plans delayed, but still in progress
I’ve been distracted by tons of stuff recently, but finally getting back on the ball and ready to go. The delay is not all bad, though, as there is a lake-crossing in Switzerland, the ferry for which only starts running on March 20. So maybe leaving around the March 10 or 12?
Most importantly, I’ve finished gps-mapping the route from Milano to Chiasso (see the previous post for links, which I just updated), and hope to ride it tomorrow (always tomorrow)…
I just bought some soprapantaloni (do we say “over-pants” in English?) for the rain, and promptly ripped a small hole in them with my bike sprocket. It’s only a small hole and Anca mentioned using a patch of some kind… I’m thinking a tent patch, or air mattress patch, might work perfectly, as all of them are nylon/rayon type plastics. We’ll see…
I also got a new red light for the back of my bike, in case I bike at night or in the fog. It’s really nice and easily mountable.
Oh! And my aero bars! I love them. They make long straightaways so much more pleasant. Added bonus – mounting my GPS out on the tip of the bars gives me more peripheral view of the road while glancing at the GPS!
I’ll include photos of these things, but want to do it in Linux, and want to set up a couple things first (install picasa in linux, create a separate partition for my /home directory, so after putting all these pictures on my drive I can reinstall the operating system or switch to Ubuntu without having to back up anything…)
Disappointingly, I can’t get my computer in Linux talking with my GPS. Oh well. The hidden benefit here is that I have an excuse to keep the website updated with the most recent GPS routes (and then switch to Windows, download them and try them out!)
What’s left to do?
Make a rough schedule
Find a few CouchSurfing or warmshowers hosts along the way
Make a gps route (version 1) of the entire EV5 and post it to the internet.
Ship home, pack up, give away, or throw away all my stuff. The hardest part will be deciding what to do with the few books I’ve acquired.