Solitude

My mom desperately wants me to take someone - anyone - on my trip to Canada with me. She's worried for my safety of course (a post is coming up about the measures I'm taking to protect my safety for those interested) and I don't think there's any denying that this trip has dangers involved. Weather, much larger animals deciding to be in my lane around a blind corner... with sharper teeth (here's to hoping that if I do hit a grizzly bear, I finish him off instead of just irritating him), other drivers, steep cliffs, etc.  [As a side note: If I do survive a crash like that only to be mauled to death, you all have to promise that you'll find at least some humor in the irony of that haha!]

There is something to traveling on a motorcycle that makes it all worth it though.  Driving through a forest and really knowing you're in a forest because you feel the dampness in the air on your skin and smell the fragrant pine needles. You feel the 3 degree temperature difference between the shade and the sun as you pass from tree to tree, and you're alone with nature, even at 40 mph.

Traveling alone increases the effect. When I went to Spain by myself, lots of things went wrong. I left my ATM card in the states, I didn't speak the language very well, I left my passport in the cab when I was dropped off at the Barcelona Airport. I solved every problem by myself and I came back so much more confident in myself.  I don't think that I could have gained this confidence had I relied on a traveling companion's brains - even partially. Then there's the freedom aspect.  If I want to eat at some dive or at some fancy steakhouse, I don't need to convince someone else to go along or compromise. If I'm bored with the scenery I can move on and if I'm fascinated I can slow down. No negotiation necessary.

The value of the solitude is not lost on me. This trip is a spiritual journey for me - literally and figuratively. I'm ultimately going to end up meeting a man who's books changed my life and continue to influence it. I have no idea what to expect, but I planned the trip to give me seven days in the Canada wilderness after meeting him to contemplate life a bit. My trip's length is three weeks. The longest I've ever traveled. The poem I wrote last night is from my soul. I fully expect to go back and forth between loneliness and being alone over the course of those three weeks. Just like getting my passport back from a long gone cab, solving that problem is what the trip is all about.