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 | 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 Alma | Nov 27, 2012 | Cycling, Digital Nomads, English, Europe, Travel tips
Cost to have one boot zipper replaced? €35! If you have already decided to travel slowly, you might just continue doing everything slowly. Photos of stitching a new zipper into Alma’s boots with a handmade travel awl (a gift from the polymath Zeke Lunder).
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.
by quinn | Nov 26, 2012 | English, Europe
A view inside our bicycle tour from Spain to Greece. Each image represents an aspect unique to most cycling tours: eating, sleeping, life on the road. Click here and here.
