OFF THE GRID // Bikepacking in Norway

There's this realization which has kind of become a cliche amongst cyclists or people who ride their bikes a lot which is just this realization of wow isn't this amazing how far I can go with just my body and this quite simple tool. I'm Christoph. I work at Schindler Hard Bikes as an engineer. I like to ride bikes on all kinds of occasions for getting around for sport and for traveling. My bike it's just the perfect tool to get me to places that are hard to get to otherwise. I love to be in the mountains and really anywhere where I just don't encounter as many people. I feel like I need to have at least one bigger experience in a year that's a real adventure where I'm a bit uncomfortable, I'm deep in nature. Scandinavia and the cool north long summer days seems something that is just perfect. There is no one specific place that I'm looking for. What I look for is how far I can be out there. I need time in my life where I'm away from my daily self. Where I can just get more space to reflect on things that in my daily routine I just don't find the energy to do. I don't take as much time to just stop and think about what I'm doing if it's actually what I want to be doing or am I just doing it as a product of the routine. It's so tempting for me to be in nature because of the contrast with the city. A city can be so hectic sometimes and there's always a lot of distractions even though they might not seem like distractions there's always something to pay attention to. To get out of that and be in nature is to have my mind be much more clear. Looking at things from another perspective was also to do with the habits that I form in my daily life that maybe I'm not even aware of because some of these habits are probably also addictions. Addiction to the internet, being on my computer, being on my phone, the constant need for stimulation. What those things give me is some kind of escapist, distractive pleasure. A way of simplifying my life but maybe also turning away from the things that I should really be paying attention to. Taking away all the digital distractions was implicitly part of the trip. Just being more mindful of these moments. I think meditating or having a practice of becoming mindful is just like a tool. We think of meditation as the moments where we sit down, have our legs crossed and eyes closed and spiritual aura around. But meditation can just as well be at any point throughout the day where I'm just extra aware of my feelings. Reality just becomes a bit more sharp and able to be just a bit more calm. It's kind of a paradox that you do something away from people that you care about but in the end they're the ones who it becomes the most beneficial for when you come back as a more compassionate and grateful person. But gratitude is not enough. There's also some kind of effort that I need to put in. If I'm able to recognize some of the mistakes that I've been doing in the past and somehow integrate those realizations then I should become a better person. It really reminds me of what we talk about sometimes in my buddhist group. In buddhism when you want to bypass this good bad distinction what people end up saying is more helpful or unhelpful. I really feel that the more I'm aware the more likely I am. I don't always succeed but the more likely I am to end up doing things which are more helpful. I would like to think that the decisions I make I make them consciously. It's also important to me that I choose the sustainable way to travel and I think the bicycle is just the perfect way to do this. I chose to ride the bike that I have a special relationship to which is a Schindelhauer that I built up myself. Even after 1500 kilometers of riding with easily 700 of those being on gravel cycling through mud or sand and grit and dust I've been surprisingly comfortable and the bike still runs really smooth. The bike's been really reliable and that's also given me some peace of mind. Personally cycling means empowerment and independence. Having a way of self-reliable transport which are things which I value really highly. And socially cycling means livable cities, healthier people, happier people. What I feel ultimately matters is having as little suffering in the world as possible. The word suffering it might sound extreme but it's kind of like the blanket word. There is a lot of unnecessary suffering and it comes in many forms. The irony is that you could say that I suffered on my trip but there's a big difference to self-chosen suffering and unwilling suffering. I have times where I forget how lucky I actually am. Having a simplified life and a lot of time to think or not to think. I had a lot of moments where my mind was somewhere else. Maybe I was wishing I was somewhere else. And being more mindful is a way of coming back to the moment like from the daydream of being somewhere else. Seeing it again just like for the first time. Feeling myself there. Realizing that this is where I want to be. Realizing the privilege of what a luxury it is to actually be able to be uncomfortable in this way. I'm not naive to say that the trip will change my habits. There are a lot more complexities to life. Changes in perspective, changes in understanding. They happen very subtly. Sometimes I fall into this illusion that I've kind of seen everything or surely there can't be anything that will surprise me anymore. But what always surprises me is how there are still new things to find out about my own psychology and how things are, the functioning of the world. If I thought I have it figured out and now I see another side to something that I've never considered, what else am I not considering? What else is there that I think I understand but there's actually another side to it and what will it be?