Time flies - a realisation that came after spending nearly 3 weeks in San Francisco. I was having a fabulous time - exploring the city during the day, eating out delicious burgers, tasting great microbrews, shopping organic food, going road-tripping, hiking around or just chilling with my friends there, with whom I had so much fun. I very much enjoyed all of this, but I also knew I was just running away from the moment of getting back on the road to continue traveling.

On the road again

Getting back on the road posed some difficulties, I’ll explain why. I was no longer in cheapish developing countries, but in the expensive USA. Buses, hostels and campsites were too expensive for me to go backpacking (looking at +$50 daily expenses if living on the cheap). Hitchhiking could do the trick, but I heard from all sides it was unpopular to take hitchhikers, it is thought of as dangerous and I didn’t see many hitchhikers either (cheap gas + affordable cars?) - it seemed hitchhiking could prove equally difficult to our experience in Brazil, where we moved by very small distances, spending all day by the dusty roadside, being pissed and dirty at the end of the day. Hiking the Pacific Crest, one of my dreams, was also not an option this year as there was still too much snow on the trails and going alone in these conditions would be dangerous and irresponsible.

I still wanted to do something adventurous, I wanted to experience nature, camp, cook my own food, sleep under the stars, wake up with the sun, hike some mountains, swim in lakes, wash in rivers and put a little bit of effort in all this. Make dreaming real. Since forever, I am content with the idea of exploring places by bike, I mean I love biking. It gives you unparalleled freedom and independence to explore. What was initially yet another crazy idea I invented in the pub suddenly seemed like the most logical thing to do (note: I think some of the best ideas emerge in pubs).

What did I need to make this happen? First, some of the obvious - bike, helmet, rear rack, air pump, patches and a lock to start. I started to look around for bikes - I decided to opt for a hybrid, I had my eyes on the Giant GTX and Trek FX as they were not too expensive and seemed to be pretty durable/reliable in terms of both reviews and components. I ended up buying a new Trek FX 2 (luckily on sale for a little over $400) with the intention to sell it in Vancouver. I grabbed a used rear rack for $15 and got the other accessories pretty easy from REI, with my friend Hudson lending me his lock and bike tool for the trip (thank you!!). I also bought a new gas stove, allowing me to go on a completely self-supported trip, saving me a lot of cash by not eating out, not to forget the jump in food quality compared to fast food.

First night out the couch

When I started packing, it was a mess. Even after 8 months of traveling, I am still not good at packing and it took me about 3hours to get everything together. When I looked at my phone, it was 3pm and I wanted to go about 70-80kms far, along the coast and then across the mountains and the great valley to the other mountains.

I was not as fast as I had hoped and it was soon dark and I still needed to cover more ground. I cycled in the night torching my way through the dark, along numerous no trespassing signs, eventually seeing a hidden turnaround spot, where I pulled in and set up my tent to spend the night.

It was a quiet night, a few cars passed by, but I couldn’t dream about other things than thieves, imagining waking up in a bare tent with my belongings gone, in the middle of nowhere, hopeless. Thankfully, nothing of that kind happened and I woke up to a beautiful sunny day instead, ready for a fresh start.

Homeless, vagabond or dreamer?

At first, I was really afraid of adopting this new vagabond lifestyle, but the more I slept outside, the less plans I made, the more I became ok with having no idea where I was going to spend the next night. Things come, change your plans and you simply have to adapt to the new reality - you cannot plan on (not) having a puncture, on (no) strong headwind, (no) closed roads or other things altering your plans. The less you plan, the less stressful and more fun travel is.

Balancing somewhere between being homeless on wheels, summer vagabond and dreamy traveler, I found it very enjoyable to sleep outside everyday and I truly understood the term mother Earth - the mother that cares for you wherever you go, providing you with shelter, water and life. Happiness is the right word for my state of mind.

I slept anywhere I deemed safe enough for spending the night without getting robbed, run over by cars or attacked by bears. Some of these places were shitty and sucked - deserted roadsides, semi-legal spots, free dusty campsites. However, most of the times, I had the chance to stay in wonderful secluded spots that included lush forests, natural lakes, crystal-clear creeks, mountains or alpine meadows.

I began making rough visionary plans up to 3 days ahead, adjusting them as I talked to people who knew better. They often gave me recommendations or a better idea of what to expect (desert, forest, mountains, flats, hills). I often stopped at tourist information or national park ranger stations, where staff were always knowledgeable and helpful. The printed materials also provided some ideas for routing possibilities (notably the famous scenic byways, which are alternative roads to the main highways).

Survive

Survival is key. I needed to survive not only financially, but I wanted to live well and not like a piece of shit. Food, accommodation and transport are the biggest travel expenses, so how did I cut them down? Supermarkets (notably Walmart and Real Canadian Superstore) provided all my food, making for better and cheaper food than fast food. I was in need of the right nutrients to compensate for the energy lost in cycling and hiking.

I lived mainly on rice and pasta (fiber and long sugars), fresh vegetables for dinner whenever I could (tomato, carrot, courgette, beetroot, avocado) for well balanced meals, fish once a day (canned tuna or sardines) for proteins and sometimes canned beans, corn, soup or other vegetables. For breakfast, I made porridge with dried fruit (goji, sultanas, dates, chia, cranberries, cocoa nibs) and peanut butter because it’s fast, lightweight and filling as in fact this meal is rich in fiber, protein, sugar and some superfood nutrients. Always served with nice coffee to wake up.

Snacks are also important to refuel, but I settled down to some Cliff Bars (about $1 each and they provide good energy/weight ratio), beef jerky (available at any gas station in US/CA) and sweets (skittles, chocolate, biscuits, other candy) and the occasional 50¢ pumpkin/apple pie from Walmart. This snacks part can really eat in your budget, so it’s important to shop wise. In the end, I settled on Cliff Bars, peanut butter on rye bread and dried fruit (like sultanas or dates) for their best energy value + quality for money.

Now, how did I find where I’d sleep? It’s easy enough in the states and british columbia once you’re out there in the wild. You need to search for public lands, where low impact wild camping is allowed. National forests in the states fall in this category, they are many and quite often close to national parks or inside incredible landscapes. There, you can set up camp anywhere 50m off the path and creek (unless you see a sign telling you otherwise). You need to pack-out what you pack-in and keep up to the wilderness camping etiquette (do not pollute streams with soap, wash aside from rivers and burry your shit, literally). In BC, there are recreation sites, some of which are free. Wild camping might be a bad idea considering the amount of wildlife out there, true especially for BC (bear in mind you’re entering grizzly/black bear habitat). Then, there are some websites for you to take a look at - warmshowers for touring cyclists in need of a warm shower and anything to sleep (bed, floor space, camping), the famous couchsurfing or Airbnb. I became so good at this that I only paid for 1 night camping in the US and 4 nights in Canada. More about this in a separate post.

While I was camping in the backcountry, I met incredible people with a story. Retired couples exploring the country in vans, families camping, adventurers, new friends or lone travelers like me.. With some, we would share dinner, wine or simply stories.

Living it up

Whatever you do, make the most of it. During my adventures, I often combined biking with short hikes (up to 2 days) or trail running when I didn’t have enough time. And I found a new passion in this because it captures the very essence of bikepacking.

Bikepacking should get you off the beaten path, to remote and wild places - unlike bike touring. With bike touring, you still rely on civilisation, but with bike packing, you don’t. I had carried food good for over 7 days because shopping is quite time consuming (1-2hrs) and simply because I wanted to avoid cities, spend more time in nature (plus cheap Walmarts weren’t everywhere). You can take bikepacking even further and chase adventure by locking the bike and hike up somewhere close at the end of the day to enjoy an evening somewhere spectacular, remote in the wild nature.

There is no other feeling than hiking a trail at dusk, questioning this as a stupid idea at first, but then coming down to a pristine lake over the last horizon, where the perfect waterfront campspot has been waiting for you. You unload the heavy backpack, sit down and contemplate (…think about the meaning of life at times, jk), before you start building your tent and cook dinner.

Hiking, I’ve met a lot of people as you can talk while you hike. Quite often, I ended up hiking with really cool people, sharing our stories, experiences and the view on top of the mountain.

I discovered how much I love being outdoors, it’s pure joy to look up the clear sky above your head, around the blooming meadows and simply stare at mountains, some of which were still covered by snow at the end of summer.

Although my summers have always been filled with an abundance of outdoor adventure and I’ve always spent a considerable part of summer camping, trading the comfort of mama hotel for exploration, this has been the longest I’ve spent in the woods in my life and I absolutely loved it. I met a lot of wonderful people and friends who were essential for making this a beautiful journey, thank you <3.