"What would you do if you left?" Tom had asked him.
"I'd move to California and teach meditation," Atmananda replied.
On August 30, 1979, Atmananda, Dana, Rachel, Connie, and I left
the ground in a jet bound for San Diego. In the excitement
of packing and leaving, I had forgotten my wallet and daypack
back at my brother's. Now, without money or ID, I watched
rays of light play off darkening clouds and thought about the frog.
5. Bicycle Ride--Lenox
The weather had cleared since I had started pedaling west from Walden
Pond five days before, but headwinds continued to press both the
doggie-carrier and bicycle-trailer as if I were tugging a parachute.
Contributing little to the weight of the rig was a book by William
Shirer on Mahatma Gandhi. Disillusioned, but not yet ready to live
without heroes, I actively sought a replacement for Atmananda.
I rode over the mountains of western Massachusetts and rolled
into the town of Lenox. There a woman noticed the oddness
of my entourage and asked, "What exactly is going on?"
"I am bicycling across America with my dog," I replied.
Ten minutes later she was interviewing me in a nearby cafe.
She was a reporter for the Berkshire Eagle, and, as I answered
her questions, I thought about how I would answer when she asked
me "why?" I realized it was more than a love for bicycling,
more than a longing for adventure, and more than a desire
to strengthen my self-confidence that propelled me west.
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