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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nDuring much of the morning I thought about possessions.\u00a0 In economics there is a unstated assumption that “more is better.”\u00a0 For example, all politicians around the world want to boost their countries GDP.\u00a0 Boosting GDP means more stuff for all the people.<\/p>\n
For the last five weeks I have\u00a0 existed with very few possessions.\u00a0 For example, I have three pairs of socks with me and I contemplated taking just two pairs to keep down the weight.\u00a0 When I went home for the weekend I walked into a house full of possessions.<\/p>\n
When I was home I spent a couple of minutes staring at the top of my dresser.\u00a0 Before leaving on the trip I purchased a half-dozen pair of socks.\u00a0 I had not even opened the packaging.\u00a0 They were still sitting there on the dresser in a large pile, clean and unopened.\u00a0 Just below the brand new socks was a large pile of a dozen clean but slightly used socks.\u00a0 I wondered did I really need 18 pairs of socks?<\/p>\n
By the end of pedaling this morning I began to realize how few possessions I really need to survive and have begun to question one of the key underlying assumptions in economics.\u00a0 I don’t know if this realization will change my buying habits or my lectures in the future, but it might.\u00a0 In the short term I definitely will not be buying more socks.<\/p>\n
In the afternoon I met up with another long distance bicyclist named Greg from Colorado.\u00a0 He had been pedaling since mid-June and is also going to Washington D.C.\u00a0 on the bike trail.\u00a0 We are splitting a hotel room tonight.\u00a0 It is always interesting to have someone new to talk with about their life’s experiences and makes the pedaling less lonely.<\/p>\n
Tomorrow it is expected to rain.\u00a0 It rained on the trail this afternoon before I got there.\u00a0 The trail partly turned to mud and my clothes and bike are covered.\u00a0 Oh, well.\u00a0 In a few days I will be home and no longer have to worry about mud and rain.\u00a0 Instead, I can spend my time contemplating what to do with my large pile of clean socks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today was one of the easiest days of bike trip.\u00a0 I did 80 miles primarily on bike trails.\u00a0 It was very easy for a couple of reasons.\u00a0 First, I had pedaled much of today’s route five years ago.\u00a0 Knowing where you are going and what is coming up makes anything easier, including biking.\u00a0 Second, I … Continue reading Day 40: Pittsburgh to Connellsville, PA<\/span>