Sunday, November 20, 2016

Announcement: The Big One

"I got something to tell you," I said to Rogue. "I'm leaving."

It was August, and we were chowing down on tacos at Pedraza's Mexican restaurant in Keene. I was having a bad week and had let a friend push me into a final decision on something I'd been muttering about for months - packing up the bike and fucking off to nowhere.

"Nashville?" Rogue asked, looking sad.

"No. Maybe. Among other places." I explained the skeletal concept, that I would put most of my belongings in storage, cram the essentials on the bike, and live homelessly - in campgrounds, on couches, and in the occasional motel bed.

I'd expected her to cry. I hadn't expected her to say, "Can I come?"

"Hell yes," I said without hesitation. "I'd love company."

"When are you leaving?"

"Our last game is at the end of October," I answered. "So sometime after that."

"My job really needs me through the holidays," Rogue said.

"I'd love to spend the holidays with my mom," I said. "Let's get through that, then we can take off in January and not have to spend the whole miserable winter up here."

"I'm in."

And thus it was decided that we would uproot our lives - the apartments, the jobs, our places on the Furies - and go live like hobos.


A remarkably small number of people have told me I'm crazy; either I pick my friends carefully, or a lot of other people want to do something similar. I think it's the latter. I've heard a few questions repeatedly, which is entirely reasonable, because who dafuq decides to be homeless when they don't have to be?

What will you do for money?

Whatever we can! We're going to leave with a stash of cash, and when it runs out, we'll search Craiglist for job opportunities in whatever area we've fetched up.

Where will you stay?

Campgrounds, backwoods camping areas, friends' couches, hostels, CouchSurfs, and the occasional motel. Wherever we can. We'll have a two-person tent and some sleeping bags and a tarp.

Why leave in January? Won't you be cold?

See the comment about jobs and holidays for the initial reasoning. Yes, the first week will be pretty miserable, but we're going to head directly south along the East Coast and hide out in Florida for a while. From there, we'll make a brief jaunt north again for Battle of the All-Stars in Philadelphia, and then return to warmer climes and explore Texas, Arizona, and southern California for the winter. As for that initial run down the coast, we'll be wearing heated gear, riding short days, and staying in hotels. And if it snows, we don't ride.

How long will you be gone?

As long as it takes. We want to see the country, the parks, the mountains, the coasts, the forests, our friends and family, and infinite things we'll discover along the way. We'll definitely head for Canada and Alaska before we're done. Someday we'll probably head for South America, and eventually other continents that are farther away, but those adventures are far enough in the future to be unplanned as yet.

I'll be posting here regularly, so bookmark www.twistandzoom.com for updates. This trip will be hashtagged #teamharloki, which I'll explain later. If you want a visit from us, make a post and we'll make it happen!

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