In June 1997, after retiring from my corporate and consulting careers, Christine and I moved into our home in Bristol Mills, Maine. I started doing some things that appealed to me -- studying French at a nearby foreign language school, getting involved with a local land trust, motorcycling around the back roads of Maine, joining a photographic cooperative where I learned the fine art of custom color darkroom printing, studying portrait photography under the tutelage of some local masters of that craft, and playing occasional farmer with a sturdy tractor equipped to take on the seemingly unending tasks of managing our 80-acre property in Maine's midcoast area.
Then, in May 1998, I decided to bite the bullet and have my first massage, motivated by years of listening to Christine's frequent testimonials to the benefits she reaped from regular visits to her therapists. I still remember my first session -- I was nervous as could be. But my therapist was an absolute angel and put me totally at ease. And the experience left me wondering why it had taken so long to add this new element to my life.
So now, six years later, I confess: I'm a bit of a massage junkie. Some people ask why I like it so much, and the answer is simple: it's my passport to staying young and healthy, and besides, it's a heck of a lot of fun. A side benefit has been getting to meet some amazing women and fantastic therapists. Now there's no doubt that most of my massage experience has been with the Swedish 101 variety and derivatives of that modality, but I've had ample servings of other stuff as well, including the one that this trip is all about.
A couple of years ago I was introduced to a modality called ashiatsu oriental bar therapy. It's by far the predominant variety of barefoot massage in this country. The name is kind of awkward, but the results are sensational. The ashiatsu (AOBT variety) web site -- http://www.deepfeet.com -- describes the modality as an adaptation of an ancient form of barefoot massage using deep compression effleurage gliding over the body -- basically, using foot compression to deliver Swedish massage. That's a pretty good description. And while there are similarities to barefoot shiatsu, there are also important differences -- namely, while the roots are Asian, the techniques and application, as taught by the Denver-based AOBT people, are definitely western. But the best way to find out what it's like is to try it out. Anyone who's a massage enthusiast -- therapist or client -- should do so.
So how did this trip come about? Last year, having by then experienced ashiatsu treatments from several different therapists in Maine, New Hampshire, and Virginia, it occurred to me that it would be a cool idea to plan a motorcycle trip combined with some intensive barefoot massage work. That idea became a reality, and in late October I spent 8 days motorcycling around Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts meeting a bunch of new ashiatsu therapists. I described it at the time as a marathon, but it really was more like a sprint.
In any event, it gave rise to a grander version of the scheme -- this year's motorcycle adventure to western Colorado and back. Initially I had toyed with the idea of going all the way to the west coast, but quickly realized that was too ambitious given my limited timeframe. After all, the purpose of this was to have a good time, not punish myself. With Colorado the epicenter of the ashiatsu movement in this country, it seemed fitting to make that the turnaround destination.
The biggest challenge would be planning the route. Ideally I wanted to have an ashiatsu therapist available at each day's destination. And I came close -- there are only two days out of 38 where I won't have access to a barefoot massage therapist. In the course of riding 7000 miles through 20 states in a 38-day period, I will receive a lot of barefoot massage work, most of the time by therapists I have never met. But even so, I already know they are a special group, just because they have pursued the opportunity to achieve certification in this addictive modality.
Now it's time to meet the therapists who have played or will play an important part in my life, beginning with the one who introduced me to ashiatsu, then the group of therapists who have been taking care of me on a regular basis here in Maine, and finally the team itself -- the ones who will be treating me over the next 5-1/2 weeks and sharing this adventure with me.
