Okay, let’s get it. Semester 19, still on this, still aspiring to be the best version of whatever the fuck I am, still going strong. Shout out to everybody reading, much love to everybody who needs some, we got this. It’s Monday evening, I got some rap playing once again and I’m ready to dive in.
So last week was a bit all over the place. Whole lotta shit on personal level, one of those roller-coaster rides. But I think everything is slowly getting back under control. Last Monday, I attended this meet-up regarding the bike-camping trip planned for the weekend. I really really wanna give a fucking shout out to the Sore Legs collective. It’s a small one but you can tell those people are real enthusiasts on different levels. First of all, you got people who casually do ultra-cycling there. Those maniacs that hop on a bike and do like 500km on one go. They are also much more open to everybody and actively encourage outsiders to join for rides, for runs, for anything. With no profit, no secret agenda… Over the week, they have events easily accessible by any level, they do specials here and there and they’re also want people to come up with their own shit for others to join. And unlike the other collective I’ve tried, they are not riding bikes worth thousands of euros. You show up with whatever you got and you don’t feel out of place. And I really had to give it up to them repeatedly. Instead of doing a camping trip with couple of close friends, they bend over backwards to include anybody who’s interested, they ride fucking cargo bikes to make sure there are enough tents, cookers, coffee and also that people don’t have to carry heavy backpacks the whole time. Talk about determination…
So yeah, the weekdays were same old but Saturday morning, I was on my way to the meeting point to kick the whole thing off. It was 7 of us, two people came with cargos and the rest was a bit all over the place. There was a guy with a fixed gear, there were two gravel bikes and two road bikes (that includes me). First, we too it along the coastline all the way to Hoek where we had a break for coffee and some food, and some of us swam. We ended up doing a big ass circle of around 60kilometers with some more stops before making it to the camping close to Delft. The pace was very friendly, vibe was good, weather was on our side (contrary to forecast from earlier that week). Some people brought their own tents but they also produced this massive tee-pee type tent with capacity of 8 people. And that’s where I crashed along with two others. Hadn’t experienced that much space in a tent before. Anyways, we had fire, we had some food, we had some good talks… I’m pretty fucking sure I was by far the oldest over there. And I’m talking about a good decade above the second oldest. I had some cool convos with students who were barely 20. And listen… It really doesn’t mean anything… Intelligent interesting people, who cares… But it’s funny having these moments when you just accept getting another step towards being ancient. Sometimes you see echoes of shit you used to deal with, shit you used to try to figure out… And it’s a trip. Not to say that I felt smarter or in any way more advanced that any of those people. Not at all. But sometimes it gets you back to your student years, to questions you asked yourself back then… Stuff like that. Really tho… A super nice gang, felt inspiring, didn’t feel awkward…
We woke up to some more coffee which was actually sponsored by a local roastery. Somebody knew a person who runs it and for couple of instagram pics, we got a nice little pack of quality coffee and we had a portable filter at disposal so we actually had access to some fine ass coffee at practically unlimited amounts. Had breakfast and got back on the bikes. Did another 60-70km, stopped couple of times and made it safely back around 4pm. What a fucking trip. I’ll definitely try to attend their events more. Again, much love and respect to everybody.
And that’s about that. Got about two weeks before traveling to the Czech Republic first and I feel things are settling these days. Hope you guys are doing well. Keep it light, keep it positive, don’t entertain bullshit and don’t let them fuck with your inner light. One!
Highlights:
- Forearm stand. Did something vaguely resembling that with some kind of control.
- Bike-packing. 130km does not feel that tough when everything is flat and picturesque. No cars, fields, animals, small towns, lakes…
- Hangouts and talks.
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