Ready, Set... Go!

Do you have a place you've always wanted to visit? I do. Africa. It's on my list of things I want to do before I die. Perhaps because it is so far away and therefore exotic, perhaps it's the sunshine and hot climate so I'd never be cold, perhaps it's the fantastic music I keep discovering from various different countries there and the drums!! It could all be because of the vast array of percussion instruments... But I think part of it is because Africa in all it's vastness and it's different countries is so very different from the United States. Visiting Europe is easy, that's essentially where I came from, the languages may be different, but the people are cut from a similar cloth to me. Not so with Africa. It's foreignness entices me.

I bring this up because Jeff and I went to the Bicycle Film Festival last night and saw "Where are You Go". We were both totally entranced, and intoxicated by the sheer enormity and accomplishment of a bike ride from Cairo to Cape Town. It looked impossibly hard, dirty, dusty, long (4 months) and, glorious. So my question to the blogosphere is, would it be totally ridiculous to do something like that? To drop your job, pay a hefty sum, and leave your life for four months (if we're talking hypothetics I didn't mention leaving Jeff - he would absolutely come with) to have what could quite possibly be the most incredible adventure of your life? Seriously though, not just "yeah, that would be sooo cool!" but seriously contemplate it? Is it just too crazy? Too irresponsible? Too difficult for someone who isn't independently wealthy?

I think there is something in all of us that wants to do something great, to triumph over something impossibly hard. Life throws things like that at you all the time, but is it wrong to want to pick my challenge? I think that's why athletics exists, really. Because we all need a challenge, a mountain to climb, a continent to cross. In typing this I realize I probably won't be going on the next trip (they leave in January), but how I would like to go, to forget for a little while that an adult is supposed to follow a straight trajectory towards retirement. Ah, but then, perhaps I just need to pick something a bit more feasible.