Analog Escapes in the Digital Age
Why a pure and unplugged driving experience should be at the top of your post-COVID-19 travel list.
I've spent the last 25 years working as a product manager in startups and corporate tech. From mobile networks, to digital maps and self-driving cars, I have had many opportunities to contribute to technologies that changed the way we live, hopefully for the better. While these technologies have changed the nature of time and distance, they have also robbed us of a certain freedom to explore and discover that which we don’t expect to find. They also have robbed us of the opportunity to make “getaway” a spontaneous activity. While we are more connected we are further apart than ever.
Today, while we long for things to return to ‘normal’, we might not realize how quickly life is permanently changing beneath our feet. With every crisis, the way in which we respond has lasting consequences for how we live thereafter. While life/work boundaries have been under threat for some time, COVID-19 has obliterated them. When we emerge on the other side of this crisis, getaways will be more important than ever. Getting away in a fully analog vehicle might seem like a nostalgic undertaking but I’m here to tell you that it’s exactly what we need right now.
“Not only are you the master of the machine, but the full sensory experience melts away your other concerns and you are fully in the moment. When you can be that present and then arrive in a new place with new learning, friendships, and experiences, then you have truly arrived. If this is not what we all want in a getaway post-COVID, I don’t know what is.”
Those who love cars do so because the vehicle is the ultimate tool to amplify who they are. This can take many forms. For those of us who long for adventure and connection to new places and cultures, there is no option but to drive-through. Sure globe-trotting was, and will again be a thing, but jetting from one airport and corporate hotel to another is a guaranteed way to avoid the unexpected. It’s the unexpected and the time to discover it that is the true luxury. For enthusiasts, setting out to cover new ground in a well maintained vintage sports car is the ultimate getaway but one that is seldom realized.
Getting away in a well sorted and fully analog vehicle is a liberating experience like no other. Talk about autonomous driving.
Not only are you the master of the machine, but the full sensory experience melts away your other concerns and youare fully in the moment. When you can be that present and then arrive in a new place with new learning, friendships, and experiences, then you have truly arrived. If this is not what we all want in a getaway post-COVID, I don’t know what is.
That’s why I’ve started Roads United and the Roads United LOGBOOK.
1) To remove the barriers to exploration for collectors and enthusiasts. Yes we are constrained by technical risk, time pressure, and the distractions of life. Starting later in 2021 as travel restrictions lift, we will be ready with a variety of short and long off the beaten track tours with full service vehicle transport and support.
2) To connect people with a passion for exploration by vehicle. Beyond our travel and discovery, this is about telling the story of adventure and bringing new people to the experience. The Roads United LOGBOOK is our first step in that direction creating a place to tell and share the stories of automotive exploration on the road and within ourselves.
If you haven’t already - please sign up for our mailing list and follow @roads.united on social media to get early access to LOGBOOK content and trip announcements.