A lot has happened in the past month... After Vilnius, we made our way north along the Baltic Sea through Latvia and Estonia (with stops in Riga and Tallinn) and ferried across the Gulf of Finland to Helsinki for our first journey above 60 degrees North. After a terrific pizza buffet and a quick visit to the Finnish Olympic Museum, we arrived in Russia as our visas allowed. We then pedaled through six days of hellish torture - 100 mile days, rain, trucks, garb...

It was my intention, once upon a time, to update the blog semi-regularly. Of course, I forgot a few key things... A) Time (you don't have time...the Olympics are in 3 months) - with all this riding, 6:30 am wakeup calls, and sunset dinners, I didn't really have much the ability to type something up. I think I figured that the biking would take up less of my life...wrong, evidently. 2) Computer - It's quite difficult to type without one. I don't know what I wa...

I made it to Morroco. It never really hit me that I was heading across the pond until I emerged from the bowels of the Marrakech baggage claim and saw Patrick with a big ol' grin on his face. All of a sudden I got butterflies and started sweating. I was actually in Africa. I had biked 900 miles on my own, relying on a road map and zero bicycle acumen. I had been so concerned the past two weeks about where I was going to sleep and what I was going to eat ever...

I've thrown down about 700 miles so far on Bike Trip. I didn't think I was really ready for this - mentally or physically - but turns out things have been going alright. My first day I made about 115 miles, which was 20 short of my goal. But at least I got to test out my rain gear as a string of thunderstorms rambled through and the Google took me on unnecessary dirt roads. Paul picked me up by sundown, however, and I got to eat glorious tacos and rhubarb ba...

It's time. My bags are packed, my tent has been tested, my tires are fully pumped, and, I suppose, I'm mentally ready to go. There is an air of unfamilarity sprinkled with wonder at the limits of the human imagination. Throughout the rest of the trip I plan to also explore the limits of the human mind, will, physique, and tolerance. The first day of riding will consist of 135 miles in potentially stormy weather. I suppose it'll be a good time to t...