The Travelers

Throughout history there have been people who travel around and never really put down roots. In europe these people have been referred to as Gypsies. Here in America at one point they were referred to as Hobos and before that they were called Mountain Men. No matter what the name they all had one thing in common they moved from town to town. Towards this century it became unpopular to be a traveler. Most are called bums and shunned by society. Now in these times of uncertain economics we see a new breed of travelers. The bicyclists. These people ride the bike routes from town to town and are welcome everywhere. They are not considered outcasts. In fact its almost trendy to be one.

Bicyclists plan their routes out carefully and know how long they are going to be riding. Some ride for charities, others for the sport of it, then there are the last ones who do it as a cheaper means of transportation. These are happy healthy people . They ride alone or in 2s sometimes in large groups. When you pass them on the road they will say hi and wish you a good day. They mainly live out of the things theyre carrying with them. For some what is with them is all they own.

They spend time in motels, camp grounds, and sometimes just camping by the side of a bike route. They are friendly and will offer for you to join them for supper or to travel along with them. Some even have their dogs with them. These are usually small and quite friendly too.

Now we are hearing reports of the new travelers or what was considered the hobo in years past. Men traveling town to town looking for work. Its not a very popular thing to be and theyre not welcome everywhere like the bicyclists. But the bicyclists are the ones showing compassion to them. Just a warm hello or a hot meal means so much to these new travelers. You wont hear about them in the media or the papers. And they move around because most cities now have laws against being homeless.

I read today that after the end of feburary emergency unemployment benifits are no longer going to be available. So if youre not yet recieving them you wont qualify for them. So when the new unemployed run out of benifits they will have no jobs and no way of paying their bills. These will become the new breed of travelers or will join the ones already out there. They will be from where you worked or even from your neighborhood. They will move from town to town and spend a lot of time just trying to get by.

As you all know my adventure will be done on a bike and i will be joining these travelers. I have a destination . It will take many weeks to get there and i will endure some hardships but its my adventure and im looking forward to it. Next time your out driving around remember when you see a bicyclist it could be me. Please slow down and give a wave hello.