Getting Ready

Time to blow cobwebs off the Blogsite and get back into the groove of bringing impressions from the bike seat to an audience that may or may not want to get out on a bike. The idea is not so much a travelogue, but stories of the people,  incidents (and inner feelings :-) that may give an insight into why we are once again putting ourselves through the wringer of exhaustion, extremes,  frustration, foul-weather, headwinds, headaches, heartaches, misunderstandings, mis-directions, braking, faking and taking (wrong turns). Sideways and backwards are not the ideal direction for cyclists.

One week from departure we are busy checking the weight of our bikes (this does not change much,but we always hope they may be a bit lighter), starting stacks of gear in the spare bedroom, making sure we have all the right cables for charging the various items of electronic gear that we carry. (I have more gadgets than Val of course)

This is what we are leaving behind, cruising on Solitaire back in the summer, of course this is a rather colder scene than when the photo was taken on a February sailing trip to Nelson, and of course is one of the attractions for heading to the Northern Hemisphere for a bit more summer.