My initial thought about getting online during our trip was to get prepaid SIM cards in each country where we plan to spend enough time to make it worthwhile.
This would work fine, but it means we’ll have some offline time, either when we first enter a new country, or when we go through countries for just a few days when it’s not worth it to get a SIM card.
I just learned about Google Project Fi, a worldwide cell service that works in 130+ countries and costs just $10/GB for data coverage, worldwide!
The catch is that you have to have one of 3 Google phones. Being an iPhone user, this is kind of a bummer because we’ll have to carry an extra device, but it does have some benefits:
The plan supports tethering, so with just one phone, we can get online abroad with up to 10 devices.
There is no bandwidth limiting so we can get up to 4G speeds in any country.
The iPhone should be able to support iCloud backup because it will appear as a WiFi hotspot vs a data connection.
My bike computer will only sync routes over WiFi, so having a hotspot is better than having multiple SIM cards for each phone (that may not support tethering).
We will have an extra phone with us in case one of ours has a problem.
I’ll maintain a single phone number anywhere in the world, which is important for 2 factor authentication, not to mention making it easier for friends and family to reach us.
There may still be times where it makes sense to get local SIM cards, but it’s hard to beat $10/GB and the convenience this will offer us.
We all have that box or filing cabinet filled with paperwork. If you’re like me, you dread going anywhere near it. Every time you open the box or drawer, you shove in papers into a space they shouldn’t fit and sit on the lid to close it, hoping that nothing breaks. Tax returns, bank statements, you name it… They are bursting at the seams…
When you expect to give up your apartment, though, this box finally becomes a chore that you have to address. It’s too heavy and bulky to store or move, so the best bet is to scan it all and shred the papers so you can finally leave it behind. Digital storage is almost free, but taking the time to scan all this shit is a huge undertaking.
For the last few weeks, I’ve been filling my spare time with digitizing and sorting all of this junk. After struggling with my horribly slow and buggy scanner, I finally broke down and bought a dedicated document scanner. It’s about 10x faster, and I’m hoping I can sell it easily when I’m done with it, but at least it’s cutting down on the time to put all this stuff in the cloud. It feels like such a waste of time, but we’re all legally obligated to keep our important documents accessible, so it has to be done.
Just one box of files to go. Wish me luck!
It’s an unfortunate fact in this world that something as basic as your place of birth can limit your options in travel (and indeed in life). For Americans, this fact almost always works in our favor, and many Americans take this privilege quite for granted. Most of the world is open to us to freely travel, even if few take advantage of this unique ability.
I am admittedly naive in this regard, though I’m understanding it more and more as I travel. When I was in Thailand last year, I was struck by the stark difference in a US citizen visiting Thailand vs. a Thai citizen visiting the US. A US citizen merely flashes his passport and has a simple 30 second conversation and is granted a 30-day visa that can be extended fairly easily to up to 6 months.
A Thai citizen on the other hand, in order to simply visit the US, needs to prepare and present complicated paperwork complete with references, bank statements, etc. that can take months to prepare.
Americans do have some restrictions, though, due in part to our government’s activity overseas. In particular, the countries of Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, are likely unsafe for a bicycle trip.
Now some may claim that our state department’s advisories for these countries border on overly cautious, or that there are indeed safe parts of the country to visit, and I’m sure that is somewhat true; I believe people everywhere are fundamentally good and welcoming, and probably we would be fine. But there are bad actors out there, and there are incidents targetting US citizens, so I feel that it would be foolish to flaunt our freedom in the face of these warnings simply to accomplish an arbitrary goal of our holiday cycling tour. I have read stories of other cyclists from western countries who have put security in those countries in danger so that they could cycle their chosen routes, and I simply don’t think that’s a good decision.
So instead, I’m trying to find an acceptable route from Istanbul, Turkey to New Delhi, India. A simple option would be to hop on a plane, and there are many flights available. But we’d skip a huge portion of Asia by doing so, and we’d also arrive in India during the monsoon season; waiting another few months would be much better. One other option I’m looking into is cycling north through Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, and some of the -stans to end up in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. This, apparently, is a popular place for backpackers to hang out while they work on getting their east Asia visas sorted out, and there are quick and cheap direct flights to New Delhi.
I’m warming up to this option, and I’d love to hear your feedback!
Today marks the day that I’m quitting doing what I’m good at and beginning to focus on what I suck at.
For most of my life, I’ve focused on the things that I believe I am good at. Our western culture teaches us that we should find a specialty and focus on it to become the best we can be. And it makes sense; experts are generally rewarded, in one way or another. I consider myself an expert computer programmer, and I have enjoyed my experience and wouldn’t give it up for anything.
So it’s been quite an interesting journey the past few years as I’ve found myself wanting to explore the world and myself more deeply than what is defined by my career. It feels odd to focus on things that I’m not proficient in, but one thing that I have learned very quickly is that nothing can teach you more about yourself than by doing something you are bad at.
It’s something we all fear; trying and failing. But it’s also something that wakes up our minds in a way that nothing else can. When we purposefully try to do something that we have no idea how to do, we are doing one very important thing: we are disengaging our muscle memory and for a moment, becoming intensely mindful. We have to carefully observe everything around us and determine with a beginner’s mind how to proceed.
It is only in this state of complete mindfulness where we learn new skills and begin to understand more about ourselves and the world and people around us. It is only by putting ourselves into this discomfort and uncertainty that we can really expect to grow as a person.
So today I will start doing the things I am scared to do. I will ask myself every day how I am going to make myself uncomfortable. And, even though I’m scared about it, I will put myself in these situations.
Afterall, why would I want today to be the same as yesterday?
One of the things I’ve been trying to decide is whether to bring my laptop around the world with me on my bike. While you can do almost everything on your smartphone these days, there are a few things I wanted to have the laptop for:
Working – if I decide to stop somewhere and find some contract work, I will need a laptop to get that work done.
Photo Management – I have an extensive archive of digital photos that take up almost 1TB of space on an external drive. I use Adobe Lightroom to manage them on my laptop.
Route planning – This one boggles my mind, but it’s nearly impossible to plan a route on your phone and send it to your Garmin without a computer! (See below; I found a way, but it’s not pretty!)
Blogging – Typing on a keyboard is way nicer than on the tiny iPhone screen.
But, here are the issues with bringing a laptop:
It’s bulky – even my 13″ MacBook (one of the smallest laptops around) will barely fit in my Camelbak.
It’s heavy (relatively) – the MacBook weighs in around 2 lbs plus the charger, USB dongle, etc., and it’s 3.5 lbs, which is a significant portion of my ultralight setup.
Charging – It won’t charge with my 5W solar panel, so keeping it charged will be a challenge, plus I’ll need an international adapter.
Not waterproof – I’ll have to keep it in a dry bag to keep it from getting wet when it rains.
Somewhat fragile – It will need a lot of padding in my bag.
Theft target – It’s not something I’ll want to flash around, or else it might get pilfered.
So, my decision right now is NOT to bring it. Here’s how I’ll solve each of the original items.
1. Working
I’ll keep my laptop with a friend or family member, and if I need to work, either they can ship it to me, or I can buy a used one and restore from cloud backup, whichever turns out to be easier with customs.
2. Photo Management
Still trying to figure this one out, but it turns out that my Google Drive account has unlimited storage with the plan that I have, so I’m looking into moving my photos there and managing them somehow from my phone.
3. Route Planning
Okay, here’s how you create a route on your phone and send it wirelessly to your Garmin! A ridiculous process, but I tried it last night, and it works. It will suffice for when I don’t have access to a computer, but it’s horribly convoluted.
First, create a route with something that will export to GPX (I like Strava because it knows where riders actually ride and usually picks the best routes):
Visit strava.com in Safari on your phone (don’t use the Strava app!).
Go to Dashboard -> My Routes
Create New Route
The route builder is wonky on mobile, but it does work.
Save the route.
Export to GPX and save to Google Drive.
Visit www.gpsies.com in Safari (Chrome doesn’t work) and select Convert.
Choose the GPX file from Google Drive.
Export as “GPX Track”.
Under Options, put 15 mph for the speed. (any speed will work but you have to enter something)
Convert, and save the output GPX to Google Drive.
Now, visit connect.garmin.com on Safari on your phone (do not use the Garmin Connect app!). (Again, you have to use Safari, not Chrome)
Tap the + button in the top-right to add an activity and select “Upload your activities”.
Go to “Manual Import” and tap to upload. Choose the converted GPX file from Google Drive.
It should upload the “activity”. If you get an error, the conversion may not have worked or you picked the wrong GPX.
Now for the fun part! This created a fake activity in your activity log. You don’t actually want this to show up, so eventually you will delete it. But first,
Find the activity in Garmin Connect (website not app) and tap it. (For me, the date was set to 12/31/2009.)
Tap the gear icon and select “Save as Course”.
Enter a name for the course and save it. Then select “Send to Device”. (Don’t even try to edit it on the phone; the Garmin route editor is unusable on mobile; it barely works on a computer!)
Open the Garmin Connect app on your phone and sync via Bluetooth to get the course to transfer.
Not done yet, you need to cleanup.
Delete the fake activity in Garmin Connect.
If you have Strava sync setup, it’s likely that Strava will also have the fake activity, so open the Strava app and go delete it.
4. Blogging
It looks like there are some nice lightweight folding keyboard options out there, so I’m looking into some of these. Worst case, I’ll deal with the on-screen keyboard and dictation when possible.
I’ve planned the first month or so of our around-the-world ride. This route is based on what I’ve learned through many Google searches and a few discussions with friends. If you have some tips, please leave a comment or message me @tnorman on Twitter!
We start in Lisbon, Portugal, where we will spend a few days in a hostel or WarmShowers while we get our bikes assembled and acclimate to the time and culture changes.
We then bike inland towards Evora, checking out Recinto Megalítico dos Almendres, the Portuguese Stonehenge, and the adorable town of Evora, riding through rural agricultural areas. We want to get away from the coast for a bit to experience some of the more local Portuguese culture. Along the way, we will camp or stay in hostels or simple hotels.
We then head back south through Beja and then back towards the western coast of Portugal before turning south. Next, we’ll ride out to the most southwest corner of Portugal, to see Cap Saint-Vincent, Cabo de São Vicente, and
then ride east through the Algarve region. We will keep away from the over-developed coast in lieu of experiencing the more local, less heavily-trafficked roads.
Once in Spain, we bee-line to Seville, the capital of southern Spain’s Andalusia, which is famous for flamenco dancing!
After a day or two in Seville (maybe we will learn to dance flamenco!), we detour south to Tarifa, where we will hop on a ferry to Tangier, Morocco for the day. Although it’s a bit touristy, we thought it would be a shame to skip putting our feet on the African continent for our first time, and we hope to try some amazing tagines.
Back in Spain, we ride north to Ronda, a mountaintop city that’s set dramatically above a
deep gorge. From there, we head north to Puente Genil, where the Via Verde de la Subbética (“greenway”, or dedicated bike path) takes us east for dozens of kilometers before veering south towards Granada. In Granada, we will visit the famous Alhambra, a palace/fortress complex originally constructed in 889 AD!
After Granada, we ride inland (avoiding the over-developed Mediterranean coast with vacation rentals and all-inclusive resorts) through Murcia, before getting back on the coast just before Valencia.
From Valencia, we will practice our “sibilant s” and take the coastal route to Barcelona, where friends tell me we may want to spend more than just a few days. It will perhaps be April when we get here, so depending on weather forecasts, we will either keep riding towards France/Italy, or spend some time waiting for warmer riding days.
It’s official; I’ve decided to ride my bicycle around the world. I’m going to start blogging some more about my plans and preparations, and I plan to keep regular travel blogs once I get started. I’ll be focusing on writing about three things: practical advice and experience during preparation and travel, “bike stomach” food reviews of great local food along the way, and general travel reports.
I would also love to hear from other fellow cycle tourists who have done similar trips or parts thereof! Please feel free to leave comments or send me a tweet @tnorman
Some general info about my plans at this point:
What? I don’t have a hard and fast mileage goal in mind. Some people shoot for the circumference of the earth (roughly 24,900 miles); others try to cover ever angle of longitude; and the Guinness Book requires 18,000 miles of cycling plus other criteria. I think these are great goals, but I think they discount some amazing journeys that don’t make headway via these strict definitions; such as cycling south to north in South America, meandering in a non-straight line through Europe and Asia, or falling in love with a neighborhood so hard that you stick around for a few months. If I stick with my plan, it is likely that I will surpass 24,900 miles by the time I’m back in San Diego. But, this is not my goal. My goal will be to explore the world with cycling as my primary mode of transportation, and to rely on that to help me slow down, appreciate other cultures, and become a better citizen of the planet. Oh, and eat some awesome food! 🙂
Why? Having recently completed a bike tour from Vancouver, BC to Tijuana, MX, I’ve been having a tough time adjusting to being back in “reality”. So many of my possessions feel frivolous and burdensome, and the days and weeks are starting to blend together as I get back into my routine. Yet when I was on my tour, I have stories I can tell and unique experiences from each and every day. I recently became a fan of Jedidiah Jenkins, who says, “the routine is the enemy of time”. You should watch that video, by the way. The best way to make your life longer (and hopefully more fulfilling) is to avoid the routine. So that’s what I want to do.
How? I’m aiming to continue my next tour as ultralight as feasible, though I feel that I will need to be a little less ultralight than last time! I’m trading in my fragile carbon fiber racing bike for a more rugged and touring-friendly aluminum gravel bike. I’m making more room for cold-weather clothing in my packs. And I’m considering things like cooking, water purification, etc, which will be more important in some more remote areas. I will also need to do this trip less expensively than my last. In order to make my savings last until I’m home, I will have to be frugal with lodging, etc. Luckily there are many low-cost and free options including camping, WarmShowers, CouchSurfing, hostels, etc. To help, many of the countries I plan to visit have a much lower cost-of-living than San Diego. In addition, I’m keeping open the option to stop from time to time somewhere and try to pick up some contract work to replenish travel funds.
Where? I’d like to keep the exact route as open as possible, so I have the freedom to make last-minute changes depending on weather, terrain, local conditions, things I learn from other travelers, etc. But, here are some maps for what I have in mind. I will start in Europe (Portugal), and head generally east, doubling back to explore areas I’ve always been interested in seeing. I figured Europe would be a great place to start because Europeans generally love cyclists and camping, there’s tons of things to see, the food is awesome, and it’s safe and familiar. I’ve been to Europe a dozen times, and I speak enough French to get by and can fuddle through some Spanish if needed.
Europe
Asia
Oceania
South America
Central America
Africa (maybe)
When and how long? I’m aiming to leave early next year (2017), though I haven’t decided on a specific date yet. Part of that will depend how soon I can get ready! And I expect that this will take about 2 years, longer if I love it, shorter if I get home sick or hate it.
What is bike stomach? (credit to my friend Jeff, who as far as I know, coined the term, at least in my circle of friends)
If you’ve ever done any kind of intense physical activity like long distance cycling, running, or swimming, you’re familiar with “bike stomach”. When you are done your workout, you are ravenous, and food takes on especially intense flavors. Cheap cheese curls taste like mana from heaven, and a Pismo Beach cinnamon bun with cream cheese frosting makes you die a little inside in gooey, delicious pleasure. (Photo above taken at Old West Cinnamon Rolls, Pismo Beach, CA)
Add to that the fact that there’s no guilt (you just burned thousands of calories), and bike stomach is one of my favorite things about cycling.
On our future tours, Steve and I are going to start blogging about our food encounters, seeking out the best and most unique food we can find in the communities we ride through. I’ve created a category on this blog callled “Bike Stomach” where our stories and photos will be posted. We’re not on tour now, but we’ll try to do some bike stomach posts in our hometown of San Diego.
On our Pacific Coast bike ride this summer, Steve & I reflected a lot on what it is that we really need. On a bicycle tour, you are limited to what you can carry, so you naturally spend time ensuring that you only carry what is necessary, to some extent or another. Whether it be 15 lbs or 80 lbs, it’s a far cry from how much you can put in your apartment at home.
We both realized that we have so much “stuff” at home just sitting in closets that’s never used or appreciated. We missed almost none of that stuff. It becomes just a burden to clean, find space for, and move.
So when we got home, we both started the process of downsizing. Some stuff was easy; that smart watch I never wore, for example. But other stuff was hard. And I realized what made it hard: for the most part, it’s the memories they invoke.
We, as humans, are conditioned to collect artifacts throughout our lives. Many of these items are nothing more than artifacts; representations of past travels, interests, and friends. These physical items run the gamut from cheapo souvenirs from a shop in Paris, to the quilt your mother spent 6 months making for you.
Some of these artifacts are incredibly difficult to part with. What is it that gives them this power? And how can we avoid them from blocking us from our passion to travel and live unencumbered?
I’m not sure I have the final answer, but I do have something that’s working for me. For most of the items, its power comes from the memories they evoke. Although there is something to the physical handling of these objects, most of the memories are invoked by sight alone. So I decided that simply taking a digital photo of them and then discarding them (donating, gifting, selling, etc) is enough to reclaim the physical space they are taking while retaining the meaning. So that’s what I’ve been doing.
This doesn’t work for everything. I don’t know how I’ll ever part with the quilt my mom made for me or the lock of hair from my kitty Gus. So I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’ll need to keep a box of these artifacts around because they are so special. I try to limit the amount of space taken up with this box, but I don’t think it’ll ever be zero.
For the most part, I’ll take a photo, and then file it away and never look at it again. The memories are still there if I need them, but I have the space back. Sometimes I will think of something and look it up in my photo album, or browse through my photos, and the memories it brings up are the same as if they were physically there.
I think I have some improvements to do though. In some ways I fee like I’m merely moving the problem from the physical to the digital realm. I now have an eneormous photo collection that I maintain, backup, sort through, etc. Have I really de-cluttered? So far what I tell myself is that I already need to keep my digital photos maintained, so it doesn’t really add any extra mental energy.
Also, some of these items invoke particularly painful memories, like the clippings of my kitty’s fur. Is it healthy for me to try to detach completely by tossing these items without a photo? Or is it important to keep some essence of this part of my life with me?
I think it’s important to keep my particular goals in mind here. I’d like to be able to travel more easily, so anything I can do to minimize physical possessions, even if it comes at the expense of increased digital possessions or emotional weight, is a step in the right direction!
As good as Google Maps is, nothing quite sparks the imagination for future trips as a world map pinned to the wall… Where to next by bicycle? Any recommendations?
We then bike inland towards Evora, checking out Recinto Megalítico dos Almendres, the Portuguese Stonehenge, and the adorable town of Evora, riding through rural agricultural areas. We want to get away from the coast for a bit to experience some of the more local Portuguese culture. Along the way, we will camp or stay in hostels or simple hotels.
rning south. Next, we’ll ride out to the most southwest corner of Portugal, to see Cap Saint-Vincent, Cabo de São Vicente, and
Back in Spain, we ride north to Ronda, a mountaintop city that’s set dramatically above a
