'Pirsig's Pilgrims' pay homage to famous 'Zen' author by re-creating his motorcycle ride
How far would you travel – in a car or on a motorcycle – to re-create the journey of a favorite author? Would 2,800 miles be too much for your pilgrimage?
For 50 years, travelers informally known as "Pirsig's Pilgrims," or fans of Robert Pirsig and his book, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values," have followed the route described in the book, published in 1974.
In July, some of them, including a rider on the same year and model of the motorcycle Pirsig used, are planning a special ride of their own.
"It's individuals coming together to commemorate the anniversary with a group experience," says David Matos, a ride organizer who will drive a support vehicle.
- How the venerable Zen motorcycle found a home at the Smithsonian.
- Museum curators labored for hours to prepare motorcycle for exhibit.
Pirsig's book was an unexpected hit, selling 50,000 copies in the three months after its publication. A number of readers discovered a deep kinship with Pirsig, his work, and his philosophy.
Can't see our graphics? Click here.
How deep is the affinity? It's enough for individual Pirsig enthusiasts to retrace his 1968 Minneapolis-to-San Francisco route, an estimated 2,800-mile phenomenon that fans started after the book appeared.
Travelers have done it on motorcycles or in cars, at first relying on story details as a guide. Later, they've used carefully researched GPS coordinates.
Besides the 50th anniversary rides, 2024 is shaping up as a memorable year for Pirsig aficionados. The author's motorcycle, a 1966 305cc Honda Super Hawk, goes on exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., starting today.
Who's organizing the anniversary ride?
In observance of the book's publication, a group of riders connected with the Robert Pirsig Association, a group that focuses on Pirsig's life, literature and philosophy, are planning their own commemorative ride starting in Minneapolis on July 8. That's the same day Pirsig started his trip in 1968.
Organizers are working with Henry Gurr, a professor of physics who has documented the ride. "It was a passion project of his," Matos says.
"I decided I'd follow the route as a retirement project back in 2002," Gurr says. "I wasn't doing it for fun. I turned it into a research project to find every place Pirsig mentioned in the travel narrative.
"I wanted to find it, get a picture, and a GPS coordinate," he says. His trip – by car – and his exhaustive research netted 604 waypoints, which he plotted on a Google map.
For more information on the ride and other events: Click here.
The group plans to arrive in San Francisco on July 20, Matos says. "We're going to average about 250 miles a day. The exact route will depend on who's on the ride during that leg."
There's no fee to participate, and people are expected to pay for their food, lodging and other travel expenses.
The #ZMM50thRide is "a group of people who are piecing it together," says John Chorne, one of the organizers. "We're hoping to incorporate a lot of what Robert Pirsig experienced on his ride."
Details and number of riders are still being determined, but "the bulk of the ride is as applicable today as it was 50 years ago," he says.
Organizers want to visit a number of locations Pirsig mentions in the book.
What do riders get out of retracing Pirsig's route?
It may be the combined effect of thinking about what Pirsig wrote while riding a road Pirsig traveled.
Everyone's bound to have a different answer on what it means, Chorne says. But riding a motorcycle on those roads, and how it relates to the book, is more of an experience than just driving a vehicle.
"I've just recently gotten back into motorcycle riding," Chorne says. "I started last year and I hadn't ridden since I was 18. So it's coming up on 40 years ago."
"One of my favorite quotes in the book is, "along old roads, like this, tensions disappear." And the other thing Pirsig mentions is, "we're trying to make good time, but the focus is more on good than time," Chorne says.
"We're trying to re-create that experience with this ride," Chorne says. "We're connecting with people who are enthusiasts like I am and learning from them."
"This route is really incredible for the natural scenery," Gurr says. "It's the open road and good traveling."
Even those in an automobile will have "a wonderful trip and a wonderful time sightseeing, as if they were on a motorcycle."
You'll see a '66 Super Hawk – the same model Pirsig rode – on the ride
One of those enthusiasts – and one who will undoubtedly attract lots of attention – is Jon Kosmoski of Neptune Beach, Florida, who restores old motorcycles, including Honda Super Hawks, as a hobby.
He's read Pirsig's book, and is taking his own restored Super Hawk on the #ZMM50th ride.
"I was working on a Super Hawk and was planning to paint it red. And then I saw a notice about the ride," Kosmoski says.
"It's like a confluence of circumstances," he says. "It seemed like a really fun adventure to take, since I work on the bikes more than I ride them these days. And I drive up to Minnesota every summer anyway."
Kosmoski painted the Super Hawk black, to match Pirsig's cycle. "I found a luggage rack that looks exactly like the one he had. I've got the right kind of handlebars. So it will look close to his."
Work commitments will prevent him from going the entire route. He may have to turn around in Miles City, Montana.
"I'll go as long as I can," Kosmoski says. While hanging out with other riders, he hopes to learn more about the philosophy and meaning of the book.
It's also a personal challenge: He did a complete rebuild on the Super Hawk. "I've got to make sure this thing will hold together for at least 1,000 miles," Kosmoski says.
"It gets into Pirsig's notion of quality, right? What kind of quality did I do on my own restoration?"
Here's how to see the Smithsonian's Pirsig exhibit
Robert Pirsig's Honda Super Hawk and other items will be on display at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, 1300 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, D.C., 20560.
You'll find the cycle and other items in the "America on the Move" exhibition on the museum's first floor, in the East Wing.
The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day, except for Dec. 25. Admission is free and no tickets are required. For more information, go to https://americanhistory.si.edu or call (202) 633-1000.
Contributing: Veronica Bravo, Janet Loehrke and Javier Zarracina, USA TODAY; Photograph from Robert Pirsig's 1968 motorcycle ride is courtesy of Wendy Pirsig; museum photos are by Jaclyn Nash and are courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. Sourcing for this story includes USA TODAY Graphics reporting and research.