Saturday, August 10, 2013

Summary

I feel great! And still could continue cycling, there are many destinations I could think about (more time in Russia and Ukraine, stay longer in Turkey, go to Georgia, Turkemistan ...) - but I also have other plans and 10 months are a limited time, that's why I decided to go home and change the bike for the backpack and fly to India.
 
If somebody is asking about the amount of kilometers I did, I have to answer I don't know, and I also don't know the average distance a day. But I am sure, people who are interested in such topics can calculate this by themselves.

Let's start with the practical issues, how to prepare for such a trip what to take with, cause afterwards we are all smarter than before:

Preparation:
  • get a bike, a trailer and maybe other stuff mentioned below
  • don't be frightened and always believe in the good of the people
  • just do it - but don't buy Nike products ;-)

What to take with:
  • Bicycle (26 inch) with tires
  • Good trailer, so far I know there are only two good brands at the market (bob and Weber)
  • Good tires (Continental or Schwalbe)
  • One multi tool, 4-5 spokes, oil, tool to remove ring gear, zip ties, Swiss army knife, pump and tubes
  • An easy and light self inflating matres
  • An easy and light sleeping bag
  • An easy and light 2 man, 3 season tent
  • An omnifuel stove
  • One pot
  • Some convenient food
  • 2 ordinary bike bottles
  • Only 1 cycle short and jersey
  • 4 pair of underwear
  • 2 pair of socks
  • 1 wind jacket
  • 1 rain trouser
  • 1 rain jacket
  • something to read 
  • 1 lamp
  • batteries
  • 1 pair of jeans
  • swimming clothes
  • 2 T-shirts
  • 1 Pullover
  • 1 Softshell Jacket
  • 1 Towel
  • sanitary products (but no shaving gel - soap is also good)
  • 1 Cheap Garmin with Open Street Maps
  • Flip Flops
  • Cycling Shoes you could also wear to hike
  • mp3 player
  • 1 backpack
  • if you want a sub notebook - after the NSA spy affair I could only recommend to take one with Linux
Don't do the mistake, I did to take a climbing rope and way too many clothes with you - you will appreciate it during your ride! If you want to climb just take shoes, a harness, 2 carabiners, 1 ATC and a sling with you - NOT More!

For all outdoor stuff I personally recommend Quechua or Vaude most, other brands are by far too expensive, and if you don't want to climb a peak of 7000m you don't need Mammut or Marmot clothes - but I heard, some people just buy it to be trendy, but I don't want to believe that!

But now some words about general issues:
  • I would not book anything in advance. No hotel, no flight no nothing - otherwise you are less flexible. 
  • I did not take any cash with me - I got money with my Visa - there are some banks who offer Visa cards you can use to get worldwide cash without paying any charges.
  • Drink Kwas in Ukraine and Russia (some malt beer - you get it everywhere)
  • Drink Kevir for the proteins (you get it everywhere)
  • Eat Sesame Bars (sesame with honey - 100% energy, and you get it everywhere)
I don't want to say I liked one country of the 10 countries I met most. I only say, even in Germany people are amazingly friendly to you when they see you travelling with the bike. But yes, I also enjoyed it to travel in countries which were new for me - and I didn't know anything about their languages.

Most impressed me from the scenery:
  • The first kms from the Danube before Sigmaringen close to Beuron
  • The Iron wall
  • The Danube Delta
  • Kherson
  • Sudak
The cities impressed me most were:
  • Belgrade
  • Budapest, but by far not like Belgrade 
"Drive Home" from Steven Wilson


"Ashes of the wake" from Lamb of God



=> I will create a new blog and also update you with information about my further trips, but not so frequent like I did during this trip - cause now I am able to enjoy to be with myself ;-)

3 comments:

  1. Have fun in India!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hallo, Steph!
    Grüße von Slava-biker aus Moskau. Wir trafen uns mit Ihnen in der Krim. Hier sind meine Berichte über Reisen, aber die frischesten Krim noch geschrieben:
    http://forum.dirt.ru/showthread.php?t=270800
    http://forum.dirt.ru/showthread.php?t=265245

    ReplyDelete
  3. Photos of the Crimea from the Slava-biker:
    http://s004.radikal.ru/i206/1308/b8/c3a43aafc21f.jpg
    http://s019.radikal.ru/i643/1308/2b/dc562f0814ce.jpg
    http://s52.radikal.ru/i138/1308/89/c8cc89c3189f.jpg
    http://s59.radikal.ru/i163/1308/ce/93e4c7ab8454.jpg
    http://s002.radikal.ru/i199/1308/7d/c7835c3d5012.jpg

    ReplyDelete