What a Long, Strange Trip
Yes, folks, the honeymoon's over.
It feels like at least a year's worth of experiences packed into a few months. Right now, after a week back in Seattle, we're still enjoying a familiar routine: sleeping in the same bed, reuniting with our cat, speaking the same language for a few weeks in a row.
It's really impossible to sum things up--I'm still trying to process the sensory overload. Instead, here are some random statistics:
Kilometers bicycled: 3,746
Countries visited: 12 to 14 (depending if you include the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Wales)
Days of cycling: 44
Longest day: 140 km (to Vienna)
Hardest day: 101 km (battling hills and a brutal a headwind to Bursa)
Average daily distance: 80 km
Average speed: 18 km per hour
Pannier weight: unknown, since we never weighed them, but probably around 40 lbs per person
Best cycling:
- Transylvania (when you can find a road)
- Tarsus Mountains in Turkey
- Austrian wine region
- West coast of Ireland
- Czech beer
- Israeli breakfasts (soft cheeses, salads, humus)
- Turkish desserts
- German bread
- Amsterdam
- Vienna
- Budapest
- Turkish toilets
- Romanian "highways"
- British road signs
- Ortlieb panniers
- Schwalbe tires (not a single flat on Hannah's bike!)
- Ear plugs
- Photocopies of credit card, passport, driver's license
- Mountain bike wheels (26-inch) for rough terrain
- More Ziploc bags (impossible to find and very useful)
- Kickstands
- Bar-end shifters
- Ciao
- Merci
- Problem
- Kaput
- Turkish barbers
- Turkish baths
- Street food vendors
- Bicycling infrastructure from Germany/Austria/Holland/Hungary
- Everyone!
And, last but not least, thanks to everyone who's checked out the blog. It's been fun adventuring together.
Shalom, Lehitra'ot, Merhaba, Na shledanou, Auf wiedersehen, Vaarwel,
D & H
2 Comments:
It's been wonderful to follow along! I'm glad you're home safe. I hope you'll keep the blog up so I can keep updated on your other less exotic adventures. :)
Yumi xoxo
Welcome back, you guys!
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