Originally Posted by sat_cycle
I never understood why tourers take laptops. Is it so they have something to type on 24-7 during a trip? The best journals don't contain all the little minutae --- rather they contain the essential moments and feelings and experiences, told in succinct and moving fashion. A journal is a series of short stories. For a good journal intended for public consumption, brevity is key, IMO.
I'll try and answer this, but it's only me personally. First, I'm not some "purist for purist-sake" camper, who only brings what he needs just for the sake of being romantic, minimalist, or primitivist. If the John Burroughs approach works for you, go for it! I respect that ideal greatly. But for me...
I happen to like toys and gadgets and I love to play with them in environments that aren't stale, like living rooms and offices are (or, for that matter, public family parks). In any case, I'm all for taking any sort of diversionary item you feel like if it makes the trip more fun for you--this includes violins, cameras, books, chess sets, minilaptops, iPod, collapsible easel and oils,
etcetera. I'm not sure if this explains the question very well though. I tried.
In my particular case, there are actually three utilitarian reasons for getting the setup I wrote about above:
1. I'm going to
need a laptop, since I'm one of the lucky few who will be combining my everyday work with my passion of cyclotouring. That is, I'm going to be working via satellite connection and making my living remotely as part of my job, and my employers are thrilled about it, but not nearly as much as I am.
2. As an amateur naturalist, it will help me to work on my cataloguing and researching of the various geological features, fauna, and wildlife in any particular location I am in. That kind of access to the information available on the web will prove very useful to me in the field; plus, I can upload pictures and keep my photocard perpetually ready to shoot more. My digital camera has excellent video also, and I wouldn't have to be intimidated by filesize where I might never use it in the field.
3. I can type faster than I can think, and a daily journal is definitely necessary to me on the road. I'll still take my sketchpad to write in too, of course, but the editing ability of a computer is the best, and I don't get pencil cramp or runaway thoughts.
As for these things breaking, that's the breaks, and that's what warranties are for. And what good is a laptop if you're not going to be mobile with it? Ken Kifer said that in all his history of cyclotouring he only fell 7 times, and none of them damaged any of his laptops, which he packed smartly. I have so far been about as lucky, and I am a safe rider and a smart camper. I'll take my chances, like I always do.
EDIT: Also, I hear some talk of "lugging around" this stuff. Hehe, the laptop/solar system I linked to weighs about 3.5 pounds between both units, maybe 4 with any additional stuff. I think I can hack it, but it will be tough going, I tell ya.
