Today the visa expediter (VisaHQ.com) returned my passport via FedEX. As seen below, there was no visa attached and no explanation of why this visa was not issued (I later was told that they were still waiting for approval from … Continue reading
Category Archives: preparation
Time to get my gear organized and packed for the trip. I have most everything assembled, though will use next few days to finalize the list and pick a few missing items. Everything will get placed in ziplock bags and … Continue reading
Three weeks prior to trip start and now in final stages of preparation. Timeline for the last three weeks has been busy with a lot to happen in short time. Today was my last day in the office. I manage … Continue reading
This Saturday I made a training ride to College Station. Austin and Cairo are both right at the 30th parallel of latitude and hence day lengths are similar. In past years, the second day of TDA is approximately 100 miles. … Continue reading
TDA has let us know the rest days and locations for our trip. They match exactly with locations for the 2012 trip. I recorded a schedule and distances from that trip and hence expect riding distances will be similar this … Continue reading
This weekend I took a training ride to the “Barbecue Capital of Texas” as well as nearby Lockhart State Park. The distance was just over 40 miles each way, so an easy afternoon ride and then return the next morning. … Continue reading
TDA has told us statistics on riders for our trip: 50 full tour riders 33 men/17 women 15 countries: Canada (10), Britain (7), USA (4), Germany (4), Netherlands (4), Australia (4), New Zealand (4), Switzerland (3), Ireland (3), Italy (2), … Continue reading
What spare parts do you take to keep a bicycle running for 7500 miles – both replacing worn parts and anticipating things that might break? I don’t want to bring too much, but it would also be a shame to … Continue reading
There are ten countries on the TDA route. Four of them don’t require a visa (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Malawi) and four one can get a visa at the border/airport (Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia). This leaves only Ethiopia … Continue reading
Made a stop through the travel clinic. This was to bring immunizations up to date and get prescription for malaria pills. I ended up with shots for Yellow Fever, Meningitis and Rabies. From past travels, I was already up to … Continue reading