The Long Way X-Cross

On your mark, get set, go! For me, the hardest part of writing a novel is the beginning, just as a story ends with “The End” mine should begin with “On your mark, get set go!” There, the hardest part is over. My last novel, some sixty thousand words, lies in dust covered book bag waiting for those final few words, waiting for a finial brilliant conclusion before the words, “The End”. As difficult as I find it to conclude my first book I also struggle with the task of beginning this one but alas I have begun.

The Long Way X-Cross is a dream, an adventure of a lifetime. With only one lifetime to give fate has brought me to where I am today. I stand at the beginning of a new chapter in life one where I have the means and hopefully the ability to crisscross the country on a motorcycle. A dream shared by thousands attempted by hundreds and chronicled by few. My personal inspiration lies with two incredible individuals who shared their dream by documenting their adventure in the documentary “The Long Way Around”.

Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman rode around the world from London to New York City, going east, a trip over twenty four thousand miles long. The television documentary allowed them to share their adventure inspiring millions while it became a means to complete their dream. I am missing two things that they had the ability to produce a documentary that financed their adventure and a friend that shares the same passion and lust for adventure. In the show, Ewan said that “not everyone is given a free motorbike to ride around the world on” however it is friendship with Charley that is his greatest gift. Hindered in a way by not having a free motorcycle for my adventure or a good friend to share it with I set out with an excitement like I have never known before.

I married my lifelong friend, her enthusiasm and encouragement for my trip has been refreshing. My wife Teresa had put the kibosh to another dream of mine, for some odd reason she was not supportive of me sailing around the world. I really liked the idea, I planned and worked towards the voyage in every way that I could. I purchased, rebuilt and sailed many sailboats, trained off of the coast of California and pursued it with a passion. In fact I was so passionate and so convicted that it most likely scared her. I was destined to leave, a scary thought for any spouse.

Not everyone wants to sit on a motorcycle for a cross country trip, especially one that is eleven thousand miles long. For the most part I believe it is the plan to fly Teresa to the end points, Key West, Quebec City, San Diego, and Victoria British Columbia that appeals to her. I am not leaving I am just taking a different route. Unlike the desilation of the open ocean I will never be more than a few miles from a Wal-Mart at any time. I suspect that she is comforted by that. So am I.

The cat is out of the bag, so to speak, I have begun my adventure by having a dream, making the first steps by deciding on the destinations and committed to the whole thing by buying a motorcycle and the gear necessary for the trip. In reading the book “The Long Way Around” by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, I was surprised to find out that a trip could take years of preparation, choosing the routs, the logistics, finances, etc. I have opted for the “Captain Ron” approach and will simply plan a spontaneous adventure. If I do get lost I can always just pull over and ask for directions…