Things I learned - Dan Braghis

Um okay, so uh it's cryptically called a few things I relearned on my way to work So a quick thing. I cycled here from England and so yeah, like I've been people were asking me, are you that guy? Yeah, I am that crazy guy. guy so this is like the the approximate route that I took uh I didn't cycle on that blue patch because uh I was on a ferry but I did about 489 kilometers and And I had a lot of time to, you know, think about things. So the first thing is, you know, kind of listen to your elders or better said uh or or your peers

or people who know th things and who who who are are more experienced. Uh so in my case uh I am lost Lucky to have a few friends who are keen cyclists and they first of all kitted me out. So that's my bike, but uh everything else, like the the the the long trip stuff of the pioneers and the the bags, everything is for from friends. But they also gave me practical tips like get uh a cream, uh special cream cream so you don't suffer while you cycle long distance. Um also they they kind of said well you need to eat a lot and regularly and uh bananas are good so uh I got those as well and uh uh yeah so just uh

listen to your elders really the second one is uh Oh yeah. And the second thing is uh when I planned the trip, it was taking me through London in a different way, about the same kilometre. But then my friends went, try this other route because it's gonna be nicer. It's more scenic. And I'm glad I did. I mean no one wants to go through a very big and polluted city. Now uh being static is bad unlike you know with websites being static on uh on on on on the bike for long distances is quite bad. So on my second day I kind of forgot about that. So I put a lot of pressure on my hands and kept them pretty much in the same position.

And at the end of the day I couldn't feel my hands. So I couldn't like tie my shoelaces or untie my shoelaces. And that was very disconcerting. So yeah, you know, you need to change per position. Uh there are things that you can do, you know, uh uh wave your hands and put them at the back, kind of take pressure off them. The other thing that I learned is, you know, and and to to kind of paraphrase uh uh what what's his name? Fort Perfect from uh Hitchhik Hiker's Guide. You know, it's it's it's a tough uh world out there, but you know If you want to survive, you you need to know where your towel is. I had that. And also the sunscreen. I didn't have that. And I thought I overpacked.

Turns out I overpacked also underpacked. And uh you can see like I I I I enjoyed the sun a lot The other one is technology does not know better sometimes. I mean, or sorry, the other way. Technology does know better sometimes. And when I was planning my route There was this section which had a lot of canal paths. And I said, well, I want to go from here to here. And it was taking me one way. And then I heard, well, the canal paths are nice. want to go there. So I was dragging the the route towards the canal paths and it was still trying to take me away. And it star and now I know why. So it started like idyllic, you know, like

shade and water and like wide path. and incrementally they got narrower and worse and muddier and like it it got like proper off-road. So sometimes you know trust technology. Also, you know, have a backup plan. So just a week before I was to set off my free hub. So that that the that bit on the on the left uh pluck it in. So you know though on compared to the one on the right. So those little like winglets. are the ones that make the noise uh when you like free like free will and they also engage and that's what tak takes you forward. Well if you if they don't open up you kind of peddle in

in place. And it was a l very long weekend. in England, you know, the whole Jubilee and the Queen and whatnot, which meant I could I could not actually get stuff delivered fast. So I didn't know up until the last moment whether I I can I can make it or not. And the other one was I I had a cold. So uh again, it's like can I make it? Uh so make sure that you have a backup plan, like maybe perhaps you know take the train. Another thing, well two things here that I uh I learned or re-reminded myself that it's okay to stop and enjoy the things that you do do and for me that was like trying lots of crazy new things uh although you know the pizza is not crazy

this was like exotic meats uh sourced like responsibly sourced I have to caveat that. And also like me, that's me kind of taking a break. And you can see like I made uh I like a I look weird. And I realized I and I learned that I make funny faces. uh when I take selfies. I didn't know that. Oh well. And finally, you know, I'm really glad that I did took this trip and it was fun and I hope uh that we can start a tradition for future future ones. That's all