Two weeks left...

There's only 2 weeks to go now until I'm out of this country and at the moment I'm feeling a variety of emotions... mostly excited about the trip, but also a bit scared. I have spent the last year inside a square. Inside that square there is a house with two parents, a hospital where I earn money, a scout group where I have lots of fun doing crazy stuff with a bunch of teenagers, a gym with friendly faces to say hello to whenever I rock up, and more recently I have added a cycle club where I have met a heap of people who share the same passion and have introduced me to the fun of racing criteriums and endurance mountain biking...

But I'm about to leave that world behind and travel outside that square. The last minute anxiety starts to sink in. I am going to be a zillion miles of home. Mostly I am scared becaues I don't know if I will be able to make the distance - and I really want to cycle EFI of the way (E= every, I=inch and the F= any word beginning with F that you think best describes those inches - could be fun or fantastic... or something else). I'm scared of getting nasty sunburn because of increased sensitivity from taking malaria tablets. I'm scared of the first few days that are always scary when you're in a new place and don't know anyone. I'm scared of saddle sores (aka bike bum).

But I know these fears are also what makes the trip so exciting - there is the excitement of getting to see a new continent. The excitement of camping in a tent for 4.5 months (and if you know me well you will know that I LOVE camping - there is nothing quite like it!). The excitement of meeting 50 new people who are just as crazy as I am.

The unknown is just as exciting as it is scary!!!

Verticon 6hr Challenge

Another excuse for a long training ride for my big trip!

I started out peddling strong - not having done too much technical mountain biking before I wasn't expecting great things. Had a few stacks on my first lap but only really hurt my pride.

Halfway through lap 3 I was wondering why I was having difficulty cleating my left foot in and on closer inspection discovered my cleat was missing. By lap 4 I had buckled my front wheel and was ready to cry, but then after walking my bike a few kms I met a nice guy who wasn't racing who lent me his. Finished up in 4th place so not a bad effort (even if there were only 8 girls doing it solo!), covered in mud, blood and bruises, I still had fun anyway!

Brissie to the Gold Coast Cycle Challenge

Perhaps it was a good thing my road bike was destroyed by a certain motor vehicle as it gave me a chance to test out how my rockhopper would go on a longer ride. The 100km ride was completed in 4hrs 6mins cycling time - not bad for a mountain biker!!! That was only 20mins longer than last years effort on a road bike.

3 months 3 days to go

Well... today there is exactly 3 days and 3 months to go until I leave. Getting excited but there is still so much to organise!!!

Cairo to Capetown - a 12000km journey in just 4 months - travelling solely by peddle power - I know it's not everyones cup of tea but for a crazy person like me it seems somehow perfect.