#2 Life is a lesson ~ How much can you really plan?!

Preparing for this trip is not so easy, I'm a little unsure how to proceed. I have a rough idea of the route I'll be taking and a rough idea of how many kilometres I can complete per hour. What I've also learnt from Life experience is that planning to much is generally not worth it. Things happen day to day that are unexpected and from this week of training I can see that each day is very different, from 51 km Monday to 20 km yesterday. Temperature, sleep, water and food all make such a difference to how much I can move in one day. Should I ditch the planning and just do it?! mmmmm...

~ Preparations ~ Week 1 ~

~ Monday ~ 
~ Remember water ~

I woke at 6.30 for my regular 30 minute meditation, followed by the healthy home made yoghurt, fruit and cereal... Best start to the day, a clear mind and happy stomach :D

My day on the road started at 9:30, I arrived back home at 12:45 in time for lunch. During that time I made several stops the first at the post office, second for a toilet and tea break, third to buy more water (note: should carry a minimum of 2 litres) and the fourth started as a quick stop to buy some 'miele' (honey) and ended in agreeing that I would come to help out for a few hours when I am free... Great opportunity to enhance my knowledge and skills of self sufficiency!

After a stretching and lunch break, my journey continued in the form of my regular daily ride to and from work 1 hour and 10 km each way. Apart from the short section of full on heat and no water, the day was pretty good. A total of 5 hours pedalling, 51 km covered, a fresh pot of honey and an enhanced tan, I feel this week has started well...

Averaging 10 km per hour, my end of day analysis is that I can complete 60 km per day over 6 hours. Lets see if I feel the same by the end of the week <3 nbsp="">

~ Tuesday ~

~ Life on the edge ~

Who knew that on the edge of Rome, just at the end of my very long street, you can find a beautifully secluded, quiet and natural area to cycle through!? I did not ... Now gladly knowing this road, I will for sure be taking it more often. For anyone else who likes cycling or nature walks this is one to try, I'm sure you could even find a nice spot for a picnic! What a perfect place to take a break from the busy city centre. So from leaving my house at 8:10 and arriving at 9:45 on the farm for my first morning of volunteering, I had discovered this street, been offered pizza and a beer by a passing driver - gratefully declined, and travelled 13 km at a pace a little slower than yesterday ... there was so much to take in and my legs are a little tender from all these km's! By this evening though, between jobs, I have completed a total of 47.1 km in all of 5 hours cycle time and taken home a few little goodies from the farm ... Not bad.  

~ Wednesday ~

~ Listen to your body ~

Today my body is crying "what are you doing!? This is too much for me!" and so I've had to admit to myself that I have been overdoing it, after all it is only week 1. Riding between work and pushing myself to do the kilometres as fast as possible is only going to end in injury. Not only that but I was convinced I had to complete the blog daily, share everything on facebook, have the plan all mapped out all at once! Wow, I love when I see myself ... this people, is the ego, say "hello ego!" 

Note to self ~ Remember to stay present and relaxed in everything you do!

More specifically my knees and and lower back have been aching, so I'll be eating more of the foods that help bones and muscles, Iron, protein and calcium rich food. As well as focusing my stretches on the lower back and knees. 24 km in 3 hours today spread out between work on the farm and babysitting.    

~ Thursday ~

~ No pressure ~

After letting go of the need to have everything under my control and done to the highest possible standard! I have had a lovely day, my lower back was really feeling it this morning, so I took more time stretching and less time on the bike. I spent half an hour in the park, then half an hour on the bike along the River Tiber, Rome before stopping to do my morning meditation, then riding for another half an hour to joining my friend for a fruit filled breakfast :D Yummy! 

After breakfast, I received a Shiatsu massage, which released all the tension in my spine, ready for the ride to work and home after work. So I spent a total of 3 hours on the bike today completing 24 km.

The cycle route along River Tiber goes all the way through Rome starting from Viale Guglielmo Marconi. I haven't reached the other end yet, I'll add it to my list of routes (unfortunately I can't get the route on google maps) 

~ Friday ~

~ A day of rest ~ 

Today I have taken a break from the Bike and focused my energy on the route planning for the trip, I have sent messages through couchsurfing. This is what the first part of the trip looks like ... 

Cycle for a cycle journey plan.

Times are calculated at 8 km per hour...

Toulouse, France -> 33.6 km / 4.2 hrs -> Poucharramet, France

Couchsurfing EVTYCIA – Call Eva 1 week before arrival and inform them of anything I may need (water). Food and bed included.

Poucharramet, France -> 141 km -> Pau, France -> 164km -> Pamplona, Iruna, Spain -> 194 km -> Burgos, Spain -> 96.5 km -> Palencia, Spain -> 47.6 km -> Valladolid, Spain -> 116 km -> Salamanca, Spain -> 121 km -> Almeida, Portugal -> 110 km -> Idahna a Nova

To keep me motivated and inspired I've been listening to the Life you tube channel Inspirational music soundtrack :D 

When you start a project, there are so many things to be discovered, the idea is just the start. As you move through each step the details come to the surface ... Life is a lesson <3 comment-3--="" nbsp="">

~ Saturday ~

~ A work day ~

Today there was a lack of preparations, I worked pretty much all day, cycled there and back which was approximately 14 km in total ... Still bike <3 p="">

~ Sunday ~

~ Critical Mass Rome ~

I woke up this morning with an urge to go to the beach on the bike. I called my friend to see what she was up to and she informed me that the Critical Mass event was taking place today from Piramide to Ostia ... AWESOME! I packed my bag with food and water and set off on my merry way, completing 10 km before reaching the starting point, I then met a few thousand people ready for the cycle <3 a="" about="" battery="" borrowed="" but="" camera="" died="" event="" facebook="" follow="" for="" from="" group="" guys="" href="http://www.tmcrew.org/cm/" i="" if="" information="" more="" my="" nbsp="" page="" photo="" see.="" some="" the="" then="" to="" unfortunately="" want="" you="">this link

 which should lead you to the website. You can also check out the Facebook group page Critical Mass Roma where there should soon be a load of pics and videos <3 1="" 80="" :d="" a="" also="" and="" any="" are="" be="" best="" better="" boom="" bucket="" couldn="" couple="" day="" end="" enough="" festival="" from="" going="" got="" have="" i="" in="" it="" km="" lucky="" meet="" nbsp="" of="" p="" people="" s="" say="" t="" that="" the="" thought="" to="" toulouse="" travelling="" was="" week="" when="" who="" with="">

How are you going to do that?!

I have up to this point been convinced that I am fully able to do between 10 and 15 km per hour for 6 hours per day enabling me to complete my journey from Toulouse to Portugal in time for boom festival. However as this will be the first grand excursion on two wheels and I keep hearing 'that's a lot of km for one day', I feel I should maybe start hitting the road to see exactly how many km I can achieve. Stay tuned!

There have also been a few other points raised today, which I feel are important to consider. Those include; "where exactly do you think you'll be staying each night", "be sure you don't travel in the hottest part of the day", "have you got a plan of the road surfaces", "you know that the weight of your stuff will slow you down!" and my favourite "are you doing it alone?!"

Most of these concerns have been thought out, not the road surfaces one !? That made me chuckle a little and I have to admit it's probably useful information, but I want this to remain an adventure, so I will not be having a road surface survey done!

My plan is to hit the road early and get most of the journey done before 11am then I can take it slower in the afternoon. This is something that I will discover when I hit the road, but of course the hottest hours are not the best, I would after all like to make it, hydrated and well.

By night I have a few options, they include couchsurfing.com, warmshowers.com and of course the good ole tent... which will be part of the luggage that I actually thought wouldn't slow me down to much :/ ( schedule test number 2! )

Alone... I find that many people are afraid to travel by themselves. I was once afraid, until I discovered that, when you travel alone you are able to choose what you want to do, when you want to do it without questioning the other or feel obligated to stay with your travel buddy! (It's a serious amount of freedom) I actually found myself opening up quicker to new people and meeting a wider range of people I may never have met had I not been alone. Life will lead me where I have to be, of that I'm sure <3 p="">

#1 Life is a lesson ~ Fixing a puncture!

Well it's good to get some practice in I guess...

Yesterday my bike received a puncture! Usually I would go straight to the shop instead of tackling the problem by myself, however as we all know its not long until I'll be off on the road all by my little old self! What an opportunity to get me prepared <3 nbsp="" p="">
In the moments leading up to the repair, my heart was racing, "can I do this all by myself" I thought, "what if it all goes wrong, I might create another hole or maybe tear the inner tube and not be able to find a new one". As despair set in I gently reminded myself that with love comes knowledge, then poof out of nowhere I realised I've seen how to do this many times before, "Dad fixed mine loads of times and I got to watch!". The calm of my breath returned as I slowly opened the tyre. As soon as I pulled the first part of the inner tube out, the hole revealed itself and I had need not go further. Unsure which side of the inner tube plaster to face down and which side to face up, I tried both and it became clear which wanted to be closer to the tyre. With a couple of minutes and a lot of tyre glue, it was a success :D  

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3000 km Cycle for a Cycle will take place this summer. Here you can stay updated about the journey and show your support by donating to my project. Please share this with your friends and stay tuned to see my journey <3