The Map Versus The Terrain

Not all who wander are lost, but I might be.

I once taught a workshop that supplemented a composition course called Subject A at the University of California, Berkeley.  For the course, the instructor had assigned an essay that explored the difference between the map of something and the actual terrain.  (I believe it was exploring the bigger idea of representation, and it was not limited to geographical maps; however, it was a long time ago and I don’t fully recall.)  In any event, I have been thinking about this as I navigate us across the country.

Navigation is hard work.  Every night I sit with the maps and make cue sheets that I can read from the map holder on my bike.  (The text on the map is tiny and with my old eyes there is no way I could follow it.)  I check the maps with the addendum and double check that I got it right. 

However, all the planning in the world does not really prepare us for the actual terrain which can vary drastically from the map.  The Adventure Cycling maps are quite good and do a good job of trying to represent the actual roads, signage and all.  Yet, there are times they will say “continue straight” when the road forks, or “turn right” when it seems to go straight.  (These maps are however, MUCH better than Google Maps Bicycle which seem to get me lost every time.)

For these occasions, I rely on my I-phone and Google maps (not the bicycle routes).  For the most part, I can figure out where I am and how to go (that is once I figure out the orientation).   It is particularly helpful in bigger cities as the ACA maps are not quite as good for the cities, as they only show the main route. 

Even with the maps and the technology, I have led us astray.  Once we made a wrong turn on a bicycle trail and had to backtrack 4 miles.  This was frustrating.  Another time, we went the wrong way out of the town of Iroquois for about 3 miles. Occasionally, I have over shot a turn, and realized it a bit later.  So far, though the bike path mistake has been the worst, and I usually figure out something is wrong before we get too far along.

And none of the maps or technology can really account for the ways that the terrain changes.  Roads are closed or in disrepair, or signs are missing or misplaced.  Once I went the wrong way, because the sign had been shifted.

It can be hard to know what to trust – the map or the sign?  The maps have been wrong too, and I have to be sure to check the corrections as I make the cue sheets.  I think I tend to trust the signs more than the map, but that has caused us to go some extra miles at times.

All of this can be stressful.  It is a lot of responsibility to be the navigator.  I am constantly looking at my cycling computer to see how many miles to the next turn.  (I have to be sure to warn David too, lest he gets too far ahead of me and misses it.)  I am always looking for cues that we are on the right road – road signs, cross streets, names of towns.  Sometimes a sign will say a town is 11 miles away and somehow we ride 18.  It can be hard to understand.

This is all an apt metaphor for life though.  We may have some kind of “map” we are trying to follow – which is usually in the form of expectations – either our own or our family’s.  And yet, somehow, most of us go astray and find our road veers from the map that we had in our minds.  The actual terrain of my life had led me on roads that I never expected to follow.  It has not always been my choice or what I would have wanted, but I have learned from the journey.  I mean who wants to be depressed?  Or lose their job?  Or be away from their child for many years?  These things were not on my map, yet they were on my terrain.  I navigated through them with as much dignity and strength as I could muster. 

It is important to me to remember that although I may have maps, that what I face in life (on the road, or at home) can differ from the representation.  After all, maps are merely a representation of something experienced.  They are a tool, as are plans and expectations, but one that, in my opinion, should not be deemed as more valid or true than the lived experience and the journey.  I may not always be on the map, but that does not make my life, or trip any less than if I were. Accepting the journey and my path is one of the lessons that I am embracing; it is a lesson of the road that can be extended into life itself.