The Plan

Hello, and welcome to my blog. I plan to post regular updates from internet cafes as I cycle from France to China over the next 6 months. I leave tomorrow. Here's the plan:

May 21-22: Fly from Boston to Paris, then take a train to Dieppe and assemble my bike
May 23-30: Cycle from Dieppe to Munster (with my friend Al Bui)
May 31-June 1: Train back to Paris, then flight back to Boston
June 2-5: Graduation in Boston
June 5-6: Fly back to Paris, Train back to Munster, Join "Orient Express Tour"
June 7-July 20: Cycle to Istanbul (with "Orient Express Tour")
July 21-25: Rest
July 26-Nov 12: Cycle from Istanbul to Beijing (with "Silk Route Tour")
Nov 13-Nov 25: Cycle to Pacific Coast, then explore Beijing
Nov 26: Fly home to Toronto
December: Find a place to live in Toronto
January: Start work at CIBC

After 10 relaxing days in the Dominican Republic, I spent today doing laundry, buying last minutes supplies, and packing. I have more than the 2x90L bags I'm allowed, so I'll need to cut some stuff tomorrow morning. My thick sleeping pad is the most likely victim. Maybe I can buy something smaller.

Over the past 2 months, I've obtained visas for Azerbaijan, Uzebekistan, Kyrgystan, and Tajakistan. Canadians can apply for Turkish visas upon arrival, and the tour group has made arrangements for me to get my Turkmenistan visa upon arrival too. That leaves China, which is only issuing 3 month visas in Canada right now. Since I don't arrive in China until Sept 18th, I'll have to figure out something from the road.

Since mid-March, I've put 758km of training on my bike. (A bit less than the 2,506km of training I put in before my cross-Canada trip in 2004, but it will have to do.) For the record, I weighed in at 176 lbs today. Time for bed.