Transitioning from holiday to life…?

As we reach the point at which we would normally need to return home from a cycling adventure, in order that Beck (in particular) could return to work, I have been musing about our time we have been away and what may be to come.

So far, in many ways, it has followed a familiar path. One where we get used to life on the road again before relaxing into it and embracing it. In my case, this generally means a period with some saddle sores, struggling with a fully loaded bike, poor sleep and a background grumpiness about things we can’t control that aren’t going to plan. I’d go so far as to say that my mental health took a bit of a dip for a while as I grappled with the huge change in our lives. It’s not like we are experts at this. It takes me a while to adjust and work things out. To learn through doing, as I have done all my life. After all, I’m the guy with a PhD in musical instrument making from a conservatoire, with no formal training in any of these areas.

Soon enough, I get my head around stuff and start to enjoy the touring. Since this transition we’ve had some fun times even whilst riding up some big hills, in wind and rain, or when struggling to find somewhere suitable to pitch our tent when we’ve had enough of riding for the day. Normally the point at which we can start to laugh at these things and take them in our stride, we need to start thinking about returning home again. Not this time.

This is a very welcome difference but it also one that I am finding slightly challenging, philosophically. Many seasoned travellers suggest that only travelling, with no other goals or focus can send your head off on one. We both have our areas of interest and things we are hoping to do whilst travelling but it has so far been hard to find time to do these things. There’s definitely a background tension between the things we hope to see, hear and experience, and the things we hope to do. Hopefully, as we get used to this being a longer term endeavour, we will relax more and take time to do stuff, knowing that we will experience many amazing things in the process.

For now, I have tweaked my front bag to allow me to make more immediate audio recordings when on a ride. I’ve missed a handful of opportunities so far, due to an unwillingness to unpack my gear, or the time it would take me to do so meaning I would miss the opportunity. Not anymore…behold the ‘binaural’ front bag!