This is roughly the route I plan on taking from Eugene to Rock Valley at the start of RAGBRAI. I'll have only 31 days to do it, leaving on June 19th and arriving hopefully in Rock Valley by July 19th. I'll need to push 90+ mile days across eastern SD and eastern MT to do it (check out the elevation, those are my only chances.)
Roughly 2,000 miles and 78,000 feet of climbing in the first half of the trip. Yay!
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Planning for the bike tour! All maps but the four adventure cycling maps were free off the internet too! #biketour
(photo screenshot from Instagram for posterity)
Thoughts on Difficulty
Welcome to the inaugural post of the Mark to Mark bike tour 2014, where I bike from Iowa Mark's house in Eugene, Oregon to Habba La Babb's (Oregon Mark's) house somewhere in Vermont. If that is confusing this is OK, confusion is good for you.
You should also check out the trip instagram http://instagram.com/siryapsalot
Today I hope to plan out some of my route and what not, when I'm leaving etc. I have a general idea, but that's not what I wanted to write down real quick though. I want to make a quick note on perceived difficulty, which I've been thinking about a lot lately because some people think what I do is difficult to the point that I must be crazy, and I don't agree.
I tell people I'm going on this trip this summer and the response is "oh my that's so impossible" or "Alone? That's so dangerous!" except from other bikers, who respond more like "Fun!" One person's impossible/crazy is another person's afternoon, and this goes both ways. Not that I don't like the attention, but sometimes it sends a weird message.
Several times recently my day job (High School Special Ed) has come up in conversation and the people inevitably start to gush about how special I am for doing such a horrible job or try to saint me. The level of forced sainthood is, generally, directly correlated to their level of intoxication - which really only tells me that many people think in a similar fashion but are normally too sober to be weird about it. I do like being appreciated, it's much better then teacher hate that many of us experience, but... think about the unintended message here...
One thing I want to make clear to anyone carrying enough about my adventure this summer to read this introduction: Difficulty is relative. I don't find working in SpEd something worthy of sainthood - yes, it's very hard and I do a good thing, but my students aren't impossible monsters that suck to be around - at least not to me. People's response to my job reveals their biases or fears about students with disabilities.
Yes, my job is hard, but I'm good at it and like it. Yes, biking across the country is hard, but I'm good at it and I like it. Other things I think are possible and fun that other people think are crazy include public speaking (and I stutter), juggling, unicycling, performing, playing music, etc. I'm good at these things because of abilities and privilege I was born with, and skills I happened to learn during my life. Just like why you are good at things that I'm not good at.
I, personally, think other things are impossibly hard. Things like running your own business, elderly care giving, raising kids, and anything in politics or business. I would never, ever, want to any of those things. People who do do those things are all like "oh, it's not so bad, blah blah blah" - and for them it's not, just like for me what I do isn't so bad. Difficulty is relative. Next time you hear someone talk about a job that's so difficult or distasteful that is blows your mind that any does it, realize that for them is must not be mind blowing or they wouldn't be doing it, just like whatever you do might blow someone else's mind. We're all different.
It never hurts to appreciate someone's hard work, dedication, and practice - in any field - but when your reaction to what they do is one of incredulous pity, you aren't really complimenting that person.
Incredulous awe is fine though, I am a performer after all. :)
You should also check out the trip instagram http://instagram.com/siryapsalot
Today I hope to plan out some of my route and what not, when I'm leaving etc. I have a general idea, but that's not what I wanted to write down real quick though. I want to make a quick note on perceived difficulty, which I've been thinking about a lot lately because some people think what I do is difficult to the point that I must be crazy, and I don't agree.
I tell people I'm going on this trip this summer and the response is "oh my that's so impossible" or "Alone? That's so dangerous!" except from other bikers, who respond more like "Fun!" One person's impossible/crazy is another person's afternoon, and this goes both ways. Not that I don't like the attention, but sometimes it sends a weird message.
Several times recently my day job (High School Special Ed) has come up in conversation and the people inevitably start to gush about how special I am for doing such a horrible job or try to saint me. The level of forced sainthood is, generally, directly correlated to their level of intoxication - which really only tells me that many people think in a similar fashion but are normally too sober to be weird about it. I do like being appreciated, it's much better then teacher hate that many of us experience, but... think about the unintended message here...
One thing I want to make clear to anyone carrying enough about my adventure this summer to read this introduction: Difficulty is relative. I don't find working in SpEd something worthy of sainthood - yes, it's very hard and I do a good thing, but my students aren't impossible monsters that suck to be around - at least not to me. People's response to my job reveals their biases or fears about students with disabilities.
Yes, my job is hard, but I'm good at it and like it. Yes, biking across the country is hard, but I'm good at it and I like it. Other things I think are possible and fun that other people think are crazy include public speaking (and I stutter), juggling, unicycling, performing, playing music, etc. I'm good at these things because of abilities and privilege I was born with, and skills I happened to learn during my life. Just like why you are good at things that I'm not good at.
I, personally, think other things are impossibly hard. Things like running your own business, elderly care giving, raising kids, and anything in politics or business. I would never, ever, want to any of those things. People who do do those things are all like "oh, it's not so bad, blah blah blah" - and for them it's not, just like for me what I do isn't so bad. Difficulty is relative. Next time you hear someone talk about a job that's so difficult or distasteful that is blows your mind that any does it, realize that for them is must not be mind blowing or they wouldn't be doing it, just like whatever you do might blow someone else's mind. We're all different.
It never hurts to appreciate someone's hard work, dedication, and practice - in any field - but when your reaction to what they do is one of incredulous pity, you aren't really complimenting that person.
Incredulous awe is fine though, I am a performer after all. :)
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