#anyways i love cinematic orchestra's i built a home <3 it really gives me such the best angst storylines

[h-doodles]

boy the sudden outpour of angst ideas for larissa weems x reader in my brain got me weeping so bad i feel a fever coming on

[elastigirl72]

And so it was, a Greek Oddity

May 13: on the plane to Istanbul

And so it is. Clearwell>Athens. Done!

Not to dwell too much on Athens, but I loved it. What a city. I’ll be spending more time there in future. In fact, maybe the way forward is to fly there, buy a scooter and ride home along the route I’ve just done, taking in more of each place I visited...there’s a thought ☺️

Today, the buckle I’m doing up is my seatbelt and not my rucksack on a plane to Istanbul. I’ll be reflecting on this adventure for some time. It’s the longest by double, and my third unsupported. But sitting here waiting for the plane to lift off, and looking at the flight map, the plane is pointing directly at the route I’ve just travelled. To fly home, I’d cross two time zones, 3 seas, 11 countries and by air, would take 4-5 hours plus time to and from airports, let’s say in all, 9 hours each way. Flying would definitely be easier and quicker. A colleague of mine who has other interests doesn’t get it. Isn’t it obsessive? Boring even? What are you trying to prove? Let’s say you flew to Athens, you wouldn’t see, feel, hear, smell, sense in minuscule detail every metre that passed. You wouldn’t feel the elation of an unexpected mountain vista or the terror of a chasing pack of wild dogs. How could you see the vibrancy in millions of poppies coming into bloom alongside parched, arid fields? What chance would you have of seeing a snake poised to strike and 500 metres later, bright green Geckos just hanging out getting warm?

You wouldn’t have the opportunity of just getting through each day, eating for the miles you’ve either flown through or battled against, or met the people who will either leave a positive impact on your memory or something you’d rather forget. You wouldn’t wake up each morning trying to figure out where you are and what is happening that day, and whether in fact, you can actually stand, let alone move forward. Neither would you find out what you’re made of, both physically and mentally; what happens to the body when you put it under stress day after day? How does the mind deal with pain, stress, the unknown? How does your heart respond to something it’s never done before?

How do I feel today now I’m flying to work in Istanbul? With a day of rest, I could keep going. If I ever found myself in a situation where I’d lost my job or did not need to work anymore, right now, I wouldn’t hesitate. I’d be off as soon as I’d packed my gear, and work my way around the globe, probably in a westerly direction, simply because I’ve now done one continent.

Have I learned anything on this trip? I guess that will take me a while to realise. But I’ll start with a few things.

Flexibility really works. It takes the pressure off if that’s what is needed but in order to have flexibility, there needs to be flex room built in. When I originally planned this trip, I’d booked all accommodation from Calais to the Alps. If I’d stuck with that, flexibility would be gone and I would have an unbending, rigid timeline for mileage each day. Going into the trip, I was undertrained, which I was prepared for. What I hadn’t prepared for was how strong the headwinds I would face for the first 10 days. And then the rain and headwinds for an overlapping period which made for 17 days of tough conditions. If I had stuck with the original plan of prebooked stops, I would have struggled with both fitness and motivation more than I already did. In my head, I’d already mentally prepared that snow might be a real showstopper in the Alps, and painful as it was, to take a train from Zurich to Bellinzona (the crossing point was always flexible due to weather conditions and I was annexed whichever way I went), it was a lot easier to accept knowing it was a possibility. The total mileage was more than a direct route to Athens even with one leg train journey and this is how I consoled the decision.

When it’s possible to rigidly plan, then rigidly plan. After losing a day in Venice, after reaching Trieste, the weather, whilst far from perfect, was better. I had only one contingency day, and feeling rested and confident in Trieste, I booked the next 5 nights accommodation down the Dalmatian Coast. That got me to Herceg Novi on schedule to then decide whether I wanted to go mountains or coast to Athens, depending on energy and weather.

From Herceg Novi onwards, I freestyled all the way to Athens, sometimes just pitching up at hotels and asking if they had a room. On balance, there was only one stop that I wouldn’t stop at again, and felt liberated travelling this way.

I still trust too much. Two occasions, I got myself into sticky situations because I look for the best in people. One day I will learn, but with it I will become cynical and suspicious...which doesn’t fill me with happy anticipation. Tricky.

You really don’t need much stuff to get by. By the end of my trip, I had a couple of shampoo sachets, cheap travel toothbrush, toothpaste, sun cream, antihistamine medication, my glasses and contacts, razor, two pairs of knickers, a bra, zip-trouser/shorts, t-shirt, hairbrush and other than the cycle gear I wore, camera and phone, that was it.

I really found it difficult to digest as much food as I needed to eat each day, but paying attention to fuelling the next day’s ride I truly believe this was the key to success. I am sure I have as much of a belly as I had before I left! But i never once ran out of energy. Nuts and dried fruit are a better moving food choice than M&Ms but the latter are just such a guilty pleasure and great for motivation! 😆

The next thing that was affirmed (I knew this already from many other endeavours) is that even if people aren’t physically on the road with you, it’s ok to “shout” for support. I actively did this, and a whole community of helpers materialised. Even when I didn’t actively look for support, it was always there...and love it or hate it, for me, it’s one of the blessings of social media. The reality is that only very close people will be thinking of you occasionally as you pedal along. But those are important, and those that are kind enough to take time to respond and give you a little boost, regardless of how big or small, it’s like a triple espresso when you need it most. I thank every single one, whether avidly following me and with me vicariously, or just the occasional like or comment.

My heart is strong, but so is my head. I’ve never felt so switched on and alive for so long. If you take a 4 week period in life, it’s never going to be a non-stop bed of roses and quadruple rainbows, where the sun always shines, birds always sing and everyone loves each other. Being on this trip has of course highlighted this, but it’s also reminded me again how bloody good cyclists are at literally pedalling on and leaving negative stuff behind them and looking forward. I don’t believe you can be a happy cyclist unless you can do this.

Movement and motion become autonomic when your heart controls movement, so regardless of how tired you are, just mount your bike, look forward and just keep rolling...

I 100% acknowledge how fortunate I am, both in life circumstances and in health to have this incredible opportunity. It’s not for everyone, and it’s not possible for everyone, even if it’s a dream. I’ve no doubt hacked a few people off with my continuous stream of progress, photos and observations. But I hope in equal measure or possibly tipping the scales more towards somehow the positive: that a group of oldies in Canada might visualise and anticipate each post, that a sibling or child can think that they can do this, and along the road, like the two Albanian girls I saw watching in fascination as I regrouped after border control, when I grow up, I’d like to have a go at that. She looks cool and friendly and that looks like a lot of fun. Whatever you do and however you do it, you’ll come across people who will want to shoot you down. I’m glad I’m not wasting my energy worrying about it and doing it anyway.

How do I feel about achieving my goal? It’s hard to answer right now. There are people out in the world doing great and brave things, sometimes because they have to and sometimes because they chose to, like me. My achievement, compared to many others is really insignificant in the scale of the globe and time. And it’s hard for me to ignore that. I guess how I feel is that despite pain, danger, risk, weather, and unexpected behaviour, I’ve not let it stop me, and for that I feel stronger than I thought I was. I am better at being alone than I thought I would be, and probably more obvious to other people than to myself until this journey, I’m pretty stubborn and persistent - not always great qualities! But I feel happy, there is an element of emotion just tinkering away in the background there, and I’m not done yet.

So, what’s next? I had to sell my Time Trial bike to get my head around this trip and focus. It’s clear that I am a distance junkie, whether it’s competing or adventure. I think I have to wait for the dust to settle before I can see that horizon. At 46, whilst I’m no spring chicken, there’s miles in me yet. Just where, when, how, why, who knows?

Things that make me happy on the road:

The first sign for the destination I’m heading for that day

A washing machine

Fabric softener

Hair conditioner

Moisturiser

Bread before started arrives

When Google gives the direction “Stay on this road for 24km”

Good pillows

Home made breakfast, namely my porridge

A friendly welcome

Generosity

A quiet road

A surprise vista

As I do, I have several tracks that have defined this, my most epic two-wheeled adventure to date. Some cheesy, some emotional, but definitely the soundtrack to my transcontinental European two-wheeled road trip....

Moving: SuperGrass

Silver Lining (again): First Aid Kit

Arrival of the Birds: The Cinematic Orchestra

Re:member: Olafur Arnalds

Higher Love: Steve Windwood

Big Log: Robert Plant

Broken Land: The Adventures

No Surprises: Radiohead

Crazy: Seal

Titanium: David Gueta

Hibernate: Celine Cairo

Jingle: Tash Sultana

Last night as I was drifting off to my final Greek land of sleep, I received a call from someone called Nikos. I was reluctant to accept a call from someone I didn’t know, but did anyway...

“Hello, this is Nikos from Hotel *****, why did you give me a bad review?”...[click]

As we land, the plane flight video shows the land below and the shadow of the plane. You can see the contours on the ground but not the details all passing at high speed: pretty much summarises in Technicolour the difference between flying and what my adventure means to the rest of the world, and what my Odyssey meant to me....

Thank you for being with me on this journey. I hope it’s not my last, but if it is, it was an absolute blast 🤩. Enjoy your next adventure!