There is a significant differences between adventure by bike and digital nomadic life by bike that directly affect important planning and decision making. Unlike an adventure cyclist who seeks adventure while getting away from it all, a DNB seeks a sustainable, regular work life while traveling to new destinations every day. Life itself is the adventure for a DNB. Every day is a challenge to keep mind, body, work, and bike in balance.
A DNB works every day and probably has a tech job that pays very well. Since living by bike requires far less an 40k per year (assuming there is no additional rent or mortgage to maintain “at home”) and that most tech jobs make well over 100k per year there is plenty of money to be sure a DNB has the best gear for the job with as many redundancies for sustainable work requirements as possible.
Most real jobs require a significant and reliable Internet connection for daily use. Only satellite connections such as SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Kuiper truly provide such connectivity. These connections draw at least 40 watts of power requiring a rather large battery. This pretty much mandates that the antenna and battery are towed in a trailer. The trailer has the advantage over a cargo bike in that it can be positioned independently in location with clear view of the sky while the nomadic office can be under the shade of trees or in a tent. Such trailers weigh at least 30 kilos (67 lbs). A typical sat-link trailer might include the following:
To get a sense of this, consider that the weight of all gear an adventure cyclist living very comfortably might haul on their bike is about the same. This weight difference combined with just how much hauling a heavy trailer affects handling of the bike itself affects every other consideration.
The first obvious limitation of hauling a heavy trailer around is what terrain can be included. While the sat-link does enable very remote access to the Internet, fording streams and pushing up 10% grades become herculean challenges that must be accomplished quickly and safely in order to still work during that same day. Most DNBs will simply choose to avoid such terrain entirely, some might even stick to flat, paved, well-mapped bike touring routes such as those provided by the Adventure Cycling Association.
Heavily forested routes are also off limits to a DNB since satellite communication always requires a clear view of the sky.
A DNB works 6-8 hours per day leaving only 2-4 hours to pedal their bike to the next location. For many avid bike-commuters this is roughly the same amount of time but bike-commuters don’t have to find a place to recharge, sleep, and eat every day.
Less time on the bike also means things like aero-bars to give an additional comfort position just aren’t needed. If the daily ride is the same that a DNB would do for an extended commute or daily training ride then such things just aren’t needed (unless also training for Tour Divide or some such event).
Most cyclists will agree that this much zone 1-2 exertion every day—approximately 18-24 hours of weekly training volume—is rather high TSS weekly score. That’s the volume of an elite amateur (cat 1) cyclist. But consider the stress of the work itself during that same week and difficulty getting good sleep and diet. These factors, combined with possible older age of a DNB, are significant considerations that any DNB must plan for proactively. Adding yoga, meditation, and enough breaks can directly address the extra stress (in addition to the biking itself). Since a DNB tends to have a much higher budget, less demand for a specific pace, and overall more flexibility can reliably be managed.
Most adventure cyclists and bikepackers take sabbaticals or use vacation time for their adventures. While this allows them to focus on the event and get the most out of it, it usually requires very strict timelines, milestones, and finish dates so they can return to work on time. Since a DNB is already working the only real limiter is annual weather patterns and even those can be easily worked around with the hefty annual budget a DNB can draw from to stay in proper lodging facilities when the weather gets really bad.
Towing a sat-link requires slowing down. Most DNBs will want to average around 13 mph (21 kph). Less than this and it becomes harder to travel the minimum 40 miles (64 km) per day to get to the next office waypoint. Of course, this does depend on the DNBs fitness level as well.
Most adventure cyclists only have to worry about boxing and including their bike as luggage when flying from ending or two starting points. A DNB has to deal with a lot more stuff including a very large battery and trailer. In America this limits transfer options to trains or one’s own vehicle. Many DNBs will prefer doing large loops in order to avoid this hassle completely.
A DNB requires significantly more electricity than an adventure cyclist. Recharging 1.24 kWh battery every two days eliminates solar panels as a practical consideration. This forces a DNB to stay stay relatively close to civilization on the power grid. However, a DNB can take vacation from DNB living and do an adventure without the required uplinks by simply finding a safe place to stow the power trailer.
A DNB maximizes caution and visibility well beyond what most bikepackers and adventure cyclists would do since even a minor incident such as a small collision with a vehicle is catastrophic. A bikepacker might get up and shake it off, but a DNB would likely have their entire nomadic office destroyed forcing an abrupt end to DNB living. A DNB, therefore, chooses to do things other cyclists might not:
While it is true that a DNB appears much less stylish than other bikepackers and adventure cyclists on the road a DNB has a much different goal: to remain on their adventure indefinitely.
Even though a DNB wants to avoid risk more than most adventure cyclists, the need for a bulky, uncomfortable helmet diminishes when all the other distinctions are taken into consideration. A bikepacker or adventure cyclist will often be traveling at much higher speeds on more technical terrain and trails making a helmet actually worth the hassle. A DNB should never exceed 20 mph (the official maximum of any weighted trailer) and while it is true that head injuries can occur at any speed this speed limitation alone significantly reduces that risk.