Want to Follow The Idiot on an Odyssean New York stroll on Saturday, April 13?

Join an informal group of amicable urban ManTrekkers on a somewhat stressless 32-mile meditative march around Manhattan. Meet outside the iconic Bowling Green subway station in lower Manhattan at sunrise (6:22 am) for a slow takeoff.

If you’re late, head to the Hudson River, turn right and run to catch up.

Bowling Green Subway Station

Although we’re starting at a different spot, the route we’ll pursue around the island is @ https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=214830480134758237866.0004801284fca375b7c4d

The casual urban walk won’t require a heavy backpack (though water, a cap, sunscreen, snacks and a spare pair of light shoes and/or socks are sensible to carry) and public transport makes it easy to cut the hike short if you tire or freak out. To get an idea what you’re in for, read the following articles in The New York Times and New York Magazine.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/nyregion/19circ.html?emc=eta1

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2012/05/walking-all-32-miles-of-manhattans-coastline.html

You might also want to check out Shorewalkers, an association that oversees an annual walk around Manhattan known as The Great Saunter (it’s on May 4) and hosts numerous urban walks throughout the year http://www.shorewalkers.org.

How difficult can the ManTrek be? My 100-year-old friend Elliott Thompson will be there at the start – and at the finish (though he may not walk the entire way).

Elliott Thompson, 101 on May 25, will join the Idiot-ic walk on April 13.

To further inspire you, here’s a sweet version of our theme song @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvmt2TeI_2w

Feel like you should be doing this stroll for charity? You can “donate” your steps (it’ll take about 69,864 steps to do the entire walk) to the “Walk Your A.S.OFF,” a worldwide walk-a-thon for Ankylosing Spondylitis Awareness (http://walkyourasoff.com) that began March 1. Simply email your total steps to organizer Helgi Olafson at helgiolafson@gmail.com with “Step Count – Manhattan Walk – April 13” in the subject line.

If you like this little warm-up workout, you can Follow the Idiot to Macedonia and Turkey on April 15.

Ever omward!

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About Joel

Joel Stratte-McClure has been a global trekker since the 1970s. He lived in France for over 30 years, working as a journalist, before he turned his attention to a unique life-time-project of walking the shores of the Mediterranean. The first 4,401 kilometers are explored in his inspirational and entertaining first book "The Idiot and the Odyssey: Walking the Mediterranean." The next 4,401 kilometers are covered in the gods-filled sequel, "The Idiot and the Odyssey II: Myth, Madness and Magic on the Mediterranean,” published on Valentine's Day 2013. The last 4,401 kilometers will be discussed in the last book of the trilogy currently entitled "The Idiot and the Odyssey III: Alexander the Great Walks the Mediterranean."