This is our life as nomads in a car during COVID. It’s Volume One of On the Road Nomad Life. Come along with us!

There is no catchy gripping sentence to start this one, sorry! If you want to play catch up about what I am up to you can head to “The Trip That Never Happened”. This is the first volume in a week by week play by play of life in the car while being on the road in the lower 48 during COVID-19.

Without further ado let’s get started with the week leading up to leaving Columbus Ohio!

What happened to get ready to live in a car?

First off we all own too many things and have too much stuff if we live in America, Canada, Europe, or Australia. That is a generalization but just overall a truth of the majority of us, myself included As if that wasn’t clear enough when you sit in your stuff all day where you live there is this additional process that can show up to you. When you personally pull everything you own out of a place and either donate it, gift it, trash it, put it in a storage unit, or into a car it’s a monumental amount of stuff for any white privileged Westerner. It’s simply just out of control to see it unfold. My brain went like this “Like how in the hell did I get all this stuff?!?! I have never been to a flea market and haven’t been to a big box retailer in a decade! WTF I say :)!”

We made dozens of trips to fill up a 10x10 storage unit that I can be perfectly honestly say I don’t know when we will be visiting again. Some of it was good to keep but I can already imagine the look of shock on my face whenever it is emptied out. I know I am glad I kept the Outkast records, the stand up bike rack for a kitchen, the mattress (just bought it a year ago), and the World Travel Pin Map. Other than that I’m not sure what I will ever want or need again. But it was the smallest unit available so it didn’t cost any extra money to keep things like patio furniture, dishes, etc.

Purging our “Stuff”.

In addition to the dozens of storage unit trips Goodwill and Volunteers of America became great friends. We got to know the teenagers hauling stuff in to the stores very well! I mean I came back and one kids shift like 3 times in a day. He had to be thinking “Does this guy do anything but get rid of his stuff?” That answer is NO not last week.

As the “stuff'" left the house emotions entered and physical stress disappeared. I can’t begin to tell you how far back I was able to peel the onion of my self care simply due to the removal of stuff. Sure some of it is in a storage unit but that’s far away and I never have to return to it if I didn’t want to. It has felt freeing and feels incredible.

Finally in terms of what happened I had some amazing goodbyes and fun with friends. I saw two close family members (whaddup Julie and Chris!), did a farewell yoga class in the park with some of my CBus besties (Anne, Jenny, Ernie, Sarah, Rosalia, Bailey thank you for joining us and to Anne for teaching!), and picked up two growlers of Cold Brew for the road from my dudes at Jennings Java! In fact I already drank one and it turns out other coffee houses will refill it. Getting one refilled in Iowa and another in Colorado!

What happened next?

The onion continued to get peeled back and I write this on day two of not living anywhere but in a Nissan Rogue technically, I can’t tell you how freeing it feels. You might say yeah but we have kids or dogs or whatever and WE CAN’T DO THAT. You can do this with kids. You can do this with dogs. You can do this with your parents. You can do this a goldfish. Sure you might need a van instead of a Nissan Rogue but it’s possible.

Stuff weighs you down friends. Remove it and you might be set free.

The other thing that has already happened is the removal of stupid petty decisions. The removal of feeling like you need to fill your calendar. And your removal of the importance of what day it is. These stories we keep telling ourselves literally have the chance to force us into making small unneeded decision after decision each day while neglecting how we feel, what our life’s dreams and visions are, and what we intend to do with our lives. These feelings are also showing up from someone who already was somewhat of a minimalist, has a career he loves, and has traveled the world. extensively. (White Privilege acknowledgement here.) But with all of that I still think a shift occurs in you that you are unable to explain when you really do it.

Parting words to you from a few days on the road?

Well the trip didn’t start until the end of the week. We barely fit everything into the storage unit due to oddly shaped objects, slept on the floor in sleeping bags the last night at the pad, woke up at 430am for a run and to load the car by 8am and realized THE SHIT DOESN’T FIT! I mean it did barely but not well. It also wasn’t as organized as it could be.

So we grabbed our leftovers from Two Fatt Indians (our final Columbus meal before departing) and hit the road anyways with everything all cluttered in the back.

We drove 843 miles to Iowa, drove thru several thunderstorms (bike rack held up great thanks FunTrail!), got into a few heated debates about life goals (I of course started them), couldn’t get to our snacks, bounced to a lot of A Tribe Called Quest on the speakers, and almost ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere Iowa. We drove 23 miles on E until we finally found a gas station with two miles left in the tank.

I slept well and the next morning purged the Rogue. Also organized it. It was a chaotic first 24 hours that had a chaotic six days leading up to it. It feels like there is way less stuff. Maybe because there is. But we can reach the snacks and the cold brew coffee stayed. So we should be good.

I feel light. I feel free. I feel focused. I feel like I was meant for this. I taught my Deck of Pain HIIT Fused Yoga Class from a town park gazebo and the lawn crew had to be like “WHO IS THIS DUDE?” Then I talked to them afterwards and made a few friends and that IS EXACTLY what the Rogue Life is all about.

We’ll see how I feel on Day 3 :)!!!! Week one recap next week will include some time in Colorado, leading IG Live Yoga Classes from more random city parks or my parents basketball hoop, and my first trip to Yellowstone since the age of 11!

Be well until volume two my friends. Cya on the dirt paths and don’t forget about how you have felt during COVID19 and the BLM protests. The world will want to lull you back to sleep. Don’t let them!

Because Adventure Feeds the Soul,
Mike R