Are you employed? I'm not employed in the traditional sense. As a former sergeant of Marine infantry (EAS 1998) and alumnus of the College of William and Mary (Class of 2002) this will be my first exploration in which I will have my own command, unfettered by the dictates of steely-eyed drill instructors and without the guidance of wise professors. So in my skewed perception of reality, I am currently self-employed on a quest to rediscover America.

 Are you mentally/terminally ill?
No, but I did have the dubious honor of living in the former insane asylum while attending William and Mary. According to student lore, a section of the Dillard Complex was built from bricks recycled from a haunted tavern in Williamsburg.

When I told a friend of my cycling plans she astounded me by asking me if a physician told me I only had one to two years to live. No, I'm not terminally ill. Though this question is a good one in that it illustrates just how much life experience may be locked and loaded into one year of traveling.

How long will your trip take? It is hard to tell how long this may take. One to two years is the easy answer. Two years is the absolute maximum. I feel that anything longer will just become a selfish attempt to escape responsibility. Though I'm prepared to stay on the road for two years, I believe that a one-year journey is more realistic.

What will you do after the bike trip? Anything is possible and I imagine I will have time enough to think about it on the way there; though I do see myself applying what I have learned on the blue highways and wilderness to some old fashioned urban experience in Boston amongst friends from William and Mary.