I had the great pleasure of riding with 20-something Chris through much of Waashington and out to the San Juan islands. What a delight to see an idealistic young person seeing the world, discovering himself, and actively pursuing a helping role in the world.

Chris has already finished university and done a 2-year stint in East Africa for the Peace Corps. And he's probably in Haiti right now with an open mind about staying there and working more in international development.

And he just rode all the way across the United States this summer, mostly on Adventure Cycling's Trans-America route, starting in Virginia and crossing to Colorado, then riding up to Montana and finally crossing the far northern parts of Idaho and Washington.

When you meet Chris he might give you his business card, with "Freethinking Journalist" emblazoned as his title. There's a cellphone, too, but no address because he doesn't have one right now. He's been riding across the country. But he's perhaps preparing a career as a writer. And he is in fact writing a column called "Across America" for the Fairfield (Connecticut) Citizen-News. I encourage you to check it out. The published version is still in Breckenridge, Colorado, so you can follow him through the rest of the country, just a little bit out of time. Go to www.fairfield-citizen-news.com, click on the "Living" section, and then you'll find "Across America" right on top.