Planning
All Roads Lead to Brno
So far I’ve tried not to actually plan anything for the Eurocycle, the aim is, afterall to keep my options open and just decided where to go when I feel like it. There is only one thing in my itinerary so far: I’ve been invited by a friend, along with others, to visit him for New Year’s Eve. He lives in Brno, Czech.
My first thought was to aim to cycle there for the end of December, I could easily cover the distance from mostly anywhere in western Europe in a few weeks, and it’d at least give me something to aim for right in the middle of the tour.
This idea has quickly vanished when I found out that it is usually -10C in Czech at that time of year, and last year, I’ve been informed, was “very cold, 25 degrees, brrrr.” He did mean MINUS 25 degrees!
Since this revelation I’ve decided to park the bike somewhere a little warmer and get a plane/train/coach over. I could try and contact someone on WarmShowers.org, and see if they’ll keep my bike for a week or so, or I could leave it with friends in Belgium, or even cycle back to the UK.
There are a few others going to Brno at the same time, so I could feasibly leave my bike with them (southern England) and fly back out, but this seems to be a bit silly, having to go back to England, then all the way back to Czech, especially as its possible for me to be only a few hundred miles away!
Whichever way I decide to proceed, I’m hoping to leave some warm clothes with someone coming over from home, at least that way I might be a little respectible and not skin-tight!
The Eurocycle
I realise that I’ve set up this blog and written a few things already but have yet to actually discuss what I’m doing except for a very brief outline on the About page.
My big trip, big idea, and whole point of this blog is the Eurocycle. This is my genius title to a cycle tour of Europe that I’m planning to begin this winter.
So far the plan is to starve myself all summer and save up some moolah so I can pack in and sell up my life (pretty much just a car!), then hop off on a bike for 6 months or so.
I’m not going to research and plan a great itinerary, the idea is that I will go ‘where the wind takes me’ and it’ll be a spontaneous, courageous journey where the hero finds himself, and a journey of discovery of both culture and personal realisation [note: I may have lifted this from one of many self-appreciating hippy-boho-cool films/books, and I'm under no illusions of living out a fairytale plot]. In all seriousness it does have something to so with all the wishy-washy finding oneself bumff: I need a break from real life before I grow up too quickly…
Despite trying to keep away from too much planning, my general ideas are to head south as soon as it gets cold (probably very soon after starting) and follow the coast to Portugal. I might then drift around the med, and maybe venture into southern Italy, or maybe Greece.
I’ve thought about getting some work in a bar or farm or something for a few months, but I’m not so smooth with any languages so that might be a stumbling block!
With any luck I’ll be able to keep this blog updated while out and about, and it’ll not only make all my friends jealous but should also keep my family satisfied that I’m still alive!