In the middle of June, I decided to quit my job at one of the world's largest companies, Salesforce, and bike from Hamburg to Rome. I wanted to bike as much as possible on trails and gravel roads, meaning that as little baggage as possible was both a necessity and a big challenge. 36 liters of space was all I had for a tent, sleeping bag and air mattress. As you probbaly understand, there wasn't room for much else.

I have always been a minimalist, but this was minimalism on steroids. I needed a t-shirt that could keep me warm over mountain passes i in the alps and cool on days above 30 degrees celcius. I also knew that getting access to a washing machine in the woods would be impossible, but when I saw that the founder of Northern Playground, Jo, had worn his shirt for more than 200 days without washing it, I knew I had found what I was looking for. In other words, I ended up with a rust t-shirt in wool and silk from Northern Playground.

So far, the t-shirt has followed me along 2300km on my bike. It has kept me warm in 14 degrees, headwind and rain, and cool in 32 degrees and 50km of gentle uphills. When I took a few days off in Strasbourg, the same t-shirt was a saviour on a pretty hot dance floor with Latin American beats.

There was recently an election in Norway, and most people's thoughts the last few weeks have gone to what ballot they should put in the ballot box. What is even more interesting if you ask me is what "ballot" you choose with your wallet. It is first when we buy less, and buy quality from producers who take sustainability to a whole new level that we can really start talking.

Buy less. Play more. 🚲

You can follow my journey (and the t-shirt) on Instagram @oleborseth.