by quinn | Mar 31, 2013 | Cycling, English, Travel tips
Two atoms of Al grasping to each other with theoretical forces as the vacuum of energy between them lengthens. Once their gap expands to a certain distance their relationship changes, and the possibility for new relationships opens. A stray molecule of NaCl winks shyly as he passes. Bond. The failed Al relationship causes a schism in the community; neighboring Al families likewise begin to unwed, first a few, then thousands, billions. A threshold is reached and the microcosm instantly becomes macroscopic, and a sound emits into the calm morning air.
The 18-year-old Edco hubs of our Argos tandem spontaneously disintegrated with help—it has been suggested—from the salt air. These failings could have occurred at any point during our 3000km journey, but mysteriously failed post-trip, while the bike was resting. Are aged hubs and salt air suspect enough—or should we think ghosts?
We have new hubs and are in search of a wheel builder in the Greek arcipelago.
Update: Everything was fixed. We are very happy and ready for our next trip.
by quinn | Mar 31, 2013 | Europe
Our 2012 destination was Santorini, where we were due for a visit with Craig at Atlantis Books and to do an eight-week shamatha and vipaśyanā retreat. These things we did, and were done most pleasantly so. Our retreat location was in Tholos, a house of a friend who was away and Rosy the little monster/dog we kept for our stay. This island is filled with remarkable friends, whom we spent far too little time with; we shall return soon I hope to sit properly with you all.
by quinn | Dec 23, 2012 | English, Europe, Retreats
Karma Berchen Ling is a Diamond Way Tibetan Buddhist center high in the mountains of the Peloponnese. We stayed for a couple nights and befriended the wonderful couple managing the place. Striking vistas and a surprise snowstorm made for a fantastic 30km descent with a lunch of goat soup and depositing us right back to the warm sea.
It was a nice little retreat, there’s a cave and a stupa. The only inconvenience was the cold weather and that we caught a cold.
There are group retreats taking place there year long, so if you live in Greece and want to learn meditation in the traditional buddhist tantric way, this might be the place for you.
by quinn | Nov 27, 2012 | Cycling, Digital Nomads, English, Europe, Travel tips
Today we gave a presentation to the students of Jeremy’s university journalism course in Marseille. We spoke about the motivation for our trip, our goals, logistics, and the meaning and realizations we’ve found along the way, and then were interviewed by the students. Their project is to write articles using us as their subject. We felt very well received and the students asked excellent questions; I think perhaps because the French love both cycling and discussing lifestyle choices.
To the students reading this post, thank you for having us, and for your incisive questions. Here are some links related to our talk that you might find useful.
We have a page with resources about lifestyle design and living lucidly.
Links to information about bicycle touring:
Hospitality exchange networks we use:
We also have used Airbnb instead of hotels.
When we arrive in Greece we will be staying with our friends at Atlantis Books. It was inspired by Shakespeare and Company in Paris, where I first met Jeremy.
UPDATE: Eugénie’s paper has been published online with lexpress.fr.
by quinn | Nov 26, 2012 | Cycling, Digital Nomads, English, Europe, Travel tips
The essence is travelling.
We’ve had our wheels on the road now for seven weeks, passing through 1500km of other people’s lives. The bicycle brings us great joy, but the significance of this trip has not manifested as cycling. This trip has been about adopting a new lifestyle, new frames of mind, and new connections to the land and people we meet. We’ve transformed in ways that would occur similarly if we travelled by sailboat, horse, or shoelaces.
