Happy Friday! Hopefully it has been a great week. My family is headed out for a second weekend of camping in a row, which doesn’t happen often enough for us. And this trip will be 4 nights in a yurt. Not exactly ultralight backpacking, but it will be fun to stay in a yurt for the first time.
Now, on to the sites and articles for this week that may be of interest to you. This week’s edition has touring, cycling families, control freaks, and weirdos. Somehow I fit all of those topics surprisingly well.
Jill Outside – Not A Bad Way To Live – Jill Homer is one of my favorite bloggers. She publishes some of the best posts about cycling and her many adventures. If you are not following her, you should be. In this post about bike touring, she sums up as – “No matter. We had our bikes, food, water, and camping gear. Everything we needed in the world.” How can you argue with that?
Married With Luggage – Learning to Let Go (A Primer for Control Freaks) – If you’re not a control freak, or simply don’t care, you should still take a look at this post for the amazing Mongolian pictures. Simply stunning. Betsy describes how trying to control everything can cause us to miss the great experiences – “This trip taught us we don’t always know best, and knowing all the answers is not the same as having the best experience”. I can’t claim to let go enough, but you can see how doing so will allow us to enjoy life more.
Bike Portland – With six kids and no car, this mom does it all by bike – Emily Finch manages to be car free with six kids. She isn’t a super-athlete or super-mom, just someone who took up cycling a few years ago and has made it part of her lifestyle. How do you get 6 kids in a bike you ask? Let’s just say sometimes it takes bungee cords.
Be More With Less – They Will Think You Are Weird – Being weird is perfectly ok. I’m a walking, talking weirdo complete with a Tyvek wallet, socks with my sandals, a compost pile, and I don’t care. From Courtney’s post – “You will threaten some, but your weird, crazy, lovely, badass behavior will inspire and spread hope, joy, courage and change. Let go of the excuse that people might think you are weird if you make a change or try something new. They absolutely will and you will survive it”.
