Reflections on a Journey – What We Learned…

So, we did it. Three months, 5000 kilometres, 10 countries and too much pasta. From the distant vision of warmer climes while inhaling tea-steam, we had lived out in the open air for 90 days and ninety nights.

The ride though, was about much more than the simple daily happenings and serendipitous sequences of events that washed over us. In truth, there’s a lot that we’ve taken from our time on the road, and since putting a pause on our vagabondish existence, we’ve had a lot of things to adjust to, and a good deal of things tempting us back to our tent.

Good Sorts

Having become accustomed to the daily rigours of the metropolis, cold encounters were de rigueur. With the swirling mass of people circling their own little planets of interests, circles of friends, and closed loop worlds, chance encounters can be limited indeed. Venturing to talk to a stranger on the bus? You better have good reason to do so.

Something about taking your life onto two wheels though allows you to melt that social ice. Whether it’s because you’re visibly an apparition of the intrepid explorer or perhaps because you smell pitiable, it’s hard to know, but waking every day in a tent and with no idea of what you’re going to encounter, you do seem to be wearing a rather chipper expression.

Leaving behind big cities, we found that wherever we travelled, people were generally helpful, genuinely interested, and ready to offer up advice and other gems of information that made for a better trip. Backed up by the community of Warm Showers hosts, we were often turned onto the best roads in the area, and with strangers in the streets and small town bars, a warm welcome and enthusiastic interaction often led to us two smelly adventurers enjoying a cold tall drink in their company.

Of course, that’s not to say that we didn’t run into the odd person on a bad day – yes, there maybe a German farmer along the way who would rather you split, and maybe you might find a train conductor that’s not too sympathetic to you sitting in an empty first class carriage for a two stop journey, but by and large, people are entertained by your presence. They want to hear your stories before inevitably writing themselves into your future tellings by way of their own grand gestures. In doing so, they become your friends, and that’s not a bad little take away.

Out of Step, But on a Better Rhythm

The daily saturation of media messaging is constantly telling you to get a newer pair of shoes, put some money on a horse, invest in some probiotic yoghurt or change your toothpaste for a mintier option. One thing that became quickly apparent was that all the usual noise that comes across in email campaigns, targeted banner ads and TV commercials simply didn’t speak to us or our situation.

When living in a tent for a long period, there’s absolutely no part of you that wants to get the latest HD screen, to get your kitchen redone or to get a new hair colour, however worth it you feel. What you’re after is any means possible to lengthen your trip, and most commonly, that’s a case of making your funds go as far as possible. So, whilst you could go and splurge on restaurant dining, you’re often happier cooking your dinner in some secluded spot, neatly concealed from the rest of the world, under night skies and chancing your luck on getting away with it.

If you do, it’s priceless.

Further to the not wanting for much other than a warm meal and a good view, there’s little extra space for additional items, and in the knowledge that anything bought must be taken up the next gradient, convincing yourself that you don’t need something takes very little energy at all. This puts you in rather a pleasant position.

For memories, we have a few postcards and Stefs’s journal, scribbled and crossed with a few passing thoughts from the road. For now, that’s enough to recall life on the move.

Talk to People!

This we probably stumbled on a little late into our ride. During our long march East, we were motivated by making time, going far and getting it done. We were still living by the rhythm of daily life – we were busy fools, pushing to hit a target rather than really taking the time to make the most of our situation. By the time we’d made it to Munich though, we were starting to break this down a little. With mishaps and unanticipated bicycle malfunctions forcing us to slow our pace, we started meeting more people and talking a little more.

These often inconsequential chats were what you might think about for miles to come, and on occasion would lead to little stories and perhaps, great kindness. Standing outside a supermarket in Italy, a local chap, amazed at our feat (not feet), started showing us pictures of his own touring bike, boasting of riding from Austria to Sicily. Sat at an airport, a chat with two pilots led to a flight around town, and a stay at a campsite can occasionally become free so long as you’re up for a natter.

The possibilities and turn that any one event may take can swivel and curve beyond your expectation just so long as you’re willing to reach out with smile and a light hearted question.

In Praise of Pasta

When a man is tired of pasta, he is tired of life. Looking back, we ate what can only be described as an unhealthy amount of the stuff. Fortunately, we’d cycled far enough every night for us to warrant quaffing loads of it. Pour out one 500 gram bag and split it in two and that right there is what you need to fire your legs up the following day – just make sure to ease off on the home straight…..

A Life Indoors

So, having spent 90 nights under the stars and every day in open air, returning to town was a bit of a shock. The amount of time spent indoors and away from sunlight is pretty staggering. Aside from the wait for the bus, the pedal to work, or the odd trip to the shop to restock your cupboards, time spent outdoors is sparse. Time spent exploring the outdoors is limited to weekends. One thing we found brilliant was simply feeling at home in towns we’d never been in, simply because they had a little scrub land and maybe a river. Being outdoors is a real blessing and not something to take lightly.

In short, if you’ve got hours to pour away on the weekend – do go for that walk, or take the train to the coast just to stare at the roaring sea. It’s good for the soul.

When in Rome…

Okay – we didn’t actually make it that far south, but, the principle applies. Don’t cross the Austrian/Italian border and expect the beer on the other side to cost the same as it did in that Biergarten out the back of Innsbruck. When the town has a vineyard, your wallet will probably thank you for opting for a bottle of the house red or white. Not only that, but you’ll actually feel like your travelling more. Sweet mustard and white sausage you say? You must have made it to blinking Bavaria!

Talking Rubbish

A full 24 hours a day for three months is a lot of time to spend with someone. There’ll be days when the road is long, and you’ll have little of interest to say save for a passing comment on the state of someone’s petunias. There’ll also be days where you can’t stop nattering utter nonsense for hours upon hours about the noise a clanger might make in a microwave. You may even go delirious. You might even go past that. You may end up yodelling your way through every tunnel on route. You may develop a series of inside jokes that are utterly impenetrable. You might possibly develop a silent but entirely co-ordinated means of erecting your tent that leaves fellow campers open-mouthed – a tent ballet if you will.

Miraculously, we didn’t really have any particular squabbles whilst travelling. We definitely know each other a good deal better, and know how to play to each other’s strengths. Will keeps to his meticulously planned worrying and Stef sticks to her open-ended anything-goes flexibility. The two seem to compliment each other thus far.

Simple Life

This one’s a platitude that you’ll often here – all you need is love/the air that you breathe. The thing is, with full-time work and all that entails, you’ll need that car insurance, and, oh, you’ll probably need some fresh shoes before you go for that interview…It’s pretty easy to regard certain things as essential, but in truth, it’s not necessary. Really, to get by, you do just need a warm and dry space, some food to eat, and a bit of interest in either the passing scenery or the people about you. Rather than the luxuries of unlimited storage, cooking in an oven and the magical awe of a dishwasher, the only real thing that we really missed out on the road were…

Our mates!

Yup. Whilst living your life in a tent and flitting between occasional wifi hotspots, you only occasionally get to catch up with all your pals back home, and staying in touch through the portal of an app or through nonsense on the back of a postcard, what you really want is to sit down, buy them a drink and have a natter in your local. Taking yourself out of the loop does just that, and you will miss out on some stuff whilst you’re moving from place to place.

Cultivating a good band of amigos and keeping spirits high in your circle is something that is invaluable. Since our return we’ve dinner partied, drunkenly danced, done a little kayaking and ridden bikes around town, all with our mates – it has been bloody lovely.

Where next?

Yes – you might have guessed from the outlines of our stories here that we had an excellent time on the road. For now, we’ve both returned, settled down, are back in full time jobs and earning the crusts that might one day pay for our next adventure. But where to? Well, as a newly ordained passport Paddy, Will is willing on Ireland, but a small stint in Norway may well crop up…Sure enough though, we’ll satisfy ourselves with as many little adventures in between to keep this web page ticking over with tall tales and maybe the odd picture or two, so, stay in orbit!