It's Monday night and I'm leaving Thursday morning. I don't feel ready. I've done a 'ppp' (preliminary pannier pack) and it all fits in but the total weight including the bike is a hefty 53kg. My knees are starting to ache at the thought of it.......and that's without water and food. I draw some comfort from the words of Alisdair at
MSG Bikes when I commented on the weight of the bomb-proof factory-fitted bicycle lock. He breezily dismissed the addition of a 1kg+ lump of steel with "Why are you worried about weight, that's what gears are for". Clearly he was unaware of Mr Easyjet's baggage allowance rules which I will have to negotiate on the flight back home.
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| The route - I might miss Cyprus out if the Turkey-Tripoli ferry starts operating again. |
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| The beast - loaded up for a test run |
I'd feel a bit more prepared if I'd actually ridden the bike anywhere. To be honest I did put the panniers on and pedaled down the lane and back, a useful exercise because the rear panniers were mounted to far forward and were catching on the heels of my boots. Down the lane I met a local farmer and his wife and chatted to them about my plans. They looked a bit bemused and I could see the question 'Why?' written across their faces. The dear lady mentioned that I might be suffering from 'um falta de parafuso' which roughly translates to 'I think you have a screw loose'. I mustn't let all this encouragement go to my head!
Sandra said she would meet me in Paredes on Thursday to wave me off, I'll need a coffee after climbing that hill into town.............so that's it then, Thursday morning come rain or shine.....two days to go.
