Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Random thoughts on a Tuesday


Lately, I've been finding it hard to be my usual optimistic, positive self. I think it's partly the muck of the economy and all the related stresses (although I've been trying really hard to not pay attention to the gloom and doom reports). And I've been really wishing that I could just run away with the circus. Leave behind all of my stuff and pedal away into the sunset.

There is a part of me that truly wishes that I could be made happy by just going to a job everyday and sitting in an office. But, that will never be me, I think, because I've always been attracted to the idea of just falling off the grid and experiencing life in a very non-status-quo sort of way.

Which, I guess, is why bike touring is so appealing to me. The world just drops away, and all that matters is moving your legs, eating, enjoying the gorgeous views, and finding a place to sleep at night. This past weekend, we went back to O'neill Park. It rained almost the entire weekend, even hailed at one point. I and my gear were soaked through many times. And it was glorious, for the simple fact that the aforementioned muck just disappeared from view. Oh, and the way that everything glistened from the rain and reminded me of Oregon.

Russ and I have already started plotting our next trip, for this coming three-day weekend. If we could figure it out, I think we'd hit the road and not come back for months. Sitting here, eating my lunch, I'm not sure if this is a head-in-the-sand sort of mentality, or a new and exciting direction for my life...

Have you ever just wanted to run away from it all? What did you do?

3 comments:

Ashley said...

I like hearing about your adventures! I took a three month road trip around the west after college. But yes, I do still dream about living out in the woods and/or running away from it all.

Unknown said...

After graduating from college, we hit the road in our VW camper bus for a month or so. It was glorious. I remember once pulling over to the side of the road late at night not really knowing where we were, going to sleep, and waking up to discover we were looking over the most gorgeous lake. Pretty soon, though, the realities of needing to make money took over and we landed in Colorado, found some throw-away jobs, and had other adventures.

Amanda K Lockrow said...

I often feel that way living in LA. It's so different than how I grew up and I'm not sure what to do. But riding my bike around helps it feel better here.