garote | The times they change

After ferreting out all this fancy-schmancy bike gear, I have to stop and think for a bit on how much harder this would be without the internet. Specifically, how much more compromised my choices would be, if I wasn't able to draw on a vast database of products being sold all over the world.

My front rack came from Bloomington, MN. My sleeping bag came from Steamboat Springs, CO. My batteries came from Richmond, CA and the board to charge them came from France. My bike bags, light, electric hub, tent, and mattress all came from different companies in Germany. When I bought the hub it was fitted to a wheel made in the US. I don't even know where my tires, crankshaft, and rear light came from. I never bothered to find out when purchasing them.

The internet really has taken over, hasn't it?

The internet has become the source of all my software, music, audiobooks, television shows, maps, real-estate data, and weather reports. It's also my primary source for news, coding assistance, recipes, and hardware buying advice. I now pay my bills over it. I imagine this is what it must have felt like to be around just after the invention of the integrated circuit... Everything changing...