Twice in past 3 weeks. I was at the Alafia river rendezvous, 1640-1840 traders gathering. Kept the Internet tucked away for a few days at a time.
Ask HN: When was the last time you lived 24 hours without the Internet?
21–30 of 54 posts
Re: Ask HN: When was the last time you lived 24 hours without the Internet?
#22Last week. I spent 11 days backpacking throughout Dominican Republic. My phone was off, except a few times when I connected to wifi to check for urgent emails or issues. It was amazing... It was the first time in a year that I was able to pull away from daily minutiae and think about things from a much higher level (such as career goals and big plans for this year). I came back full of energy and motivation that I ho…
Its wonderful. I spend a week a year bicycling across my state (with 20,000 other people). Some maintain their phone addiction; you see them clustered around public outlets with their chargers and blank expressions. But the rest of us leave that at home; laugh and talk and think for mile after mile and come away changed.
That sounds fun. Where does it take place?
Re: Ask HN: When was the last time you lived 24 hours without the Internet?
#23This summer I went on a 3 week road trip around the Southwest US. Went to 7 or 8 national parks, camping mostly with some random hotels. I had access to mobile Internet but I wanted to experiment with a full 3 week news hiatus. In that time I didn't use the internet on my phone (except navigation when lost), read any newspaper, listen to non-music radio, or watch TV.
The strangest thing was that when I got home, I really hadn't missed anything. In a normal day I read dozens of articles and consume news from so many sources that when I got home I expected to have to catch up. But I really didn't. I think we consume a lot of information just because its there, but so little remains relevant a few days or weeks later.
Re: Ask HN: When was the last time you lived 24 hours without the Internet?
#24Mid June. I had just gotten married; my wife and I turned our phones off for our honeymoon and spent a week enjoying each other's company (and also drinking a lot of wine) in a cottage in Napa Valley.
Re: Ask HN: When was the last time you lived 24 hours without the Internet?
#25A week in Jamaica when I was 15. That was 11 years ago.
Re: Ask HN: When was the last time you lived 24 hours without the Internet?
#26Last week. I spent 11 days backpacking throughout Dominican Republic. My phone was off, except a few times when I connected to wifi to check for urgent emails or issues. It was amazing... It was the first time in a year that I was able to pull away from daily minutiae and think about things from a much higher level (such as career goals and big plans for this year). I came back full of energy and motivation that I ho…
Its wonderful. I spend a week a year bicycling across my state (with 20,000 other people). Some maintain their phone addiction; you see them clustered around public outlets with their chargers and blank expressions. But the rest of us leave that at home; laugh and talk and think for mile after mile and come away changed.
That sounds like Cycle Oregon, except they limit the participants to 2,000.
Re: Ask HN: When was the last time you lived 24 hours without the Internet?
#27Last week. I spent 11 days backpacking throughout Dominican Republic. My phone was off, except a few times when I connected to wifi to check for urgent emails or issues. It was amazing... It was the first time in a year that I was able to pull away from daily minutiae and think about things from a much higher level (such as career goals and big plans for this year). I came back full of energy and motivation that I ho…
I'm a regular backpacker and it's wonderful to leave it all behind.
Re: Ask HN: When was the last time you lived 24 hours without the Internet?
#28About 2 years ago, took a 4 day bus tour of Ireland, where free WiFi was mostly non-existent outside of Dublin. Whenever I travel in Europe, I purposely don't buy a SIM card or get the AT&T Passport. It forces me to be disconnected.
Re: Ask HN: When was the last time you lived 24 hours without the Internet?
#2911 days in 2013, while I was taking a Vipassana meditation course in São Paulo.
Re: Ask HN: When was the last time you lived 24 hours without the Internet?
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
Its wonderful. I spend a week a year bicycling across my state (with 20,000 other people). Some maintain their phone addiction; you see them clustered around public outlets with their chargers and blank expressions. But the rest of us leave that at home; laugh and talk and think for mile after mile and come away changed.
That sounds fun. Where does it take place?
Its called RAGBRAI (ragbrai.org) which stands for "Registers Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa". The Des Moines Register sponsors it. Been going on since the 70's, when a columnist invited readers to accompany himself and his wife on a cross-state ride. 200 people showed up to the 1st one; today there's from 10,000 to 25,000 people per day depending on the proximity of larger cities etc.
Its like a fair in each town we go through - with food stands and entertainment and beer garden and the main street blocked off for a block party. The 'overnight towns' have that times 10. My family camps with an outfitter hauling our gear; we bike all day with just a bike pack and a wallet.
The whole week is around 450 miles, more or less depending on the route each year. This year's route has been announced; check the website!
Out-of-state riders can sign up with OOS (Out Of State - an outfitter specializing in visitors) or with any other club you can contact. Mine is BIC (Bicyclists of Iowa City), one of the ride sponsors. They haul gear and reserve campground space for the group including a pavilion tent, beer coolers and solar-powered showers and cellphone charger.