So, for the last few weeks, I’ve been biking from San Diego to Las Vegas, visiting Buddhist retreats, Kabbalah centers, Coptic Orthodox Monasteries, Evangelical men’s groups, and the like. I was excited to see some of the best parts of my trip, like Chimayo, New Mexico, where the Virgin Mary is rumored to appear, and northern Texas, with the largest cross in the Western Hemisphere, but I will not see them.
Everything has been stolen from me. While I was in the Mojave desert, someone in a light blue truck pulled up and loaded everything I owned while I was using the bathroom. They took everything – my bicycle, my computer, my grandmother’s prayer book, and all my notes. Worst of all, they left me in the middle of the desert 100 miles from any city, with no food, no transportation, nothing.
Through luck, I made it to Las Vegas, where a friend lent me the money to fly back to Baltimore. Poorer than Job’s turkey, I was crying on the plane, between a middle-aged white man who kept hugging me and an 80-year-old black woman who had seen Martin Luther King Jr. speak in 1963, and was coming to D.C. for the inauguration. “It’s Ok to cry,” she kept telling me. “It shows you’re asking for help. But you just got to have faith.” It was the last thing I wanted to hear.
What kind of person would steal everything someone owns in the desert, leaving that person in the middle of nothing?
I don’t have the energy to do anything right now.
I’m sorry to hear about this hugs
— jhh · Jan 22, 05:03 AM · #
Matthew….sorry to hear about your misfortune.
Best of luck to you. Keep the faith!
Michelle Stacho
— Michelle Stacho · Jan 22, 06:12 PM · #
Please read your email from me.
— Karen · Jan 22, 06:40 PM · #
Matthew
I have been following your blog for a while now and am so sorry to read of the theft of your belongings. I am relieved that you were able to make it to safety, even though you lost so many valurable (and irreplacable) things.
I have posted about your circumstances on my blog and have sent a few dollars your way. It is not enough to replace anything you lost, but I felt called to do something to help you remember that there is more good in the world than there is evil.
Blessings
Mama Kelly
— mama kelly · Jan 23, 04:28 AM · #
Dude, I will keep my eye out here in Texas for a light blue pickup. I hope the SOB that did that gets his but good. What a creepy, nasty wretch. My heart is beating a mile a minute just reading about it, so I can imagine how upset you are. You poor thing. I’m going to look on the sunny side of the egg and say, it was rotten it happened, but maybe it’s best you are back home and away from the vagaries of the road and the mean bastards running loose. Sorry for the language but I am really, really mad on your behalf.
— The Olde Dame · Jan 23, 06:24 AM · #
Matt—
What do you need to make this right?
What do you need financially?
What do you need for a bike or for equipment?
How can we help—if you are not too brokenhearted to try again, how can those of us in the blogosphere who have been touched by your pilgrimage help you to return to it?
Feel free to reply offline if you wish, but please let me know if you want help trying to make this right.
{{{hug}}}
Blessed be.
— Cat C-B · Jan 23, 06:44 PM · #
I’m so sorry to hear about this. :(
I’m also willing to pitch in. Your blog has been a welcome addition to my day, and your explorations of different faith traditions has added to my own store of knowledge.
— harmonyfb · Jan 24, 04:01 AM · #
Now you know…. human beings are inherently evil….. most people are opportunistic sociopaths with little empathy for their fellow man.
— Dave · Jan 28, 10:13 AM · #
Dave, I’m not sure that’s true (or not true for that matter.) I think Matt ran into a dishonest person. (Was it the location, being so close to Vegas? Who knows?)
I think a fair statement would be that some human beings are inherently evil. Others learn to be evil. Some people inspire evilness. And others are good, indifferent, etc., etc., etc.
— Karen · Jan 28, 08:17 PM · #
It would not be a real pilgrimage without suffering. Good luck on the second round!
— st.even · Jan 30, 04:01 AM · #
I second Cat C-B – we can’t replace your Grandma’s prayer book or heal your heart, but we can help in other ways!
What’s a journey through religion without some miracles? ;)
— Heather · Feb 2, 10:39 PM · #
I posted comment number 8, and I am follow this journey because I am a bicycle tourist. I am planning a multi-year bike tour myself. The journey is excellent as well as the writing. I am also a devout Atheist (with a leaning toward buddhism)…. and I still believe that most humans on this planet are evil. We are animals on this planet, and for the most part… we act like animals. I have a moral compass that always points towards being friendly and respectful to my fellow humans, but I am not surprised his bike was stolen despite the location.
— Dave · Feb 5, 08:16 AM · #
I’m very sorry that this happened to you. I just found your website today, and really enjoyed your writing.
A deep bow,
Dogo
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— mizixaixqt · Jun 21, 02:39 PM · #
Matthew,
We just found your last blog in deleting old emails. We are from the Mennonite congregation you visited in Pa. Altho’ we only met briefly, we would have loved to spend more time with you and are honored that you visited us. We’re sad to hear how your trip ended and wonder how you are doing now.
Blessings to you as you continue life’s journey!
Shalom,
Al & Ada Longenecker
Lewisburg, Pa.
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Just found your blog today and as someone who visits Zen Mountain Monastery on occasion – had to laugh with regard to your encounters there.
I was excited to read about your entire trip and very sad to see how it ended.
I hope you plan on a redo (invite me!) or at least start where you left off?
You pose an interesting question at last – what kind of person would steal everything and leave that person in the middle of nothing?
It’s not about humans being inherently evil as another commenter mentioned and it’s not about faith either, as the person on the plane suggested.
I think, in the end, it was an opportunity for you to discover something about yourself and about humanity.
Take care and good luck!
— Mike · Nov 8, 01:40 PM · #
Bicycle Network Victoria is financially self-supporting and independent. It is primarily funded by its major events and membership subscriptions. Some events and programs receive specific government and commercial sponsorship, though Bicycle Victoria maintains financial independence as an organisation
— daggers · Nov 21, 08:58 AM · #
I just found your website….as I was looking for inspiration to finish a piece of art about the Virgin.
I cannot believe you are done. I am not going to tell you to have faith. I am going to tell you to follow your passion.
Maybe it’s your turn to get inspired?
Try looking up Peace Pilgrim – she may help you find inner peace!
Your journey has inspired me.
Chela
— Chela · Nov 30, 09:40 PM · #
I choose not to feel sorry for you. You had a great journey to many great places, and you have more experience under your belt than most dying men. I choose not to be sorry because someone who had been to and through these places, communicating with all of the wise. You should have learned that your material possessions only bind you to yourself.
I believe that your possessions being stolen was the start to your new pilgrimage. A pilgrimage home. 100 miles from any city in the desert without your belongings and you’ve made it? You should feel proud of your accomplishments. Also, you should learn from this of your friends, and take from this, appreciation.
— Dillard · Feb 3, 04:17 PM · #