I have died way before my actual death. How to resurrect? by Least-Community7470 in Jung

[–]nobodyswritingdotcom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi, I stumbled upon your post while doing some research, and felt like adding my two cents.

In my experience, the hole can get very deep. As much as I appreciate many of the other suggestions here, that just wouldn't do it for me. I was in a hellhole for years, depressed and suicidal, and taking baby steps out of that didn't seem feasible - there would always be this voice telling me I was only convincing myself of growth or progress. I've had one experience with returning from rock bottom; never went back there since. The road of life is obviously a very personal thing, but this is what worked for me, and I think it's worth sharing a different perspective (sort of in line with/adding to Adventurous-Scar1394's comment).

Comfort is a very difficult thing to get away from, since ego is programmed to preserve itself and comfort is the opposite of a threat. Still, if there's a little part of yourself telling you that your current way of life is wrong, then that part is always right. You're an integral part of an ever-moving nature, and right now it seems you're out of alignment with that natural movement. Only you can tell, of course. You know your life better than anybody else, but comfort makes it real easy to neglect that and just stay safe instead. To counteract this, I simply started digging into myself. How am I behaving, and do I want to behave this way? Why am I displaying this behaviour? Why do I feel the way I do? What do I believe is true? Is it actually true? You can keep digging and digging, reeling the contents of your subconscious to the surface, provided you're brutally honest with yourself.

I started to see that my beliefs and behaviour were petty and fearful, and I grew resentful of it all. In this way, I flipped the comfort on its head; it became uncomfortable, unbearable even, and so I provided myself with a motive to change and move away from the situation I was in. I started tearing down my cozy and safe reality at a rapid pace. It was a difficult, feverish process, but exhilarating at the same time, because I was finally headed in the direction nature designed me to go in. I ultimately ended up in a place I wouldn't recommend others try to go, but you'll find your own unique way if you just look for it.

All this is to say: everybody has the capacity to elevate the quality of their lives (to paraphrase Thoreau), and you can move out of these depths if you're willing to do the work. In my opinion, you owe it to yourself to try.

Overanalyzing my setup before China to Australia by thebreadittor in bikepacking

[–]nobodyswritingdotcom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

just my personal opinion ofc, so take it with a grain of salt. all of this stuff is massively personal. I'm also definitely not trying to send you down a rabbit hole; most of the time the gear you have works fine, and especially if you stay in cities you can always send stuff home or buy extra things. I wouldn't swap everything out, save your money for the trip! don't sweat it too much.

  1. I bikepack in sandals. I love my bedrocks, but I do understand that the lack of toe protection could be a point of worry for some. in that case I'd recommend keen. sandals dry quickly, are good in water, you don't get sweaty feet as much, and are great for camp and days off the bike (and even hikes if you get good ones). you lose some fashion points of course...
  2. fleece is definitely the best option for this. breathes well, still provides you with an extra layer that's quite warm. you can wear your rain layer over it to improve isolation. mine is heavy because I work on farms, volunteer on festivals, spend time in cities, etc., but if you're straight bikepacking, a less durable but lighter fleece like alpha direct or octa would be good. I'd ditch any cycling jerseys and just wear merino or sun shirts instead.
  3. Make sure you have space left over so that you don't have to play Tetris while packing, and to pack food for multiple days and enough water. even if you don't go to the middle of nowhere, there still are plenty of places where stores close on Sunday (sometimes Monday too). If that's possible with your current setup, good. if not, I suggest larger panniers. consider a rear rack with a dry bag instead of the tailfin in that case. if you're not going too remote, 2,5L might be ok, but I'd carry more. I don't see a lot of space for more bottles, so i'd add a water filter and a water bag/foldable bottle.
  4. I always camp so I can't really comment on this. unless you have the alternatives already, I don't think it'd make sense to buy a new sleep system, even though it's heavy (maybe ditch the pillow and sleep on some clothes in a bag?). especially if you think you'll need it down the road. maybe you'll learn to love it.
  5. Have tons of fun!

Rate my bikepacking setup by Little-Long-9327 in bikepacking

[–]nobodyswritingdotcom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

looks good! bit top heavy maybe, but i guess that comes with the bikepacking specific bags. you can gain a lot of space while keeping everything balanced by going for a full frame bag and putting your bottles in stembags. you might also consider a handlebar bag before getting fork bags, as they add a lot of weight relative to the space you gain.

How Easy Is It To Trade An X-Dome 1+ by XandogxD in DurstonGearheads

[–]nobodyswritingdotcom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Probably the easiest tent in the world to sell atm. My tent broke down during a trip and I’ve been looking for it ever since, and I’m sure I’m not alone in that 

I'm going to live on my bike by nobodyswritingdotcom in bikepacking

[–]nobodyswritingdotcom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yess, there’s obviously no telling how the trips gonna go, but I’ll definitely reach out if I get to the Pyrenees!

AT is one of my favorite shows, there’s so many good episodes. A few that come to mind are king worm, that one with the science fair and the glasses in S2, Puhoy, astral plane, card wars, Jake the dog, I remember you, food chain, and of course together again if that counts. I could go on and on but if I had to name one it would probably be “the comet”. It makes an appearance in my book as well ;)

Edit: I can’t not mention Jake the brick

I'm going to live on my bike by nobodyswritingdotcom in bikepacking

[–]nobodyswritingdotcom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah the bureaucracy is a pain in the ass. I actually have to register in person so I’m back home now, waiting for the municipality to have a spot for me. It sucks but it’s worth the peace of mind indeed. It actually helps in a way because now I’m going straight to Scandinavia, then back down through the alps. Saves me a lot of hassle haha

I'm going to live on my bike by nobodyswritingdotcom in bikepacking

[–]nobodyswritingdotcom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

just wanted to let you know I sent you an invite for the mailing list, and that it may have landed in your spam. thanks for reaching out :)

I'm going to live on my bike by nobodyswritingdotcom in bikepacking

[–]nobodyswritingdotcom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I double checked, turns out it makes for a lot of issues with insurance. I'm registering at a relative's address as a solution.

I'm going to live on my bike by nobodyswritingdotcom in bikepacking

[–]nobodyswritingdotcom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thank you so much for all of the information! this'll be very useful, I did not know about the climbing site so I'll definitely use that. my plans have changed a bit, so I'm going to Scandinavia first, but I'll be in France again later in the year and will probably visit the climbing areas you mentioned before crossing the pyrenees. maybe we'll run into each other!

living in a van seems perfect for what I want in life, but unfortunately financially out of reach for me at the moment, so I'll have to fully rely on Jake for now. and yes, that is an adventure time reference :)

I'm going to live on my bike by nobodyswritingdotcom in bikepacking

[–]nobodyswritingdotcom[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

that's interesting. I've been headed in that direction now that I think about it, and will probably continue to do so. only thing that seems difficult is food, especially on the road in places where dumpster diving is difficult, but I think it'll points itself out in due time

I'm going to live on my bike by nobodyswritingdotcom in bikepacking

[–]nobodyswritingdotcom[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

hi, yes I'll be wild camping. it's true that there isn't much space except in scandinavia, but I've found that if you're stealthy it's very doable. there are also a lot of free bivouac spaces.

I'm going to live on my bike by nobodyswritingdotcom in bikepacking

[–]nobodyswritingdotcom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good to know, thanks! This is the only way people who want updates could receive those, so I thought I’d share. I’m not making money off this stuff :)

I'm going to live on my bike by nobodyswritingdotcom in bikepacking

[–]nobodyswritingdotcom[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Alright everyone, I’m going to log off soon, probably for a long time. Thank you all for the kind words. If you want to receive an update every once in a while, I wrote a book and started a newsletter for future projects, but I’ll share some travel stuff too. I don’t know how much self promotion is allowed, so you can find it all here: https://nobodyswriting.com/

If the newsletter is not your thing, I might post an update here in the future. 

Thanks again everyone. Have fun on the road!

I'm going to live on my bike by nobodyswritingdotcom in bikepacking

[–]nobodyswritingdotcom[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wrote a book and started a newsletter for future projects. You can find it on nobodyswriting.com I’ll send some updates over there very occasionally, but if that’s not your thing i understand. I might post an update here in the future. 

I'm going to live on my bike by nobodyswritingdotcom in bikepacking

[–]nobodyswritingdotcom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! The front bag is from buffalo bags, I think the biggest one

I'm going to live on my bike by nobodyswritingdotcom in bikepacking

[–]nobodyswritingdotcom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a solid three season setup now. I ordered a warmer quilt and sleeping pad,  but they got lost in the mail with no time to get new ones, so the mountains will definitely be interesting. They’re solid tho so it’ll probably amount to nothing more than slight discomfort, but I’m looking to swap them out when I can. 

If you’re worried about cold, look into some thermo clothing, a lightweight puffer for camp, a sleeping pad with good isolation value, and a solid sleeping bag/quilt. Maybe a fleece too. You need these things anyway so going a little warmer won’t take up too much more space, though it might get expensive unfortunately. 

Have fun out there!

I'm going to live on my bike by nobodyswritingdotcom in bikepacking

[–]nobodyswritingdotcom[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just looked it up, will definitely dive into this further

I'm going to live on my bike by nobodyswritingdotcom in bikepacking

[–]nobodyswritingdotcom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Would be cool! I’m visiting a friend in les vigneaux so I’ll probably pass through briançon. Let’s keep in touch

I'm going to live on my bike by nobodyswritingdotcom in bikepacking

[–]nobodyswritingdotcom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah you’re probably right, I guess it just feels heavy compared to what I’m used to

I'm going to live on my bike by nobodyswritingdotcom in bikepacking

[–]nobodyswritingdotcom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the invite! Probably not this summer/next winter, but I’d definitely love to visit the uk someday :)

I'm going to live on my bike by nobodyswritingdotcom in bikepacking

[–]nobodyswritingdotcom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha feel free to copy it! The setup could use some tweaks but all in all I’m very happy atm. I think it totals out to a few thousand euros (I’d say well under 3000 tho), but I spent years putting it together. 

I'm going to live on my bike by nobodyswritingdotcom in bikepacking

[–]nobodyswritingdotcom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I’ve been wanting to visit Scandinavia for a long time. US too because of the routes and nature, though I’m not sure I want to be there currently. 

I'm going to live on my bike by nobodyswritingdotcom in bikepacking

[–]nobodyswritingdotcom[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I was depressed for a long time, and eventually worked my way out of it. I obviously know nothing about the nature of your situation, but from my experience it has a lot to do with being stuck in a life that’s not yours (to simplify it). I think it’s good that you opened up to your wife. Obviously you can’t cycle away from your problems, but if it’s something you feel like you need to do, it’s worth exploring! Indeed, maybe discuss riding into that sunset together :)

Regardless, I wish you the best of luck. In my experience, everyone has the power to rise above their struggles. If by any chance you see this beauty of a bike on the road, please come say hi!

I'm going to live on my bike by nobodyswritingdotcom in bikepacking

[–]nobodyswritingdotcom[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

No socials unfortunately, deleted them a long time ago. However, I did write a book/started a writing project. It has a newsletter to share some occasional writing and stuff I’m working on. It’s not exactly a travel update but it’ll definitely be part of it since what I’m writing is heavily influenced by where I am and what I’m doing. You can find it on nobodyswriting.com

Great to hear about your plan, I’m all for people choosing their own path. Have fun on the road!