Last year, 'wherever' turned out to be Bergamo, or Milan if you use the Ryanair geography book.
That was the end point of a cycle ride I did jn the summer of 2007 from Nordkapp, right at the top of Norway, down as far as I got in the six weeks I had free between finishing work and a family wedding. I started by flying to Tromso on 25 June, then getting the Hurtigrute ferry up almost to the northernmost point of Europe before doing the last few miles by bike. I then turned round and started pedalling south, through Finland, the Baltic states, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and the top bit of Italy.
Now it's 2008, and with a borderline autistic urge to achieve some sort of completion, I'm returning to where I finished last year, and then heading south. Only 2 weeks this time, and a long way to go given I've put back all the podge I lost last year, and not overdone it on the training either. Will I get all the way to Sicily? Who knows, or cares, as long as I get some good weather and several plates of gnocchi.
The rest of this site is an account of the separate bits of the trip, with daily updates (for the days when I actually do any cycling, anyway), plus a description of the half-hearted preparation for it.
Sorry if it comes across as a bit awkwardly structured now, but I didn't expect to be returning to the quest, and as they say, if I'd known I wanted to get there, I wouldn't have started from here.
Oh yes, and if you want to contact me, try clicking here. It might work, but it might just urge you to register for various email services, in which case I wouldn't bother.
| The bike and bits | About the bike, where I got it and its add-ons |
| What to take | How many pairs of underpants do I need? (Answer: All of them) |
| Preparatory Rides (2007) | Getting used again to being on a bike for hours at a time |
| The Trip (2007) | It all seems so long ago now. |
| Preparatory Rides (2008) | An overblown description for biking to work and back a few times. |
| The Trip 2008 | Same as last time, only all in one country this time. |
| Links | Things I've found helpful; information resources; similar trips |
| Sponsorship | Don't bother |
Created on ... August 16, 2007