Progress; despite
what we’re told it really isn’t always for the best – or at least not for
everyone. Sadly it’s hard to stand still in life, especially in a high-speed
internet age driven by the myth of recording and sharing every move you make in
your daily life.Thankfully there
are still times when you can step off those Wifi rails, ditch the stats and
updates and just go and ride as far and wherever you please – and just for the
sheer hell of it.Sure enough, this
may whiff of an old timer rambling on about how great the good old days were,
and how things were so much better back then; although in reality it’s not. This
is just me taking a well needed step back and sideways and rediscovering what
it was that got me started with cycling in the first place, nearly 40 years ago.Around 20 years or
so past I wrote a story for a mountain bike magazine – all about the virtues of
taking a mobile phone out on a ride with you, or not as the case may be. Back
then they were already becoming commonplace, yet very few people wanted to be
lumbered with the potential burden of their ride time being de-railed by the
self same things they were out there to ride away from, the hassles, stress and
worries of regular daily life. There was a huge response to the story – mostly
decrying the notion of carrying a phone on a ride.How times’ have
changed, and now it’s tough to find anybody who doesn’t hit the road or trail
without being wired to the instant insanity of the virtual world, where you’re
every twist and turn is recorded for perceived prosperity, and where few rides
are complete without the icing of a selfie or three, how mad is that?It’s not just a
cycling thing (of course); it’s life in general, and naturally connectivity impacts
on the lion’s share of rides we all take – even for me, and I actively rebel
against the whole concept.Cycling has become
far more popular than it’s ever been, and it’s become a far more expensive and
trend driven sport in with it. Road cycling is now the highest value sporting
market out there, estimated to be worth a staggering US$47 billion a year
globally (New York Times, reporting on the raphe sale). The upshot of this is
that the demographic of regular cyclists has changed dramatically in with this
altered image, which does also reflect on peoples reasons for getting into
cycling in the first place; for many it is now a gear and stats fitness thing,
which it never was for me.Many of us got
into cycling as young teenagers, and as it was never really a team sport it
tended to attract more individuals, or loners (in my case), and the bike was
first and foremost a means of freedom and adventure, a simple machine that gave
you the liberation and independence you strived for (until you got a car).From a very early
age that adventure, freedom, and the escapism was (and still is) what cycling
was all about for me, yet through pressures and expectations that has all somewhat got left behind.A while back
I interviewed Tom Ritchey, and we got to talking about this – and the fact that
he refused to take a mobile phone or any device with him on a ride, preferring
that his time out on two wheels was his time, and that he was fully independent
and free – and it did stir up those old core values inside of me.I’ve almost never
used a GPS or bike computer, because I know that I’ll become obsessed and
stressed with it, especially on a tough day. I do carry an iPhone, not to
record data, but to snap wholly un-necessary photos and videos along the road,
and often end up compromising my ride and safety do so – usually for Instagram
posts and stories that will be gone in 24-hours, along with the millions of
others out there. I admit; this is not really because I want to, it’s because I
feel I should do, which is ludicrous.With this in mind
I’ve taken a couple of recent trips into the wilds of the Northern Thai
mountains, staying in a small place with no internet or even phone coverage. In
some ways it’s been a digital detox, although despite having no signal I do
find myself habitually checking my phone every few minutes, which is
frightening.Even having been
raised in a Wifi free age and longing for the mental disconnect from it all,
the whole thing really did take some getting used to. I was riding a gravel
bike deep into hill tribe lands, where there are no facilities and no mobile
phone coverage – pretty much the kind of things I’ve done for most of my life,
until about 10 years ago that is.The feeling was
one of apprehension and vulnerability, sugared with a little coating of
anticipation and nervous excitement, and of course I did still take the phone
with me – after all, you never know there may be a remote clearing somewhere so
that I can clear my spam folder and reply to the news that World War 3 has in
fact started.A couple of days
later I rolled back to reality, eagerly waiting to check my mails and social
media accounts, just to see if the world had forgotten me or something life
changing had happened, huh – it hadn’t, and I did sneak a cheeky Instagram post
of after the fact.Don’t get me wrong
– I can see safety sense and even the value in recording these stats and
routes, and I can unfortunately appreciate the addiction to social media. Even
if it was slightly unsettling being off line and unplugged for a couple of days
it did free up a whole lot more thinking time, and allowed me to re-acquaint
myself with the jaded and distant memories of just what cycling was originally all
about for me. Lets see if it can last longer the next time, after all I used to
be able go off grid for a month at a time (pre-internet), and those are the
adventures and rides that stand out to me; it must still be possible – give it
a try, it’s like riding in a bus – you see and notice things you never to when
you’re driving yourself.