I saw a tweet a few days ago from Tim Ferris (of The 4-Hour Workweek fame), praising Sean Bonner’s recent post on Practical Urban Caching.
The idea is that when you travel regularly to certain destinations, you
shouldn’t have to pack. If you are heading repeatedly to a certain
location, the key is to find a way to store what you need there on the
ground, instead of carrying it with you from wherever you are and then
back home again.
For example, my wife and I make several trips a year to visit her
parents and relatives near Pittsburgh. This last Thanksgiving I made
the trip with my rucksack and the small carry-all I now use. Even with
this light load, however, I was itching. I wanted to go lighter.
Bonner’s caching concept fits the bill perfectly, and the next time
Kira and I head north I will have packed a bag specifically to be left
behind at her folk’s house when we return to Memphis.
A few months back, REI had a
clearance sale and I stocked up on duplicates of some of the pants and
shirts that I like, so I already have some extras I could use as a basic
wardrobe to build on. Most of the trips we make are 2 – 4 days, so a
couple extra shirts and one extra pair of pants on-site should do the
trick. I’ll need to stock a couple extra pairs of underwear and
undershirts, and get the toiletries and such figured out. What this
means, ultimately, is that I will be able to get on the plane without a
bag, and not feel the pinch one bit. Heaven.
Bonner does raise an important issue, however: What about cities and
locales where one doesn’t have the benefit of parents or friends to
stash the cache between trips? An interesting solution came in the
comments to the post. A reader named Marc Nathan wrote about a company
he had worked with as a startup called SpareFoot.com.
The company is designed to help broker arrangements between folks who
have storage space (of all types and sizes – from large warehouses to
the corner of an attic) and folks who need storage space. Nathan
suggested that, though the service had not been specifically designed
for urban caching applications, that this was a perfect use of SpareFoot. (Addendum: it looks like another reader has taken this idea and parleyed it into a potential business venture.)
The downside to such an approach, of course, is that it could get expensive rather quickly.
I’ve been thinking this through for the past couple days, and the
more I think about it, the more it calls for a radical approach to one’s
travel ethics. Let’s call it “relational travel” – the idea being
that, if I am going to travel to a location enough times to want to
cache something there, then I better darn well be meeting people
and building relationships on the ground such that someone would let me
stash a bag at their place for retrieval on my next visit.
This means traveling less like a tourist and more like a human
being. It’s a style of travel I have long seen work well for some of my
good friends (one in particular
has spent major portions of the past few years exploring Korea and
Thailand, moving slowly and living cheaply, and building networks of
friends and acquaintances along the way. I have been with him when he
has struck up conversations with perfect strangers on the street or in a
restaurant. Not in a creepy way, either. Just human and friendly. I
am convinced that, through practice, he has learned the art of being
able to talk to anybody).
Caching is a practical reason, therefore, for the type of
“experiential travel” practices preached by folks like Greg Sullivan and
Joe Diaz over at AFAR
magazine. Think about it this way: the stronger a connection you make
with people over time, the lighter your load when you travel.
Now that’s a goal worth working toward.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
The art and science of staying dry
The one place you don’t want to be making decisions about how to keep
the rain off you is when the first drops are falling from the sky. I
can’t tell you, though, how many times I was in exactly this position
before I finally started taking steps to keep dry. Beating the rain is
all in the planning, and it starts with what you choose to wear even
when there’s not a cloud in the sky. Staying dry means thinking about
your wardrobe from the ground up.
I used to be an “all cotton” kind of guy. Cotton t-shirts, overshirts, socks, blue jeans and underwear. This was comfortable when I spent a lot of my time indoors, but it meant, without fail, that I was absolutely miserable in the rain. Cotton is a great fabric, but it absorbs water and holds on to it, locking it into the weave. Whether this moisture is rain or sweat, cotton will not let it go and will not dry out for hours. If this weren’t bad enough, once cotton soaks through, it also fails to hold warmth. What this means is that wet cotton clothes will keep you both wet and cold, neither of which is ideal. On top of this is the clincher, because wet cotton also binds and chafes. This means that long-term walking in cotton underwear is a recipe for disaster, in sunshine and especially in the rain. Rethinking my rain clothing involved rethinking the fabrics I wear on a regular basis.
Here are some qualities you should look for in good rain clothing. First off, let’s get some some terminology in place.
Moisture wicking: These fabrics pull wetness away from the skin and transport it through to the outer layer. These types of fabrics are excellent to use in base layers (those closest to the body). However, read the labels carefully. Some articles of clothing are labeled as moisture wicking but contain cotton and other slow-drying fibers. Therefore, you need to match moisture wicking with clothes that are
Quick drying: As the label says, these fabrics shed moisture very quickly. A variety of blends have this quality, including some containing cotton. Some achieve the quick-drying quality through chemical treatments, others through a specific weave, or a combination of the two.
The secret to good clothing is to match and layer fabrics with an eye to transporting moisture away from the body comfortably and getting it to the surface of the clothing where it will evaporate quickly. On dry days this allows you to stay active and comfortable with maximum movement and minimum discomfort or chafing.
Start with a good core. For example, I switched out my cotton boxers and undershirts for a set of underwear made of synthetic materials that wicks moisture much more effectively. For a while I was using Champion C9 boxer-briefs in combination with C9 all-polyester t-shirts. The briefs were quick drying, but were not really well-designed for comfort. The t-shirts, however, worked great and are still part of my wardrobe.
An enthusiastic salesperson at REI told me about ExOfficio Boxer Briefs. I bought a pair, thinking that I would use them mainly during travel. However, after trying them on a few trips, I liked them so much I ended up replacing my regular day-to-day cotton underwear with them. The final touch was to start wearing thin, moisture wicking socks underneath my regular socks. So this combination is my basic layer for day-to-day wear. On cold days, I’ll add some thermal leggings as well.
Once the base layer is established, the key is to build on it according to the conditions. I have a variety of shirts and pants that each do a good job of drying quickly and keeping me warm. The key is that, day to day, as I am active and move and sweat, the combination keeps me dry and comfortable. The clothing is so good, in fact, that a few weeks I was caught in a full-on torrential downpour, and managed to get through the day without too much discomfort. I was damp, but I wasn’t soaked.
The final key to staying dry is planning an outer layer that can be put on over your daytime clothing. For me, I have been very pleased with a combination coat and pant set from Helly Hansen. While this rain gear wouldn’t do for all-day wear (if you’re looking for that sort of thing, you’ll want to try some Gore-Tex products), they are the best I have found for keeping the rain absolutely repelled.
Even if your strategy differs from mine, it all comes down to good planning. The closer you come to your rain wear being a part of your every day wear, the more effective it will be.
I used to be an “all cotton” kind of guy. Cotton t-shirts, overshirts, socks, blue jeans and underwear. This was comfortable when I spent a lot of my time indoors, but it meant, without fail, that I was absolutely miserable in the rain. Cotton is a great fabric, but it absorbs water and holds on to it, locking it into the weave. Whether this moisture is rain or sweat, cotton will not let it go and will not dry out for hours. If this weren’t bad enough, once cotton soaks through, it also fails to hold warmth. What this means is that wet cotton clothes will keep you both wet and cold, neither of which is ideal. On top of this is the clincher, because wet cotton also binds and chafes. This means that long-term walking in cotton underwear is a recipe for disaster, in sunshine and especially in the rain. Rethinking my rain clothing involved rethinking the fabrics I wear on a regular basis.
Here are some qualities you should look for in good rain clothing. First off, let’s get some some terminology in place.
Moisture wicking: These fabrics pull wetness away from the skin and transport it through to the outer layer. These types of fabrics are excellent to use in base layers (those closest to the body). However, read the labels carefully. Some articles of clothing are labeled as moisture wicking but contain cotton and other slow-drying fibers. Therefore, you need to match moisture wicking with clothes that are
Quick drying: As the label says, these fabrics shed moisture very quickly. A variety of blends have this quality, including some containing cotton. Some achieve the quick-drying quality through chemical treatments, others through a specific weave, or a combination of the two.
The secret to good clothing is to match and layer fabrics with an eye to transporting moisture away from the body comfortably and getting it to the surface of the clothing where it will evaporate quickly. On dry days this allows you to stay active and comfortable with maximum movement and minimum discomfort or chafing.
Start with a good core. For example, I switched out my cotton boxers and undershirts for a set of underwear made of synthetic materials that wicks moisture much more effectively. For a while I was using Champion C9 boxer-briefs in combination with C9 all-polyester t-shirts. The briefs were quick drying, but were not really well-designed for comfort. The t-shirts, however, worked great and are still part of my wardrobe.
An enthusiastic salesperson at REI told me about ExOfficio Boxer Briefs. I bought a pair, thinking that I would use them mainly during travel. However, after trying them on a few trips, I liked them so much I ended up replacing my regular day-to-day cotton underwear with them. The final touch was to start wearing thin, moisture wicking socks underneath my regular socks. So this combination is my basic layer for day-to-day wear. On cold days, I’ll add some thermal leggings as well.
Once the base layer is established, the key is to build on it according to the conditions. I have a variety of shirts and pants that each do a good job of drying quickly and keeping me warm. The key is that, day to day, as I am active and move and sweat, the combination keeps me dry and comfortable. The clothing is so good, in fact, that a few weeks I was caught in a full-on torrential downpour, and managed to get through the day without too much discomfort. I was damp, but I wasn’t soaked.
The final key to staying dry is planning an outer layer that can be put on over your daytime clothing. For me, I have been very pleased with a combination coat and pant set from Helly Hansen. While this rain gear wouldn’t do for all-day wear (if you’re looking for that sort of thing, you’ll want to try some Gore-Tex products), they are the best I have found for keeping the rain absolutely repelled.
Even if your strategy differs from mine, it all comes down to good planning. The closer you come to your rain wear being a part of your every day wear, the more effective it will be.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
OTTO Restaurant, Montreal
I consulted my Frommer’s Montreal Day by Day guidebook, and was interested in trying out a restaurant nearby named OTTO. OTTO is housed in the W Hotel, near Square Victoria and just a few blocks from Old Montreal. The Frommer’s guide said, in addition to the swanky atmosphere, that OTTO has “the best seafood in the city.” I figured that was worth checking out.
Though the guidebook mentioned that reservations might be necessary, I found the dining room not crowded at all, with just a few other tables being served. The primary language of the city is French, of course, but it being my first night there I didn’t yet trust my rusty skills enough to navigate a whole meal, so I asked for the English version. Without a blink, the hostess switched into perfect English and handed me the translated version.
The room is gorgeous, to say the least. It is decorated in a very modern style, with clean lines and just a hint of 1970′s kitsch (enough to keep the room from being an austere Bauhaus ripoff, but not so much that its goofy). There is a good use of colored light, with low sexy reds mixing with the cool blues of the bar. I found the decor very pleasing.
The service was very professional. The server was willing to make recommendations, and because the restaurant was not very busy, was also willing to answer some of my questions about Montreal and her life in the city. When I mentioned that I had read in the guide that they had the best seafood in the city, she suggested I try the Merluzzo Nero in Crosta di Porcini con Caponata Siciliana (Black cod encrusted with shiitake, Sicilian caponata, aspiration brocoli, aged balsamic and pistacchio sauce).
Even better, she was willing to suggest a white wine to pair with the meal. So I found myself drinking a perfectly dry San Vincenzo Anselmi 2006, and eating some exquisitely prepared black cod.
The presentation was beautiful. The preparation of the fish was a little rich for my tastes, with an almost sweet butteriness that at points overwhelmed the other flavors, but it was nonetheless delicious. I was also not overwhelmed by the pistachio sauce, but that’s not really the fault of the chef (I simply don’t like pistachios. The fact that I found it palatable at all is actually a pretty high compliment). The combination of flavors was very pleasing, overall (even with the pistachios).
Walking home, I was quite pleased with my experience. The food was sumptuous, the wine was perfect, and the staff made me feel very welcome in this new city. It was, as one would expect, a tad pricey. Even if you’re traveling on a budget, however, OTTO is worth the splurge. It is a definite must if you are spending a few days near Old Montreal.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Daily self-care through stretching
As I’ve gotten older, I have begun to lose a bit of my flexibility. I also suffer from a bad case of plantar fasciitis
that has been pretty chronic for the past few years. Both of these
factors have reduced my ability to walk long distances, so I have been
aggressively combating the degeneration of my feet and legs through an
active regimen of stretching.
The
first stretch I learned from the physical therapists who helped me with
the plantar fasciitis. When you wake up in the morning, take a towel
and wrap it around your foot, keeping a hold of both ends in your
hands. Then, with your leg straight, pull toward you and and hold the
pull for about ten seconds. Repeat this several times, alternating with
your knee bent and then with the knee straight. If you’re doing it
right, you will feel it not only in the foot, but on up into the hips as
well.
The
next set of stretches I do on the floor by the side of the bed. I take
the towel I was just using for the first stretch and lay it on the
floor, and sit on it, spreading my legs into a wide V. I then try to
touch my forehead to my knee, alternating sides. Then I also try to
touch my forehead to the floor in front of me. This usually takes a
series of repeated efforts, as my hamstrings and hips tighten
considerably during the night. After a few efforts, however, things
start to loosen up and my legs and hips begin to return to normal.
Then,
standing up, I do a series of slow hip rotations – clockwise and then
counter-clockwise. The motions are similar to those I would use if I
was spinning a hula hoop. These stretches help to further loosen the
hips and pelvis, which in turn reduced the stress on the tendons down
through the legs. This helps the plantar fasciitis indirectly.
This combination of stretches is not the only set that one could do, of course. These are simply the ones that, so far, have worked for me. The principle I am working on is that the tendons and ligaments are all interconnected. By working on my hips and pelvis, I help maintain a good balance in my lower legs as well. This indirect approach has, over time, worked better for my plantar fasciitis flareups than concentrating solely on my feet, so I recommend it.
These sorts of regular stretching exercises are essential when you are traveling, and probably doing a lot of walking every day. The short, repetitive movements of walking cause the muscles and ligaments to tighten throughout the day, so if you aren’t stretching regularly, you are basically ratcheting your connective tissue tighter and tighter (which is what I had been doing to myself for several months before I started this stretching regimen).
The key is to develop a regimen that works for you, and that you will stick to consistently enough to do some good. The reason I have picked this series of exercises is not necessarily for their excellence, but because they are effective and I can do the combination of them in about five to ten minutes first thing in the morning. Finding the balance that works for you is the key. If you find something that works, leave us a comment and let us know.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Packing for a 5 day trip to Montreal
The first weekend in November I took a five day trip to Montreal. This was for a professional conference, and I had some interviews and meetings lined up. In the past I would have brought a lot of clothing, probably in my Samsonite Silhouette 11 Spinner Garment Bag. The Silhouette was the bag I used for last year’s conference in San Diego, and it allowed me to pack two full suits, several pairs of shoes, and walking-around clothes for about four days, as well as more clothing for a second leg my wife and I took to visit her family for a few days. The Silhouette worked great, but its a big bag. Though it rolls easily, it’s not the kind of bag you want to be pulling around a city all day.
In addition to this, I’ve also been very influenced lately by the philosophy espoused by Doug Dyment on his excellent site, OneBag.com. Dyment challenges his readers to really think through what they bring on trips, and to try to keep these items as limited and light as possible. With this in mind, I decided to accept the challenge and see how light I could go and still remain presentable for the interviews and the meetings.
In the place of the Silhouette, I chose two packs, one for my back and one light enough to carry in my hands or on my shoulder. The back pack was a RedOxx Roadster Mini-Ruck rucksack, and the carry-all was an Eddie Bauer 20″ Northlake Duffel Bag. These Northlake duffels are hard to find these days (I should do a separate post on how I chose this particular one over other – inferior – Eddie Bauer bags currently available. I’m going to keep using the Northlake until it gives out – probably a good while from now – then I’ll likely switch to a RedOxx Beanos bag), but I’ve been super pleased with how well is keeps things organized and how well it holds up for this kind of travel.
The OneBag site suggests you make a list of things before you pack, to minimize the temptation to over-pack. So I did, thinking through both what would go in the bags as well as what I would wear or carry on the plane itself. I figured a good first post for this site would be a run-down of those lists, with some commentary on how the packing went, how it worked, and what I would do differently next time.
What I’ll do is give the packing list for each bag. What I ended up not using I’ll include as a strike-through item on the list.
RedOxx Roadster Ruck:
- Rain gear (an REI mesh bag with Helly Hanson Voss jacket and Voss pants) strapped on the bottom of the ruck
- Extra pocket-sized Moleskine notebook
- Charger for cell phone
- Two books (The Enduring Nature of the Catholic University and Structuralism and Post-Structuralism for Beginners)
- Two magazines
- Camera
- Charger for camera battery
- Tablet of writing paper
- USB 2.0 Flash Memory Card Reader
- Two Creative Zen V MP3 players (one for music, one for podcasts)
- iPod shuffle
- Earbuds and case
- Catholic prayer book
- Al-Anon One Day at a Time
- MacBook and charger cords
- Logitech Trackman for the Mac
- Frommer’s Montreal Day by Day
- Knopf MapGuide: Montreal
- REI Fleece Vest
- Notecards for the book I’m working on
- Large Moleskine Soft Cover Notebook
- 4 extra black ink pens
- 2 highlighter pens
- Windbreaker (rolled up and stored with the rain gear for the trip)
- TravelSmith security guide bag
- Pair of tennis shoes
- REI Slickrock pants
- Linen dress slacks
- 2 Champion C-9 moisture wicking undershirts (1 black, 1 white)
- Royal Robbins Josh Stripe travel shirt
- Toiletries bag (I’ll do a separate post about this)
- Inflatable Travel & Laundry Hangers
- Travel Laundry Clothesline – Flexoline
- Vitamins
- Hand sanitizer
- 2 pair REI CoolMax liner socks
- Black dress shirt
- 1 pair SmartWool socks
- 1 pair oversocks
- 2 pair Ex Officio travel underwear
- Fleece beanie cap
- 2 pair winter gloves
- 1 pair elastic arch supports
- 1 extra pair thermal leggings
- Spare pair of eyeglasses
- Wool/linen blend sweater
- 1 pair jogging shorts
- 2 large Shamwows
- 2 small Shamwows
- Package of earplugs
- Small hand towel (not just because I like Douglas Adams, but because a towel really and truly is the handiest thing to pack for a trip)
- Small pill containers with Nuprin, Melatonin, and Ranitidine
- REI Sahara Tech long sleeve shirt
- Ex Officio travel underwear
- REI Mojave convertible travel pants
- Champion C-9 moisture wicking undershirt
- REI CoolMax liner socks
- 1 pair SmartWool socks
- Vasque hiking boots (because there was a chance of snow in the forecast, and they would pass for dress shoes for the interview)
- Wool scarf
- 1 pair thermal leggings
- Wool blazer
- Tilley Airflow Hat
When I arrived in Montreal, I had packed the fleece vest, gloves and fleece cap so that they were quickly accessible. This allowed me to transition to the colder weather almost as soon as I got on the ground (which was good, since the shuttle bus dropped us a couple kilometers from my hotel. I was able to navigate the surface streets with little discomfort due to this planning).
The bulk of the trip was all about managing the temperature (which fluctuated from the high 40′s to the low 70′s) both inside and outside, as well as trying to keep each day’s load as light as possible to save wear and tear on my feet. The TravelSmith day bag was a bit bulky to pack, but paid dividends on the ground for light packing day-to-day at the conference.
All things considered, I managed to pack pretty light, but it still seems like I could have packed lighter. That gives me something to work towards for the next trip. Thanks for reading, and your suggestions or tips are welcome!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
We're testing things out here.
If you are reading this, then you are likely (hopefully) one of the
handful of people I have let know about this blog before it goes live. I
am doing some testing and fiddling behind the scenes over the weekend,
and things should get a bit more interesting here by Monday, November
16th. I’ll have some Montreal reportage, some product performance
reports, and other fun things (maybe even Twitter – who knows?) by then.
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