Alone, cold & a bit scared. I am unsure if I should turn around, or move forward. Mountains are to my left, the ocean to my right and I see no signs of civilization in front of or behind me. I’m on a bike, with 2 bottles of water, some bread, and a banana and somewhere between 18 & 25 more miles to go. Up to this point my trip to Iceland has been one of the worst trips of my life, but I won’t get in to the reasons why. The plans and aspirations I had coming here, quickly withered and now I’m isolated in the suburbs. But everything happens for a reason, right? Was I to find myself or learn something from this? Out of something bad can rise something beautiful, right? On the outside I could tell you that I was learning about the human race and how I needed to be more careful on whom I trust. Or that this was a sign that I was plateauing in my life and career and it was time to further disassociate myself with the “non-contributors” in my life. Anything to make myself feel better right? But I already know these lessons and they weren’t going to help me for the next 20 miles!
So let me back up a bit. Two days in and it all becomes apparent that this trip was a mistake. I couldn’t fly out early, so I decided that it was up to my trusty steed, to show me the way! The day started out way later than I would have liked it to, but I had this urge to get there. I knew I had until 9 pm and with it being 3 already, it was now or never. I jumped on my bike and headed out. It was a bit rough from the get go. I was stopping every 5 minutes to ask for help because the street names often changed and I was a bit nervous from riding a bike on the highway! I did encounter some unusual characters along the way. For instance one guy I stopped said he would not help me unless I smoked one of his cigarettes. He then told me that he wanted me to try mailing him small amounts of drugs and he would mail me back something special from Iceland! Hah! The girl he was with then pulled out this tube of special lotion that she bought one time that was to be used at the Fountain of Youth. She said “I will never make it there, so please take this and make good use of it”. From that moment I knew my trip was of destiny. I had to make it there for this reason alone. Everyone of course looked at me like I was a complete fool and often reminded me that it was 34 miles away!
Eventually I made it out of the city and it was a 25 mile ride in the mountainous terrain. I kept those legs churning and it’s here where it was just me all alone, with my thoughts, with nature, with God. I thought many thoughts; I screamed, I laughed, I cried, I hoped, I cursed, I remembered, I pleaded. I really don’t know the point of why my body and soul was being broken down so badly. Oh wait, it was to make it there to use the lotion, right! Running out of water, I knew I had to get there soon. I couldn’t be another senseless American tragedy in Iceland! In the distance I saw a sign that looked like it said Fountain of Youth in Icelandic, so I went with it and exited! Now it was only 3.5 miles to go, but I could see it in the mountain ahead, so I used that as motivation!
When I arrived, I could barely walk. It was cold, desolate, and quiet. I don’t know if I was expecting something brighter and more enlightening, but I felt alone again at this moment. But if there was ever a contrast between light and dark, this was it. I continued down an isolated trail and when inside the fountain, it was like discovering the Garden of Eden of some sort! For 3 hours the physical pain relinquished itself to the natural beauties of Iceland. I can’t really explain any more from the moments I was in there. Let’s just say I got lost. I wanted to stay lost because I was fearing the ride home. I won’t bore you with the details on the ride back but know that I mainly cursed! Whoever invented the bike seat should be punished! Oh and I got my first real scare. I was chased by a sketchy guy wearing a hoodie and riding a scooter! He tried to trap me! Be careful in Rekyjavik at 2 in the morning even when the sun is out!
So Iceland ended on a positive note. Our show at Faktory was well promoted, the crowd was very warming, and we sold out of our CD’s. But the best part of it was we had the pleasure of gracing the stage with my new favorite Icelandic band, Nolo. They were fantastic and I’m excited to see where they go and possibly help them out in Austin sometime! Until next time Reykjavik!
No comments:
Post a Comment