#5 Paris, France and the 1000km mark!

Before i start, yes that is a real dog and cat sitting with Julia in The Netherlands photo #1. For some reason animals seem to congregate around Julia.

We`re now in Paris and enjoying our 3 day break from our bikes. Tomorrow we start heading south again towards Spain. It wasn`t originally on our itinerary but we`ve decided to change it a bit due to the high cost of flying out of South Africa. Instead we`ll be adding Spain and Morroco. Another reason we`ve chosen Spain is, my parents will be there around the same time and it will be good to see them.

Things have been going well, nothing too crazy has happened. We`ve done a few "late night" bush campings ie; side of the highway, in a open field or in one case in a national park where we were woken in the middle of the night by a large squeeling roar. We dont know what type of animal it was but it sounded like it was mad that we were camped in the middle of it`s territory.

Other than that, we`ve been meeting great people (Bernard, Cathy, James and Sandra), having good times and for the most part staying out of trouble....well Julia is at least. Our bikes have been excellent with only a few minor repairs: broken spoke, worn out brakes and a few problems with Julia`s rack......on the bike.

Until next time.

Belgium's Best

On our way through Belgium toward the boarder of France, Steve and I were stopped on a bridge, map in hand, when a local cyclist asked if we were "perdu?". That means lost, I guess in French. We must have had that look about us, because not only did the man tell us which way to go, he also escorted us most of the way and would have continued if the bracket on my rear panniers hadn't busted just as we entered the town of Soignies. The man continued on his way, and we stopped for repairs. Just as Steve was tightening the last bolt, the man returned, this time with his wife, and they invited us to spend the night. Without a moment's hesitation, we gladly accepted! Below is a picture of Bernard and Catherine, the very kind couple who took pity on us and fed us pizza until we were ready to burst! Thank you for a great evening!

A Few Words From Julia

Thanks to everyone who sent us comments! Holland was by far the best for biking and hospitality so far! The weather has been warmer than in Scotland, and the good times just keep on rolling. Steve is doing a fantastic job as our main navigator, but it's good to know that I can help too when he's frustrated. Between the two of us, we'll make it to where we need to go!

#4 Belgium

Hey everybody,

The screen is now in french and the keyboard is backwords but at least i can make out a few more of the words. Does anybody know how to change the screen to an english version?

We're in Brussels now after an 80km day. We left Amsterdam Saturday afternoon and have been camping the last few nights. Amsterdam was Great! We stayed at an excellent guest house called "Frederik's", where we had the best nights sleep in quite awhile. It may take me a few days to remember what we actually did in Amsterdam so I'll talk about what's happening now. We are currently close to the 700km mark on our trip and we seem to be getting stronger by the day. We should be in Paris by the weekend. Our bikes are keeping up well with only a few minor repairs and neither one of us have been sick or extremely injured.

These Internet cafes are few and far between so we've decided that ill be working on our blog ie; photos and quick updates, whereas Julia will be writing more on what we have been up to. So if you'd like to hear more then send me your email, to our guestbook, in the right hand column >>>>>>

#3 The Netherlands

Well, we're here in the Netherlands/Holland. Amsterdam was a blast and we are currently on the Belgium border in a town called Roosendaal. Everthing on this screen is Dutch so this posting will be short. I'll update it again as soon as we have more time and i can read what im doing. We have alot of pictures but no way to download them, hopefully in belgium. In the meantime...good times!!!!

#2 Scotland

Hey Everybody, we've made it!! Scotland is good times!! After 5 days and 260kms we've made it to Fort William (Northern Scotland). Only one complaint: sore ass.
I don't know how long it will take for our bums to get use to this riding, but i hope it will be soon. We've been spending 3 to 6 hours in the saddle each day, but putting in at least 10 to 12 hours eating, setting-up/taking-down camp and finding the best route possible. The highlands were tough and there was a couple of days there that was all up hill. Last night was crazy, we ended up camping at the bottom of an abandoned ski hill. The sun was going down and we were still 14kms away from the nearest campground. So we pitched the tent out in the open, with +30km/hour winds and freezing temperatures. We picked up a cooked chicken earlier that day from a local grocery store and ate it like wild animals. Today we've decided to indulge and stay in a B&B: shower, hot water, soft bed = FANTASTIC!!
Tomorrow we'll be heading to the Loch Ness, Inverness, Nairn and then to Europe. Wish us luck and pray for our bums!

These pictures are a bit out of order because half of them are from Julia's camera. For more pictures look to the right of this screen and click on the website below "my pictures"

The Talk

On March 21st, Steve came to the school where I teach, and together, we gave a presentation to the entire student body about our trip. Steve was a superstar, and I had a blast! The kids really enjoyed it too, and the next day, so many kids came up to talk to me that I felt almost famous! We brought all of our gear, set up our tent, and presented a lengthy slide show infused with humor. It actually took a lot longer to prepare than we anticipated, but it was totally worth it to see how excited and into our speech they were. I told Steve that we should become some sort of husband and wife team, and do this sort of thing for a living, but I think that he was more nervous to present to the students than he is to go on this trip! He was really amazing though - I don't think too many other husbands would spend hours planning, take a day off work to present, haul all of the gear to the school and back...just because his wife asked him to. At the end of our presentation, we handed out little packets with a piece of paper inside and a tiny polished stone. We called these "Dream Stones", and told the children to think about what they really wanted in life, write it on the piece of paper, and put the stone in their pocket or under their pillow to remind them of their dream. So many students were pumped up about this part too. It was a really great feeling, giving them joy and a sense of hope. We've been invited back to my school to present again when we return - for sure we'll do it! Here are a few photos that Steve's sister, Gill took. She brought her 3 year old son, Caleb, to watch us. It meant a lot to us that she was able to come!

Our first trip

Last weekend, Julia and I did our first practice run here in the city. We wanted to see how our bikes would handle fully geared, as well as gauge how long it takes to cycle 40 kms. We left our place at 6am in order to make it on time to my parents place for brunch. It took us 4 hours to cycle from Westhills through downtown and then South to Cranston. We would have done it in less, but we ended up walking for an hour because of deep snow. All in all, it was a successful practice and it has made us even more excited than before. 38 DAYS TO GO!!! Here are a few pictures of our early morning voyage.


Julia with her mighty steed.


Myself with "The Thunder", (I've decided my bike might be less abusive towards me if I gave it a cool name).


Here's Julia with all of her cycling gear stuffed into a duffle bag. This will be how we transport our gear onto planes, trains, buses and the odd donkey.

Gear List

In case anyone else out there is planning a similar trip, you might find it helpful to see just what we're planning on bringing. The list of gear we've purchased or have been gifted seems endless! It's hard to believe that all of this stuff is going to fit in our panniers! There are a lot of hidden costs to going away for a year - and I'm sure that there are a few things that we're missing yet.

1) Bicycles

Gary Fisher Mountain Bike: Genesis Tassajara GS
Cannondale Mountain Bike; F1000
Swalbe Tires (X6) Marathon XR’s
Ortlieb Rear Panniers (X2)
Old Man Mountain rear bike racks (X2)
VDO C10+ Wireless Cycling Computer
Filzer dB2L Cycling Computer
Frame Bag (medium)
Frame Bag (small)
Handlebar Bag (x2)
Axiom Front Racks (x2)
MEC Front Panniers (x2)

2) Camping Gear

MSR Velo tent (an amazing tent that boasts an extra large vestibule which fits both our bikes)
1L Kettle
Silva II Mummy sleeping bag (X2)
Brunton Nova Multifuel Stove
Compact self inflating mattresses (X2)
Water Purifier drops
Plastic Sporks (x2) - remarkable half spoon half fork utensils!

3) Clothing

2 pairs each of Defeet biking socks
1 pair each of Cannondale winter socks
Shimano biking shoes (men's)
Alero Women’s Jacket
Hydrofoil Rain Jacket (1 men's, 1 women's)
Gortex Rain pants (men's)
Castelli Biking Shirt (women's)
Rapide Cycling Shorts(women's)
Castelli Pretty Carve 2 Sleeveless Jersey (women's)
Echelon Long-Sleeved Jersey (women's)
Waterproof Cycling Shoe Covers (one pair for each of us)
Super Microfit Cycling Jacket (women's)
Shebeest Serenity Zip Sweater (women's)
Coldout Bike Gloves (Unisex)
Louis Garneau Helmet (Gladiator)
Bell Helmet (Image 2000)
Shimano Bike Shoes (women's)
Padded Bike Shorts (Steve)

4) Miscellaneous Gear and Supplies

BBB Toothbrush (to clean our chain wheels)
Cleats (x2) (for our clipless toe pedals)
Pin Chain Tool
Bell Roadie
Turner 2 Spoke Wrench
Tens Pulley
Guide Pulley
Extra Spokes
Gear Cable Jagwire
Brake Cable Jagwire
Petzl Tika Plus Headlamp (x2)
CC Mesh Stuff Sacks (2 large, 2 medium, 4 small)
Helium Quick Water proof Stuff Sacks, #2 (x2)
5L Dry Bag (x2)
Petzl Tika Plus Headlamp (x2)
Airline Tote (medium, X2)
Pump Straps (x4)
Power Straps(X2)
Kodiak Bear Bells (x4) (to booby trap our tent against lions, hippos and shady characters)
Filzer I-Mouse Front LED Light (x2 - White)
V-Brake replacement pads(x2)
V-Brake Assembly (x3)
Rim Tape 26x22mm (x2)
Pro Patch Deluxe Patch Kit
Mtn Logo leg band
Pro Patch Tire Lever Set
Zefal Repair Kit With Tire Levers
NANO Ipod (x2)
Panasonic Digital Voice Recorders (x2)
Trekker Pillow Case (x2)
Money Belt
Amphibian Compass
Converter Set


Here is a picture of some of our gear stuffed onto a shelf in our computer room. Not much storage space in our little condo!


This is Steve setting up our new tent - making sure it's all there!