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, June 10, 2012

Leaving Bellingham, WA 6-9-12

After being late and missing two great opportunities in Juneau and Ketchikan I was I little bummed.  The ferry arrived earlier than expected in Bellingham.  I was actually able to do everything I needed to do there in a day.  As the evening fell I realized I could get a head start and ride the back roads to the mountains and find a place to stay in Maple Falls, Washington.  I still have a 5,700 mile trip.  I'll zig zag the continental divide.  I am taking small back roads from Colorado through the flat lands and rolling hills to the end of the Appalachian Mountains.  Then I'll inefficiently hug the eastern coast to Key West, Florida. I have already captured amazing film.  I am still working on how this story will be told.  This blog is just the travel log of finding my America.


Posted by at 12:39 AM

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey John, How do you figure you have a 5,700 mile trip? It's less than 3,000 from West coast to East coast of the lower 48. I'm not sure you can count much of Alaska in that number because of all the boat rides all the way to Washington.

You are doing OK, just curious about how you come up with your miles to go number.

June 10, 2012 at 7:54 AM
kodiakbiker said...

I'll explain in a new post.

June 10, 2012 at 5:47 PM

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