So here’s a shock… Something that will make some cheer and others boo, potentially. Yes, after 14 months of being a Global Hobo (Globo), the unthinkable has happened:

I’ve got a job

No, not a blow job (here’s hoping it doesn’t). No, not a short term consulting gig that see’s me back on the Dirty road after a few weeks, but a proper plugged back into the fucking matrix 9 to 5 JOB. Yes, I currently feel like a bit of a traitor to be honest. Here I am, unplugged and spouting on about the importance of traveling, riding and living life and then BANG, I turn turtle, get a beard trim and get a real job.

Fuck… Yeah, its a lot to digest, especially when I’ve forgotten how to tie a tie. However, as I stand on the precipice of gainful employment once more, I think its fair to say that I have forever had ingrained in me that there is definitely more to life than work and that what I have learnt and experienced over the last 14 months has forever changed me. I suspect that I will continue to incorporate the Dirty Nomad operating principles into life no matter what I’m doing.

This wasn’t always the case… In fact, back in the day when I was trading my soul and all my annual leave for the Corporate cause, I was often referred to as being a little ‘Robo‘ shall we say. So, to make sure that we don’t recreate that modus operandi, here is an open letter from the Hobo, to the Robo:

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Dear Robo,

Firstly, we just want to say what a fantastic 14 months we’ve had… Thanks for the time out to readjust to how most people lived in their 20’s and to stop being such a cunt, appreciated. Sure, we only got 1 month for every year that you were a slave to a laptop, Blackberry and PowerPoint (usually simultaneously), but we’re not complaining – We’ll take that time out and have banked some awesome experiences as a result.

However, we’re aware that you may be looking to make a comeback, as we know that when it comes to ‘work’ you don’t like to do things by halves at all… No, if you get the fever you may in fact try to erase us from your memory, which some people do ask for when being plugged back into the Matrix. So, we wanted to remind you of a few things before you get your cunty foot in the door.

No matter what happens at work, it can never do these things:

  • Match the feeling of clearing a double on A-Line in Whistler
  • Beat rolling around Lake Como in Italy in the middle of summer
  • Provide you with the experience of spinning around Lake Toya in Japan with the Hawk
  • Give you the deep burn of Wednesday Worlds in Welly
  • Have the excitement of watching the PRO’s at the Vuelta in Spain
  • Cook you like the insane desert riding in the UAE
  • Challenge you to your absolute mental and physical limits by doing back to back stage races in the cold of NZ and the heat of Indonesia
  • Let you experience the good times of shredding pea gravel with Herr Doktor in Perth
  • Hit you with a buffet of awesome road riding and MTB action that an NZ summer can give you, both North Island and South!
  • Instil the camaraderie that a week of shredding in Queenstown with the Gravity boys gives you
  • Recreate the special memories and amazing challenge of the Japanese alps and the highest road in Japan with the Welsh Assassin and Hawk
  • Unleash the maddest DH action ever and shred the house down in Gnar HQ with Herr Doktor and Motoman
  • Allow you to have that deep sense of satisfaction and joy that only driving and riding your MTB through France and Italy whilst stalking World Cup PRO’s can provide

I know Robo that as a Corporate Executive you have the attention span of a ball licking Scottish terrier with ADD, and won’t read all this, so we’ve tried to make our point with this video… To keep things tight, we’ve only included 5 seconds of vid or a photo from each day on tour:

As you can see, its been quite epic and rammed with unique experiences and awesome people – Which is the point we want to make.

Those ARE the important things, don’t forget that and keep focused on the adventure. We don’t want to see 80 hour working weeks back, EVER. Go it? 

Looking forward to the next mission, yours waiting in expectation,

Hobo

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Don’t worry… This isn’t the end… There are trips booked, races entered and new bikes being built up, so we shall rock on, just not at the previous pace of operations and instead we will have to use this thing called ‘Annual Leave’, which feels more than a little odd… I shall in the mean time be continuing to ram home the French Video action to make sure no one lets go of the dream!

3 Responses

  1. shep

    Good luck with the job James. Couldn’t help but have a pang of sadness when I read the first few lines.

    Reply
  2. Diana

    What an amazing year. I’ve read every post, watched every vid, enjoyed every minute. Thanks for the journey. It’s been wonderful to feel so much part of your life, to be up to speed with where you were and what you were doing. The photography has been fantastic, the commentary amusing and the energy expended exhausting! Good luck with the job, keep up the great blog. Mother Nomad.

    Reply

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