Readers Review: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Inspirational Adventure/Travel Reads
by: Louie Knolle
Introduction:
I don’t know you reader, but one thing I do know is that you are human. Should I meet you someday, perhaps we will have a nice conversation about some books we have both read. At one of my two jobs, I pick apples on an orchard and work in the farm stand. Man oh man, how I have learned how subjective taste is. What can taste sweet to one person, can taste more on the tart side to another. What one considers to be crisp, another can think of as soft. This is why I firmly believe in testing a variety of things, no matter the object of desire. When it comes to things like travel destinations, foods, or reading books, the worst that can happen is you decide it is not for you. Armed with this knowledge, you will be better suited for the decision making process on the next go-round. I think we can all agree that learning more about ourselves in one of the most adventurous endeavors we as human beings can undertake in our lives. I consider this way of thought synonymous with breathing, it’s just something natural that everyone has the ability to do.
Although I would consider myself a novice bibliophile at best, I always enjoy the books that I choose to read. Whether they be travel memoirs, eastern philosophies, metamorphoses inspired by nature, classic literature, or even the standard 14 part fantasy epic, I am always intrigued by the books that end up on my book shelf. Never able to succinctly answer when asked what I like to read, I prefer this M.O. of book selection and am able to learn so much. For this reason, I have been assigned the duty of compiling a list of some of my favorite adventure, travel, inspirational, etc. reads. Since our resident wordsmith and book bandit Man-goat is off finishing the AT like the child-like cherub that he is, I will do my best to elucidate in his stead. This is by no means a complete list of course, there are thousands upon thousands of books that would fit in these genres, and I am but one man who knows what he likes. Unfortunately I cannot read them all, that’s where you come in! I will do my best to explain what I liked about these books and share a few details without writing several book reports. I hope that you will use these as a starting point on your search for both books to read and places to go out and experience in real life. I know some of these have determined some of my both past and future trips. Happy trails and happy reads!
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Robert Pirsig
This book was published in 1974. Told through the frame of a long motorcycle trip across America, the book explores life and how to best live it. Perspectives from Eastern and Western philosophy and religion are referenced, highlighted, and explored, and through this exploration, the narrator addresses the pivotal question of how to pursue technology in a way that enriches human life as opposed to degrading it. The motorcycle trip starts in Minneapolis, Minnesota and concludes near San Francisco, CA. The narrator and his son, Chris, are accompanied by a couple, the Sutherlands. As a contrast to the narrator, John and Sylvia Sutherland represent people who are uncomfortable with technology. They feel oppressed by it and use motorcycle trips to escape. At the same time, however, they are dependent on technology. This conflict hints at a larger conflict in society and life. The narrator aims to explore this conflict with technology and get to its root.
In Bozeman, Montana, the Sutherlands decide to turn back and not continue on their journey. The narrator and his son then decide to embark on a hiking trip in the mountains nearby and a lot is revealed about their complex relationship and about the narrator’s troubled past. Coincidentally enough, I read this book while on a 3 week road trip out west a few years ago and could not think of a more perfect place to have read it. Both for getting to actively live and experiment with the ideals of introspection on the road and for the simple fact I love, love, love reading while traveling. At the end of a long day of driving and sight seeing, nothing is more relaxing then reclining in a hammock at a brand new campsite. Although this book has been around for decades, I still find a lot of friends who have not read it yet!
Read more of Louie’s Suggestions here.
The Wild Places Robert MacFarlane
For those of you who are unaware, Earl Shaffer was the first person ever to hike the entire Appalachian Trail in one go, or “thru-hike.” Before this, even the Appalachian Trail Conservancy thought this was an impossible feat. Not a long book by any means, this great read is only about 150 pages. Walking with Spring is an invaluable resource for those interested in history, geography and the natural world. Shaffer completed his legendary “Lone Expedition” as he called it in the year 1947. The trail was in a state of minor disarray for lack of maintenance during the War years, but he was able to trudge along armed with nothing but a road map and a compass. There were no guide books or trail maps back then so he had to make his way with guessing, word of mouth and trail instinct.
This is actually another novel I read while on a 2 week road trip out to Montana and Wyoming about 4 years ago, did I mention before that the road is a great place to read? This book is based on the life its author and written while he was serving time in prison. The slightly fictionalized character based on himself, is an Australian convict who leaves the “down under” and travels to India in hopes of evading authorities. While in Bombay, he makes a personal connection with a man who acts as a guide for tourists. In doing so, he eventually finds a semi-permanent home in one of the many city slums after being robbed of all his money. While living in the slums, he becomes the unofficial slum doctor because of some previous medical training he had undertaken. After becoming a respected man of his small community, bigger fish begin to take notice and he gets involved with local mafia officials, movie stars, guerrilla freedom fighters in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, and has a myriad of adventures. Although it should be noted that this book is slightly fictitious, it is based on the author’s life during the 60’s and 70’s while on the run from the law in India and other part of Central Asia. (Spoiler alert: In the end he was caught, but that’s okay, otherwise this book may have never been written!)
This is a recount of the author’s trek on foot, deep into the Himalayas to the inner Dolpo region of Nepal. Which at this time in the early 1970’s had not been completely infected with Western culture. Matthiessen is invited on an expedition by the preeminent field biologist George Schaller who was going into the mountains to further study a rare breed of Himalayan blue sheep of which not much was known at the time. Accompanied by Nepalese sherpas and porters, the party makes its way to Shey Gompa over a period of a few weeks filled with dissenting porters, approaching winter weather conditions in a high alpine environment, sometimes challenging hiking conditions, and other obstacles. In addition to observing the blue sheep, Matthiessen and Schaller also hope to catch a sight of the elusive snow leopard. Which at the time, there was only believed to be 6 of on the entire Nepal side of the Himalayas. Along the way, Matthiessen also does much pondering on life and death, grief and loss, as he uses the Zen Buddhist beliefs to recover from the sudden death of his wife the year before from cancer after a long, slightly tumultuous relationship.
As far as performance is concerned, I was also very pleased on how they handled the endless ups and downs of the sizable “hills” that Shawnee had to offer. Since my boots were fitted properly, my feet did not encounter any sliding whatsoever inside the boot, so I kept all the skin on my toes!! One of the biggest selling points for me is the eVent waterproof fabric inside the boot itself. It is as waterproof as they come, and by gum, the breath-ability is amazing. It only plateaued in the high 60’s that weekend, but as a person with sweaty feet they are accustom to overheating in boots. Bottom line, these are great light weight hiking boots. Whether you’re going out for a walk in the park, need some work boots, lightweight boots for backpacking, or just to wear for everyday use, these are everything you are looking for. Interested? Feel free to come on in to Roads Rivers and Trails in Historic Milford to give them a try for yourself.sometimes requiring changing socks halfway through the day if I am hiking long miles. I actually wore the same pair of wool hiking socks both days I hiked; only changing into a fresh pair after we had arrived at camp. And by the end of the second day the inside of the boots were still as dry as a bone. Just to say I tried, one of the last creeks we crossed with about 3 to 4 inches of running water, I walked right through it disregarding the stepping rocks to see if I could actually get these things wet. I was disappointed (more like really happy) to see that even literally being surrounded on every side of the boot almost all the way to the top, the boots kept me nice and dry.
