Simple Idea. Complicated Plan

The Idea:

It really is super simple. Load up our bicycles with only a few basic necessities and spend the next year or so exploring this magnificent country, as well as ourselves and raising some awareness for a few issues that are important to us. It really is quite beautiful in it's simplicity.

It is as we transition from idea into plan, that things get complicated. Wow! Do they get complicated quickly.

You see, B and I have these little things called "lives" that we need to figure out how to put on hold in order to do this. If we were young and just starting out, it would be quite a bit easier. But, we are not young. We are not old either. I want to make that fact perfectly clear. We are, since you asked, in our late 40's. By the time we want to leave, I will be 50.

However, since we have been around a while and because we have bought into societies rhetoric for so long, we have accumulated a lot of stuff. Some of our stuff, the tangible stuff, will be easy to deal with. (Hello Ebay!)

There are other issues, or more accurately, questions that need to be answered too. What do we do with the house? The cars? The stuff we don't want to get rid of? Can we afford to live unemployed for a year or more? What if we get injured? No jobs equals no insurance. What do we do afterwards? What equipment will we need? These questions can and will be answered prior to our departure.

There are other questions however, that are raised thru fear. Can we physically handle the rigors of riding fully loaded touring bikes 50 or so miles a day, every day, 5 to 6 days a week, for a year? Can we actually live in a small tent for a year? As vegetarians, how difficult will it be to find quality meat-free meals? These questions are much harder to answer. Now can you see what I mean when I say things get complicated quickly?

It would be totally overwhelming to try and answer all these questions at once, so we have decided to tackle them one or two at a time. As we delve into finding the answers, we will share what we learned with all of you on this blog, and we are hoping for any input you may be able to add too.

This blog will not be a one sided entity. Sure, I will control the posts, but I am hoping that you all will comment (and often) on the posts. Weigh in with your opinions. Love what we're doing? Let us know. Have equipment suggestions and/or warnings? Let us know. Know of a can't miss place of beauty we should see? Let us know. Want to cook us a meal or give us a place to stay for the night? By all means, let us know. Want to help out by sponsoring a day, state or ??? Absolutely let us know!!! Want to just say hi? Go right ahead.

We will try to update this blog at least weekly once we actually leave on the trip. Up until that point though, it may be a bit more sporadic. We also have a facebook fan page you can "Like" that we are planning on updating more frequently. Please follow us there too and feel free to leave comments there also.

That's about it for now friends. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next post, (which I have already started working on) as it will cover a little test trip we did earlier this year.

Peace,
P