Bicycle Love Response--Ashley Hoffman

I believe that the theme of Goodspeed's "Bicycle Love" is that one needs to persevere through the hard times because it will end up making one stronger. The reason I believe this is because all of the hardships that Goodspeed endured on her pilgrimage ended up giving her more confidence for her future.  At the beginning she had no idea what to do with her future but after the pilgrimage she found a job in Vermont and helped out hikers that passed by.  The time when she "got a flat tire and actually enjoyed changing it" (144) is one of the turning points that showed how her pilgrimage was starting to have a positive effect on her.  The fact that she chose to say "actually" shows that change in her mindset and I believe that has a strong effect on her audience, showing them how her confidence was growing and giving her a positive outlook on her trip.  Also, when she was riding the plane back to the United States, she realized that she "loved France for being the place of [her] place of pilgrimage" and that she "felt forever changed by it" (147).  This shows how attached she felt to France because of how life changing it was for her.  This gets the audience to connect with her and empathize with her.  I believe that this was a very strong way in getting people's attention to see how good of an experience a pilgrimage can be.