“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk [or bike] in it.'” – Isaiah 30:21
This Sunday I leave for Chile, the long, left spine of South America. I will be gone for two weeks. Although the first week will be our spring break, thanks to Mrs. De Leonardis, our wonderful assistant principal, I will miss a week of school.
Why am I going to Chile? I have been blessed in my life to have bicycled on five continents: Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and, of course, North America. South America will be the sixth and final one as bicycling in Antarctica, although I hear it’s been done, is not in the cards for me.
I will be traveling with a group part of the time, but I will also be on my own for a bit. I will be based in Santiago but will travel up to Valparaiso and way down to Puerto Natales in the Patagonia region. In addition to cycling, I will also do some light hiking in the Andes and board a boat to see the glaciers down south, almost to the tip of the continent.
I embark upon this journey with some flaws. The only foreign language I know is Latin, and although I am traveling to Latin America, knowing that the agricola means “farmer” or being able to conjugate a Latin verb isn’t going to do me much good there. I have my Spanish phrases and key words down, but I think my most frequent utterance there will be “Perdon, no hablo Espanol,” and hope that people will be patient with me.
The cycling I do will be slow and steady. I don’t know how many miles I will end up doing, but however many miles I ride, it will be on roads and paths that I have not traveled before. Each revolution of the pedals takes me closer to my goal of 50,000 miles by September 15th on my 70th birthday.
And after I have ridden on my last continent and reached 50k? Nothing. I have plenty of places I still want to ride both here and abroad. The day after I hit the 50,000-mile mark, I will get up and start on the 50,001.
One day I won’t be able to travel. One day I will have to give up riding. One day I will have to give up being a principal. When? I don’t know. But as the quote from Isaiah says, God whispers in my ears to keep going. Actually, that’s not quite accurate. Sometimes, God downright hollers at me. “This is the way, knucklehead!” (I love the notion that God loves me enough to call me a knucklehead.)
I will take pictures. I will keep a journal. I will be in touch with my wife, Kathy, when I can. I will not solve any problems at Our Lady of Peace while I am there. I leave that in Anne’s capable hands. Or, as I tell the students, the complaint department on the fifth floor is open every Wednesday from 10:00-10:17. Mrs. Higgenbottom will be glad to take care of you!
Adios mis amigos!
Jim Silcott