Keep Calm and Read On: A Life Outside
A his 60th birthday neared, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine decided it was time to make good on a promise he had made to himself years earlier: hike all 559 miles of the AT in VA, bike the Blue Ridge Parkway's 321 miles and paddle the James River's 348. From 2019 to 2021 he did just that, keeping a daily journal on each trip. The result is “Walk, Ride, Paddle: A Life Outside.”
Kaine's love for the outdoors dates to his days in Boy Scouts and family camping trips in Missouri, a passion that continued through his college years at University of Missouri and Harvard Law. Even after he moved to Richmond and began his political career, he found time for hiking, biking and paddling both at home and abroad. Trips with family and friends more often than not had an outdoor element. In deciding to embark on “Virginia Nature Triathlon,” he realized he was upping the ante. As he notes in the book, some of his congressional colleagues thought he had lost it. Undeterred, he set out, patching together days and weeks to fit his busy official schedule.
Walk, Ride, Paddle: A Life Outside is the work of a storyteller with a keen eye for nature and human foibles. A proud Virginian, he is quick to point out the Commonwealth's natural beauty and history. PATC members will recognize a good deal. One of Kaine’s favorite hikes is the AT south of Thornton Gap. He is also quick to credit those responsible for making his triathlon possible with shout outs to park rangers, PATC trail maintainers, and others he encountered. Along the way, readers find out the senator has a thing about spiders and a taste for bourbon.
One of the book's joys is the author's ever-present optimism and self-deprecating humor and humility; his trail name became Dogbowl. It's a long story. The Roller Coaster on the AT in Northern Virginia or a badly burned foot on the James did not stop him but they did make him think twice about the wisdom of his decision—and in the case of the Roller Coaster, come up with some songs to take his mind off the aching knees and record heat.
Another strength of the book is Kaine's readiness to share his inner thoughts, often through lines of poetry from the likes of Roethke and Whitman. Despite its subtitle, Walk, Ride, Paddle: A Life Outside is as much about a life inside as outside. A self-confessed introvert, Kaine values time alone. His triathlon became something of an extended meditation as he sought to recharge his batteries and re-examine his life and values, in the wake of the bruising 2016 presidential race. A practicing Catholic, he turned to his faith, most importantly the ethos of service, self-examination and discernment instilled by the Jesuits when he was in high school and when he took a year off from law school to work with Jesuit missionaries in Honduras. He also looked to other faith traditions. One of his favorite pieces of advice comes from George Fox, the founder of Quakerism, "Walk cheerfully over the earth, answering that of God in everyone.”
Early on, Kaine promises that Walk, Ride, Paddle: A Life Outside is not going to be about politics. That's a bit, however, like trying to write a book about the Titanic without mentioning ice. As he left Harpers Ferry, the impeachment process was starting. 2020 saw the global pandemic and Kaine's own COVID experiences. His paddle of the James came just months after January 6. Some will look at the calendar and argue that it was no coincidence that Walk, Ride, Paddle: A Life Outside appeared on the eve of Kaine's 2024 re-election bid but this is one of those times to heed Teddy Roosevelt’s advice that those not in the arena are best ignored.
Kaine does not dwell on politics but neither does he ignore them, offering insights into most of the salient events that coincided with his travels. He proudly identifies as a progressive Democrat, invoking the Old Testament prophet Micah's injunction to do kindness, seek justice and walk humbly. One of his heroes is his father-in-law, Linwood Holton, the first Republican governor of Virginia since the Civil War. Kaine credits his election as re-establishing a two-party system in Virginia and for his support for de-segregation even though he knew it could cost him his political career.
At end of the book, Kaine admits that over the intervening three years he has regained some of the 26 pounds he lost on the trail. Looking back, he sees his experiences as grounding, not humbling. To the degree that Walk, Ride, Paddle: A Life Outside was response to his turning 60, readers can only hope to get so lucky when he turns 70.
Do you have a good read you would like to recommend or review? Send it along to wplimberg@aol.com. Meanwhile, keep calm and read on. See you on the trail.
