Working Remotely while Bicycle Touring – Challenges of Digital Nomad Lifestyle

Remote working is becoming more and more popular. Although it has many benefits, combining work and travel can be more challenging than the Internet makes it look. Especially if you travel by bike.

I have dreamt of the freedom of living on my bike and taking my work with me, but in reality, this turned out more difficult than I thought.

The struggle to find a balance between work and fun, less spontaneity, constant guilt that I should be working when I was biking, and FOMO when I was working… That was my reality for a big chunk of that trip.

I spoke to some people who work and bike to get ideas on making working on a bicycle tour more sustainable.

My experience of working while bicycle touring

Last February, I decided to quit my 9-5 office job (again) and travel by bike (again). This time, I wasn’t just travelling. I tried to combine it with freelance travel writing and blogging.

I had some big tours on my mind, like cycling the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan, that didn’t work out due to closed borders and the political situation. In the end, I cycled through Sicily, spent almost a month in Albania, and cycled through northern Greece and Bulgaria.

I knew I would be exhausted if I tried to regularly post on my blog and submit pitches from the road, so I planned some breaks. It still felt like I was always running behind.

I was my own boss, with no imposed schedule and no targets enforced by someone else, which was both my blessing and my course. As I could work anytime and anywhere, I felt deep inside that I should always be working. But when I was working, I was thinking about the cool stuff out there I could be doing.

What went wrong?

I wrote this article to understand what I did wrong and how I can better prepare to work while travelling by bike again (if I ever decide to repeat it).

In hindsight, my expectations and my attitude were the main issues.

I talked to two women who work while travelling by bike. They encountered similar challenges, although their work was quite different.

If you consider working while travelling by bike, I hope our advice and thoughts will help you prepare for these challenges.

My conversation partners

Eva Smeele

Eva is a bicycle tourer and hiker from the Netherlands. In 2021, she went by cargo bike from the Netherlands to Croatia while working full-time.

Last summer, she embarked on a four-month bicycle tour through Europe and the Alps while working part-time as a customer service specialist.

Check out Eva’s blog EVADinarica Project.

Iris Müller

Iris is a university lecturer, social worker and activist. With her boyfriend Jan, she started a project called Cycling for Society. The aim is to raise awareness of the stigma around mental health issues. While bicycle touring, Iris holds meetings and workshops and teaches remotely at a university.

On top of meetings, workshops and counselling sessions, she works about 20 hours a week from her laptop.

Check out Iris’s website Cycling for Society.

She wrote an excellent article about mental health on a bicycle tour.

Challenge 1: How to safely carry your laptop on a bicycle?

There are many things you have to keep in mind when you carry your laptop on the bike if you want it to serve you for years. Here is how I do it:

I use a padded laptop sleeve.

A padded laptop sleeve is an affordable way to protect your computer from shocks on bumpy roads. I store my laptop in the sleeve and put it in my rear panniers or backpack.

On bumpy trails, I carry my computer on me.

I always take a backpack with me on all bike tours to have somewhere to put my stuff when I go sightseeing or hiking. The rucksack usually travels attached to my luggage rack, but on rocky and bumpy trails, I put it on my back to reduce the shocks for my computer.

Cycling with your backpack on your back all the time is not the best idea. I used to do that for about two years, but now, when I am in my thirties, my body is much less forgiving and doesn’t like extra weight.

Currently, I cycle with Quechua NH500 30 L backpack.

I use a plastic bag to keep my computer safe from humidity

On sunny days, I don’t worry about that too much, but when the weather turns sour, I do everything to keep my computer dry. Waterproof panniers or rain cover over a backpack should do the job, but it’s better to be safe than sorry, so I wrap my laptop in an additional plastic bag. It costs me almost nothing and gives me peace of mind.

I also use it when camping, in case of condensation in a tent.

Challenge 2: How to charge your laptop on a bicycle tour?

If you decide to work remotely while travelling by bike, you must accept that the quest for electricity will dictate your route. If you’re staying in hotels and hostels, it won’t be a problem. But it can be a bit more challenging if you want to camp or travel to remote locations.

Eva: I decided to stay at campsites, instead of wild camping. I usually wake up early and work in the morning. My laptop is very lousy and doesn’t run on battery. Sometimes I had to work from a bathroom or in the room where people do their dishes because the only sockets were there.

Then I would cycle for a few hours and find a cafe where I could plug my laptop and work for a few hours more.

Iris: Nowadays, the infrastructure is relatively good everywhere in the world. It’s easy to find a place to sit down with your computer and work. Sometimes we work on smartphones if we don’t want to sit in a tent with a laptop. I often read papers to prepare for lectures on my smartphone.

Electricity is not such a big challenge nowadays – we sometimes stay in hostels or Couchsurfing where we can recharge our gear.

Challenge 3: How to find good WiFi?

Eva: Sometimes the campsite where I am staying doesn’t have good WiFi. If that happens, I wake up early and cycle to the closest town to find a cafe I can work from. Maybe having a local SIM card would give me more flexibility and freedom, but I don’t want to spend extra money on the Internet as my laptop needs to be plugged in anyway.

On my tour last year, I followed the main cycling routes along rivers. If you stick to popular routes with good infrastructure, you won’t have problems finding good Wi-Fi. You can easily find small cafes or restaurants to work from.

Initially, I felt awkward just ordering one coffee and sitting there for hours, but it was just in my head, nobody was bothered by that. Sometimes they sent me away after one hour, but you deal with it. Now, I usually ask: hey, can I work here on my laptop?

Iris: Whenever I have a lecture, I stay in a hostel or a hotel. We also use Couchsurfing. I always check with the place if the WiFi is strong before arrival. If it isn’t, I get a local SIM card with enough data so I can hold lectures without interruptions.

I set up my itinerary around the university calendar. For example, we knew we would have problems with the Internet in Iran, so I planned it for a semester break.

Challenge 4: How to plan your day and not be exhausted all the time?

Talking to Eva and Iris, I understood we all made the same mistake at the start. We underestimated how exhausting it would be to combine cycling with work.

Even bicycle touring alone is exhausting enough. You spend many hours on the bike, have to plan the route and take care of all the logistics… And you’d like to do some sightseeing sometimes too, right?

If you try to fit a few hours of work into your day, it can soon become physically and mentally overwhelming

Eva: On my first working-cycling trip, I was travelling on a cargo bike, so I had to stick to the flats because it was super hard to climb any mountains. I could not do more than 50 km a day. It’s still quite a lot when you have eight-hour working days, even on a proper bike. You rarely get out on a bike and do a 50 km ride after work at home.

You can maybe do a bit more if you are a freelancer and can determine your own schedule or if you work part-time.

A few months ago, when I felt overworked, I agreed with my boss I could work 4 hours a day. Finishing work by 12:30 gave me much more space to breathe. I only have to work in the morning, and all afternoons are for me.

Of course, you still have to think of where to find the Internet, but in Sweden, I could wild camp every evening.

In the summer, the day is very long there. It was no problem to wake up at 4:30, so I could cycle for a few hours before finding a cafe to work.

Iris: In the beginning, we thought we could bike 80-100 km daily. But if you have to work, it’s way too much. Now, we take it easy.

You cannot break records if you’re not 100 % focused on one thing. Sometimes it’s necessary to reduce both cycling and, if possible, your work responsibilities. You can’t expect you’ll be perfect at your job if you also have to cycle and take care of the planning and logistics.

You have to adjust to the circumstances. For instance, in areas with hot weather, we use the lunch break to work for 2-3 hours.

Challenge 5: How to find the balance between travelling and working?

My biggest struggle was that I never felt I was maintaining the right proportions between one and another. When I was cycling, there was a voice in my head telling me I should be working, and when I was working, I regretted I wasn’t exploring.

I felt like the work took away all the fun and freedom of the touring life. My job was limiting me.

Then I talked to Eva, who gave me the best advice ever:

Lower your expectations

Eva: If you keep your expectations lower, you will be happy. If you expect the same freedom as if you were only biking, you feel limited.

When you think: I’m on a title trip and have to work all the time, the work becomes a burden. It’s all about the mindset. I prefer to think that I have to work, but in the meantime, I can bike and see something.

I could be doing this work in my apartment in Zagreb but I wouldn’t be biking 50 km a day then. Every minute I spend outside camping and biking is a win.

You have to find the balance and what works best for you.

Combining bicycle touring with work means sacrifice

You cannot just count on having your freedom and a limitless adventure if you combine bicycle touring with work. Sometimes, you will have to sacrifice a carefree evening by a bonfire with other travellers because you have to work.

Oftentimes, you will need to wake up early, to squeeze in both cycling and work. You won’t be able to go off the beaten path as much as you might want to, as the internet and electricity access will dictate your route.

Challenge 6: How to deal with unexpected situations?

Travelling by bike, you need to expect the unexpected. Flat tires, terrible roads making cycling much slower than you expected, and WiFi in your hostel not working. If you want to combine bicycle touring with working you need to leave enough margin for error.

How to deal with unpredictable situations when working remotely and travelling by bike?

Eva: It was the last day in Poland. I had to work in the morning before catching the ferry to Sweden but all bars and restaurants I came across were closed. I texted my boss that I would be late. Luckily, she was very understanding. I had to cycle for 70 km until I reached Gdansk and ended up in Starbucks. The ride wasn’t enjoyable at all because of all the stress.

In the end, if you choose to work while travelling by bike, it’s your responsibility to find a place to work. But sometimes the problem is more severe in your head. If your boss knows you always do your best and you fail once, it’s not such a big deal.

Unexpected things can happen to anyone, not only if you travel by bike. Some employees have children and have to take many days off when the child is sick. Or if you work in the office, you get stuck in traffic.

When you work remotely, you feel privileged and are willing to work harder to maintain that. At least I do that. Maybe sometimes I am too harsh on myself.

Iris: I plan my trip around the work and check everything thoroughly beforehand. When I have a meeting, I usually arrive one day before and leave the day after. This way, if something happens, I can ensure I am not arriving at the last minute. We have also reduced the mileage so we don’t have to rush that much.

Challenge 7: How to create a structure and the right working environment?

I found it extremely difficult to switch from travelling mode to work mode.  Finding motivation and forcing myself to get things done was my biggest challenge. At home or in the office, there are visual cues that set your mind into working mode. Just sitting by a desk sends your brain a signal: it’s work time!

It’s much easier to create your working space when, for example, travelling by car or a van. You can have a camping table with you that becomes your desk. It’s easier to recharge your devices and carry a planner or organiser. Sure, you have plenty of apps that help you to keep all the information on your phone or computer, but for many people writing things down on paper is more effective.

My trick to set my mind into working mode is to create some sort of ritual and structure. Putting certain music on or having designated hours to work might be helpful.

Eva: For me, cafes became my workplace. This change of scenery brings me back to “work mode” from “travelling mode”.

I think some sort of like rhythm, system or structure is helpful. In all the chaotic life, there need to be some things that remain unchanged.

When I was hiking Via Dinarica in 2016, I was regularly writing a blog. I did it all on my phone. I wrote 100 blog posts while hiking from Amsterdam to Sarajevo. Looking back, it was much more demanding in terms of discipline than having a normal job.

If you are an employee, you have to be there from this to this hour, you have to make it happen. But if you are doing it for yourself, it’s easy to quit and question why you are even doing it. I got donations from Ko-Fi, and they motivated me to keep doing it. But in this situation, you have to be careful about the balance. Travelling becomes part of your job because if you don’t travel, you have nothing to write about.

Is working remotely on a bicycle tour good for your mental health?

Iris: In the beginning, I felt life was much easier, and cycling helped with my mental health. But everything needs to have the right balance. If it’s out of balance, your mental health worsens. It depends on the person, and everyone has to find their own balance.

I have ADHD, so sitting somewhere and not moving challenges my mental health. Cycling is perfect for me.

It also gives you time to listen to yourself. You find out so many things about yourself, there is time to reflect on how you react. I am now more gentle and more forgiving with myself.

But everyone is different, and for everyone, this balance will be somewhere else. I and my partner experience exactly the same situations, and still, we have our highs and lows at different moments.

Eva: When I am travelling, I have to set my boundaries. I was very close to burnout during covid when I was in my apartment and had not many other things to do than go for an afternoon walk. So you keep on working.

Having this cycle trip made it so much easier to close my laptop and say: that’s it for today. Within ten minutes, I was not thinking of work anymore because I was on my bike or on a campsite surrounded by nature.

Give yourself enough time for a break

Eva: I think it’s not smart to combine a two-week bicycle trip with work. But when you have unlimited time, it doesn’t matter if, in the beginning, you struggle a bit more. You can always slow down, reduce the distance or stay longer on one campsite if you need to.

You have to consider how many hours you work, how fixed your schedule is, what type of work you do, and how can you combine it with biking.

Sometimes I felt guilty for staying at the campsite and doing nothing instead of going to explore the area in the afternoon.

I assumed people thought I was lazy. But nobody really cares, it’s just in your head.  You need rest. You cannot be out and exploring all the time if you also have to work.

Iris: Sometimes cycling feels like work because you have to reach some point because you have appointments. You cannot separate when it’s fun-cycling and cycling you have to do.

I was very grateful for being able to cycle and work and for having enough savings to do this project. That’s an enormous privilege.

I appreciate every single day what I am doing. If you stop doing that, you might need a break.

TL;DR: Advice for working remotely while bicycle touring

• Lower your expectations
• Accept you can’t 100 % commit to either cycling or working
• Set realistic expectations
• Be prepared to spend more money
• Take breaks
• Decide when to do what to avoid FOMO

My favourite tools for working remotely while travelling by bike

Here is a list of my resources and tools (both software and hardware) that make working remotely from my bike a bit easier.

Laptop Asus ZenBook 13

If you want to be a cycling digital nomad, you will carry some extra weight and deal with some challenges to protect your gear. On my first solo bike tour in 2018, I dragged my old computer that weighed over 2,5 kg.

After almost seven years of using it, I decided it was time to replace it.  I decided to buy Asus ZenBook 13, by many recommended as the best laptop for digital nomads. It weighs only 1,07 kg and has a USB-C charger and a good battery lasting up to 18 hours. I cycled 3000 km with it, often through rough Balkan mountain roads.

My only complaint? The screen is not bright enough to work outside on a sunny day, but that’s the case with most laptops.

Notion

I use Notion to keep all my notes in one place. It’s accessible both from my computer and phone.

On Notion, you can also easily save links and create templates to make work more structured and less time-consuming.

Anker Solar Panel

Unfortunately, the capacity of this solar panel is too little to properly charge my laptop. Still, enough to keep my phone charged even when travelling off the grid.

Local SIM cards

The perfect way to have Internet nearly everywhere if the wifi sucks.

Google Calendar

All my appointments and tasks are in one place. If I have an online meeting during my bicycle tour, I set a reminder a day before to ensure I find a place with good Internet.

Focusmate

I use Focusmate not only when travelling but also when I work from home, and my motivation to get things done is low. How does it work? You schedule a focus session, and the platform assigns you a partner. During a video call, you two keep working together, each on their own tasks. Focusmate is a brilliant way to find someone who will hold you accountable, so you cannot give up and scroll Instagram instead of working.

Sound-cancelling headphones/earplugs

If you get easily distracted by the noise around you, sound-cancelling headphones might help you when working from cafes or hostels.

Working remotely whilst travelling is more challenging than it sounds!

When you spend a few hours on the bike and a few hours working, your day can easily become overloaded. Simple everyday activities and chores like laundry, cooking and groceries take much more time on the road.

If you want to combine cycle touring with remote work, remember it won’t be like holidays. There will be much less spontaneity and freedom. On the other hand, you’ll experience and see so much more than if you were working from home or your office.

Did you try combining bicycle touring with working remotely? Share your work-bike-life-balance hacks with me in the comments!