Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - romanticism

ohhh boy.

do you ever get that way? when you feel like you're just inches away from bicycling off into the wild blue yonder and starting a permanent life?

i've got this lovely track bike that i zip around the city on, but more and more lately i've been thinking about selling it to build up the bike to end all. the bike that i can ride away from everything on. like a kogswell or a rivendell. build a little house and start a farm. build frames for a living. stop buying temporary things. wool and leather.

sorry, i'm afraid i'm getting a little tyler durden here.

if you recognize the name richard pronneke, you know what i'm talking about here. someone needs to tell me i'm not the only one, and that these aren't just sleep deprived fancies.

Its every ****in anarchoprimitivists dream. I really want to do it someday, just live off of the land and be free. Hopefully it will happen.

I've considered it many times, but at this point I have invested too much time in school to "drop out," if you want to put it that way. I'll wait until I've been working for a while and have made a little money, and then see how I feel.

I dig it. While I'm not going the farm route, I am atempting to change how I do things. Figure out what actually matters to you and never let other people or external opinion diminish it for you. I'm slowly figuring out the things that are truly important to me and I'm going after them with everything I've got.

Don't worry about it. It will all go away with your next bowel movement. To prevent such flights in the future, avoid eating salted or roasted mixed nuts (especially if consumed with alcohol).

Uh, you're listing Minneapolis as where you're from. Not going to happen here. Move to Montana somewhere, you may get away with it for awhile. Alaska would be better. But neither are good for fixie or singlespeed. You're pretty much looking at snowshoes and trailers for everything. Make sure your life in the city does as little damage as possible and start from there.

Somewhere there is a page on the internet of a girl that goes motorcyling through Cherynobel (sp) - I think this is kind of the post apocolyptic bike paradise you percieve?

Not saying that I wouldn't have wanted a simpler life, but it's not the world we live in, and probably not the one any of us will live in any time soon.

the chernobyl thing was revealed to be a hoax, i believe.

and i know that minneapolis is not the place. good city, but still a city. i don't plan to stay here in order to get away...

as far as the bowel movement solution, well...it happened, but i'm still thinking the same way.

maybe this is all stemming from the fact that i got a new tent and a rivendell adam bag (tent fits inside!) for christmas...really makes one want to set out into the wild.

I'm a city boy I'm afraid. The city can be like a wilderness.

"Buy permanent stuff. Wool, leather. But buy it from ME, bwa-ha-ha!" Beware self-suffiency marketing :)

We did this, halfway. Moved to Devon, got a communal house. It's nice. Not quite an Earthship and a forge, but it's a step. Less mental clutter, as well as fewer physical things.

as far as the bowel movement solution, well...it happened, but i'm still thinking the same way.



Have you tried reading Daniel Quinn and then looking into collectivist cultural solutions (to global problems) that invoke ideas geared toward a group effort? If not, look into it. You may be able to draw up some blueprints. If said blueprints don't work for you, they may still work for the next generation (for whom they may be a necessity).

solutions (to global problems)

...

I grew up in said pastoral paradise. Have to say I miss the hell out of it, but you'll notice I'm not back there. Bicycle commuting's not too practically when it's 40 below and the nearest town is 30 miles away. :) You'll become a good xc ski commuter though.

Move to Montana somewhere, you may get away with it for awhile. Alaska would be better. But neither are good for fixie or singlespeed. I think Pat Irwin (http://www.airborne.net/eready/janette/team/pat.asp) would disagree.

I like asphalt.

I've lived in Vermont since I was twenty-five. It's quiet, the pace is slower, people are generally less angry, less crazy. But simple, it's not. Problem is you've got to be your own plumber, electrician carpenter, mechanic, maybe cut your own firewood. That means lots of things, lots of details. There's always something going wrong with the house, the sheep are always busting out, the weasel breaking into the henhouse.
My fantasy is to sell my tools, sell my car, move to Boston with just my clothes, my bike, a few bike tools and a few books. Let the landlord take care of the dripping faucet.
I think you could argue it both ways, but I sense that it's "simpler" in the city.

Well, there's always Christiana in Copenhagen.


ohhh boy.

do you ever get that way? when you feel like you're just inches away from bicycling off into the wild blue yonder and starting a permanent life?

i've got this lovely track bike that i zip around the city on, but more and more lately i've been thinking about selling it to build up the bike to end all. the bike that i can ride away from everything on. like a kogswell or a rivendell. build a little house and start a farm. build frames for a living. stop buying temporary things. wool and leather.

sorry, i'm afraid i'm getting a little tyler durden here.

if you recognize the name richard pronneke, you know what i'm talking about here. someone needs to tell me i'm not the only one, and that these aren't just sleep deprived fancies.

somehow I think tyler durden wouldn't be down with building the ultimate ride.
something about the things you own owning you and ****ing martha stewert.
not too sure

sidebar:
I once read this study that said that the environmental impact of city dwellers compared to suburban dwellers is A LOT less. So if you can't be all grizzly adams then you mine as well live in chicago; screw the 'burbs (I agree!)

jeff

I think Pat Irwin (http://www.airborne.net/eready/janette/team/pat.asp) would disagree.

Is that the kid that moved up there in a bus, ran out of food, didn't know that the berries he was eating were keeping him from being able to digest what food he could scrounge up and starved to death? If so, from what I remember of the book, he really didn't know what he was doing.

There's a special they put on every PBS pledge drive here of some old guy that moved to Alaska and did it, building a cabin with his wife...

that PBS special you speak of is the richard pronneke reference i made. the man had his tools shipped to him without handles, so that he could make the handles when they got there. and who else have you ever seen make a working, locking door with just wood and a hatchet?

as far as the tyler durden thing, i was mostly just referring to his line in the movie (i don't think it's in the book) about grinding corn in abandoned parking lots and one pair of leather pants your whole life. anyone who claims to (really) be like tyler durden over the internet is drowning in a river of bull****...

still, the dream will never die, and maybe someday soon i'll keep everything i own in that adam bag and a backpack, and i'll stop reading message boards.

I'm a chemist. I could make good soap. Send me your lipo goo.

the real question is, can you get an army of space monkies to call you "sir"?

If you want to build the perfect ride than you are one step further away from your dream.

One toooo many times. Trying to convince my fiance that when she gets her Marbi degree and goes to work for Texas Parks and Wildlife, that I go to bike school and welding school. She noticed that I get like this after watching American Chopper.

I'd rather have an army of spacey women call me "sugar-daddy"

Is that the kid that moved up there in a bus, ran out of food, didn't know that the berries he was eating were keeping him from being able to digest what food he could scrounge up and starved to death? If so, from what I remember of the book, he really didn't know what he was doing.
Ummmm, no. Pat is a single speed Alaskan rider.

A few quotes from his bio:
- I’ve twice won the 350-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational (on my single)
- I was among the first to attempt a single-state speed record on the 2500-mile Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. My cross-Montana time trial was cut short after 220 miles by a roadblock announcing the closure of the state's forests due to fire. When I heard that the military was being called in to fight the blazes, I decided I had to do my duty. Setting the bike aside, I spent the next 7 weeks on the front lines fighting flames. Days later I placed 8th at 24 Hour World Championships, again on my single.

i grew up like that, and i know how to blacksmith, and build things, and grow food, and pretty much be self-sufficient, and while it cool to be able to do all that stuff, it takes some of the romance out of it when you have to do it.
choosing between going outside to the outhouse at 3:00 a.m. when it's 20 below, and pooping in a bucket isn't so fun.

To me, there is very little differnce between a guy who builds everything himself with his hands and is self sufficient or a guy who builds a nice comfortable position for himself in the city. They're both using resources they have to the best of their ability to survive and be comfortable. The ideal would be to have the ability to do both.

I would rather have a nice stock pile of guns and restart hunting humans...this time on my terms. The world is a disturbing place and turning your back on it and heading for the hills in no answer. I tire of political processes staunching the flow of positive develop for the larger populations; the "select few" have it WAY too good here and elsewhere. Time to equalize.
Read into this if you want...and you'll make the list.

i grew up like that, and i know how to blacksmith, and build things, and grow food, and pretty much be self-sufficient, and while it cool to be able to do all that stuff, it takes some of the romance out of it when you have to do it.
choosing between going outside to the outhouse at 3:00 a.m. when it's 20 below, and pooping in a bucket isn't so fun.

Are your parents hippies living in a commune?

']I would rather have a nice stock pile of guns and restart hunting humans...this time on my terms. The world is a disturbing place and turning your back on it and heading for the hills in no answer. I tire of political processes staunching the flow of positive develop for the larger populations; the "select few" have it WAY too good here and elsewhere. Time to equalize.
Read into this if you want...and you'll make the list.

Agreed... where do I enlist for your Militia?

yeah, they were.

I've often dreamed of somthing similar but have boiled it down to getting out of the city every so often to get perspective = travel.

However, at heart I'm a minimalist. Over Christmas break I visited a couple who were friends of my girlfriend and I was awed because I stood in this apartment which was my dream apartment - Eames chairs, Herman Miller furniture, all this designer stuff (which I'm building up towards). But afterwards I reminded myself of my habits - I like travelling light. Keeping the necessities and ditching the rest.

A year or two ago I wanted to get rid of all my CD's and rip them to mp3. Ditch desktop computers and only have a nice laptop to hook up to a flatscreen. Purify and minimalize everything I have so that I had just what I needed.

I'm still working towards that. It's not that easy.

Is that the kid that moved up there in a bus, ran out of food, didn't know that the berries he was eating were keeping him from being able to digest what food he could scrounge up and starved to death? If so, from what I remember of the book, he really didn't know what he was doing.

There's a special they put on every PBS pledge drive here of some old guy that moved to Alaska and did it, building a cabin with his wife...

Uhh no, the kid who died in Alaska was Chris McCandless. His story was written by Jon Krakauer, in the book Into the Wild.
Its a good book along the lines of your romantism fantasies.

I'm ready when you are.

Let's go.

A year or two ago I wanted to get rid of all my CD's and rip them to mp3. Ditch desktop computers and only have a nice laptop to hook up to a flatscreen. Purify and minimalize everything I have so that I had just what I needed.

.

That's not minimalizing. That's condensing what you have into the latest, compact, gadgets. If you really wanted to minimalize, then get rid of everything.

abacus

That's not minimalizing. That's condensing what you have into the latest, compact, gadgets. If you really wanted to minimalize, then get rid of everything.

It may not be minimalizing in the purest sense, but getting rid of cds, destop computer, and putting it all onto the laptop is minimizing the things which are removed- the cds,desktop computer,etc.

...this apartment which was my dream apartment - Eames chairs, Herman Miller furniture, all this designer stuff (which I'm building up towards)...

Eames stuff is so nice but so ridiculously overpriced. Part of the beauty of those designs are their ability to potentially be implemented at relatively low-cost. I say learn to do molded plywood and subsequently design and build all your own furniture!

"I love living in the city."
- Fear

g-damn hippies.

I once read this study that said that the environmental impact of city dwellers compared to suburban dwellers is A LOT less. So if you can't be all grizzly adams then you mine as well live in chicago; screw the 'burbs (I agree!)jeff

It's true. Likewise, for all their environmental posturing, the average left-coaster uses about 2x as much energy on a daily basis as the typical east-coaster. However, the entire comparison is predicated on a typical urban/suburban lifestyle: wired into the electrical and phone grid, indoor plumbing, sewage connection, automobile commuting, etc. I don't know of any comparison between a completely off-the-grid non-motorized lifestyle and a high-density urban dweller's impact. It doesn't mean they haven't been done, but they're not the usually touted comparison.

However, if such a comparison did exist, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it favored the high-density urbanite. Economies of scale and whatnot. Burning peat and crapping into the nearest stream are pretty dirty activities.

It may not be minimalizing in the purest sense, but getting rid of cds, destop computer, and putting it all onto the laptop is minimizing the things which are removed- the cds,desktop computer,etc.

Where do those go? A lot of landfills won't take computers anymore. Will someone buy those CDs? How many miles will you have to ride on your bike generator (think Brazil) to listen to your MP3's? It may be less stuff, but it's still in the same philosophy. And laptop vs desktop is only scale. A scale that requires more manufacturing to produce.

WTF do I know? I'm drunk, and surfing the net through a laptop that will die the instant I close the monitor and put it in my bag. Luckily I have more attachments, and run the display through my 19" CRT Monitor, and type on a USB wireless keyboard....

I'd rather be riding on the roads of Vermont than the city.

I've never thought about anything like that I guess I'm just not that kind of a guy. But I have thought about moving to a smallish town in Italy, France, Spain, or Portugal. I would have a small house or apartment, a modest job and not a care in the world (and a nice bike of course). I'm not much of a minimalist, I'm quite the contrary I'm a pack rat and I kind of enjoy a little bit of clutter in some older spaces. My place in Boston was a 19th century victorian home.