OFFLINE
Screen Time Out.
Daily social media from morning till night.
E’mails first thing in the morning, ideally even before the first coffee.
Online marketing and storytelling.
Keyboards, touchscreens and monitors are no longer just at home on the desk, but always with us.
Always reachable and constantly informed and up-to-date worldwide.
But not only that, also perpetual transparency.
A near-minute disclosure of current activities and locations.
A life lived like in a crystal ball or a shop window.
A reality TV show with your own life on display.
All of this has crept into our lives step by step to become the norm.
Don’t you sometimes long for a break from all of this?
To simply go OFFLINE and live real life?
To enjoy it to the fullest and truly experience it for yourself again?
Like it used to be?
I feel that way often.
Very often!
It’s hard to believe how difficult it’s become. You really have to force yourself and specifically set aside time for it.
A perfect plan to end my biking season.
And what could be better suited for it than a small cabin far from civilization?
A cabin in the woods, at the foot of a mountain and not far from some natural trails.
A cabin without electricity and without cell phone reception.
Back to the roots of life and to the beginnings of my passion for Mountainbiking.
Back to a time where hot water doesn’t just come out of the tap.
To a time where you have to chop wood to build a fire that warms you, instead of having a radiator automatically bring the room to a comfortable temperature.
To a place where life’s necessities still take time and where that time is still valued.
To a place where time is still the most precious commodity and not everything has to happen faster.
To a place where life largely still happens outdoors, even when it’s cold or wet.
To a place where the window becomes your screen in the early morning.
To a place where going outside replaces the weather app.
To a place where it’s still enough to wait 3 or even 5 days before meeting the next person, making the next phone call or attending the next online meeting.
To a place where the laptop isn’t with you and E´mails won’t interrupt your morning coffee.
To a place where digital technology doesn’t exist and analog is the only way.
Simply back to where life is still life.
Real life.
OFFLINE.
Couple days off from the stresses of everyday life and away from everything that distracts us from real life.
Away from everything that distracts me from what I love and cherish.
Away from all of that, towards peace, true freedom and time.
Time to fully enjoy and appreciate the outdoors.
Time to focus completely on biking and rediscover my great passion for it.
Time for myself.
As an athlete, but also as a person.
And damn that feels good!
Despite the extra effort required for everything that’s needed daily.
Despite the lack of all technical and modern aids.
It feels free despite the simplicity, or perhaps precisely because of it.
Free and simple.
Simply good.
No stress, mostly in your mind.
No stress.
No obligations.
No appointments.
Total freedom to go outside, hop on your bike, ride into the unknown and savor every minute.
To take time and find peace in what you love most.
And that’s precisely when you experience it most intensely.
And when you get home there’s no computer or cell phone waiting to immediately process and market your experiences.
There’s only a cold wooden cabin that needs warming up, a wood-burning stove that needs lighting, and plenty of time to reflect on the day and contemplate yourself and life by a crackling fire with a delicious snack.
How awesome, how simple, and how beautiful life can actually be?!
I haven’t enjoyed and appreciated a day on my bike as much as I did up there in the mountain hut in a long time.
All day everyday.
Back to basics.
Back to simplicity.
Back to my life.
A break from the modern, fast-paced, hyper-connected, digital, externally controlled, and stressful world, which I can recommend to everyone from time to time.
And I’ll tell you quite honestly, even just looking through these pictures and remembering the time I spent up there makes me feel calmer and more content.
OFFLINE.
A reminder for myself.
A reminder of what’s important and valuable in life.
A reminder of all this and a season finale to unwind, recharge, and gather new motivation for the coming year.
And after days like these, my motivation, my love for life as a Mountainbiker and my thirst for adventure and new projects are stronger than ever.
An end to a season that perfectly matches the start of the next one.
With that in mind, here’s to an awesome end to 2025 and an even better start to 2026.
#OFFLINE #simplelife #artofliving
Pics by Stefanie Wanger Photography