Five Days from Departure

When its all spread out you'd wonder how it all fits - and this is not the lot, we still have our clothes to go. These photos look a bit the same, my excuse is that I'm trying out my new camera.

 

We fly out of Blenheim on Wednesday at 4.40 NZ time, Auckland, San Francisco Francisco and off the plane at Toronto, where we spend several days with Liz and John - Liz is an old school friend of Val's. Then its a 5 hour train trip to Montreal from where the cycle adventure starts in earnest.



 

We are members of an international Cycle Hosting Network, known as "Warm Showers.com", which has members all over the world who provide other cyclists with a place to put their tent, the use of their kitchen and bathroom and importantly for us, advice on the best routes to take, especially in and out of the big cities.




 

Our first Warm Showers host in Montreal, is a dance and Yoga teacher, as well as a cyclist and we are looking forward to meeting her and finding out something about her city.

Keep tuned folks my netbook Eee PC will be our window to the world.

 

Dismantling Domingo ready for packing. This part of cycle touring is pretty stress free, working at home, all the workshop tools available. Putting the bikes back together usually takes place at an airport or railway station. The same goes for dis-assembling for the trip home, hard to put hands on cleaning materials, working environment crowded and noisy. Customs are very particular about tyres being clean - the first time I took my bike to Australia, I ended up in a back room at Brisbane airport, cleaning the bikes tyres with a toothbrush!.

 

The tidy up has started,I am packing up my workshop so the van can fit in with a bit of room for our house sitters to access the rubbish bin and the recycling boxes.

Val is busy making a new "holiday skirt", made from an original screen print design -"New York" she has named it. It's a pity I have put on a couple of kilograms in the last few months, however by the time we get to New York I will probably be able to fit into them as well - so keep an eye on the Social Pages of the New York Times - for the "In Town This Week" column.

We are busy getting our nutrition sorted for the big ride, Olivani with Avocado and Gumboot tea in Vals spotty Teapot are part of our training diet, along with porrige, coffee, bacon and eggs ---mmmmm ---can you smell them cooking as I write.

Let me introduce the often unsung heroes of cycle touring - our bikes. "Hurdy Girlie" Val's new Surly touring bike, bought since our last big trip in Europe, so this is the first international outing for "Hurdy". She shares a stable with "Domingo", my faithful steed who is named after Tomas Domingo's bike shop in Barcelona where he was purchased second hand at the start of our tour in 2008. Domingo is a Cannondale "proudly hand made in the USA" so he is going back to his roots.

Domingo and Hurdy Girlie are preparing for the East Coast USA ride. Domingo is on the stand getting his gears in tune while Girly awaits patiently in the background.

Two weeks and one day to departure - I thought it was three!! That's me, always a bit behind the eight ball".

Gear is being assembled, new tyre for Domingo, a new tarp for travel wrapping.

Val has a small pile of items building up in the spare room and for once I am feeling no pressure relating to language barriers.