Designing a Life by Choice, Not Checklist

Jerry Kopack [00:00:02]:
Welcome to Bike Life, a podcast from the Warmshowers Foundation. Here we celebrate our global community of touring cyclists and hosts who make life on the road unforgettable. Through stories, insights, and shared experiences, we explore the connections that fuel every journey. Whether you're pedaling across countries or welcoming travelers into your home, you're part of a movement rooted in generosity and adventure. Discover more and join the community at warmshowers.org. Now let's hit the road together. Hey, everyone. This is Jerry Kopeck, the host of Bike Life, coming to you from the Rocky Mountains of Breckenridge, Colorado. Today, I'm joined by Marta Bayus, a cyclist from Spain who found herself at a turning point, feeling like she was in the passenger seat of her own life.

Jerry Kopack [00:00:55]:
After being laid off from her job, she made a bold decision. Take control, get on her bike, and start choosing her own direction. What follow was a journey not just across miles, but into herself and learning how to face fear. Head on. Marta, welcome to Bike Life.

Marta Ballus [00:01:12]:
Thank you very much, Jerry. Thank you for hosting me.

Jerry Kopack [00:01:15]:
Now, I love this metaphor. You described feeling like you were in the passenger seat of your own life when. What do you mean by that, and what did that feel like?

Marta Ballus [00:01:25]:
Yeah, so I don't know if you ever get that feeling that you're following your life, so you keep going, but you're just doing things that you think you're expected of. Like, people expect you to do those kind of things, and you're not really in control of what you want to do, and you're kind of doing what you're supposed to do. And. Yeah, so at some point, I got, as you said, like, this kind of turning point. Like, I got laid off from my job, and it was really the best thing that could ever happen to me. And that's when I realized that I. I wasn't really doing what I wanted to do. I've.

Marta Ballus [00:02:15]:
I started a career, I went to college, and then I. I found a good job. And you keep following this path that you're supposed to follow to be happy, but that doesn't mean that happiness is the same for everyone.

Jerry Kopack [00:02:34]:
Yeah, that makes sense. I also had a similar feeling about that probably 10 years ago. And I think society, at least I know the United States, or maybe in Western society, it says you go to school, you get a job, and then you buy a house and you get married and you have children. All these things that you're supposed to do. Did you feel those same kind of pressures?

Marta Ballus [00:02:56]:
Exactly, exactly. Okay, so I was, like, 35 over 35, and I found myself single, and I had a job, but then I got laid off. So I was like, I'm completely out of this path that I'm supposed to follow. And. And I was kind of lost. And I said, okay, do I really want to follow this path that I am supposed to do? And. And that's when I decided I don't really. I figured that I didn't really know what I wanted.

Marta Ballus [00:03:32]:
I said, okay, I kind of feel like I need to get away or be far from all this, those kind of social or family pressures, and just find my own way and. And do things my own way. That's actually why I named my Instagram and my. My trip Martha's Way. It came from that, actually.

Jerry Kopack [00:03:59]:
I love that. So you said you didn't know what you wanted to do, but did you know what you didn't want to do? Because sometimes that helps.

Marta Ballus [00:04:09]:
Not really, but I was ready to figure it out, and I was ready to face my fears, because I was full of fears. When I decided to do this, I was not sure at all of what I was doing. At first. I also wanted to do this trip, like, backpacking. But at some point, I decided. I said, okay, I like cycling, I love cycling, and why don't I try doing it on a bike? It's kind of easier at some point if I get tired of the bike, to just get rid of it, sell it somehow, and buy a backpack that. The other way around, and I regret absolutely nothing about it.

Jerry Kopack [00:05:03]:
Yeah, you mentioned your Instagram, and there's a caption that you wrote on there, because I was looking at this today. And you write, do what scares you until it doesn't. What does that mean?

Marta Ballus [00:05:14]:
Well, it comes that from. Because when I started this trip, like, everyone was asking the same questions, like, and you're doing this alone, and aren't you scared? I'm like, yeah, of course I'm scared. But I like doing the things that scare you is like. Is how you. You grow. It's how you learn, and. And it's the only way to overcome your fears. So, yeah, this is kind of what I like to.

Marta Ballus [00:05:50]:
To express. Like, of course I was super scared, but after a few weeks, days, weeks, months, I. I wasn't that scared anymore.

Jerry Kopack [00:06:06]:
Okay, I want to back up a bit, because you're still talking about these fears. Were you in any way scared of being out of a job or feeling like your life was kind of in disarray? Was that unsettling to you?

Marta Ballus [00:06:22]:
Yeah, of course. Because as I Said, like, you're supposed to have a job, you're supposed to have to be, to get married, to have children. And when you grow old, at some point you say, okay, what am I doing? Like, I'm, I'm not, I don't have all those things. What am I doing with my life? And, and sometimes, and you, you realize at some point that, okay, maybe I don't need a, a regular 9 to 5 office job. I can, there's other ways I can leave and that just straight out and you can find how you're, you're going to leave and how you're going to make living on the way. I don't know.

Jerry Kopack [00:07:11]:
Okay, so when you ultimately lost your job, did a little light bulb go on your head and said, okay, this is my opportunity.

Marta Ballus [00:07:20]:
Definitely, as I said, I was kind of lost. Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is I need to get a new job. But then looking around and kind of taking some distance from what was happening and looking at all the real possibilities that the many paths I could follow is I said, okay, there might be other options. And I always wanted to do this, a big trip, like not only like two weeks vacation, like having like, bigger trip, because I've heard so many stories of people saying that it changed their lives that I, I wanted to do that. And so at that point I was like, okay, so it's now or never, so this is your chance to do it. And, and so I did.

Jerry Kopack [00:08:29]:
All right, so, so let's talk about that ride. Uh, I know some people take a big trip like this even though they aren't cyclists. They just want to try something completely out of their comfort zone. But you're a cyclist, so had you ever done a trip like this bigger than two weeks?

Marta Ballus [00:08:45]:
No, no, no, no. Well, no. Well, yeah, I actually did. Like the, the year before I left on my trip, I went on a bike pack trip with my sister. And before that trip, I took her to a mountain bike stage race so she could like leave what I was doing because I was racing a lot, mountain biking. And, and, and she, she didn't like racing too much. And, but I said, okay, you should come with me to at least one, one race. So she came with me to, to Morocco, a very famous stage race that's happening there.

Marta Ballus [00:09:29]:
And, and after that she said, okay, now you're going to see how I live adventures and how I cycle. And she said, we're going to Iceland for a bikepacking trip. And let's say my sister, she didn't Prepare the easiest bike packing trip. Like Iceland is not the easiest, easier place to go for your first packing trip and for your first time camping. And I absolutely hated it. I had a really hard time with the temperatures getting wet absolutely everywhere, A lot of river crossings. I was also used to do many miles, very fast. It was racing.

Marta Ballus [00:10:26]:
And in that trip I was like, how can we have only done 2km in one hour? It's like, how can this be possible? So it was really frustrating. But. So when I decided to go on the trip, I, I was like, no, I cannot go backpacking because I hate it. I already had an experience. But I also said, okay, I was, I went on that trip like her way. Like she decided where to go, how to go all the stages.

Jerry Kopack [00:11:05]:
And

Marta Ballus [00:11:07]:
I said, okay, I'm going to do this trip, but I'm going to do it my way. I'm going to give bikepacking another opportunity and I'm going to see if I really hate it or I like it. And eventually, yes, doing it my way. I loved it.

Jerry Kopack [00:11:26]:
So what was the difference? Well, let me back up. Why did she choose Iceland? I mean, you're in the north of Spain, so the Pyrenees are there, the Alps are there, the coast is there. Why don't you choose Iceland maybe?

Marta Ballus [00:11:42]:
I mean, she lives in the Alps and maybe because these mountains are probably too close and she just wanted to go somewhere else and I think she had never been to Iceland. She wanted to go there so bad because it's really amazing. It's really, really beautiful. I don't know if you have ever been there, but it's amazing. And you should go do it by bike too. But be prepared.

Jerry Kopack [00:12:08]:
Prepared for what? All the river crossings and being wet.

Marta Ballus [00:12:12]:
Yeah. And the cold because it might be in summer, but you can have the four seasons in just one day. We went through snow and through river crossings and, and like we even had to like change our, our initial route because like it was, there was so many, too many snow. So we had. And, and also like, it's really, really windy there. I can, I remember one day that we couldn't even find a place to camp to pitch our tent because it was so windy and we couldn't even find a place like a hidden spot and, and we were like full of ashes everywhere in the volcanoes, right? Yeah. Yeah, exactly.

Jerry Kopack [00:13:04]:
So I have to tell you, I think you lost me at windy. I talked to friends, like, what is the, the element that drives you most crazy? Is it heat? Is it cold? Is it rain? Snow, Wind? I can handle Everything but wind. Wind just tears me apart. So I. I don't know. Yes. Which is back to your points. Like, how can we have only gone 2km in an hour because of crazy headwinds.

Marta Ballus [00:13:33]:
Right, yeah, well, that and crazy steepness as well.

Jerry Kopack [00:13:38]:
Ah, okay.

Marta Ballus [00:13:39]:
Yeah. And.

Jerry Kopack [00:13:40]:
And so I was. I was telling you offline that my first ever bike tour was in Spain, actually, and I was visiting a friend in Barcelona, and I decided to. I had a week off of holiday, so I rode my bike up the Costa Brava and into the Pyrenees and into Andorra and then took the train back down. It was only probably a week, but it just lit a fire underneath me that said, this is what I want to do. This is how I want to travel.

Marta Ballus [00:14:07]:
That was your first bike packing trip?

Jerry Kopack [00:14:10]:
First, yeah.

Marta Ballus [00:14:10]:
Oh, nice.

Jerry Kopack [00:14:11]:
And it was easy.

Marta Ballus [00:14:12]:
Right.

Jerry Kopack [00:14:12]:
So all the roads were paved, the mountain passes are beautiful. Staying at pensions were very easy. We're very affordable. The food is terrific. Obviously the people were great. So that just became the way that I wanted to live. And so for me, it was an easy transition because I had a really great experience. So I'm really impressed that you had maybe not such a great experience and you still wanted to try again.

Jerry Kopack [00:14:36]:
So that must mean you're pretty tough.

Marta Ballus [00:14:39]:
Yeah. That's also why I said my. My first idea was to backpack. But then I said, okay, let's just give it a try. And it's going to be easier to just get rid of the bike because really, the bike gives you so much freedom. You don't need to look at bus schedules. You can go wherever you want, and the bus takes you from one point to another, but everything in between, you're kind of missing it. And with the bike, you just.

Marta Ballus [00:15:16]:
You can just stop wherever you want, stop, talk to any locals, and go places that not all the tourists go.

Jerry Kopack [00:15:25]:
Yes. Yeah. And that's one of the points that I keep coming back to on all these episodes is the magic of bicycle touring. Because to your point, you can get on a bike or on a bus and end up from A to B.

Marta Ballus [00:15:38]:
But.

Jerry Kopack [00:15:39]:
But it's all the places in between, the people that you would not have had the opportunity to meet, to share a tea with, to share dinner with. That's the real color and the beauty of bicycle traveling.

Marta Ballus [00:15:49]:
Yeah, completely agree. Definitely. I've had so many good experiences with that.

Jerry Kopack [00:15:56]:
Well, let's talk about this bike trip that you did. What was your route and why?

Marta Ballus [00:16:02]:
Okay, so I didn't have a bike, a very planned route at first. I wanted to go Through Europe, but that was end of October, beginning of November, when I got laid off. So that meant like shorter days, cold weather, and I hate cold. I just cannot bear. You hate wind, but I hate cold. I cannot live with that. And so I said, okay, where. There's.

Marta Ballus [00:16:40]:
There's somewhere where summer right now. So there was Ecostralia, New Zealand, which I would. Where I would love to go, but let's say that, like, budget is completely different. Africa. I was not really inspired by it. I've heard many amazing stories about Africa, but I was just not probably ready for that. And I said, okay, South America, it's probably a good option. I speak the language, it's going to be way easier.

Marta Ballus [00:17:13]:
And so I. My parents have some friends in Chile. I talked to them and said, okay, at least I have starting point. I decided to spend New Year's with them and after that I would start my trip from their place and heading south. And from that I had nothing else planned. I didn't even know if I. It was. If I was gonna last 10 days or, I don't know, forever.

Jerry Kopack [00:17:43]:
Okay, so Chile, Patagonia region. Talk about wind, right? There's. There's real wind down there. Did you experience any of those, Any of those wind events?

Marta Ballus [00:17:54]:
Of course, of course. I mean, if anyone. If anyone said. Said otherwise, they would be lying completely. Or they would probably stay there for only two or three days. Very lucky days. But. So I decided to go.

Marta Ballus [00:18:14]:
I wanted to do a Carretera Austral and I decided to head south because I also read that the winds usually go more from north to south, which is completely false. But, yeah, I mean, the wind will always blow the opposite way that you're cycling, that's for sure. So, yeah, so I decided to go to head south, but as opposite. As many other cyclists that I met on the way or I could, I was following on. On social media or on YouTube or whatever. Many of them kind of want to go to Ushuaia, like the end of the world. But I was like, why? I mean, I don't feel like I need to go there. It's super windy and it might get too cold because I started in January, so getting all the way down there, it would get very cold when I got there.

Marta Ballus [00:19:25]:
So I just went south. And at some point I said, okay, now I can start heading north. And I just wanted people I met on the way, especially locals, guide me and tell me where I should go and how I should do it. And then I end up deciding, of course.

Jerry Kopack [00:19:48]:
But when did you turn Around. At what point?

Marta Ballus [00:19:51]:
I went down to Villacerro Castillo.

Jerry Kopack [00:19:53]:
Okay.

Marta Ballus [00:19:54]:
Which is where la carretera austral, like the pavement ends. It was completely random. That wasn't the reason why I decided to stop there. But I had already been a few years before to Torres del Paine, which are great, and to Calafate in Argentina. So I didn't really felt the need to go all the way down there. So I said, okay, just start going up and to wherever my bike takes me.

Jerry Kopack [00:20:28]:
So you turned around. Did you go back the same way you came or find another route?

Marta Ballus [00:20:34]:
At first, yes, I went back the same way because there was. There were no many other ways at that point I could cross over to Argentina, but it was completely desert and was not very, very nice. So I decided to go back the same way. But I hitchhiked because I said, okay, I've done this before, so let's just hitchhike and get this as soon as possible. Where. To the. The point where I. Where the last I.

Marta Ballus [00:21:06]:
I had last been where I could cross over to Argentina. And it was nice enough, which was futa le fu. I don't know if you know that.

Jerry Kopack [00:21:15]:
So how far did you end up going?

Marta Ballus [00:21:17]:
North, then up to northern Colombia.

Jerry Kopack [00:21:21]:
Wow.

Marta Ballus [00:21:22]:
Yeah, Well, I actually, I kind of. I. It's. I kind of like. It was not all the way straight because I went to. Through Argentina and Chile, and when I got to northern Argentina, winter stroke and. And then I was, you know, I don't like cold. So I had to make a decision and I was not really ready to cross over to.

Marta Ballus [00:21:48]:
To Bolivia, where average altitude is like 3,000 meters, which I don't really know how. How much that is in feet.

Jerry Kopack [00:21:59]:
So 10,000ft?

Marta Ballus [00:22:01]:
Yeah. So it's pretty high. So I said I need to make a decision. So I decided to take a plane to northern Colombia and then start heading south and like, join the two paths.

Jerry Kopack [00:22:18]:
Oh, I love that.

Marta Ballus [00:22:21]:
So I could. I went back to Argentina when it was already spring, summer.

Jerry Kopack [00:22:25]:
Ah, that's smart. I have a famous quote that I love to sort of live by.

Marta Ballus [00:22:31]:
You.

Jerry Kopack [00:22:32]:
Everyone's heard of the Ben and Jerry's ice cream company, right? I'm sure they have places in Spain too. But Ben Cohen, one of the founders, is famous for saying, if it's not fun, why do it? And so there are so many people who are very purists, traditionalists, and they'll just connect all the dots on the roots, and that's totally great. I support them for doing that. I'm not that person. I'M more like you. I've seen this part. I don't need to see it again. I'll hop on a bus, I'll hitchhike.

Jerry Kopack [00:23:01]:
Let's just go see the good parts that I really want to see and not just suffer through the monotony of places that I just don't want to see or don't want to do.

Marta Ballus [00:23:09]:
Yeah, I completely agree. I completely agree. And that happened in many moments of my trip too, that I didn't want to go like 500 km of pure desert headwinds and not even single place to get water. And so I could, I can, I can do it, of course, but I have nothing to prove to some. To anyone else but me. So.

Jerry Kopack [00:23:36]:
Yeah. Yeah. Did you go through the solar.

Marta Ballus [00:23:41]:
Of course.

Jerry Kopack [00:23:42]:
Of course.

Marta Ballus [00:23:42]:
It was amazing. I even camped in it. And not. I mean, many people camp in the. There are two small island in. In the Salar. And I just camped in the middle of nowhere. And it was amazing.

Marta Ballus [00:23:58]:
And I was lucky enough to not have too much wind or too much cold at night. It was cold, of course, but it was incredible.

Jerry Kopack [00:24:10]:
For people who haven't been to that area or don't know what it is, can you just give a little bit of background?

Marta Ballus [00:24:16]:
Okay, so Salar do uni, it's one of those places that you can see from outer space. It's. It's a salt flat, like with a hundred kilometers diameter. I don't. Can you translate that in miles, please?

Jerry Kopack [00:24:37]:
60.

Marta Ballus [00:24:38]:
Okay. So it's. It's huge, it's immense. And sometimes I'm sure everyone have seen many pictures of it, but it's. You're. You're there and it's completely white. You can. You can see only the horizon, and it's white and white and you can see the sky and salt.

Marta Ballus [00:25:00]:
And it's weird because you see that what you're writing on is actually salt, which is hard. And I didn't really think about it before, but to pitch the tent on was not as obvious as it seemed because, I mean, it's hard and to the poles on the salt, it was not easy. So I remembered at that point that the only thing that affects salt is water. So I had to use some of my left water, but not that much because I didn't have any other way. I had to save water for me, for myself. So I put some water and I could pitch my tent. Science is always great for traveling too. Yeah.

Jerry Kopack [00:25:54]:
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Marta Ballus [00:26:29]:
No, because, I mean, at that point I was pretty tired too. It was kind of the end of my trip. I was very tired and I had like, Peru was really, really hard.

Jerry Kopack [00:26:45]:
Yes.

Marta Ballus [00:26:47]:
And when I got to Bolivia, I was super tired. And I even like, now I get the feeling that I didn't get the most out of Bolivia. I kind of went through it pretty fast, but it's what I felt I needed at that point. And I felt I needed to, to, to feel like I was going forward and not like doing like very few kilometers a day. And at some point I said, okay, let's just go through. And I went through, through Argentina. Also. This is kind of a funny story.

Marta Ballus [00:27:35]:
In Argentina. Um, I. Something happened that I really didn't want to happen on my trip, but it did. So I met a guy and I. We started dating. I really didn't want it, but I said, okay, I'm just going to keep going with my trip. So when I decided to jump over to Colombia, I said, okay, now I'm going to go to Colombia and go back down and make the, the end of my trip. Like back to your place.

Marta Ballus [00:28:10]:
And if it works, let's, let's stick with the plan. And if it doesn't work out, I keep going my way. So. So also at that point I was like, okay, I'm. I. The thing is, the problem, I think was that I had a, like an ending point to my trip. I knew I wanted. That was my finish line.

Marta Ballus [00:28:41]:
It's like I met many people that were going from Alaska to Ushuaia, which is incredible, but it's a very, very long way. But they have this goal in their head. And I met them down in Patagonia, which is pretty close to their final destination. And they were just like, I just need to get to Ushuaia. And they were not even. Enjoying that much their trip. And that's why I didn't want to have a destination in, in my trip, but I ended up having it. And that's why probably I didn't enjoy that much Bolivia because I kind of like wanted to end my not not to end my trip, but to get to my destination as soon as possible because, like, I was really tired.

Jerry Kopack [00:29:40]:
Got it. This person that you met, were they a cyclist?

Marta Ballus [00:29:46]:
Well, he. He was not. I mean, he. He had a bicycle. Like, everyone knows how to cycle. But no, he is not. He's actually a paraglider.

Jerry Kopack [00:30:00]:
Oh.

Marta Ballus [00:30:00]:
And yeah, I actually met him because I stopped at some point on my trip to learn how to paraglide. And then. So I met him and then. But when I went back when I was in Bolivia, we. We were talking, and he just bought a few bags for the bike, and he took his really old bike. He went all the way to the border from Argentina and Bolivia, and we met there, and he cycled with me the last thousand kilometers back to his place, which was great. Yeah.

Jerry Kopack [00:30:44]:
It's interesting. Talk about the differences between cycling solo and cycling with somebody else.

Marta Ballus [00:30:52]:
So even though I. I really enjoyed cycling with him, I have to. And. And sharing the experience. I have to say that these kind of experiences, like being alone, I. I feel like you get so much more out of it because, like, when you're on your own, you. You're more like kind of prepared to talk to people or are this open to talk to people. Even others don't feel like they.

Marta Ballus [00:31:30]:
They kind of feel it's easier for them to come to speak to you, even to host you, especially as a woman. I feel like this is also an advantage, like being a woman solo traveler, that people feel more. Kind of more confident or at least less threatened, and they host you easier than many other guys that I met on the way. So back to the. The solo versus with someone. For me, like, traveling solo, I learned so much more. But from. Or like I was, at least for my trip.

Marta Ballus [00:32:25]:
My trip was about finding myself knowing, getting to know myself more, and doing things my way. But that doesn't mean that traveling with someone is not good. I think it's. It's amazing, but it's more. I think you. You get more from that living with that person than from the. The trip itself. I don't know if that makes sense.

Jerry Kopack [00:32:55]:
It makes complete sense. I had a similar experience. It was not with a romantic partner, but I was traveling through India and Nepal solo, and I met this couple from Switzerland, and we were having dinner one night in Kathmandu, Nepal, and we became good friends. And they asked if I wanted to travel with them a little bit. And so I said, sure. That sounds like a really great idea. I'd been by myself for whatever, four or five, six weeks, and I thought Having company would have been nice. And so we traveled together.

Jerry Kopack [00:33:28]:
And to your point, the interactions that you experience along the way from locals is different. Right. Because as a solo person, as a solo man, people approached me more. They said, hey, come have a tea, come stay in our home, come have dinner. Whereas when I was with the other, my two Swiss friends, we were more of a unit, more of an entity. And so people were less likely to approach us. So there's pros and cons because it was nice to have that companionship to share things. But it's also a compromise because where I want to go may not be where they want it to go or the speed or, or when we want to stop each day.

Jerry Kopack [00:34:04]:
So everything becomes a discussion and negotiation.

Marta Ballus [00:34:07]:
Yeah, exactly. But you learn from that as well. Yeah, learn so much. Because when you're on your own, you do whatever you want and that's, that's it. But you also learn how to live with others and which is also great. I mean,

Jerry Kopack [00:34:23]:
how long were you on the road total this trip?

Marta Ballus [00:34:27]:
On the road? I was about 12 months.

Jerry Kopack [00:34:30]:
12 months.

Marta Ballus [00:34:31]:
But, but then when I got, I finished my, my trip, I stayed three more months there because it was December and, and I, I was not really ready to go back to winter at home, so I decided to leave for summer. But then when I, when I came back home, I left my bike in Argentina. It was really hard to bring it back, but I said, I kind of have the feeling that I need to get back home cycling. So I figured the way that I was lent a bike in Taragosa, I don't know if you. Well, it's kind of, it's in between Barcelona and Madrid.

Jerry Kopack [00:35:24]:
Okay.

Marta Ballus [00:35:25]:
So, so I decided that I would cycle back home.

Jerry Kopack [00:35:33]:
Okay.

Marta Ballus [00:35:34]:
And, yeah, and I kind of running out of battery. Sorry for that. Let me plug it. There you go. So sorry. So I went to Zaragoza and I decided to go back home cycling and just invited everyone over on social media to join me on the way, like for one stage or for the entire trip or whatever they wanted. It was like during the week, so not that many people could join, but especially the last day was great because it was on a Sunday, so many friends could join even though it was raining. I ended up my trip in Barcelona with a lot of friends that came, joined me and my last stop was hugging my grandmother.

Marta Ballus [00:36:41]:
I, I, I didn't really know when I left that I would ever see her again, you know?

Jerry Kopack [00:36:49]:
Right, because you didn't have a schedule, you didn't have a return flight back to Spain. You were kind of very open ended.

Marta Ballus [00:36:56]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, completely. As I said, I didn't know if it was last 10 days or I would just keep traveling forever.

Jerry Kopack [00:37:04]:
So there's a, there's a mix of emotions when people do a big trip like this. Some people are just ready to be done and get me off, like. And some people have a big letdown. How did you feel when you finished?

Marta Ballus [00:37:19]:
Okay. So I was, I was really tired, but not like physically tired. I was more tired of that uncertainty that I don't know where I'm gonna be tomorrow, I don't know where I'm gonna sleep. Finding food. Find like, you know, like your job when you're, when you're traveling. Yeah. And it's really your job. And I kind of felt like I needed some like pause in my life.

Marta Ballus [00:37:52]:
So I, I was, I had been three months in Argentina, I was not at home. I was with lovely people around. But it was kind of hard because also I didn't have like purpose or anything like very specific to do. So I felt really, really lost at the beginning. And coming back was really hard. Everyone talks about it, about the post trip depression and you just cannot get ready enough. I mean you can, you can hear many stories, people can prepare you, but you just need to leave it.

Jerry Kopack [00:38:39]:
Yeah. What you're describing is what I have named travel fatigue. And the way I describe that is just what you're saying is every day is a new challenge to, to find food, to find a place to sleep. And after a while it just becomes exhausting and you just kind of need to be someplace for a while. A week, two weeks, a month, three months, whatever it is, and then that usually passes. But I know that coming back from a large trip like that, this concept called reintegration. And your life has just been so easy because your only job has been to find food, to find a place to sleep. And now you come back to the normal day to day stuff about get a job and traffic and expectations again.

Jerry Kopack [00:39:26]:
Did you kind of feel yourself falling back into that?

Marta Ballus [00:39:29]:
Yes. And actually when I got back I was like, this kind of trip changes you, completely changes how you see the world, how your priorities go. And I was like ready to start something, be an entrepreneur or start cycling company or whatever. But then you kind of like bump into like the reality that you don't have a single pound or. And also I was as just called. The fatigue also affected me in the way that I, I didn't had like the, the strength to, to start something on my own. And I was like, and I really felt like I needed something, some stability. And even though that was not really what I wanted, I ended up going back to a 9 to 5 office job.

Marta Ballus [00:40:43]:
least for now. It's just for a while, hopefully. And, but yeah, I keep having like my dreams on the back of my head that I kind of wanted to do something else that not like work for a larger company or like get something out of everything that I've learned and especially help others overcome like these fears that everyone have before. Not only, I'm not talking only about like having a big bike trip, but just like especially go out of your, like do what you want that scares you so bad. Especially if those fears come from social pressure.

Jerry Kopack [00:41:39]:
Yeah, I was going to ask you about this and you kind of started it off. What are some of the important lessons or the realizations that you brought back with you after being disconnected for a year? Did you get what you had hoped for out of this trip?

Marta Ballus [00:41:56]:
Definitely. When I left I wasn't really sure what I was looking for, but at some point I realized that what I really needed and what I was what I needed from that trip and what I needed for, for myself was to get more self confidence. And, and I, I realized it as, as I, as it kept growing in me during the trip. Like, and for me that like I'm not the same as I left in, in self confidence terms. In terms of self confidence. I've grown so much in that, in that way that for me it just worth it. I've learned so many other things, but for me that was like the main, the main thing.

Jerry Kopack [00:43:01]:
I love that. And because you have to be so reliant because it's just you out there, right? You have to, if things don't go wrong, it's up to you to figure it.

Marta Ballus [00:43:10]:
Exactly. And also I, I, I, I get the feeling that we've been taught since we were, we were little that there's only one good answer for everything. Like you get, you go to school and you, you, you, you, you have tests and there's only one good right answer. And, and you realize that's not it. I mean there are so many right answers and usually your answer is the right answer for you.

Jerry Kopack [00:43:44]:
I love that I finished a big trip like what you've experienced. And the first thing people ask me was like, so did you come back with all the answers? And there's this saying that I heard, I don't remember who said it, but when you go out looking for all the answers, you come Back with just more questions. And that's.

Marta Ballus [00:44:07]:
That's true.

Jerry Kopack [00:44:07]:
What do you think about that?

Marta Ballus [00:44:10]:
I mean, I like it. I mean, it's. But I was not really looking for answers.

Jerry Kopack [00:44:17]:
Okay.

Marta Ballus [00:44:18]:
Because I. I didn't have the questions, so I just. But of course there are so many. Like, the more, you know, I, I wouldn't say like the. You have more, More questions, but the more you know, the less you know. It's like. I don't know if you ever heard that sentence, but it's so true. And, and for me, what happened is that I didn't know what I was looking for, but I learned so many things that I didn't know I was missing that it just changed completely the way I see the world and priorities in life for me.

Jerry Kopack [00:45:03]:
Yeah. Let me ask you this in closing. Any other trips or big adventures on the future for you?

Marta Ballus [00:45:11]:
Oh, I wish.

Jerry Kopack [00:45:13]:
Yeah.

Marta Ballus [00:45:14]:
Yeah. There's. There's so many trips I have on the. In my head. I would love to go to Mexico. Everyone talks amazing things from Mexico, Australia, New Zealand. But right now I kind of like need to find like the time I'm back to this office job that I only have like a month vacation, but hopefully at some point I will be able to. To get more time for myself and less time for work and earning money.

Marta Ballus [00:45:46]:
Because it's. Yeah, I mean, as I said, like, my. The priorities thing, like, for me before I left, like, earning money was some pressure that I really had. I mean, society gives you this. You need to earn money because otherwise you will not be able to pay your rent or whatever. And you need to get a car and a very good car and whatever. And now I'm like, okay, I can have a car as long as it gets me to. From point A to point B.

Marta Ballus [00:46:19]:
I mean, I don't really have this very fancy car and money is not my priority anymore as. As it is like to enjoy life every moment, enjoy the people around you, and especially learn from everyone around you and everyone around the world.

Jerry Kopack [00:46:42]:
I love that. That is a great sentiment to end on. I want to thank you so much for hanging out with me today and making time.

Marta Ballus [00:46:51]:
How is it over again already?

Jerry Kopack [00:46:54]:
Well, we can keep talking, but this is a pretty good, good space to end.

Marta Ballus [00:46:59]:
Oh, no. Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely. But it was like, I really felt very comfortable with you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.

Jerry Kopack [00:47:08]:
I. I enjoyed talking with you. And for people who are listening in and want to find out about this great event you did or anything else that you're up to how can our listeners find out about what you're up to?

Marta Ballus [00:47:20]:
Well, I usually post everything on Instagram. That's my main social media platform. It's Arta's Way. Marta with no H, M A R T a S W a Y.

Jerry Kopack [00:47:41]:
Got it. And we will. We'll have a link to that in our show. Notes for people to click on it and see what you're up to.

Marta Ballus [00:47:47]:
Cool.

Jerry Kopack [00:47:47]:
All right.

Marta Ballus [00:47:48]:
Thank you. Yeah. So this summer, I'm really planning on doing something. I don't know, probably a Camino Santiago, which is close by. I don't know.

Jerry Kopack [00:47:56]:
I mean, the Pyrenees are right there, right?

Marta Ballus [00:48:00]:
Yeah, yeah, definitely.

Jerry Kopack [00:48:02]:
And they're amazing. So.

Marta Ballus [00:48:04]:
Yeah.

Jerry Kopack [00:48:04]:
Yeah, you don't have to take a year off to. To do an event. You can take a weekend or a week and just go hop on your bike and just go. Go sleep in the mountains somewhere, Right?

Marta Ballus [00:48:15]:
Yeah, exactly. And also, as we were talking earlier about the post trip depression. Yeah. A way to get. To get it over with a little bit is I was like doing this small mini trips. Like, okay, now for five days I went. Or three, three or four days. Like doing mini trips close home.

Marta Ballus [00:48:41]:
That was. That helped me, too.

Jerry Kopack [00:48:43]:
Yeah. I heard someone call them micro adventures.

Marta Ballus [00:48:47]:
Yeah. And they are perfectly fine. I mean, in two or three days, you. You disconnect. Like it's. It could. It can feel like it's been a week.

Jerry Kopack [00:48:57]:
Yeah.

Marta Ballus [00:48:58]:
Like, or a month. I mean, I want to say a month.

Jerry Kopack [00:49:01]:
Put. Put down your phone, get on your bike, go somewhere, and just as you said, disconnect, Disconnect.

Marta Ballus [00:49:08]:
And connect with others.

Jerry Kopack [00:49:09]:
Absolutely. Well, thank you for spending time with me today.

Marta Ballus [00:49:13]:
And I want to thank you very much.

Jerry Kopack [00:49:15]:
I want to thank everyone for listening to my conversation today with Marta Ballus. Stories like these hopefully will inspire you to set off on your own bicycle adventure and maybe make the world feel a little bit smaller. One pedal stroke at a time. Until then, keep the wheels rolling and the stories coming. Thanks for joining us on Bike Life. I'm Jerry Kopeck, and I hope you enjoyed today's episode as much as we enjoyed sharing it with you. Please leave us a rating and review or just tell your friends. This helps us reach more cyclists and hosts around the world to learn more or become part of this amazing community.

Jerry Kopack [00:49:52]:
Visit us@warmshowers.org or follow us on Instagram @warmshowers_org. If you'd like to be a guest on the show or have a question you'd like us to explore, email us at podcast@warmshowers.org