Vagabond is define as “a person who wanders from place to place without a fixed home”. Traditionally used as a slur, but oh how times have changed!
Cycle tourers are vagabonds!
It’s true! When you go cycle touring, you’re literally moving from place to place, without a fixed home (while on tour). That’s the very idea behind cycle touring, and it’s a good thing.
We hold on to so many outdated ideas, like the concept that vagabonding is somehow bad. Yes, to a homeless person, it is bad not to have a home to return to, but we’re talking about cycle touring here.
There’s a long, long road a-winding
You pack your panniers, load up your bike, and set off. It doesn’t matter if you pre-planned your route in excruciating detail, or if you’re making it up as you go along. It also doesn’t matter if you’re camping, or staying in B&Bs.
What matters is the freedom. It’s simply you and the wide open road. Go as far as you can, or keep it short. Race the wind, or take it slow. It’s all good, and it’s all your choice to make.
Escape the clock
Britain didn’t have standardised time until the arrival of the railways. Clocks were needed to make railways run on time, and they’re still a fairly modern invention. Most of your life, you cannot escape the clock, no matter what you do. Shop opening times, traffic patterns, work, or school – these are just some things that are governed by the clock.
In some way or another, we have all become slaves to the clock. Except when you go cycle touring, especially when camping along the way! Doing that offers a degree of freedom that few people these days get to experience.
Be a vagabond
Step right out of your comfort zone, and choose to escape the clock, and to some degree, the world, even if only for a while.
Load up your bike, and set off for unknown roads. Be free, Be a vagabond!