Manreet Singh biking in the wilderness. / Courtesy -Manreet Singh

I was born and raised in India, always outside, always exploring. No day was too hot to play. Growing up in Chandigarh, I was free to ride my bike anywhere I wanted, following my curiosity wherever it led.

Family vacations were always road trips. We’d cram into our little Maruti 800—my parents, my sibling, our dog, and even our housekeeper—and drive across the country. From Goa and Mumbai to Rajasthan, we explored every corner. My dad was an incredible driver, handling the twisting mountain roads of the Himalayas as if it were nothing. I loved watching him navigate those challenging roads while biting the back of his seat with anxiousness (literally).

In February 1997, when I was 13, our family moved to the United States. My parents were in their late 40s, a little older than I am now. I often think about the big adventure they took on in their 40s, uprooting everything and taking the risk to move to a new country. We settled in Georgia and spent those first few years working hard, visiting cousins, and taking road trips to places like Florida’s beaches and the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Back then, we didn’t care about taking pictures or posting them online. It was about exploring for the sake of it—no GPS, no social media, no distractions. Just pure curiosity.

Of all of us, I think I was the one most eager to fit in with American life. I was the youngest and wanted to blend in. I still remember our first day in Atlanta, when a security guard at the airport laughed at my jura and asked, “What you got on your head, boy?” I didn’t know what to say, so I just laughed it off. Moments like that didn’t seem like much at the time, but they may have pushed me to try harder to fit in.

In high school and college, I played soccer and rugby and got into weightlifting and bodybuilding. I didn’t ride a bike for a few years (1997-2004), the longest I’d ever gone without one. However, while I was at the University of Georgia, I bought a mountain bike to get around campus. Someone mentioned there were trails behind the soccer fields, so I checked them out. I had no idea what “mountain biking” really was, but once I tried it, I was hooked.

I’d only ridden bikes in city parks or on dirt roads in India—never in a real forest. In India, there just aren’t that many truly wild places left. Riding through the woods in Georgia opened up a whole new world. I had to focus on rocks, roots, and trees, but at least trees don’t move as cars, scooters, and cows do.

After college, I fell into the usual routine—job, happy hours, partying. But even then, I found time for day trips, rafting, camping, and biking. Those trips reminded me how much I loved being outside.

I met my wife, Julie, in 2007, and that’s when everything fell into place. We started exploring the outdoors together. I got her into mountain biking, and she got me into snowboarding. We spent our vacations chasing new adventures—Moab, Sedona, the Rockies, and national parks. Even though we were working demanding corporate jobs, we loved getting outside and challenging ourselves.

Over time, though, we realized that life in the corporate world wasn’t what we really wanted. We saw so many colleagues who had climbed the ladder and made a lot of money, but they all seemed stuck and unhappy. When company leaders gave speeches about work-life balance, they always sounded as though they regretted not spending more time with their families. That stuck with us. We decided to save money for two years, then quit our jobs and figure out what we really wanted.

We loved traveling and being outside, but we had two cats, so international trips were out. Instead, in 2017, we bought an RV, sold everything, and hit the road full-time. We wanted to see more of North America, to visit the wild places we’d always dreamed of but never had time for. It also lined up with the company we started—to help people get outside and book outdoor adventures.

Singh living the RV life on the roads from 2017 to 2023. / Courtesy -Manreet Singh

Life on the road was simple and freeing. We embraced minimalism and the chance to explore new places. We lived in our RV full-time from 2017 to 2023, taking a few trips to India in between.

RV life let us discover places in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico that we would have otherwise flown over. We focused on outdoor adventures—mountain biking, kayaking, snowboarding, hiking, and always learning new things. We took lessons for activities we didn’t know yet, like surfing and kiteboarding. It’s tough being bad at something new, but you learn to embrace it. Those challenges make you feel strong and confident. They also taught me the meaning of “Nir Bhao” in the Japji Sahib—fearlessness in the face of something hard.

We also realized how important community is. Friends and family would visit us, and many brought their own campers to join us on trips. We traveled together during the holidays, from Banff in Canada to Baja California Sur in Mexico. Sharing those outdoor experiences with loved ones—like eating aloo paranthas and achar at a campsite—made everything even more special.

Eventually, we found a place we loved and bought a condo in Durango, Colorado. We spend part of the year there, but most of our time is still on the road in the RV. We love mountain biking, hiking, trail running, snowboarding, paddleboarding, scuba diving, snorkeling—anything that gets us outside. We’re also growing our company and supporting others in their own outdoor journeys.

I’m so grateful for my family’s support and for the chance to build a life that aligns with what matters most to us. I love helping others get outside and connect with nature and themselves. Whether it’s a local park, your garden, a state park, or a national park, there’s so much we can learn by just being out there. Nature has so much to teach us—if we’re ready to listen.

If you ever need help planning an outdoor adventure or want some inspiration for your next trip, reach out to me!

 

The author is a Colorado-based adventurer and entrepreneur.