THE TOUR IS COMPLETE

(see the Photo Album for images)

 THANK YOU EVERYONE!

FINAL ODOMETER READ:  3413  

Overview

Over the summer of 2009, Tyler Boudreau cycled from one side of the country to the other in an effort to re-acquaint himself with the land, to reintegrate with his community and family, and to positively re-invest his strength in America. Tyler wascjoined periodically by other veterans and non-veterans along the way, as he cycled from Washington to Massachusetts. Along the way, he visited with communities to join discussions about the wars of our time and shared his own experiences in hopes of broadening the discourse, deepening the understanding, and bettering the state of our democracy.

Concept

In its most fundamental sense, this project was about searching for what's on "the other side" of the battlefield. It was very much about veterans who find themselves hurled suddenly to the other side of a catastrophic injury, or Post-Traumatic Stress, or an inexplicably dysfunctional life in the aftermath of war. But it is also about the nature of warfare itself. There is a great mythology associated with battle. I rode in search of "the other side" of that mythology, the other side of myself. I traveled to "the other side" of the country to find it.

In many respects, this project was a fresh attempt at "Coming Home." Veterans of the current wars and their communities have been struggling to find each other but are in so many ways blinded or blocked by political and cultural barriers. A major objective of this project was to get to "the other side" of those barriers and find home--possibly a better version of home...possibly as a better versions of myself.

Plan

The trip began in Seattle on June 15, 2009 and concluded in Northampton, MA on August 30, 2009. The length of the trip was 77 days and over 3400 miles.

Map

Project Sponsors-Thank You!