About those 304 days and the power of a bicycle

Write about the beauty of absence—what remains when everything unnecessary is gone. Share your journey about reaching that place, and any advice you’d give to someone feeling overwhelmed. _{KISS BLOG IDEAS: WEEK #185 (Nov 8 - 14)}

Life brought me here. Since this morning, I’ve been trying to write a post about a cycling journey—about the lovely little things that happen to me. For instance, two days ago (more or less), I treated myself in the middle of a long ride through the city by stopping at a kiosk and buying a cone of ice cream.

It might seem insignificant to anyone else, but not to me. I don’t eat ice cream every day, although I have a soft spot for ice cream, I also care deeply about my health. Besides, ice cream is especially expensive—I can’t afford to treat myself to it every day. In that moment of delight, I was thinking about doing what you love and being rewarded with more of what brings you joy and makes you feel good—like having an ice cream. Simple. But then I laughed, because as I looked at the photo I’d taken and shared with a friend, and found myself longing for more, it reminded me of a unicorn. 😂

This absence of ice cream was, in a way, pleasurable, because of the laughter. But it wasn’t entirely absent; it lingered in my thoughts… You’ll need patience to let the idea unfold. Life brought me here, and it’s precisely because all day today I’ve felt overwhelmed.

... any advice you’d give to someone feeling overwhelmed

This time, the advice came from my soul. My soul spoke to me after I publicly shared how I felt about turning 45… Me, a university graduate who, since finishing in 2003, has done nothing but scrape by—who never even got the chance to travel as a journalist or photojournalist to cover an event abroad, to take a little trip around the world like I saw my colleagues do. And I graduated in 2003, I repeat.

It was less than a year ago that I decided to resign from my job as a photojournalist. Just think how many years passed without me receiving any kind of reward for my work. Those professional opportunities and chances to grow—I never had them. They were denied to me, and only the Universe knows why.

How that affected my self-esteem, and how I still carry it to the point of feeling deeply depressed, like I did today—only I truly know. I can talk about it, let it out, but what moves inside me when I think about it—that pain, that… I don’t even know what to call it anymore—is something only I understand. And believe me, sometimes there’s just no way to explain it. It’s hard to pull myself out of that state, because I know I’ve already lived half my life, and honestly, I can’t see a way forward here.

But anyway… I was saying that my soul spoke to me, and told me to go back and read my posts here on Hive—especially the ones about cycling.

Saying goodbye to 2023 on wheels / Dec 14, 2023 - https://peakd.com/hive-189306/@nanixxx/saying-goodbye-to-2023-on-wheels

That’s when it all began. When I bought my first bicycle thanks to Hive. With my work as a photojournalist, earning less than 15 USD a month, I could never have imagined owning a bicycle.

What I wrote there is medicine for the state I was in.

And I arrived at it with my own resolve and precision, applying the right remedies, carefully and patiently replacing the incorrect memories with the correct ones… the best kind of medicine, I’d say. My soul told me to go and look at the odometer on my bicycle. “Take a photo of it,” it instructed.

Of course, I’ve cycled many more kilometres through this city and some nearby municipalities. That’s because this odometer belongs to the other bicycle I bought—a road bike. For a while, I had both, but eventually I kept only this one, selling the previous bike here in my neighbourhood.

Do I deserve it? / Oct 26, 2024 - https://peakd.com/hive-177745/@nanixxx/do-i-deserve-it

What calculations did I make before reaching that first post where I announced I’d bought a bicycle?

That cycle computer holds the kilometres I covered over 304 days. I know this because I also wrote a post when I bought the device.

Cat's eye doesn't hunt mice / Jan 15, 2025 - https://peakd.com/hive-177745/@nanixxx/cats-eye-that-doesnt-hunt-mice

Someone helped me do the calculations:

📊 Your journey in numbers
• Total distance: 1,472 km
• Time: 304 days

🧮 Daily averages
• Kilometres per day: 4,84 km
• Kilometres per week: 33,9 km
• Kilometres per month (average): 147 km

🌍 Fun equivalents
• It’s like cycling from Havana to Santiago de Cuba—and back!
• Or like completing more than 35 marathons (each 42.195 km)
• It’s the same as riding from London to Berlin—with a scenic detour through Amsterdam.
• Or circling Central Park in New York over 350 times.
• Or climbing Mount Everest… 166 times—if you could do it on wheels.
• It’s the distance a migrating butterfly might cover on its journey north.
• Or like writing 1,472 pages of your own story—one kilometre at a time.

Hahaha… alright, alright... Copilot’s tends to get intense when I ask it questions. 😅

There I was, in a quiet little park facing the university steps, photographing the iconic portrait Tina Modotti took of student leader Julio Antonio Mella.

Of course, becoming aware of all these achievements brought happiness… but more than that, I’m no longer the same person I was before I had a bicycle. I feel stronger, more energised, and healthier. And with her by my side, I’ve shared so many stories here—stories I warmly invite you to read.

These are just the ones I posted in the Cycling community - https://peakd.com/c/hive-177745/@nanixxx

Each one has captured moments of inspiration, joy, and a deep sense of true reward.

On the other hand, this past 22nd of September marked three years since I joined this blockchain, and I’ve achieved many of the goals I set for myself when I arrived. One of them—and the most fundamental—has been to grow.

That day, I celebrated with poetry. With honest poetry. I believe sincerity is something that defines my work.

Feeling you / Sep 22, 2025 - https://peakd.com/hive-142159/@nanixxx/feeling-you

So, I’ve drifted a little from the bicycle theme—but deliberately so. These posts, along with the ones I share in photography communities I frequent, speak volumes about who I am. And I do believe they’re enough to make me feel deeply rewarded. Not just because of the money I may have received for them, but because of the meaningful interactions—and the therapy they’ve become for me—for someone who, truthfully, carries a tormented mind after all I’ve had to live through.

what remains when everything unnecessary is gone.

Me, just me... and the possibility of reaching my dreams.

🙏

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_{Original content by @nanixxx. All rights reserved ©, 2025.
Every image I include in my posts is mine. When it’s not, I credit the source in a caption.}