I never realised how hard planning this little 6 month jaunt would be. And I'm not talking about finding destinations and organising to land and camp at friendly airfields. Oh no that was the easy work.
It sounds stupid, but one of my major problems has been finding appropriate travel insurance. Our bikes are by no stretch of the imagination the most expensive bikes out there, but there seems to be a single item limit of £250 for most insurance policies. And then if it ever comes to claiming, we'll have to prove that we secured them properly. Quite how I do that when the bike is no longer there is a completely different issue. CTC the UK cycle club / advocacy group do cycle touring insurance. But not for long stay. Hmmmm.
And then there's the connectivity problem. Computer manufacturers (yes I mean you ACER) seem to make it very difficult to find a choose the netbook to suit your needs. We would like 3G connectivity & have discovered that there are a few appropriate machines, as long as we look out for the G in the 12 letter& number product code and don't get confused by the complete absence of a mention of it in the description. Grrr.
Unfortunately although netbooks are designed for travel, I haven't found an easy & satisfying way of getting internet connectivity when travel. That said I haven't managed it in the UK either, with our O2 dongle working in Norfolk, some of the time at not much slower than the old 56kb modems...
Power supply I think I've got sorted with the Energiser/Xpal 18000 that can charge & discharge at the same time: this means that I probably won't take any other power cables with me & just rely on this as a less messy approach.
Oh and how could I forget the datatag, they haven't replied to my question us to their presence outside the UK - it's nice that UK police check for datatags on recovered bicycles, but will the Danes??? And the main use of datatagging is really to make your object a less desirable object for the thief to steal - as it proves that the good in question is stolen, which leads to their prosecution if found in their possession. But if the thief has never heard of the system???
Ah the joys! Can't wait to finally get in the air.
Map of our routes on: www.bankleft.com
About Me
- Helen Coker
- We are now in Oz after two amazing years of traveling Europe in our home built plane. We met many fantastic people who we are proud to call friends and have gained a much better understanding of the similarities and differences between the cultures of the different European states as well as the history and geography that have lead to these differences. We enjoy meeting people with similar interests to ourselves and learning more about other cultures. Please let us know if you're going to be in Queensland and would like to catch up for a meal and a chat.
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