This site is for those who love learning and adventure. If you're curious and eager to expand your knowledge, you'll find clear, accessible content here.

Now at age 68 with 25 years of bicycle touring experience, Charles is a dedicated bikepacker and world traveler who shares his passion and expertise here. He invites you to connect with him through comments and questions, being always ready to inspire and engage with fellow dreamers and explorers. Charles writes for aspiring minimalist bicycle nomads, both young and old, offering guidance and inspiration for a simpler, more adventurous life.

This blog spans social, political, economic, and philosophical topics, exploring both contemporary and historical contexts. It examines the influence of large systems like governments, markets, and technology, while analyzing the role of intelligent machines in shaping society and individual autonomy. The blog dissects political ideologies, focusing on how power, technology, and freedom interact in the modern world.

In addition to theory, the blog covers practical aspects of sustainability and minimalism, emphasizing self-reliance. Topics include long-distance bicycle travel and survival strategies in urban and rural settings. The combination of economic theory, technology, and minimalism offers a clear perspective on living in a complex world.

During the 2024-25 touring season, Charles is available to meet with individuals or small groups to talk about bicycle touring and bikepacking. In addition to conversations, he’s also looking for occasional access to a bathtub for a hot soak. If you have one and feel comfortable offering it, or know of a local service, Charles would be grateful and is happy to pay for the use. Anywhere along the map route above is a possibility.

Please contact him directly for scheduling or inquiries.

Consider the luxury of having choices, choices few in this world have the privilege to exercise. When you can go anywhere, do anything, and yet crave something as basic as a hot bath the irony becomes evident. The comfort and ritual of immersion into warm water recharges the body and spirit. When relinquishing excess for necessity, even the simplest luxuries become treasures.

Imagine a time when you finally get a moment alone for a hot bath. Is it the hot water that relaxes you or is it the time to yourself? Think about being on the road for weeks, camping, and living on the basics. The comfort of a hot bath becomes precious, yet difficult to find. A room and bed aren't necessary, just a tub of hot water to relax. Water, food, and sleep are easy enough to find, but a hot bath is rare treasure.

While cleaning up in a stream or finding a cold water tap is easy, they will never replace the comfort of a hot bath. It’s not an issue of hygiene, it’s about comfort, peace, relaxation, and rejuvenation. For all of us in life, it’s the simplest things that matter most.

The open road we dream of provides everything one needs to survive - shelter, sustenance, and freedom. But in that freedom is a void, a longing for the one comfort we often overlook in our abundance. The common bathtub, a symbol of civilization’s greatest ease, becomes a rare gift, a grounding force.

As the miles stretch ahead, we develop a deepening respect for those small moments of indulgence, and how they sharpen our focus. When all else falls away, it’s not what we have or how much we have, rather it is the mindful balance between what is essential and what elevates the journey that keeps one moving forward.

Yet for the seeker on the road, only questions remain.

When the water warms the skin, does the spirit soak as well? If the road provides all you need, where does the desire for comfort arise? In the embrace of warm water, is it the body that relaxes or the mind that releases? Does the weight of the journey lie in what you seek, or in what you leave behind?

The master walks the path without seeking what is unnecessary, for the body and the mind are already one with the journey. He may pass rivers, streams, or bathtubs, yet sees each as part of the flow, neither craving nor rejecting. The heat that others seek from water is already present in the breath, in the stillness of each step.

Cleansing and relaxation come not from the tub, but from the release of attachment to comfort. The body is refreshed by the simplicity of being, unburdened by desire, even as the road stretches endlessly ahead. The true master needs no bath to relax, because the essence of relaxation resides within the balance of awareness.

The bath may come, but whether it does or not, the master remains at peace.

I live a life focused on simplicity, nature, and personal growth. As someone who travels often on my bike and carries only the essentials, I’ve learned to find happiness in less and rely on myself. I follow a minimalist lifestyle that values mindfulness, respect for the environment, and learning from the wisdom of ancient cultures and spiritual teachings. By living this way, I stay connected to nature, explore deeper meanings in life, and use modern tools like AI to expand my knowledge. This lifestyle helps me grow personally while showing that we can live well without needing a lot of material things.