Living on my bike

[sedges]

My main question would be how to deal with an address.  You still need to have a bank account and deal with some mail.  Is it possible to have an address at a mailboxes place?  Can you arrange with them to ship you accumulated mail general delivery when you are staying in one place for a spell.

I think about living on the road, too.  It is possible to  find public and private campgrounds that will trade work for camping fees.  I stayed in state parks in the 70s working a few hours in exchange for a nights fee.  I always made suggestions they didn't hear often like washing windows in the park buildings, raking leaves if it is fall, painting, trail maintenance, etc.  If I found a place I liked, I could stay a week or more if there was work to do. 

[bobbirob22]

Good tips sedges, I will keep that in mind, there are a lot of campgrounds here and finding work for a nights fee is something that would help out a lot. I never thought of it but it would definately work. We have one major campground here, maybe youve heard of it, Beech Bend Park, im sure it would be easy finding a ticketing job or cleaning job there to pay off camping fees.

Got any more ideas?

[vkalia]

Interesting thread.   I come to this as someone who has given up a corporate job/sports car/expense account lifestyle to go live in a small island in the middle of nowhere as a dive instructor (thatch hut, occasional snake in my bathroom, etc).  Not as radically different as living on a bicycle but a drastic enough change that I can offer some points to consider that may apply here.

For starters, if this is REALLY what you want to do, go for it.

However, a few things to keep in mind:

- Touring and traveling may be fun for a certain amount of time, but for a lot of people, there is a need to do something useful and be productive.  Even when I took a year off work to travel, by the end of it, I was itching to go back to work - not to earn money but just to feel that I was doing something constructive

- What happens if you get burnt out with not having a home, medical insurance, friends, etc?   Traveling is great but too much of it, as with anything, can stop being fun.  I am perfectly happy going off by myself for extended periods of time (have spent weeks at a stretch in the Himalayas without seeing another person), but it is always comforting to come back to friends after a while.  You may think that you can do without it... but you dont really know until you have tried it.  So try to have an exit path which lets you come back to a more "routine" lifestyle if you so desire.

- Money.  I have taken a 80% paycut to do what I like, so I am the last person to argue in favor of chasing money.  But you need a certain level in order to enjoy what you are doing (whatever that level is).   Be sure that you can find a way to ensure that level of money. 

I would suggest that perhaps a year-long sabbatical from one's regular life to try this would be a good way to go.    And yes, I do agree - if anyone decides to do this, please keep a journal on CGOAB or Facebook or somewhere, so we can read about this. 

V.

[Westinghouse]

Sedges:

Yes,  there are services that will take mail for you. I think they will also hold and forward. If you are traveling the USA, and you know where you will be in so many days, you can have the mail forwarded to general delivery, main post office in some town where you will be.  Have it sent in a package with your name on it, of course, and have the sender write "Please hold for transcontinental bicyclist," or something like that. As for picking up odd jobs, that would be between you and the people with the work that has to be done.

[noworries]

A few years ago I was forced into homelessness by the VA. Like any other situation, there are pros and cons. You have the advantage of being able to set up your experience before it starts. I am new to computors and this long distance biking and I have no idea how you prepare yourself for long trips but this should be pretty much the same with some differences. If you have things you will want to save, store them with family or friends. Do not risk losing them to unpaid storage bills. Always have a can opener and a bottle opener. It is also very handy to have a handle to turn outdoor water spiggots off and on as a lot of times those have been removed. I met some very educated and intelligent people on the road but be carefull there are also those who live that way and believe in survival of the fittest. You would be surprised at what some of them would take if given the chance. Nothing is safe, even spare shoe laces are of value to trade with. I don't know anything about your background or lifestyle but I can tell you that it pays to get to know people slowly but it does pay to get to know people. If you stay anywhere for any length of time, remember most homeless people walk for transportation so you can easily stay further from town than is easily accessable to them. The police know where the homeless stay and they know when knew people hit town. It is easy to get yourself rousted on a regular basis if you hang with the homeless and it is easy to put some of them on gaurd against you if you do not make yourself one of them. I found it best to stay away from them until I got to know them. Remember there are those who need your sleeping bag and can sell or trade anything you have. They are not a well regulated part of society and have their own rules. A meal can always be had at a local mission and any church can direct you to a local food bank. In a lot of places you can eat from day to day just by picking up cans on the road side. Be aware that while you may want to do this it can change you. Now that I am back I have a different understanding of people and my country, I no longer fit in society so much but have responsibilities that prevent me from just disappearing.

[bobbyrob22]

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/forum/board/message/?o=3Tzut&thread_id=112125&v=Q&page=1&nested=

I posted this thread on crazyguyonabike and am gettin a lot of replies you should check it out..


Robert

[mikedirectory2]

It would be really lonely not even having a pet : (

[Westinghouse]

Actually, when I go on tours by bicycle I rarely if ever concern myself with classifying various kinds of cyclists because I hardly ever meet any. And even if I do, I don't take up with them no matter what their social-economic status. Because of my experiences in life, I am reluctant to exclude others based on their place in life. It is easy to look down on others and shut the door on them when they want in when things are going well for us, but what about when things go bad? For example, what if you were to have a terrible accident, and were bleeding to death, and some so-called low-life homeless person living by necessity of his bike were the only one available to stop the bleeding and keep you alive until the ambulance arrives? Would anyone still be up so high on his horse, and refuse to have anything to do with that person then? It may be convenient to discriminate against others when things are going well, but what if that rule were to hold true in any and all conditions? It might be a self defeating policy. Quite a few congressional medal of honor winners came from the lower socio-economic ranks of civilian life. Many of your military in Iraq and Afghanistan right now will eventually enter the ranks of the homeless unemployed. When I was in the army I remember being involved in an incident where quite a few people suffered horrible mutilating deaths, and many more were injured, some terribly disfigured and mutilated. When I was doing whatever it was I could to save lives I do not remember anyone asking me which side of the tracks I was from.

I am not saying you should take every opportunity to seek out homeless down-and-outers when on tour. You have to be careful who you associate with no matter where your travels take you. Sure, look out for yourself. I am just saying I tend to treat all people pretty much equally until I know I should not, and then I adjust accordingly. I generally do not adjust based only on socio-economic status and life circumstances, within limits, though at time I should have when I did not, and did when I should not have.

[ravencr]

I'm planning on doing this for some period of time while continuing to work for the magazine I work for as a photographer/editor and advertising exec. I think it's something I've wanted to do for years, and before settling down into real life again, marriage, etc, it's something I think I should do. I'll be traveling with my laptop, DSLR, and going wherever my heart desires on most likely Adventure Cycling routes. I haven't even been on a bike in years, and I'm not planning to train for it either. I can start off as slow as I want and take off a many days a week as I want with no plan or destination in mind. I'm just trying to research various gear options, trailers, bikes, etc to pick something that will work for me effectively.

Chris

[Westinghouse]

It sounds like a pretty good opportunity to cycle around the country, and get paid for it too. I subscribe more to the get in condition before the tour school of thought, but it certanily is not needed for a bicycle tour. Just let the cycling condition you as you go along. I once met a man from the UK. He identified himself as Quentin Van Marle. I was cycling west and he was cycling east on a road running between Perry, Florida, and Wakulla Station near Tallahassee in north Florida. He had begun his tour in California in late November. He was heading for Key West. He was a reporter for the BBC. He was sending weekly reports back to England which were being aired by the BBC. He said he would plug me in his next report. All the info here about him was what he told me. He was credit card touring. That was Wednesday, February 3, 1999 west of the Wakulla River on highway 98.

I was thinking, "Man what a life."

[ravencr]

Well, I'd love to say I plan to do this for a long time, but for me it's something I've wanted to do for a long time, just not sure how long that's going to be. I used to run, bike, swim competitively back in my college years, but since then I've put on a solid 50 lbs and haven't been on my bike in years. Part of the adventure for me is going to be living and working on my bike, but also doing it with as little planning as possible. If I feel like riding 20 miles or 150 miles in a day, I'll do it. The ideas of utilizing couchsurfing, warmshowers, hospitality club type sites sounds interesting and definitely cheap, but it sounds like too much planning for me. If I want to stop wherever, that's what I plan to do. At least this is my plan so far...

Chris

[Westinghouse]

That's the way to do it. When I first started bicycle touring I had no planned point A to point B. I just went in this, that, any direction. No care or worries about mileage, motels, anything. I once weighed about 220 pounds at six feet tall. I went through basic military training for twelve weeks, and came out weighing about 175. I had never felt better in my life. In civilian life I eventually went back up to 210 pounds, but it was packed in well with a lot of muscle from a constant regimen of weight lifting. I intended  getting into long distance cycling, read about it, and decided to follow advice for reducing lugged weight by reducing body weight. Following strictly the rules of the rapid weight loss diet of "The Pritikin Program For Diet And Exercise" I went from 210 to 170 in six weeks. It was too much too soon, but I did it. I felt great. I could run ten miles like a walk in the park, very easily. After that I embarked on my first long bicycling tour through England, Scotland, and Wales in the summer of 1984.

There are not rules for bike touring. You can go any direction and have a good time. Go with the wind.

[mikedirectory2]

That's the way to do it. When I first started bicycle touring I had no planned point A to point B. I just went in this, that, any direction. No care or worries about mileage, motels, anything. I once weighed about 220 pounds at six feet tall. I went through basic military training for twelve weeks, and came out weighing about 175. I had never felt better in my life. In civilian life I eventually went back up to 210 pounds, but it was packed in well with a lot of muscle from a constant regimen of weight lifting. I intended  getting into long distance cycling, read about it, and decided to follow advice for reducing lugged weight by reducing body weight. Following strictly the rules of the rapid weight loss diet of "The Pritikin Program For Diet And Exercise" I went from 210 to 170 in six weeks. It was too much too soon, but I did it. I felt great. I could run ten miles like a walk in the park, very easily. After that I embarked on my first long bicycling tour through England, Scotland, and Wales in the summer of 1984.

There are not rules for bike touring. You can go any direction and have a good time. Go with the wind.

I have never heard of that diet.  Is it safe?

http://www.bikecarrierdirect.com

[ravencr]

Yeah, I'm looking forward to the weight loss, that's for sure. I do plan on doing all the NE routes of ADV cycling routes, but I'll start by riding the Blue Ridge Parkway up to Waynseboro, then head East to the Coast on the TransAm route, then hook up and ride all the routes of the NE counter clockwise till I get back to Waynesboro and then head south back to Asheville and back to Rockford, TN when it's all done. But, I plan to talk to the locals along the way and make sure I don't miss any "must see" areas while in route, so I'm guessing I'll be taking a lot of side trips, as well.

Chris

[Westinghouse]

That's the way to do it. When I first started bicycle touring I had no planned point A to point B. I just went in this, that, any direction. No care or worries about mileage, motels, anything. I once weighed about 220 pounds at six feet tall. I went through basic military training for twelve weeks, and came out weighing about 175. I had never felt better in my life. In civilian life I eventually went back up to 210 pounds, but it was packed in well with a lot of muscle from a constant regimen of weight lifting. I intended  getting into long distance cycling, read about it, and decided to follow advice for reducing lugged weight by reducing body weight. Following strictly the rules of the rapid weight loss diet of "The Pritikin Program For Diet And Exercise" I went from 210 to 170 in six weeks. It was too much too soon, but I did it. I felt great. I could run ten miles like a walk in the park, very easily. After that I embarked on my first long bicycling tour through England, Scotland, and Wales in the summer of 1984.

There are not rules for bike touring. You can go any direction and have a good time. Go with the wind.

I have never heard of that diet.  Is it safe?

http://www.bikecarrierdirect.com

I guess it was safe for me. I did it. No ill effects. Going cold turkey on all the processed foods I was used to eating was extremely difficult. There was a sort of transitional period that was hard to traverse, then came a threshhold, and after that I was OK. My taste returned such that even a glass of pure water or a bowl of raw, fresh, uncooked, spinach leaves tasted really good. A sinus condition completely disappeared. My leg muscles really developed up well in response to cycling. One thing I did not particularly care for was loss of muscular strength below weighing 180 lbs. At 170 lbs. there was a too noticeable loss of upper body strength which was easily discernible while lifting weights. By eating homemade, whole wheat bread with rainins in it, and homemade unprocessed millers bran muffins with raisins, I was able to lift my weight and maintain it at 180 lbs, with a noticeable gain in muscular strength.
It is fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, whole grains, whole cereals, seeds, etc. The book tells you about nutrition and health, right down to the cellular functions. It tells you what to eat and what to avoid and why. The rest tells you how you can prepare the ingredients. It works. There is also a less rapid weight loss diet. Then there is also the Pritikin diet.