Yes, of course being a rodeo star is different than being a Buckaroo pushing cattle across the Great Basin. Yes, being a cowboy is much different than being a free-ride mountain biker. And, yes, trail riding is not at all BMX stunting at skate parks. Or is it? I believe the only question in life is whether or not you are going to answer a hearty 'YES!' to your adventure, not what separates people from sharing experiences.
I will attempt to describe what is unique about particular riding and lifestyles. My hope, however, is to suggest the possibility of elements within "the Ride" that unite diverse communities and document something apparently different people experience together.
At the most elemental, this is a story of the single person in the saddle. It is about movement across a landscape. It's about self propulsion, horse power and will power, personal motivation, and focused consciousness. It's the story of experience and strength and wisdom gained by moving through a geography. And its about communication -- communication between a horse and a rider, and between a person confronting the world and his or her place in it.
This is a story using the saddle as a primary symbol from which the foundation of experiences is built. I will document the actions of cowboys and bikers. This will include the lifestyle of barrel racers and single track mountain bikers, the enthusiasm of dirt jumpers and English riders, and the stylistic differences of riders of many sorts whose experiences begin in the saddle. By beginning with the saddle, I attempt to present a meaningful life.
Though I don't know if Joseph Campbell rode horses or bikes, he did spent a lifetime presenting a host of folktales and scripture showing what literary symbols reveal, namely, a "vast and amazingly constant statement of basic truths." What he discovered on his own ride was the notion that people are similar regardless of place or history, culture or bias. He based this on the notion of monomyth, "an archetype, one shapeshifting and bizarre yet marvelously constant similarity all people share." He invited readers along for a ride. From the start of his "Masks of God" series he gave a vision of the destination: "the result for me is confirmation of a thought I have long and faithfully entertained, the unity of the race of man, not only in its biology but also in its spiritual history, which has everywhere unfolded in the manner of a single symphony...out of which the next great movement will emerge."
I have for a long time respected what Campbell sought to do, that is, document cultural experiences by focusing on certain familiar symbols. The symbol of the saddle, I suspect is a kind of archetype perhaps as significant as the Christian fish, Buddhist circle, or hero's journey. By taking Campbell's lead -- though spending more time in the dust and grit of trails rather than dust and quiet of libraries -- I hope to engage in spirited conversation with many voices. And, what ever may come from it, I desire to celebrate brotherhood regardless of division.
If nothing more, I wish to take from the writing of this blog and photo essays an opportunity to move across the landscape following riders, learning from them, and sharing their life lessons. Perhaps from this, the next great movement will emerge.
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