After 46 years I have finally retired from daily news reporting.
It’s been a great run. But when my last daily outlet, InvestorPlace, closed in September, I realized I don’t need it anymore. I can do what I want.
The problem is that writers retire to pine boxes. Writing is all I ever wanted to do, all I ever wanted to be.
So, in 2025 I am taking my writing in a new direction. I’m going to add video. I’m also going to focus on the one story that has consumed my off hours, bicycling.
Atlanta hills and aging nearly ended my riding life a few years ago. But last year I got an e-bike. The hills became flat. I rode 30 miles at a time. On an e-bike you can shop, eat out, you can wear regular clothes, and you can know you have the energy to get home.
It’s called being a fietser, from the Dutch fiets, for bicycle. The Netherlands has done more to adapt itself to this life than any other nation, with a comprehensive network of bike trails, and laws that favor bicycles in town.
That’s where the story is and that’s where I’m going. I’ll be based near Utrecht from mid-March to mid-May. I’m hoping Jenni, who still enjoys her work and who has a good job, can join me for the last two weeks. I hope to bring my readers there, and find new ones on YouTube, on Facebook, maybe even on TikTok.
There’s a lot to learn between now and March. I’ll be very busy. That’s another word for retirement. It’s doing something else.
Dana Blankenhorn
December 2024
