Intro

Welcome to a story, or stories I should say. A compilation of adventure tales. An ongoing itch to see, smell, and touch the world, or at least the deserted roads and rarely trampled mountains of America. Characters within the descriptive paragraphs of these stories carve out the coming and going companions in life; vital life people and pieces that parallel a universe for moments, days, years. And then spear off, leaving granules of magnificent memories of magical places. They leave a lasting trace, a gained sense of courage to stand tall on oxygen deprived mountains and shout absurdities like: I love you Ralph! Ralph is a teenage reindeer stuffed of the finest synthetic polyester fiber poof; he says made in Indonesia but really tells me he is from the North Pole. Delivered through a chimney one December night 20 years ago, we instantly became cuddle buddies upon that morning's sunrise. He is the instigator. The inspiration. And the imagination. He breathes creativity. Laughter. His is a dear companion. And yes, at 4lbs he tags along atop a pack or strapped to a rack. In delirium of 107 degree heat, the small possession of material belongings gain a persona. Innate objects become friends of the road and trails. And as for the humans who accompany, their presence reads priceless. Without O'Reilly, a 29 year old New Hampshirian with superior taste buds, the mathematical six foot four inch tall German, or handful of organic peanut butter and 99 cent jam eating munchkins, there would be a lot less excitement. The encounters we make with our specie, encapsulating the world with their awkward ways and over consumerist love, somehow we have managed to become overly adored creatures. Their generous hearts restore a faith that goodness prevails in the upheaval of a sometimes lost humanity. As for myself, I'm just the navigator, paddling up the stream of life munching on Clif Bars, with an iPhone documenting the frailties and goodies underneath all the simplified complexities in the world we reside. So again, I welcome you to get lost and dream a little through this typed text and your imagination. My name is Kristen Gentilucci. I live in Berkeley California and I love dogs.


Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Pre Start

Hopefully it doesn't have to be all mapped out, literally and figuratively. Besides gear and determination, not much else was routed, and tomorrow we depart. The hands of time tick like a race car, hopping on the fast wagon of life, loaded with torn out pages, atlas maps navigate any paved lace of an alphalt commute through 1/2 a country. 

Bianchi no loner made the cut for a handful of reasons. So, purchased with crisp bills from the bicycle touring piggy bank, hot fancy dinners were out, canned veggies in, and the finest bottles of whiskey were traded for the security of knowing, stranded, was not in this blogs dictionary. Zeb toodling home to meet his crew, is a solid 2 wheeled prince of shinny black steel, guarding Clif Bars and warm socks. With white panniers clinched to his sides, he read like a Zebra gracefully galloping through the grasslands of a wild Safari. And yes, the furry bulky friend Ralph, life long companion as a practical pillow and creative inspiration for an untamed imagination, was still somehow tagging along too. And as intriguingly daunting the idea of traveling solo, with only a stuffed reindeer and Zeb, I am glad some portion of a friendly soul, O'reily and Action Boy decided to trudge along, because laughter and fears are best when shared in company. 

To be completely honest, our posse is fully equipped, but we added a connect the dots of detours. Yosemite, Lassen, Eastern Oregon, Boise, Montana, Jasper Lake, Banff, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland. Somehow Alaska was just placed wrong on the map. And as exciting it would be to have bragging rights that our gang conquered a massive section of the North American continent via bicycle, sometimes gravity redirects magnetic yearnings. And there is no space for resistance. 

Maybe there is some wisdom laying under a quiet rock on a snow capped mountain in Banff, unknowingly calling names. And maybe giving up everything and everyone for a segment in time to humbly sleep under many weeks worth of stars and vulnerably travel through empty space is just the reminder that life is never linear and when life throws it's curve ball, humanity naturally reaches its hand out.