Mystic Drive

 RIDE

Map of my trip. The darker yellow is the trip out and the brighter yellow is the return. Only got lost a few times...

Took a little trip to Mystic CT to visit the sea port and museum. This was part of a field trip for Harvesting the Sea, a class I'm taking over Wintersession. Originally, I wasn't going to ride because it was cold out but due to oversleeping, due to a hangover, due to a late night of drinking, there I was, on the phone with Carla Sanchez who was inquiring as to why I wasn't on the bus with everyone else. Scrambling to put everything together, I somehow managed to get myself out the door in some semblance of readiness.

I took the 95 south as I was pressed for time. As soon as I got up to speed, the wind became ferocious. Not only is it always windy riding a motorcycle, on the highway you're constantly buffeted by winds at 65-70mph that are also always changing from the cars and trucks around you. On this day though, on top of all of that, it was really windy. I had to crouch down low over the tank with my face looking between the handlebars to keep from being blown off the bike. There were several cases where I was struck with an exceptionally strong crosswind and swore I'd be blown over. I slowed my speed down to 55 in the interest of safety but it was still a miserable ride.


On the return ride I wanted to see if I could make it back to Providence on the back roads. I don't know them at all but I thought that as long as I'm heading northeast I should be okay. This was actually also an attempt to try out the method in which I intend cross 

My blue beauty

the country after I graduate. It's perfect since I have very few destinations in mind and am simply looking to have a good, long ride. This proved to be incredibly enjoyable. I've always heard that the most beautiful drives are not on the interstates but on the small highways. This is most definitely true. I mostly took the 184 and the 3 with some smaller roads to make it between them. It was incredible. Not only were the speeds slower, 45-55 which I find much more enjoyable, but the scenery was infinitely better and the roads were empty. Riding through the countryside, past old farm housing and mills and over streams, it was incredible what had always been there, just out of sight from my regularly traveled route. I kept thinking that there were so many people, so nearby, that were unable to experience this. It made me think that the majority of people go about things all the wrong way, that they might have their priorities all mixed up. Of course who am I to judge but yet I still wondered if what people value most is the ability to get somewhere fast.

I think there exists a difference between trying to get to a destination and traveling to travel. It's pretty much a cliche at this point, "it's about the journey, not the destination". I think there is some truth to this, but you have to look at it the right way. My trip to Mystic was destination driven. I think that that was mostly driven by time, I needed to be at a certain place at a certain time. I couldn't take the back roads because they were too slow and unpredictable, not to mention that there wasn't any opportunity to explore. This removed the joy of travel for me. It was about traveling to a place rather than through one. I think this is why I hate to fly. It's a miserable experience, but it's convenient. You start somewhere and you end somewhere and you don't have to experience anything in between. But, that is what I want. I want to experience everything in between and that is why I want to drive across the country. I have no real destinations in mind, just a plan to drive west. Eventually, provided that this trip is a success, I want to build a boat and sail around the world, guided by intuition.