The planned route (Click to enlarge)

Sunday, July 6, 2008

El Paso to... Anchorage?

I can't really remember when we began working out how we would go round the world. I think it seemed like a good overall goal which we could then begin to fill bit by bit. In the last 3 years we have settled on, amongst other means, freighters, trains, sailing, buses, walking and cycling, all prompted by a mix of chats in pubs, reading books and just seeing what inspired us.

How it goes from an idea to actually deciding to do it i'm not sure. However, this morning I think we might have had one of those moments. Over some scrambled eggs Hol pipes up that she wants to do more tandeming.
Fine, any leg in particular?
Yes. America.
The whole of America?
Yeah. And Canada, and Alaska.
Ok.
When you first say it sat round a kitchen table on a rainy day in London it seems ridiculous. There are a million questions that pop up and reasons why it's a bad idea. How far is it? What is the weather like? Can we ship a tandem over easily? Can we cycle faster than a bear? But then a few hours later you map out a route of about 5,000 miles, know the last passes are free of snow late May and that bears' small front legs mean they are slow downhill. A new chapter is on the table. Will it last?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This web page is fantastic. And hillarious. Good work, guys. And jealous that this cycle leg is half of my dream trip so fingers crossed it inspires me to get up off my a*se and start organising.