rewilding

that's a little interesting. when i typed "rewilding" my phone corrected it to "rebuilding". there are some parallels for making life changes, you hear all the time of people rebuilding their lives after a loss or relationship breakdown.  they get a new job,  house or partner. kind of like getting back on the horse on that narrow trail of consumerist dreams, including the white pickett fence i suppose. 

  what I've been doing steadily over the six years since my dreadful marriage broke down is getting back to my "wilder" roots. before taking vows I'd been a surfer and sailor, having thrown in my trade for an uncomfortable life on the ocean's waves. So in recent years i've been collecting boats and sailing.  some surfing too, but less often because the beaches nearby are so populated.  

in my past there had been motorcycles as well. about a dozen or so.  and even during my marriage i managed to get a few more. as usual for me the pursuit is about the simple pleasure and thrills. something about the wind in my face? whether that be surfing,  sailing,  riding a bike or motorcycle. a third element had been the drive to get "off piste", or offer i prefer off grid. i just want to get away from the Mindless Goons of Suburbia who ogle after glittery splashbacks,  air con and overseas holidays. 

the final element of my version of wild living is doing it on a shoestring.  I'm the guy with the 10 year old longboard, stained mainsail, rusty trailer, and tattered clothes. but I'll be grinning like a fool and not giving a shit what anyone else thinks.  

that's a long way of justifying my purchase of the motorcycle in the picture instead of a white toyota ute. 

 another element of my Pursuit of Off Grid Living is that each possession has to be affordable and practical.  the affordable applies to its initial expense as well as the cost of repairs and maintenance - all of which i shook myself.  practical usually equates to whether i can carry a change of clothes,  a feed bag, thermos, tools and gear i need to camp, swim or sail. if it ticks those boxes, it's a goer.

this week I've really been getting into The Sailing Lizard (a young woman doing solo sailing lifestyle par excellence) and Royal Enfield motorcycles (made robust and cheapo by Indians for Indians).