Welcome to DITL of a freelance translator, where we attempt to answer the question “What do translators do all day?” This week we’re asking Jiří Toman, a freelance Czech language specialist who is currently working and travelling around Europe.

Hi, I’m Jiri, aka The Cycling Translator. I’m a Czech language specialist for all things sport, bicycles, and computer games. I’m slow-traveling around Europe in my camper van while working full-time as a freelancer, trying to spend ¾ of the year on the road. The rest I usually spend at my base camp in Czechia.

Sport is my way of life. Translations and writing are my bread and butter. I’ve simply managed to combine my greatest passions: travel, sports, words, and technology, and made them work together. A few years ago, I co-founded a collective of bike & language experts called Cyclinguists, providing comprehensive language services for bike brands.

So how was a day in the life of a vanslator traveling with his trusty bike and guitar? Read on!

6:00 – Waking up to birds chirping in a parking lot in Kaltenbronn, Germany, in the middle of the Schwarzwald forest, where I stopped on my way from a bike trade show in Frankfurt to another one in Paris. I just wanted to escape the heat wave and do some biking and running. (Did you know that you lose 1°C with every 150m of vertical distance? I hope you’ll put that knowledge to good use when another heat wave comes!) 😉

6:20 – Getting up (rather climbing down, because my bed is in the upper part of my van), putting my clothes on.

6:20–7:00 – Converting my bedroom to living room, eating muesli, yogurt, and a persimmon for breakfast since I have no bread left. Mental note: add bread to my shopping list when I get to a supermarket somewhere.

7:00–8:30 – Translating ads for a computer game using my favorite approach: “translate and have it read to you by your computer to avoid typos.” As usual, I was alternating between sitting and standing positions. (Yes, you can have an ergonomic workspace setup in a van!)

8:15–8:20 – Brushing my teeth, cleaning up after breakfast.

8:20–9:20 – Replying to emails (including a request for a quote I received on my LinkedIn profile the day before), liking and commenting on LinkedIn posts.

9:20–9:40 – Proofreading newsletters for an outdoor equipment brand.

9:40–9:45 – Moving the van from one parking spot to another to work in shade since the sun is already getting too strong for my liking. But it’s always a trade-off… I have a solar panel on the roof, so if I’m in the shade and not sweating in my van, it generates less electricity for my battery.

9:45–12:00 – Doing language testing of a website (for the same outdoor equipment brand). Connecting a big screen to my laptop to make the task easier.

12:00–12:20 – Checking LinkedIn, transcreating a 10-word website banner for a bike manufacturer.

12:20–14:20 – Converting living room to kitchen, cooking lunch on my gas stove (spätzle, since I’m in Germany!), eating, doing a short business video meeting, washing dishes, cleaning up, converting kitchen back into office. Wanting to eat something sweet for dessert but not finding anything in my van – another item for the shopping list.

14:20–14:40 – Post-editing a video game update article in my third working position: kneeling.

14:40–15:50 – LinkedIn, admin work, a few calls to organize replacement of an old router and cables at my base camp in České Budějovice.

15:50–16:55 – Workday is over! Using various apps and maps to find spots for sleeping for the next few nights, a supermarket, a petrol station, a water source. Planning a 10K trail run and preparing for it. Usually, I’d do something a bit longer, but since I biked some 80km yesterday, I want to take it easy.

16:55–18:20 – Running on gravel paths and wooden footways on high moor bogs, taking pictures and videos of lakes.

18:20–18:30 – Eating and drinking to replenish energy after the run, preparing my outdoor bathroom.

18:30–18:50 – Showering outside with my custom-made shower system, tidying everything away, hanging out my sweaty clothes to dry.

18:50–20:00 – Converting living room to kitchen again, cooking dinner (semolina pudding, part of which I plan to eat for breakfast tomorrow), eating, washing dishes and tidying everything away. (Because if I don’t do that, there’s not enough space in my living room!)

20:00–21:05 – Stretching, finalizing this post, exchanging messages with friends about our planned holidays in the Dolomites coming up soon. Reactivating my Couchsurfing subscription for the trade show in Paris I’m attending in a few days. (The plan is to leave my van in Strasbourg and take the TGV to Paris and back, so I need accommodation in Paris.)

21:05–22:00 – Preparing and posting a reel about the trail run I did this afternoon for my Instagram (feel free to follow my adventures there!) while lying on my acupressure mat to release tension in my muscles.

22:00–23:10 – Playing guitar and singing a bit since there’s no one in the parking lot and I’m in the mood.

23:10 – Converting living room to bed, brushing my teeth, going to sleep after some 20 minutes on my acupressure mat. Thinking that this was a good day, full of actual translation/proofreading work – I don’t usually spend that much time on it every day.

Good night and see you somewhere on the road!