Friday, June 06, 2008

Good day exploring

Date: June 5
Mileage: 53.7
June mileage: 159.2
Temperature: 51








  1. Sounds like an interesting article Jill. I have been amazed recently at the expansion of my own personal map. As I've been on medical missions and scouting trips, I've probably expanded my circle to 15,000 miles. But unlike you, I probably don't know what is down the trail on the other side of town. Do you think you'll go crazy when you've explored every hidden nook in Juneau?

  2. Here is another interesting article about people from an "undisclosed location!"

  3. jill come to Colorado in aug. Stay in a yurt and do lotsa mt biking. Maybe play with chainsaws :) maybe hit the co Trail

  4. Jill, I saw that article, too. It reminded me of how many people I have met who haven't been far at all. Like a girl from Long Island, NY who had not, at age 18, gone more than five miles from home! A guy in Albuquerque's Northeast Heights who had never visited downtown Alb. (about 8 miles away). Any number of people in Albuquerque who had never been to the state capitol, Santa Fe, just 60 miles up the interstate. Lack of money to indulge in travel is one reason (people without transporation in some cases, but not all), lack of curiosity is another. I think people live in a very small comfort zone, too! You would never understand that one, nor would any reader of this blog. But I have a family member who gets very nervous thinking about not sleeping in his own bed every night! Hard to imagine....Julie

  5. I live in a small landmass connected by road and I enjoy having the connection, even on those days when visitors amke moving around a chore. That would be one reason I wouldn't live in Juneau ( the weather is another!), but I find it odd tha people choose to live in isolation and fele they would be served by a road to essentially, if I read the article correctly, nowhere.I don't suppose many people plan to cycle the JAR.I like my restricted landmass because it forces me to explore more deeply close to home. Every small discover y is made large by the narrow confines of the Florida Keys.

  6. I would like to do a similar study, but car travel doesn't count. I'd bet that the percentage of people who have never ventured more than 20 miles from home by other than driving is in the upper 90s.
    (proud to say that my wife, two kids, and I are in the group that has and routinely does)

  7. Hmmm, they always say there are "lies, damned lies, and statistics". The study is pretty flawed. The article (and the cruddy study) says "nearly three-quarters MAINLY stayed within a 20-mile-wide circle for half a year". How often is "mainly" and how many is "nearly"? Is mainly 80% of the time? 90%? Most everybody lives within 20 miles of their work. I'll grant you that most folks may not go home immediately after work, but most of them won't go far in order to grab dinner or a movie or catch up with friends at the local watering hole. We can also assume that most folks will sleep at their own house at night (or at boyfriend/girlfriend's pad, which probably isn't too terribly far away). So you can account for 5 days a week right there, bam. Now, on the weekends, this person is free to do what they want, right? NAH! What about spending time with family, or going to a friend's house (probably within 20 miles of home) or whatever other social gathering one might wish for (like church, etc)? And unless this person is sleeping in a tent, they've got to come back home at night.

    So, given 5 days a week to work and 2 nights on the weekend to sleep at home, that's 80% of a person's time spent within a 20 mile radius. Does this automatically make this person a homebody?

    Don't get me wrong: it's nice to use it as a sort of introspective tool. I just think it's not fair to make sweeping generalizations made about "everybody else" who stays cooped up in their house all day, every day. They have surprisingly full lives, I'm sure.

  8. well i read your comment and it is really great.



    Wide Circles


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