Michael Priscilla is a young architect with a blog that I follow. In a post, he described how in 2005, he rode coast-to-coast, 4,547 miles to Portland, Oregon, and he ended up staying there. He thought his experience changed his life.
The story resonated with me, because when I was 17, the summer before I went into architecture school, I did much the same thing, and it changed my life too. I did not go quite as far, traveling 2,700 miles to Vancouver.
But it was still a very long way and in 1970, nobody was riding bikes. Our diet only consisted of a loaf of white bread and a jar of peanut butter each meal, or dinner with other people in the campgrounds —— who were just amazed that we were doing this. Equipment was primitive and we had no sunscreen.
But, as it was for Michael, it was a life-changing experience. I have never forgotten that everything weighs something and every ounce matters;in architecture I always tended toward light and portable and simple. I learned that people of all ages and origins are generally really, really nice and helpful and friendly. When I got back to architecture school, I saw the world differently, understood space and time differently, and I don't think that ever left me.
Going with the flow, having a good attitude and just being open to accept whatever happens, is the formula (公式) to having an amazing experience. Worrying and planning too much stops any experience from ever taking place. This is a hard lesson to learn.
Nowadays, lots of people of all ages are doing it. In America and Europe, bicycle tourism has become a big deal, with one website noting that bicycle vacations are the new golf. Perhaps crossing the entire country is a bit much, but reading Michael's post makes me want to get back on my bike and take a good long ride.