Originally Posted by Momentum
Very good point - I think it's admirable that this guy is doing something that we all enjoy despite having minimal cash. The points he makes about equippment are all very valid too.
I don't have a problem with "minimal cash" or in using old bikes.
I do have a problem with encouraging people to, rather specifically: rummage through garbage for food, let alone eat fatty and unhealthy food on tour; and not change your underwear for several days running.
It's unhealthy, unsanitary, unwise, unnecessary, and makes cycle tourists look bad.
I don't think there is anything "admirable" about a college-educated tourist who cannot be bothered to work for an extra month or two, to earn enough money to actually buy food whilst traveling.
Originally Posted by Losligato
It is remarkable how many of us readily accept (nay, even celebrate) those who have done downright loathsome things to earn the cash to make their dreams come true. Yet when faced with someone who had the honesty to admit he skipped over the earning and pedaled right into the dream, we criticize.
What do you define as "downright loathsome?"
I would not, under any circumstances, laud someone who sold heroin, mugged old ladies or embezzled corporate funds in order to raise the cash to tour. While you personally may prefer to stay on the road rather than tour, I see nothing "downright loathsome" about earning an honest living, nor is merely "working at a job I dislike" a "loathsome" thing.
Nor do I have a problem with someone who skips the "years of hard work," and does the "months of hard work" route. To the best of my knowledge, he isn't leaving a family behind or ditching existing responsibilities.
My objection is pretty specific: I just think it's pathetic that a man with a college degree can't keep it together long enough to work that extra month or so, long enough so that he can actually, y'know, buy food instead of eating garbage and roadkill.