Five Hundred Miles of Midwest: Thoughts on Politics and Religion

Enjoyed 500 miles of Midwest over the past seven days, and arrived in Omaha on July, 15th.

Very sorry for the delayed updates! Between the 70+ miles riding days and the lack of reliable internet access, I've only been writing notes in the small journal, waiting for an all-inclusive update.

Thousand-Mile Reflections

It's been one thousand miles. Almost one third of the journey. In the good Hampshire College tradition of "mid-semester self evaluation," here are some observations and reflections from the first 1,000 miles.

1. Lawn mowing

After passing by hundreds of American homes, there are two activities that stand out as truly, uniquely American: lawn mowing, and yard sale.

Multiple Universes, In One World

Each day, the journey brings the traveler through multiple universes. Within hours, you can go from the murder capital of the US (Gary, Indiana), to the polluting and monstrous BP refinery, to the heavenly world of Lake Shore trail, where healthy, affluent urbanites are jogging and biking, listening to their iPods. People living in these parallel universes seem to be unaware of the existence of the other reality. Or they are too busy surviving/excelling in their own world to bother with the other worlds. But if you are biking through all them within a day, with their respective odors pressed upon your skin, then these multiple universes would stuck with you for a longer time.