I am in the habit of reading bicycle touring blogs, CrazyManOnaBike. I've noticed how uninteresting it can be to read the travel blogs of experienced and strong bicycle tourists. The daily numbers they put up are impressive. But everything is so smooth and predictable.
It is usually more fun to read the blogs of raw newbies. They are more open about their fear and wonder. They screw up and then have to deal with the drama of digging out of one mess after another.
This is redolent of my situation converting my first cargo trailer into a livable travel trailer. It was long-anticipated, and highly relished. But it turned out smoother than I thought. I didn't say 'easy.' But as I anticipate leaving on its maiden voyage tomorrow, Friday the 13th, I do feel slightly cheated. Where was the drama and the exquisite Noble Suffering that William James wrote about?
It seems playful to taunt the gods by starting life with my new trailer on Friday the 13th, after two months of sunrise-to-sunset work in converting it. It is strange how a vestige of superstition exists in Modern Man. For me it takes the form of fearing divine retribution for displaying hubris.
It is entirely possible that the modern age is temperamentally superstitious under the outer skin of rational and scientific thinking. Consider what Gilbert Murray said in "Five Stages of Greek Religion:"
All around us we see things like consumer brand loyalty, patriotism (the euphemism we normally use for imperialistic militarism), New Age fads, food fads and ideologies, quack herbal remedies, fear of Global Warming, etc.
But I'm not trying to sound totally superior to all of that. The great day finally arrived. I was getting ready to leave the heat and wind of Farmington NM, and then head to cooler Colorado, when I noticed the new trailer rising a bit at the hitch, whereas it had always been completely horizontal, before. Strangely, the (female) hitch wasn't really sitting down on the ball correctly. I had come that close to taking off with an accident waiting to happen. The gods were in fact still on duty.
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In the Dolores, CO to Ouray, CO area over the next couple weeks? Feel free to email me if you would like to camp nearby and go mountain biking, dog walking, or cargo trailer note-swapping. I leave it to you to decide if I would be fun to camp with. My interests are listed at the top of the page. I don't really have much interest in the "boondocking" stereotype of the blogosphere, though.
It is usually more fun to read the blogs of raw newbies. They are more open about their fear and wonder. They screw up and then have to deal with the drama of digging out of one mess after another.
This is redolent of my situation converting my first cargo trailer into a livable travel trailer. It was long-anticipated, and highly relished. But it turned out smoother than I thought. I didn't say 'easy.' But as I anticipate leaving on its maiden voyage tomorrow, Friday the 13th, I do feel slightly cheated. Where was the drama and the exquisite Noble Suffering that William James wrote about?
It seems playful to taunt the gods by starting life with my new trailer on Friday the 13th, after two months of sunrise-to-sunset work in converting it. It is strange how a vestige of superstition exists in Modern Man. For me it takes the form of fearing divine retribution for displaying hubris.
It is entirely possible that the modern age is temperamentally superstitious under the outer skin of rational and scientific thinking. Consider what Gilbert Murray said in "Five Stages of Greek Religion:"
The great thing to remember is that the mind of man can not be enlightened permanently by merely teaching him to reject some particular set of superstitions. There is an infinite supply of other superstitions always at hand; and the mind that desires such things -- that is, the mind that has not trained itself to the hard discipline of reasonableness and honesty, will, as soon as its devils are cast out, proceed to fill itself with their relations.
All around us we see things like consumer brand loyalty, patriotism (the euphemism we normally use for imperialistic militarism), New Age fads, food fads and ideologies, quack herbal remedies, fear of Global Warming, etc.
But I'm not trying to sound totally superior to all of that. The great day finally arrived. I was getting ready to leave the heat and wind of Farmington NM, and then head to cooler Colorado, when I noticed the new trailer rising a bit at the hitch, whereas it had always been completely horizontal, before. Strangely, the (female) hitch wasn't really sitting down on the ball correctly. I had come that close to taking off with an accident waiting to happen. The gods were in fact still on duty.
______________________________________
In the Dolores, CO to Ouray, CO area over the next couple weeks? Feel free to email me if you would like to camp nearby and go mountain biking, dog walking, or cargo trailer note-swapping. I leave it to you to decide if I would be fun to camp with. My interests are listed at the top of the page. I don't really have much interest in the "boondocking" stereotype of the blogosphere, though.
Comments
2. Somebody who doesn't take a shower April to July 1 because they are waiting for the monsoons so that they can collect rainwater off their roof.
3. Somebody who spends all morning baking a potato in a solar oven instead of doing it in ten minutes on a propane stove. Propane is an evil fossil fuel, you know. Then they jump in their 10000--20000 pound rig and drive half-way across the North American continent to look at some scenery.
4. Somebody whose only outdoor activity is dogless hiking in national parks and the like.
5. Somebody who is anti-industry and anti-technology, prefers Simplicity and living in Harmony with Nature, and then spend half the day watching satellite television.
Eat a piece of pie for us in Dolores!
Gayle