A new upgrade to my life is this lightweight minimalist wallet.
It carries only 2 cards (driver’s licence & credit) along with some emergency cash.
I don’t attach it to a phone. Instead I keep it in a a dedicated zippered card pocket which most of my pants and shorts feature.
What I like best is using it as a phone kickstand.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
I’ve experimented with many tripods over the past 2 years. CRITICAL gear as I mostly travel solo and want to take photos and videos of myself while adventuring.
Weight and volume are super important. I can take them all on some bikepacking trips. But for hiking, I usually only take two of the smallest. All of these tripods can hold any of my 3 small cameras.
My favourite is the Miggo Splat. Super tough. Very reliable. BUT I did manage to break one.
Even better — but not as durable — is the Fotopro uFO 2.
Like the Splat, it can wrap around fence posts, tree branches, almost anything.
Least likely to make a hiking or bikepacking trip is my Neewer 56 inches/142 centimeters tripod. It’s good — but 2.73 pounds/1.24 kilograms is often too heavy.
I’m not much of a selfie stick guy, but the new-to-me 3m / 9ft Insta360 Extended Edition Selfie Stick has me intrigued. I MIGHT even end up getting one of their expensive Action Cameras.
I’ll often take it along despite the 365gm / 12.8oz load.
I bought the lightest JOBY GorillaPod I could. Only 325 Grams. But it’s pretty flimsy for anything more than a phone camera. I’ve never had much luck with JOBY. Those arms break easily.
So far I’m really liking my new DJI Mini SE drone. Until I crash it 🤔 … drone footage can replace tripod for long establishing shots.
Shooting video of yourself when alone can be tricky. Here’s how I’m doing it, so far.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
PLAN is visit the remote Faroe Islands summer 2022 as part of my PLANNED Norway, Faroes & Iceland cycling tour. 🤞
Weird and evocative.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
I took a gap year between High School and University.
SUPER happy I did.
It opened my eyes to the bigger world. Other cultures. Other ways of thinking.
Niklas Christl didn’t know what to do when he graduated High School. Here he documents what happened on his gap year — and how it changed his life.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Sept. 1990
When I wrote this I had just moved from Calgary to Saskatoon, the summer of 1990 — expecting to stay 1 year. I ended up staying 10 years.
I was a tourist in Saskatchewan.
I drive home alone from Saskatoon to Calgary, in September, in the late afternoon. I take the smaller, stair-casing highways, speeding with impunity. There seems to be no R.C.M.P. left in Saskatchewan.
I drive through towns with great names like Bounty, Wartime and Conquest. Who got to name these places?
The prairies are a never ending stream of checkerboard fields, barns, churches, cows, dust-devils, road kill and ponderous, overloaded farm trucks. The heat rises off the roadway and seems to evaporate the mirage pools of water before I can enjoy splashing through them. The smells are … well, unique to the Prairies. And I never knew there were so many hawks in all of the world.
Grand daddy grasshoppers wing by as big as birds. Slower, less experienced insects splatter my windshield. The freshly oiled gravel roads splatters my car as well, but I don’t care.
I stop at Outlook, Saskatchewan and sit out in the middle of a sandbar in the middle of the Old Man River. The air is calm, the sun is smoking and the song in my head is called …
I never believed that I’d grow old.
The sandbar is the highlight of the drive. Glorious. The last day of the longest summer of my life. I wish it would never end.
If I could make a wish,
I think I’d pass …
Like everyone else in Saskatchewan, I listen to CBC AM radio constantly. The weather is updated every 15 minutes. They report that the canola is too dry to reap. It will shatter if harvested. But the wheat is still too moist to take off the field. Saskatchewan weather is one big Catch-22.
Driving West into the setting sun, I find myself alone with my thoughts. I dream a grand scheme.
As night falls, I approach Drumheller and the badlands. The warmth from my big mug of tea is comforting.
It’s harvest here. Dusty farmers take dinner on the tractor this evening and plan to work all night. I see the bright lights of combines bobbing along in the dark in every field.
I drive home alone from Saskatoon to Calgary in September.
I tried and failed to fly a DJI Spark drone when it was released 2017. Did not once get it off the ground. It was a dead weight on my Patagonia trip that year.
In 2021 the (Mavic) Mini SE is their entry level model. CAD $349. … How long before I break it? 😀
I’ve either gotten a lot smarter — or their drones are much easier to operate now.
Click PLAY or watch the 1st flight on YouTube.
The one tourist attraction in Seville not widely touted are the beautiful bridges.
Click PLAY or watch more attractions on YouTube.
I arrived Lisbon Nov. 2nd, 2021 — my birthday. During a pandemic.
My excuse was ESSENTIAL TRAVEL 😶 to get a dental implant done. Expen$ive — but excellent. And finished within 2 weeks. A dental holiday.
Click PLAY or watch highlights on YouTube. (3min)
I avoided museums and restaurant because PLAGUE — but ordered out from famed Time Out Market at least 6 times.
Fantastic street art for pretentious influencers. 😀
I stayed at Sunset Destination. Not the best hostel in town, but definitely the best located. On top of a train station transportation hub. AND they have a great rooftop patio.
I walked more than on a typical hiking day. There’s much to see. Many viewpoints to visit.
I really liked climbing the Christ statue at sunset.
I’ll be back in Lisbon next Spring to get my implant installed.
I’d been to Seville, Spain once before in 2015. Was happy to return to catch the high speed train to Madrid. It’s the largest city in lovely Andalusia.
It’s a great walking city.
One highlight is bridges.
The Plaza de España is fantastic.
I was there during a dusk rain storm, watching busking Flamenco dancers.
But it’s the Royal Alcázars (Palace) that is the biggest draw for tourists.
Sprawling gardens, minor palaces, regal salons, and dead end walks. A hodge podge of styles. Great for wandering.
My favourite spot was the “Baths of Lady María de Padilla” — rainwater tanks underground. Maria was mistress of Peter the Cruel.
Next door is Seville Cathedral. The largest Gothic cathedral in Christendom.
This is supposed to be the tomb of Christopher Columbus. There’s another in the Dominican Republic.
The Giralda tower was once highest in the world. You can still ride your horse to the top.
Personally, I quite like the riverside Torre del Oro (Tower of Gold).
Of course I stayed in the charming Barrio de Santa Cruz near the Cathedral. It was once the Jewish quarter. Now a labyrinth of cobblestone pedestrian lanes (too narrow for cars) where it’s easy to get lost.
I’d go back to Seville anytime.
I haven’t spent all that much time over the OTHER SIDE of the river.
I rode Portugal November 2021. November is considered off-season. There were very few tourists.
Click PLAY or get a glimpse on YouTube.
Cycling Alentejo and the Algarve is very popular, especially with German tourists.
For me Alentejo was much better. Very undeveloped. Low population density.
The Algarve is overdeveloped. And not in any way more scenic.
Weather was good. But I did have one BIG rainstorm.
I mostly followed the EuroVelo 1 Atlantic Coast Route using an app called Mapy.cz recommended to me by two Polish cyclists. Other cyclists recommended RideWithGPS. I’ll try that on my next trip.
It’s not much signed. Not clear. The EV1 in France — by comparison — is well signed and much better maintained.
I was quick to go off route if something looked interesting either left or right. Ended up getting lost and having to backtrack quite often.
With a week long touring bike rental from BikeIberia here’s what I ended up doing:
Lisbon > train to Setubal > ferry to Costa de Gale
Night 1 – Small room beside a small town bar in Comporta
Night 2 – Great hostel in Porto Covo
Night 3 – Tenting near Odeceixe
Night 4 – Great hostel in Sagres (huge rain storm)
Night 5 – Sagres
Night 6 – Hostel Portimao
Night 7 – Great hostel in Faro
Cost was about 30 EUR (US$33.85) / day for 7 days. Cost / day is less if you book for longer.
That included a good bike, well maintained. Helmet, handlebar bag, 2 waterproof panniers, toolkit, spare tube, pump and lock.
BEST of all — you can drop the bike anywhere you want in Portugal and Spain at no cost. The company picks it up on your last day. Brilliant.
Click PLAY or watch an EV1 promo video on YouTube.
I’m already considering riding one of the Camino de Santiago routes in future. Perhaps Lisbon to Santiago along the coast.
I slept most nights in a hostel, the best of which was MUTE in Porto Covo, where I had started my Fisherman’s Trail hike the week prior.
I would have slept in the tent more often, BUT nights are long in November. And it was colder than I expected.
In general, I took the scenic route closest to the Atlantic.
Beaches in November are deserted.
I ate one restaurant meal a day.
Free coffee at the hostels. Or on the trail.
I’d detour to tourist attractions.
I easily finished at Faro within my 7-day rental. Probably the least charming town en route.
Small coastal villages are best for me.
I’ll be back to Portugal / Spain to rent AGAIN from the same Lisbon based company. This is the easiest way in the world to do cycle touring.
Rick McCharles 