Touring - What Should I Cast Into the "Fire"?

Hello,

Here's three quick facts:

* I'm a touring cyclist who hopes to do the TransAm this year.
* I love Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
* I'm hoping the journey will help rid myself of any inner negativity acquired from life's trials and tribulations and the "evil forces" that put them there.

So I got to thinking. Like Frodo, should I throw a "ring" into the "fire" near journey's end as a symbolic gesture to rid myself of the past, completely? In my case, the "fire" would be the Pacific Ocean, I think, as I would be cycling from VA to OR or CA. I'm trying to figure out which object to throw into the fire.

Does anyone have a better idea for a place to cast the "ring" towards the western end of the TransAm route? It does not have to be at the end of the route. Some place meaningful, ancient, primordial, etc.

David in PA (Wolfy)

I can dig Frodo's trip , But why carry excess baggage for 4000 miles? toss the emotional baggage into the fire of the Atlantic ocean and travel lighter and happier on your Journey.

Ricko

Ricko.... NICE!!

David - When I was heading east I used to joke that I would throw my *bike* into the Atlantic when I got there... but I was just kidding!!!

Hello,

Here's three quick facts about me:

* I'm a touring cyclist who hopes to do the TransAm this year.
* I love Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
* I'm hoping the journey will help rid myself of any inner negativity acquired from life's trials and tribulations and the "evil forces" that put them there.

So I got to thinking. Like Frodo, should I throw a "ring" into the "fire" near journey's end as a symbolic gesture to rid myself of the past, completely? In my case, the "fire" would be the Pacific Ocean, I think, as I would be cycling from VA to OR or CA. I'm trying to figure out which object to throw into the fire.

Does anyone have a better idea for a place to cast the "ring" towards the western end of the TransAm route? It does not have to be at the end of the route. Some place meaningful, ancient, primordial, etc.

David in PA (Wolfy)David, be carefull. You may find that like Frdo you are unable to cast the ring into the fire.

A chainring of course...the small ring off a triple.

A chainring of course...the small ring off a triple.

As those guys on the Guiness commercials say "BRILLIANT". Taking the small ring off and tossing it would be great...although it would also be littering so I am not sure how I feel about it. :(

I much prefer Ricko's reply, sort of fits in with the way of cycling. Start off without the baggage and enjoy the day

Cool idea. Why not get something small and easy to carry, and have it symbolize the weight you carry on your heart? An old junky ring on a necklace would work alright. Whatever you decide on, make sure it won't act as a pollutant once it goes in the drink.

Cool idea. Why not get something small and easy to carry, and have it symbolize the weight you carry on your heart? An old junky ring on a necklace would work alright. Whatever you decide on, make sure it won't act as a pollutant once it goes in the drink.
Find a small ugly stone. It will be weighty enough to notice but should not be too heavy. Drill a hole in it so that you can carry it on a chain. Call the stone a baggage stone or an albatross stone. Before the ride starts, have a ceremony where you put all your emotional “baggage” into the stone. Itemize each piece of baggage specifically – don’t generalize. Then carry the baggage around your neck for the ride. Toss the stone into the ocean at the end of the ride and feel the weight lift off your neck. After that, every time you start retrieving a piece of the emotional baggage you will remember that it is in the bottom of the ocean – never to come back.

Touring is meant to get rid of the emotional baggage along the way. What's to say that the baggage won't disappear after the first day when the meaning of cycle-touring hits home?

Cast away your baggage right at the start. You won't necessarily forget about it, but you will have so many new things to concentrate on, the importance of that baggage will dwindle to nothing.

More important than anything else, what you will have at the end are memories, and nothing can be more important than those.

Frodo's journey wasn't a good thing. It had to be done, so he did it. Im sure he would have been much happier with a ringless adventure. Frodo's journey would likely have to be followed by many years of counsling. Do an elven journey. Travel to the sea. Leave this world and its troubles and sail to a better place.

be careful not to "cast" yourself!

do you have an ex wife? It sure would be hard to tote her across the US. But in the end, casting her into the ocean might be worth it.

Why not get a skinny crackhead to guide you on your journey, then cast both him and the "ring" into the sea?

What kind of touring bike do you have? Throw it in but let me know where your gonna cast it first :-)
I can relate to you though... I need to go on a tour.
D

This thread is a little old, but when I do my first coast to coast tour, I am going to get a small vial of Pacific Ocean water and pour it into the Atlantic when I get there...

Trust me - it will stink by the time you get across the continent. I don't know if there's any deep philosophical meaning there - but take it for what it's worth.

As for the original intent of this thread - why make your bike tour anything but a bike tour? Placing unrealistic expectations on the trip even before you start out is like expecting your new girlfriend to be everything your old wife wasn't. Not exactly a recipe for good times.

Just enjoy yourself and enjoy each day and the adventures - and sometimes misadventures - that it brings -- and who knows what you'll end up with at the end of your trip?

Best - J

For me, personally, my life is centered on my relationship with Jesus. When life seems to storm around me, I feel like things can still make sense and that I can still have hope within me because of that relationship...knowing that everything that is going on has a purpose. Getting away, on the bike or whatever, is always great for me because it's a time to leave all the "busy-ness" behind and sort of re-orient myself if I've been getting out of whack (technical terms, I know :) ).

Many have drawn on the similarities between the Lord of the Rings and Christianity. One of those similarities is that our lives aren't really ever going to be easy when we're doing the right thing(s). For me, living for God requires a lot of sacrifice and discipline. And the thing that I have to throw into the fire is really myself...as I decide to stop living for myself and instead live for what God wants for me. For those that don't know what this is like, it might sound horrible, dull, or whatever. But my life has been incredible and full of adventure. It's never boring, dull, without fun and for many years it is directly because of how I've followed God's guidance in my life.

Hopefully no one will find this offensive...certainly not my intent. Just wanted to share from my own personal life.

mshattuck

You are absoluty correct.

do you have an ex wife? It sure would be hard to tote her across the US. But in the end, casting her into the ocean might be worth it.

If you don't have one, I've got a couple I would be willing to spare. Actually, I like the idea a lot... a ritual with great emotional and physical effort required to complete it.

Steve
Who is always looking for his next future Ex.

If you don't have one, I've got a couple I would be willing to spare. Actually, I like the idea a lot... a ritual with great emotional and physical effort required to complete it.

Steve
Who is always looking for his next future Ex.

I think this would defintely settle the pannier vs. trailer debate. I could never fit my ex in my panniers but a trailer... maybe.

A quart of used motor oil.