach is fine for a while, but I believe that eventually everyone needs or would benefit greatly from an extended break. I'm fortunate enough to work at one of those forward-looking companies that believes giving their employees a sabbatical every five years is a good way to strengthen their employee base and in turn the company. Although I was eligible for my sabbatical in November of 2009 a number of factors prevented me from actually taking it. I'm now in a position to take my sabbatical and I've been planning this for years. I'm calling it my Epic Little Adventure.

I've always had an adventurous spirit. From an early age I've been riding my bike 2 or 3 times my age in miles. In high school I got involved in a club called the Wilderness Expedition Society that deeply resonated with my love of the outdoors. Over the years family and work obligations have reduced the amount of adventuring I've been able to do to small outings. It's difficult to really stoke the adventure fires in that short of a time. What inevitably happens to an adventure seeker like myself is not too unlike what happens with a giant wildfire. Fuel builds up over the years until a spark sets it off and away it goes. I'm ready to go and the open road awaits.

Beware thoughts that come in the night.
- Opening sentence from William Least Heat-Moon's book, Blue Highways

As with many grand ideas it started with a dream. For decades I've been dreaming about visiting some National Parks for the first time. I've been to most of the National Parks in California, some many times, but for all of my love of these treasured places, I've never made it to the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone. With that itch needing to be scratched I logged on to Google Maps to get an idea of what it would take to visit these two parks. At that time bicycling was my preferred mode of transport (and still is for shorter trips) but it quickly became apparent that I would need at least 6 weeks to pedal a route that included my house and these two parks, and that's not including any time I would want to spend there. It was also about this time that I read Neil Peart's Ghost Rider and saw Long Way Down. Together these two stories triggered a thought that quickly sprouted into an idea that grew into a plan. A motorcycle would allow me to cover this ground and more, while still providing me the enjoyment of riding on two wheels (something that is truly core to who I am). And while the motorcycle makes it easier to carry gear, it is still a lot more difficult than doing the same with an automobile. Thus my adventure was born.

On July 1st, 2011 I set out for the entire month on a 5,000-mile motorcycle ride that will take me through 27 nationally designated and protected wilderness areas, including 9 national parks and 1 national seashore. That is a lot of ground and scenery to cover and I will not hesitate to agree that I will be merely scraping the surface of these beautiful places. To view my trip that way, however, is to fall victim to the common destination-is-the-reward way of thinking. For me, the journey between these places, the thousands of miles I will log on my bike with their attendant helmet time as I call it, is just as important. And this is another reason why travelling by motorcycle is so different from driving a car. Motorcycle riders' senses are heightened and their focus on the world around them is more acute. The added attention required to ride a motocycle results in riders being more aware of what's happening around them and as a result they are more a part of their environment. It may be a subtle distinction to some, but my motorcycling friends know what I'm talking about. For me the mode of transport was just as important of a choice as where I wanted to go.

If you want to see a map of where I'm planning to go check out The Route page. For a little more detail on where I'll be and what I'll be seeing each day check out the Daily Itinerary page. It's a big trip and yes I am growing increasingly more nervous about this undertaking as the day of departure approaches. I've never done anything quite this adventurous before.

One final note: please feel free to comment on this blog. It's going to be a long road and having friends along for the ride, how ever virtually, will make every mile more rewarding. Thanks in advance for reading and joining me on my Epic Little Adventure.