/ot/ - Off-topic

I'm into biking and I still am, kinda. I just procrastinate and avoid biking nowadays.

>>19067
Do you remember what your favorite place to bike was like or anything interesting that happened while you were biking?

I was always into Urban Exploration as a child. It is somewhat hazardous depending on where you go to, but that danger factor can be diminished by having smarts and appropiate gear.

God I love urbex and general wilderness adventure. I like exploration and seeing new places, especially places that people have left behind or rarely touched.

I'd like to try urban exploration, but considering the possible dangers of it, I'd need at least a colleague to watch my back, and I unfortunately don't know anyone who is into this kind of thing. Living in a tiny town with a couple of run-down residential buildings and a watermill being the only points of interest doesn't offer me much choice either, at least without insuring some method of transport.

Biking around the countryside is something I've been thinking of doing for a long time now, though, and there's certainly plenty of ruins and old churches and the like scattered about that'd be interesting to tour. Would any of you who have done this have tips for a person whose stamina is horrible and experience nonexistent? Last thing I wanna do is unceremoniously faint alone on the side of some road.

>>19088
Well, I don't have any experience with this, but maybe I can give some common sense type advice. You'll probably want to bring flashlights, spare batteries, a burner or satellite phone, some rope, medical supplies, a swiss army knife, water canteen and some basic tools like wire cutters, a wrench and one of those magmetic screwdrivers with multiple heads. Being able to break and enter is kind of part of the point(I definitely don't condone such a thing totallynot what i'm doing). Maybe bring a hand gun just to be on the safe side if you can. Keep all this stuff in a sturdy backpack(gun in holster with safety on I guess?) but don't go too heavy. Going in totally blind probably isn't a good idea. Maybe bike through your neighborhood and established trails first. Build some stamina. Doing that will only make your adventure more enjoyable. Knowing how to pick locks would also hypothetically be useful. Looking up guides on this sort of thing and watching videos to see what other people did is also useful. Also, don't forget sunscreen.
Here's a site that might be useful.
http://www.terrastories.com/bearings/urban-exploration-guide

Here's a pdf of a book about urban exploring.
http://download.library1.org/get/16A4F84D7EE54B7114E81EEA7B8A46C3/Ninjalicious-Access%20All%20Areas_%20A%20User%27s%20Guide%20to%20the%20Art%20of%20Urban%20Exploration-Infilpress%20%282005%29.pdf
http://libgen.io/book/index.php?md5=16A4F84D7EE54B7114E81EEA7B8A46C3

>>19089
>>19091
Thank you for the advice and especially for the pdf! Having seen videos of this sort of thing is part of what made me want to try it, but since most of these were uploaded for the sake of entertainment, much of the preparation and technical aspects of urbex were left out or glossed over. Though it's not like finding some serious video guides should be impossible.
Living in a European country, I'm not sure how plausible it is for me to get access to a gun, however. Can't say I can wield a knife either, so I guess pepper spray is what I'm left with?

>>19092
>Living in a European country, I'm not sure how plausible it is for me to get access to a gun
The anon overplayed a bit of it, in Europe it's pretty uncommon to have people randomly shoot you or even have access to guns. Even if you were to get into some nonsense fight, the best option would be to run. But coming from experience, all druggies or homeless people I've came across don't really try to do anything.

Also, please take notes and don't try to be a faggot and go to the sewers, it's not worth it. Just fucking don't.

>>19092
Pepper spray can be useful, but there's a lot of good options that you should have regardless. Lots of tools can actually be very useful for self-defense. A box cutter is very good at slashing arteries and making deep cuts, but you wouldn't want to stab with one. If you do decide to take a knife and ever have to stab somebody, a good tip is twisting the knife as you take it out. This causes a lot more damage than a regular stab wound. A small, but powerful electric torch is both very useful on its own, and capable of blinding people in daylight. Even a sturdy screwdriver or big hammer can be effective. A steel umbrella with a pointed tip is also great. After you use pepper spray, what are you going to do?
I forgot to mention this in the first post, but you might want to bring a windproof lighter.
I talked to a Russian I know about this and they said if you ever wanted to do something like this over there, you would need to know the language fluently and be very cautious becuase there might be guys around every corner waiting to kill some tourist and take their stuff.

Some of my favorite childhood memories are going down to the creek with my sister and catching frogs. Although there's nothing like that around where I live now. Still, I like to go on 3 AM walks, it's nice and quiet and cool and the streets are empty, never really got any trouble from anyone except skunks and cops at that hour.

>>19095
And i can tell you that's bullshit. I've been to russia and lived among russians and can tell you most of them talk like they're tough shit and big men

>>19097
A women told me that. There's a difference between living there and roaming around the woods and places with not a lot of people.

Weirdly enough, it seems like a lot of loners/weirdos (like me) are into cycling. I guess something about being alone with the constantly changing, often cool scenery is attractive to those kinds of people. There aren't too many abandoned buildings near where I live unfortunately, but there are some pretty cool areas that I like to take photos of.

>Outdoors
My_urban_edible_garden

>>20891
>My_urban_edible_garden
Outside is too sunny though….

Growing galangal in cold climates is a challenge.

Im remember when my first time cycling. pretty hard but it dint go well.

Cycling is fun, but my heart lives in the mountains on a trail far from the cities and roads. There is nothing like wandering past old miners camps with their picks and cans still sitting against rocks from when they were placed over a century ago. A certain sense of timelessness and persistence that few other places have.

>>22070
Cycling can be fun.