One week in June, 2000, Sarina decided to ride a bicycle 4000 miles from Anchorage to San Francisco. This might not be so remarkable except that Sarina had never ridden more than 5 miles before. She had camped in a tent once... Anything is possible.
Here's her story:
Once upon a time in a place where long ago, giant redwoods towered with majestic grace over human and beast, a young girl spent her childhood years savoring the tranquility only nature can possess. As she grew older she desired to leave behind her small town life, opting instead for the clamor, and excitement only the big city could offer. Little did she know that on the inside, some part of her being would always long for the solitude and quiet she could find beneath the trees.
After spending one year of her life in the big city, the noise and endless flow of people started to make her feel as though she needed some fresh air. An idea came upon her like a plague and no matter what she did she could not shake it off. The idea was borne from hearing talk of a land in a far off place, a land full of mystery and raw, untamed beauty. Try as she might, for months she could think of nothing else. Alaska. To her, the word itself sounded like freedom, and that made it the most wonderful sound she had ever heard in her whole life.
She let the idea go round and round in her head, so indecisive, so afraid. To go would mean taking risks and making great sacrifices. Forfeiting her home, beau, cat and job, all the stable things she knew. Yet she set her course and could not be swayed. She embarked on her quest with a backpack, some clothes, a tent and a little trepidation. Upon arrival in Anchorage she found no deceptions given unto her in regards to the grandeur and beauty of that fair land. Yet there was something important everyone had forgotten to warn her of and she would soon be learning this lesson well. This land is often called the land of the midnight sun, it should be noted far and wide that this sun has strange effects upon the inhabitants and visitors of this northern country and few who venture here escape its influence.
The first person with whom she made acquaintances was a sunny lad with fair hair, a ready smile with a dimple in his right cheek and eyes the color of the sea. Appearances can be deceiving and she soon learned of his madness, amazingly enough most people there seemed to possess a similar sort of sickness. She took him for crazy and thought no more of it. Harmless enough she thought to herself. Yet several days went by and she found the madness growing upon her as well. She decided with no further ado that she wished to join him for part of his mad voyage and she could imagine nothing less than success or utter failure. Some ten minutes before his final farewell, with having no previous mention of her mad intentions, she asked him if there was space for another in his itinerary. He said that yes, there was. He went on to tell her how crazy she was and how she didn't know what she was doing. She could not be dissuaded.
They rode out of Anchorage together. After the difficult start where she felt her nerves and legs would fail her, it was a most pleasant ride. They rode and rode all day long. When they became hungry they stopped and ate, basking in the sun on the springy grass just beside the water. It felt like heaven on earth and she desperately wished that time would stop and she could cherish this moment forever as she knew such bliss could not last. Later in the day they saw white beluga whales swimming in the slim body of water named, quite aptly, the Turnagain Arm. That next day she rode up her first hill. She stopped many times and wondered how she was going to make it through the day, much less all the way back home.
What more can I tell you about the actual daily goings on? They rode, they ate, they slept and then did it all over again. They encountered all kinds of weather and terrain. They saw many animals too; usually they were running away from them, but some were friendly. She rode by black bears when she was alone. She was scared not only by bears but big trucks, RV's and wondering how she could have lost James yet again and would they find one another? They met many generous and kind people to whom she shall ever feel indebted.
Through it all she had much joy though she suffered at times too. Her knees almost constantly were threatening her with an insurrection. Mental and physical fatigue were usually close at hand. She spent many hours in solitude with trees and toadstools her only friends. Not even a bird in sight. Sometimes it seemed even the wind disliked her by the force with which it blew into her face and not her back. Even when she felt she could not possibly go on, somehow she did, and it was this will that enabled her to get so far. After four months and some 4,000 miles she did finally make it home even though the land had seemingly tried to conquer her.
Though she found herself alone time and again while riding during the day, James was never too far away. It was he who helped instill in her the belief that she could succeed. Life outside, on the violet bike, or in the green tent wasn't always perfect, (they often quarreled in the grocery store), she feels that this experience cannot be compared with anything she has ever known or is likely to. So now alone she sits at home in from of her computer. Outside the world has disappeared beneath a dense wall of gray fog intent on leaving its wet print on everything it touches. She finds herself thinking of even the most mundane or unpleasant things from their trip such as the ever buzzing, bloodthirsty swarms of giant mosquitoes, of riding the bike in the cold and rain, worrying about where they were going to camp that night and would her knees make it all the way home? And as these thoughts pass through the dark room of her mind, fondness sits high in her heart.
Sarina Seaton, December 2000
 
|
