“I may not be able to wrap my life story up in misfortune or hardship but I still had to make the choice to take control of it. I made the effort to think about where my life was going and the decision to make a change. I decided not to settle for compromise, turned my back on a ‘dream’ career in television and surrendered a whole host of opportunities for an ‘easy’ and comfortable life. I wanted more and found the courage to search for it. Once I’d found a direction for that search everything else followed.”

My name is Nathan Haley, I was born in 1980 during the Chinese year of the monkey. I am a Gemini, a proud introvert and have been a strict vegetarian for half my life. I value and find motivation in freedom, choice and positivity. I think most people are good, not all are interesting but they’re frequently surprising. I like to use my body, exercise my brain and ride my bike. My respect must always be earned and never assumed.

‘Velo Freedom’ is the website and blog I use to share my adventures by bicycle and sometimes on foot. Over the years it has evolved into a platform for me to express my views on the places I visit and share information to help others find those places too. This process began near the start of my five-year bicycle journey down the Americas from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina (15/05/2010 – 17/05/2015).

This is my journey and I have chosen to share it with you. I don’t always feel comfortable reading, or necessarily still agree with everything I’ve written in the heat of the experience, but I value it all nonetheless. I think any opinion is better than none and stand by everything you’ll find within these pages. These are my thoughts and perspectives from the time of happening, the story of my evolution as a bicycle rider and a human being.

This space and those who enter it are important to me, but this is not my inspiration. I’m always careful to use it to chronicle my adventures rather than motivate them. Before every route I ride or trail I hike I always pose the question ‘would I still do this if nobody knew or was ever going to know about it?’ It is vital that my yearning to explore comes from my heart and not my ego.

We are a fortunate generation, our unprecedented access to satellite imagery and lightweight equipment allows us to adventure into places previous generations never thought to explore. We’re also blessed with the means to easily share that information. ‘Velo Freedom’ has allowed me to communicate with other like-minded riders (see blogroll below) and become a part of the dirt road bicycle touring community. If you value the information I provide I urge you to acknowledge, spread and build. It is only our passion that can grow this exciting community and drive it forward.

As long as I have my health and there are beautiful landscapes in the world, I know I can be happy.