Bamboo Odyssey » United Kingdom | Bamboo Odyssey

London, UK to the Black Sea- Sunny Beach, Bulgaria

Jules — Thu, 04 Jul 2013 04:51:51 +0000

We did it…..as the sea came into view….oh, not again .I am crying…. again……have we really done it? I am calling out….I can see the sea….i can see the sea. Li doesn’t hear me….she is racing the last leg.
The first real hurdle is now complete. I remember day 1, wondering wether we would even make the UK coast. Then, would we make it to Paris….Champagne… Germany?…the crest of the next bloody hill, each day, sometimes each moment, a new challenge, with the span of Europe, our journey to the Black Sea, a thought almost as daunting to me as the cycle to Australia. I never considered myself a cyclist, I’ve been a slow developer with a slowly growing passion for the bicycle.
The Black Sea, like our future destinations, was a shadowy goal rather large for my initial lack of fitness and queries as to my will power. Not just will power, would i enjoy myself, and if i didn’t, would i go home? It was enjoyable. This is stage one. Done! Yes we still have a few days ride, to Turkey, Asia, over the mountains until we say our goodbyes to Europe but we have swam in the Black Sea and it feels.,…done!
I am rather pleased with myself…..pleased with Li….our journey, but also my own journey as Li lives her own. If Li were not so busy navigating so she could spend more time writing, I know her observations, challenges, ups and downs would be significantly different to my own. Some days i am sure i am her challenge….And I need to thank Li. If not for her, the past 3 months adventure, would not be the story it has become. The landscapes, the people, the animals, day and night, the effort…..It has been fantastic, surreal, so that the occasional discomfort is just a reminder that I am awake and not still in London soon to rise from bed and make self ready for another day’s work, a days work that at this point i can not imagine.
Passing slowly through 10 countries there have been stresses, times when it is too easy to take out the toll on each other, together constantly, but this is my journey….no, this is your journey. You cycle too fast, cycle too slow. Our journey….we have become just that little bit kinder, more gentle, more caring, motivating and I wouldn’t chose to ride any other way. Thank you Li.

Blogging as a novice on a bicycle tour

Jules — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 14:05:29 +0000

The ” Adventure Cycle Touring Handbook” by Stephen Lord, suggested if you want to blog about your travels, start the process about 6 months before your trip. I think I skim read that part 6 months ago and noted the wisdom 1 week before our departure.
I am not overall computer literate and Li who is so much more adept still struggles with the platform. If you are like me, do not believe WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr are as simple as we are lead to believe. My first attempt with Tumblr, my password became my URL.
After much research…..in a week, a few hours here and there between packing up our lives…..Li managed to set up web hosting with TSO and WordPress.org as our platform. A minimal charge for hosting but potentially less than blogging with the free platform, WordPress.com. Assuming we get many visits from others…..or more likely, myself!
OK, we had a platform. We needed a logo. Gimp was apparently easy….we gave up and paid a graphic artist through “Fiverr”. Damn good price but we didn’t like the logo. Back to Gimp and perseverance. Lots of perseverance and…it will do. More perseverance and managed to load it onto the header of our site. We have learnt a lot, and realise there is a lot more to learn. All without a single photo or web log.
On the road I put pen to paper every day. Putting it on the net is a different saga altogether. I still need to learn the ins and outs of tidying the platform into something more presentable. And we need free wifi. This is sporadic like our time. Cycling every day is hard work, finding wifi is harder work , and they don’t always meld together. We are looking for rest, water, food, communication at ground level, the spoken word. Most importantly, Li the human GPS is looking for the next route. I will continue to persuade her to blog.

Thank you Robin

Jules — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 21:29:41 +0000

Robin is one of our oldest Australian come London friends having known us and our foibles in both Hemispheres. Robin was with us the night we deceided to share our individual dreams of riding to Australia. Rather than try and talk us out of it,…. or point out that our imagination bubbled forth after our only unfavorable experience of dance at Saddlers Wells, resulting in early departure and a pint too many… agreed to join us on our first leg from London to Paris. Thank you Robin for the company, your amazing navigatioin, and waiting patiently with Li atop every hill. Thanks for being a friend and not suggesting an end to this journey despite experiencing first hand, my distaste for hills and my naivety towards the world and mostly……thank you for a triumphant lunch, including four of my favorite things, champagne, french onion soup, steak tartare and a very decent creme brûlée. However i have now considered 12 months in France searching for the perfect Brûlée is not such a bad aspiration.

Weather forecast set off 24th March

Jules — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 07:31:52 +0000

Mysterious Bangs

admin — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 21:53:58 +0000

In the final days before we leave all is bedlam.We have just moved from our home of the past 3 years and are doing final tweeks to the bikes, paperwork including stuff for the dreaded tax man, vaccinations, acupuncture treatments and squeezing in goodbyes……there is always something I seem to have forgotten at the back of my mind…..amidst all this we hear a massive bang from where the bikes are stored. Assuming the bikes have fallen over in the horrendous weather we discover the tube on Li’s back wheel has mysteriously exploded. This makes no sense as the tyre pressure was quite low however the event ensured our finger pulled out and bike maintenance removed from our hands. The bike has been taken to the local mechanic. One less thing to do.