Living Alaska, The Sound of Silence

The Sound of Solitude

Leaving the City Life Behind

Photograph by Author, Taking the Ferry to Alaska

I left San Francisco, California in June of 2021. For the next month I experienced a quiet solitude that I had not known in twenty years. I rode my Specialized Vado Bicycle 1,700 miles north to the State of Alaska. At some point in my journey north I decided to make it a one-way ride. I had planned on riding to my Fiftieth state and then flying back into the city life.

No More Noise Pollution

Photograph by Author, Kodiak, Alaska

I changed my mind along the way. I enjoyed the peace and quiet of riding every day up the Pacific Coast. I stopped in little towns and small cities. I bought groceries along the way at Mom-and-Pop grocery stores. I traveled peacefully in silence through mountain passes, forests, grassy groves, lakeside communities, over bridges, and through a couple of tunnels. During this time, the loudest thing I heard was logging trucks pass me by.

What is Noise Pollution?

Life in the city is markedly different. I went to sleep every night hearing sirens blasting all night long. There was the constant drone of background city noise that never stops…