Joe Baur

Again, shout out to @sktchd.bsky.social’s great podcast Off Panel for inspiring writers!

Let the queries begin!!!

YouTube video by Joe Baur 4 Days in the Scottish Highlands (West Highland Way)

I’m back for my third visit to run along the West Highland Way and Great Glen Way for, well… I’ll explain what’s going on in a little bit.

For now, I’m in Glasgow and I’ve got a train to catch to the Bridge of Orchy. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wIC...

Scotland. Few places pluck my heart strings quite like this dazzling land of misty munros, technical trails, and rumbling rivers that cut through the land like an ancient script, telling a timeless tale you can only understand by tracing its path.

For those who wish to follow the run, they can do so on my Instagram, @BaurJoe.

Although I know she'd be wildly embarrassed of the attention, she'd appreciate it nonetheless.

By running up to 70 miles per day, I aim to reach Lake Erie in Cleveland between October 25th and 26th.The run will be used to raise funds for Stand Up To Cancer in memory of my mother. You can donate in her honor at: fundraise.standuptocancer.org/fundraiser/6...

On October 21st, I'll set off from Cincinnati on the Ohio to Erie Trail to challenge the fastest known time set by Gary Sines.

Now I'm leading this fundraiser in her memory and for those in our lives, friends and family alike, who continue to fight this heinous disease.

We lost Mom after a fight with breast cancer in October of 2019. My father, himself a cancer survivor, started donating to Stand Up To Cancer in her memory and the rest of us followed suit.

I forgot about it until I was back home and on the mend. When I asked her about it, she said she was hoping I didn't remember (nobody was hurt in the end). But I'm glad I remembered. It's a testament to the kind of person she was—humble and incredibly selfless, putting her family first.

I remember hearing some commotion between hospital staff and a distraught individual. Someone shouted, "He's got a gun!" The next thing I know, my mom is standing in front of my bed with her arms outstretched in front of me. It was, as she told me time and time again, her job to protect me.

Years ago, I came down with a bad case of food poisoning while visiting my brother in college. Even my dad got hit. That's how I found myself waking up in the middle of the night at a Columbus hospital, my father in his own bed beside me.

Hey, sports fans! I’m running 326 miles (525 kilometers) in 5 days to fight breast cancer with Stand Up To Cancer. Here’s why.

Leaving Scotland, I’m just realizing I haven’t seen a single Union Jack—except in news articles referencing people putting up Union Jacks in England.

Wonderful day running along Loch Ness on the Great Glen Way.

I don’t need sunny skies or beaches. Perhaps that’s why I’m always so wildly charmed by soggy ole Scotland. This train ride up to the Bridge of Orchy is gorgeous. Can’t wait to run around this landscape over the next four days!

YouTube video by Joe Baur | Off The Beaten Path Travel We Ran 50 Miles Through Finland’s Wildest Trail

Suffice it to say, we could use a bit of healing. So, we dried our eyes and started this journey to the remote forests of northern Finland to fastpack the 82-kilometer Karhunkierros ‘Bear Trail’ over three days. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e6y...

Last month, we lost our beloved pup Moses. He was, and this is no exaggeration, the sweetest boy there ever was. The pain of losing him was all encompassing, as if someone had switched off the light in our collective spirit.

Nothing is as healing as nature.

The crunch of the trail, the smell of fresh pines, the thumping of your heart on steady inclines to remind you that you’re alive.

Turns out, there are reasons––from linguistic to emotional––that help explain the immortal power of Turtle Mania.

Looking forward to diving in more.

I’m curious about their enduring appeal. It seems to be more than just childhood nostalgia. Even adults, long after society beats the joys of imagination and whimsy out of us, continue to be charmed by four turtles led by a rat.

Why?

As I continue to move away from pitching-pitching-pitching, I’m going to encourage myself to write about whatever strikes my fancy. At the moment, that’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

After announcing a graphic novel
I’m working on, I immediately redid the intro this morning.

But that’s a good thing! Now we get into the story and our faux RPG/Zelda world a lot faster. That’s where the fun happens.

Thank you! It’s wildly inspiring. Now just gotta make the book and make it successful enough so I can come on and talk about how helpful your podcast was — and close the loop 🤓

Press Start: A Graphic Novel A sneak peek at a project unlike anything I've ever done

In this week's newsletter, I write about how capitalism can be a cancer to creativity and how interviews of writers and artists featured on
@sktchd.bsky.social's "Off Panel" podcast (like @nicolegoux.bsky.social, Brian K. Vaughan) inspired me to just do it. withoutapath.substack.com/p/press-star...

I'm working on something unlike anything I've written before. It's a a meta-fantasy adventure where humor, heart, and nostalgia collide with an unexpected emotional core about identity, mortality, and the choices that make a life meaningful.

I call it: Press Start.

Did you grow up on Zelda, Final Fantasy, and the like?

Then you might be into this.

Anyone else run with Zelda theme music playing?

...Just me? www.instagram.com/p/DNnlfGjMIdn/

I Got German Citizenship! (And you can, too) Plus, how vegans survive in the land of jamón

A year ago, I became a German citizen. open.substack.com/pub/withouta...

Same. Wife and I woke up one day and were suddenly into birds, using Merlin to track and identify their calls like a couple of retirees.