Out Of The Wild: An Alaskan's Adventure To Find America

My name is John. I was born and raised in Alaska. I have been hearing how the American Dream is no longer possible for my generation; how the pursuit of a college education will leave my peers and me in crippling debt; and America is no longer the beacon of hope it once was. Too many of my generation believe what they are hearing. I am not going to surrender to such news.

I believe what made America great in the past can make it great again. I know many small business owners that are living their American Dream right now. I have heard these people talk about their dreams. They work harder than anyone I know every minute of every day. These are dreamers that act on their dreams. I want to chase my dream in the same way. My personal motto is, “Risk much, forgive much, and gain much”. I want to pursue a career in film. I want to chase my dream too.

I need to see more of this country to better understand my homeland. I want to meet the people who make this country work. Upon graduation from high school I am riding my bicycle 6,000 miles from Kodiak, Alaska to Key West, Florida to find my America. I am not going on this tour just to ride my bike. My plan is to document the people I meet that have put their dreams to work. I will interview them in their environment and interview the people they serve.

Using my bicycle, a tent, and a camera I will tell this story in a documentary I call “Finding My America”. I will begin in my hometown of Kodiak, Alaska on May 22, 2012. I am partnering with small businesses that will sponsor this trip. I am working with many Subway restaurant owners who are sponsoring me in exchange for a commercial I will make and post on the Internet.

When my trip is complete, I want to share what I learn with everyone. Look for the finished documentary in the late fall of 2012. The blog will serve as a behind the scenes update to chronicle my grand adventure. I am accepting financial support from anyone interested in inspiring my generation to embrace the hard work of bringing America back to a new era of greatness. I hope to tell the stories of the real American dream. I hope to raise enough money to pay for college without student loans. Help me tell this American story. Together we can be the difference.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

It's go time!

The reality of this trip is rapidly encroaching upon my being at a rate in which I find completely soothing. The past 2 weeks of my life I have been tirelessly writing, stamping and licking 515 envelopes to send off to Subways on my route! Now that this is complete I can continue with the cleaning and repairing of my bicycle!

The tides are turning and I think that this feat is now doable. In just 60 or so days I will be leaving the Subway here in Kodiak setting out to... find... my... America! 

It's go time.

                                                           This is my route as of now!

Posted by at 5:54 PM

1 comment:

Jill Yrjana said...

JOhn,
Saw one of these on American Pickers tonight. So co...the ingenuity is amazing and it could have inspired the first long bicycle trek...read on. Google it to see a picture. Kinda a scooter, kinda a bike, kinda a bouncy machine. American Pickers said 1200 miles in 12 days. I couldn't believe it...apparently I was right. Still impressive.


1935 Ingo-Bike

At first called the Exercycle, the Ingo-Bike was invented by the Huyssen brothers and manufactured by the Ingersoll-Rand Corporation from 1934 to 1937. The inspiration for the Ingo-bike was the limber platform of some homemade scooters that induced an up-and-down motion to the rider. It is powered by the rider making a bouncing motion on the platform to turn the eccentric hub rear wheel and give forward motion. A team of Ingo-Bike riders made an incredible trek from Chicago to Miami, FL on the odd machines in just over 30 days.

March 17, 2012 at 1:44 AM

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