Road Trips

When I was a younger, I read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig and had to lie about the fact that I really appreciated and/or understood anything the philosophical elements he describes while making his journey west. But after multiple readings, it has become one of my favorites and I can now honestly say that not only do I have a better understanding of the philosophical aspects, few books have affected me more fundamentally. There are a host of reasons why, but one of the most basic is that it remains one of the better road trip books and lately I've been thinking a lot about the allure of the road trip.

Why do I like the road? After much thought, it probably stems in no small part from growing up in South Dakota, and though I've come to appreciate her beauty in ways that youth cannot, I spent a lot of my teenage years reading and thinking about other parts of the country. Coupled with my later interest in the beat poets and antics of the Merry Pranksters et al., I fell in love with the road and though I never spent time freight hopping or hitchhiking or any of the more extreme road trips, over the years I have developed a deep appreciation for being on the road. Often I will go long spells without a true road trip, but I never go long without thinking about one. Be it a nice sunny day, a particular time of the year, a long since forgotten smell, the thought of people or places from my past or just a yearning for places more obscure, these journeys continue to be a big part of who I am.

I now live about a mile from I-5, a long stretch of interstate that connects Canada and Mexico. Living this close to a major interstate definitely has its downside, but one upshot is the fact that I frequently have the opportunity to ride my bike across one of the overpasses and see travelers from this strange stationary perspective. I will often stop above the speeding cars and trucks and wonder where they are going and what they are thinking about as they speed past another random town. I wonder if they see me and wonder what it would be like to live here. I know I often think those thoughts when I am the one in the car.

Lately, I've been putting some thought into this subject and began to wonder about the reasons why these travels have been and continue to be so important to me. Of the many road trips I've taken which of them stand out and why? I found that many times they have a purpose, vacation, to escape a negative element, to seek out a positive one etc. But I also found that whatever the reason initially, many times in retrospect the trip becomes something wholly different. That meaning presents itself to me after the fact and I understand the journey in a different way.

I am convinced that this is probably true for others and I wondered if I would find similar themes if I asked my friends to share their own stories. So, now that the holidays are past and thinking about a good road trip might help to shake off some of the winter doldrums, I ask you to try to find a minute to think of your favorite trips and what made them so. Of course this being my sabbatical year I'd love to have enough information to be able to present some of my "data" (aka your stories) somewhere but know that reading your stories and researching what little "research" exists on this topic is enough. I may ask to follow up with you at some point and, if nothing else, it will give me an excuse to share a story and good times with some of you. I know how valuable your time is and, if you've read this far, I've probably taken up too much as it is but I hope that, at the very least you had the chance to reflect on a good road trip or perhaps you've been inspired to set out on a new journey. If so, I hope the road treats you well.

For those of you who would like to respond to my query here are a few parameters to help narrow things down. I've posted specific questions below but to set the general tone I'm looking for those trips where, though there may have been a purpose or goal to the trip, try to think about why, out of all the trips you've taken you chose to talk about this particular trip; What about that journey was special. It can be something as simple as the pace or aimlessness of the journey, or the obscurity/randomness of the places you visited or the way it changed the relationship (for better or worse) with the person (and this could be yourself) who traveled with you. Was it just the right trip at the right time, either in celebration of a significant life event or accomplishment or in mourning over the loss of someone or something? The idea is that you took a journey by whatever means carried you and that aspect of that journey moved you emotionally or spiritually. So, if you've followed me so far the next step is to try to understand why that specific trip moved you. Here are some specific questions to get you started. As you answer these try keep coming back to how you felt during the road trip.

• Where did you go?
  
  • Was the destination important?
    
  • Did the destination become more or less important in hindsight?
    
  • Where the places you visited (either planned or unplanned) on this trip important and did the gain or lose significance as you traveled?
    
• When did you go?
  
  • Was the timing of this trip significant i.e. it came after or before a big life event (planned or unplanned)? Related to this question….
    
  • How old were you on this trip? Was your age an important factor? If so why?
    
• Who went with you?
  
  • Was the person(s) you traveled with either the reason or an important element of the journey i.e. honeymoon, first love etc.
    
  • Did this person or persons become more or less important in hindsight?
    
  • Did it change the relationship with the person(s) with whom you traveled?
    
• How did you go? By what means did you travel?
  
  • Was the method of travel an important element of the trip and if so, why?
    
• How did the trip change you as an individual?
  
  • Was the purpose of the trip about self discovery?
    
  • Did the trip end up having the "type" of influence you hoped it would?
    
  • Did the journey end up having a different "type" of influence and if so, what did you discover and how was it different than what you had expected?
    
• Reflecting on your journey
  
  • In thinking back do you get a strong sense of how you felt then? And, if possible talk about how those feelings are different than how you feel about the journey now.
    
• What other thoughts, feelings or reflections do you have to share about this experience?
  

 

Please feel free to share with everyone by posting your thoughts under comments. It would help if you posted your real name but if you feel the need to protect the innocent, by all means post anonymously. If you'd rather just respond via email send them to me at deneuid@sou.edu.

 

Thank you.