Resume of three weeks on the bike

The three weeks on the light packed race bike helped on three aspects. First lesson learned – there is no real difficulty in finding a campsite aside the road especially when weather condition allow for a nigth stay without tent. Second is the hoped result that endurance increases and the recovery time reduces. The third more technical finding is that a hub dynamo is extremly helpful for having permanent USB power. Smartphone Navigation is my favourite over dedicated GPS navigators. The hub dynamo prooved reliable to supply sufficient energy to charge the power hungry mobile even when the headlight is connected in parallel. It also eases the riding when you can listen to the radio while pedaling without an anxious look on the mobile phones upper right percentage value.

Training trip to Spain

Presumably physical training is of less importance for a long distance bike ride as condition matures on the go. Though I do well recall the impact on mental health when beeing exhausted or cycling at low blood sugar levels. Hence a reasonable preparation might ease out one or the other frustration.

So far the year 2019 with its excellent summer provided around 5000km on the bike and I am setting off for a training tour back and forth to Barcelona which should add another 3k of exercising kilometers to the ones in stock already.

Having done this trip one way in the past in predefined sections and prebooked hotels this time I am rolling with light camping kit so I can stop for the night when needed and get used to have good sleep even without the comfort of closed shelter.

From Chaos to a Journey !

 

The route materializes ! The journey should start from my home in Munich and wind down to Istanbul. From there the planning suggests to cross the Anatolian plateau to reach Iran. Passing through Iran I want to head down to Bandar Abbas and take the ferry to Dubai. Boarding an airplane should bring me to India to travel through Goa and further south to Kerala. Then the trip should turn north east India to travel through Nepal and finish with the famous Manali-Leh Highway in the north west.

Starting time is set for beginning of October which will allow to cross Turkey hopefully without snowfall, passing Iran still in moderate temperature and to spend the winter in southern India. Spring is perfect for Nepal and the mountain roads in Kashmir are best to travel in summer.

The full cycling kit is in preparation and it is foreseeable you will always miss something whereas other things get their lift for thousand kilometers without using them one single time.

At present I am less afraid of the danger and physical challenges of such a trip but more to cope with several month of restless move in unknown territory.