Why do a long distance bike tour?
This trip. It’s been in the making for a while now. At least since August 2014 when Be and I sat on her couch. Mt. Isa, Queensland, Australia. Having just hosted cyclists on “round the world tours,” we looked at each other and said, “We should do that!” And so the shared dream started. We pulled out maps, we listed countries, we schemed and we dreamed and we said, “In 2-3 years, yeah.” “Where should we start?” “South America!” “Yeah!”
As we dreamt it all up, underneath the excitement it felt too far away. It felt too, haha, yeah right, I wish! So for the next couple years it rested — in the back of my heart, in the corner of my mind.
Fast forward to early 2016. I sat in the Bellingham Pickford Cinema next to my friend, Anni, having just watched, “Where to Invade Next,” by Michael Moore. We sat there, credits rolling, quiet. “We have got to go traveling,” she said. “Got to get out of this American mindset.” When I returned home, I posted a piece of paper above my bed on the loft ceiling:
WORLD BIKE TOUR!!!
Because Fuck capitalism, patriarchy, greed.
Because Wildness! Mountains! Simplicity!
Another way of living.
Because Patagonia! Peru! Kyrgyzstan! Sweden!
Because other peoples’ points of view.
Because why not? Why not do what we love? Why not stop holding ourselves back? Why not commit to the simplicity of wake up, eat, bike, eat, bike, laugh, cry, bike, laugh, eat, connect, bike, sleep, repeat? What are we waiting for in order to do what we most love?
And so here we go. To Ushuaia, via Buenos Aires, the southernmost town in Argentina. We don’t have an agenda to cycle around the world. We don’t have an agenda. Just two women and their bikes, starting in Patagonia. Just two great friends, both sensitive, artistic, and equipped with a ridiculously compatible sense of humor. Going for joy. Going for a bigger perspective. Going because they love to ride their bikes!
-Kelsey-
Please keep writing. Please bring us along. Please let us know the dirt, the grime, the hurt, the human. Please let us share the moments of breathless beauty. Please let us witness what happens when two women decide to say "Fuck Capitalism, Patriarchy, Greed--Because other peoples' points of view." You are doing what so many are curious about and wishing to do. What happens next? Who do you meet? What do you hear? What will happen to your hearts? Will you be blown away, literally and figuratively? What will start because of this choice? Going into something this challenging means you are signing up for some sort of transmutation; who will you be on the other side? You two are resisting capitalistic complicity in your own way. Thank you for offering another option; even if it's not one I would do, it IS a reminder that I have the privilege to make a different choice and, in my small way, leverage change, and because I have the privilege to so do, I also have a responsibility to do so. Thank you for responding to your call. xo Traveling Mercies. ~Anni
ReplyDelete