Quote:
Originally Posted by Lois
From talking/emailing with various travellers lately I'm getting the feeling that there's a growing movement towards keeping things small and simple - 'less is more', 'back to basics', 'make do and mend' (and any other useful sayings I can think of).
Has anyone else noticed this? Is it significant? What is the driving force behind it? Is it just a reaction to consumerism, is it related to the economic situation, is it a symptom of a wider social movement towards simple living?
So I guess my query refers to that ethos being applied to motorcycle travel - making your own luggage, keeping things cheap, small, secondhand etc.
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Hi Lois,
In my humble opinion, many hobbies or activities go through these oscillations.
Technology pushes the boundaries, initially making things better but then eventually excess technology takes you away from the essential core of the activity (which is probably what drew you to it in the first place).
This is true in activities ranging from backpacking to climbing to paddling to adventure motorcycling.
However, the pressure from technology is an ongoing issue and will likely never go away as companies have money to make and frankly most consumers like new gadgets.
Within these broad trends, are micro trends where small groups of enthusiasts try to fight the wave and get back to basics.
Usually these folks are older, more experienced, and importantly remember a time when it was more basic.
So I would think that "back to basics" is really just a point in time in the lifecyle of some motorcyclists and travellers. For the vast majority of adventure tourers, they will likely never get to that stage.
At times though, there will be greater awareness and dialogue on the issue, and it seems that now is one of those times. This is a good thing, but if it was really a movement, then we would all be switching to pedal bikes
Happy writing and riding.