I’ve been taking a break from riding the last few days and indulging in some introspection, drawing and work. I started this trip with the idea that I would find a new home. I have not found one yet bit I’ve zeroed in on some things that my ideal home would have.

-A grocery store or nice market close by. Walking to a store to grab a few odds and ends makes for a good life in my eyes. Perhaps this is all down to my inability to grocery shop more than one meal ahead of time. Staying in France right now I rather like the option to grab a still warm baguette first thing in the morning too. 

-Some bike riding close by. I would like there to be some mountain biking for peaceful rides under the shade of trees. Some easy/ mellow dirt jumps too. I don’t really need the gnarliest and scariest stuff to ride (but I wouldn’t complain about it and some elevation is important). I tend to enjoy riding the same trail/ dirt jump line over and over rather than needing a lot of variety. I enjoy mapping out all the tiniest details of a trail and spending months trying to link them all together. Without question good bike riding is essential to my happiness. 

-I don’t want to drive or own a car again. I did grow up outside Detroit and cars are in my blood, but on the other hand, I’m so much happier staying out of and away from them. I want to live somewhere that I don’t ever need a car. Ideally no one else around me would have them either, but that place doesn’t seem to exist. I suppose being carless means a temperate climate because I’m not hardcore enough to want to ride bundled up through the snow. Sadly most every place I imagine living in the USA seems to have an auto mixed into the daily life. Life in Europe seems so much more practical being car free. 

After months on the road (since early May) those are the only new-home-things I’ve come up with so far. I’m not worried about having so little figured out. I’m still happy wandering and being where ever I am. 

I am happiest when I spend some time writing and drawing each day. I’ve been thinking how lucky I am that I’m able to do that for a living. That also seems to be something I can do anywhere I end up. The accomplishments that feel important to me are when I capture an idea floating through my head and make it into something real. 

My Europe trip is nearing its end and I’m starting to think about what to do for winter.

 New Zealand always holds and attraction to me, maybe Queenstown riding bikes? The massive travel to get there send shivers of anxiety running through me. Slightly easier would be Austin, TX. Lots of friends there and some fun things to ride (but I feel that town has run its course for me after years of calling it home). I’ve even kicked around odd places like some tropical island. Anything seems possible surfing through airBNB listings! Island life is an absurd place for me to imagine though with no mountain biking, and because I don’t like being in the sun or on a beach. Should I try Bellingham, WA? It’d be a cold wet winter but not so icy that I wouldn’t ride bikes. Maybe hangout in bizarro world Bentonville? Or, maybe come back here to Europe and try somewhere in Spain or Portugal? I don’t think I need or want to be moving every few days. I’d like to stay put in one place for the winter.