Steve, Author at Nomadic Research Labs

Computing Across America, chapter 36 by Steven K. Roberts Villanueva, New Mexico July 15, 1984 Wilderness. The word itself is music. Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire We did a little dance, the three of us, a sort of farewell boogie to Texas. I had just passed the 6,000-mile mark, and Jürgen and I were getting along…

Computing Across America, chapter 35 by Steven K. Roberts Lubbock, Texas July 11, 1984 You’re crazy . . . It’s uphill all the damn way! Oh sure, you’ll go downhill sometimes, but even when you do, you’re gaining elevation. —Advice about West Texas from a fellow in East Texas She woke beside me and stretched,…

During the primitive beginning of my paleo-technomadic bicycle travels, the media was yet unfamiliar with the implications of the technology that was making it possible… even though vibrant communities were developing in various pre-Internet online services like CompuServe. After a small article about my trip appeared in USA Today (May 1, 1984), I got a…

Hi-tech nomad interfaces job and journey Early in the adventure, it was a delight to have the story picked up by this magazine much-loved in the community of touring cyclists. Doors were opening all over, and this was particularly helpful since a huge part of this kind of travel is hospitality. I remember getting invitations…

I have fond memories of this widely read article, written on a Key West beach in January, 1984. I remember that day… thinking about deadlines, cash flow, and how to get back to the mainland without retracing my path up Highway 1. In other words, I had gotten into the groove, and was using new…

One of the key enabling technologies of my paleo-technomadic life (in addition to CompuServe, solar panels, and a recumbent bicycle) was my little Radio Shack Model 100 computer, a primitive laptop that was earth-shaking for its time. Made in Japan by Kyocera, it was really the first practical and affordable portable computer… though when I…

Little cultural snapshots as I pedaled through the Deep South in 1984… artwork above by some nameless staffer at CompuServe, though I was later criticized by them for it. by Steven K. Roberts Online Today July, 1984 (written early April, 1984) After four months in Florida, I was almost eager for a new state, for culture…

Computing Across America, chapter 34 by Steven K. Roberts Austin, Texas June 27, 1984 Austinfornia: where hippies and capitalism peacefully merge into oneness and bliss. Caron DuFrane Transitions are usually only recognized as such in retrospect, and I was due for one despite having just emerged from my action-packed New Orleans Sabbatical. A phase shift…

This article by John Schwartz in the Austin American-Statesman stands apart from the rest of the newspaper stories written during the first 10,000 miles… it reads as a feature piece, and was published about a month after I pedaled out of town into west Texas. Local media coverage usually had a sort of ephemeral “geeky guy…

This story in the American Youth Hostel’s Knapsack magazine caught some of the languid flavor of those first 10,000 miles… before the technology took over as the recurring central theme. I was just discovering the lively community of hostelers, completely orthogonal to the more garish population of tourists that plied me with questions in every…

Posts by Steve

Plunging into New Mexico

West Texas in July?

Roamin’ Free, but Plugged Into the Job – USA Today

Computer Whiz on a Bike

Online and On the Road – Popular Science

A Model 100 Odyssey on a Recumbent

Robertsdale and Vancleave

The Austin Phase Shift

An Adventure for Modern Times

High-Tech Hosteling – Knapsack