introspection and technology

I've been following the blog of Don Saito, a laid-off individual, who took the opportunity of his unemployment to traverse the United States in a recumbent ICE trike.

http://cycleamerica2009.blogspot.com/

At the time of this writing, he has successfully traveled from San Francisco, cross-country to Florida, to Maine, etc. and is currently somewhere around Seattle, heading home.

Don chronicles his experience in his blog whenever possible and I have been following his progress daily. I've of course been inspired by his undertaking and his blog is largely responsible for my new passion for recumbent trikes. I've considered the ramifications of such a journey in physical and psychological terms and concluded that the experience in the venue of a blog might be altered in a way that detracts from its full potential benefits however.

Undertaking a journey alone suggests that there would be many solitary hours to experience one's surroundings and reflect upon one's life. With today's technology, I'm not sure Don is feeling the isolation that would normally provoke such introspection. Each day as he finds camp he chronicles his progress in his laptop (I imagine), to post at a later time when Wi-Fi becomes available to him. I wonder if this process, writing with an audience in mind, doesn't change his "voice" to one that externalizes his experience. Knowing there are people out there who are following his trip seems to change the fundamental nature of a solo adventure. It seems akin to spending time at a monastery and taking along your television and iPod. I think perhaps writing about the experience afterwards might have allowed Don a deeper and richer journey. While technology is a wonderful thing, I'm not convinced it is always such a wonderful thing.