Few words about preparation

Andris and I also took lots of different trips but everything can happen, so we need to prepare.

Since I’m a gadget freak, I’ll start with the technical stuff, there are pitfalls in this area too. Let’s start with the navigation. Nowadays, it would be very difficult to navigate such a long journey with a paper map, so we will also rely on electronics. I never leave it to chance, I never rely on adding the next destination into Google Maps in the morning and relying on a remote server to plan the route. There are many pitfalls to such a solution: no reception at the moment, the phone’s battery not lasting long enough due to heavy screen use and the intense cold, and the shortcomings of route planning itself. So in such cases, I like to plot the route in advance, then save it in GPX format and carry it with me on a dedicated device – I usually even do this twice. I also load the daily route on a Garmin handheld GPS and a cycling computer – these devices can go a day on a single charge, and can be recharged at night from a powerbank. The latter, the Garmin Edge, is a big help in that it indicates turns with a beep, so you don’t have to keep scanning the screen all day.
As mentioned above, we can charge the gadgets from a powerbank at night, but we don’t want to carry more than 3-4 powerbanks. Our plans so far are to stay at Andris’ colleague’s place in Berlin once, on the second night, so we can charge from the power outlets, but we will also have a solar charger with us just in case. It’s a 28 Watt unit that can already fast charge, in good lighting conditions of course. Tests so far have shown that it can charge an 8800 mAh powerbank from zero to full, and a 16000 mAh powerbank up to 3/4 of a charge in 6 hours, even in winter in sunny weather. And this solar panel will travel well on top of luggage on a cargo bike. So there is reason to believe that we will not run out of energy, at least as far as electric gadgets are concerned. We’ll be able to charge the navigation devices, the phones and the lights, and we don’t expect to need anything else. (Another good solution would be a dynamo hub, but it would be too complicated to have one on the Birdy or on the Bullitt.)

Technology also includes the bicycle. The cargo will be new, so we don’t expect any major problems there – of course, punctures and chain oil will be necessary over 1200 km. As we don’t plan to ride in mud, I don’t expect much wear on the brake pads, so I won’t carry any spare. What I do plan to carry as a spare is a pair of pedals – if only to be SPD compatible, and a saddle that has already been tried and tested. A lot depends on this if you plan on riding a bike for 13 hours a day.
Andris’ Birdy bike, on the other hand, is not the newest one, but it’s quality and serves well. We put a new rim on the wheel, as the factory one was pretty worn out – we hope that no more parts will break down on the road. We also got new brake pads, replaced the brake calipers and caliper housings in a previous round, and will be replacing the chain, rear casette and front sprockets before the tour. So hopefully this bike will last the whole trip without any major problems.
What we still have to prepare for is the weather and the delivery of the luggages. I am putting the two in one paragraph because they are closely linked. Unfortunately, winter also means that we have to carry a lot more and bigger stuff: bigger winter sleeping bags, sweaters, coats, gloves, socks, hats, even ski glasses. We also take tools for the bikes, tents, mats, cooking and self-catering equipment. All this, of course, must be done in such a way that a downpour or even persistent rain does not reach our dry belongings. Fortunately, the cargo bike offers an excellent solution: two of us can easily fit our gear on the cargo area, which is secured with an extra tarpaulin to make sure we’re not caught by surprise. So with Birdy we won’t have to carry anything.

As you have read, there are many things to think about on such a journey, but they can easily be ensured with the right preparation. Of course, the same can be done for physical and mental preparation, but that is more difficult. Both of us cycle a lot during weekdays, but you have to be prepared for the fact that cycling every day for a week will be not only physically but also mentally demanding. I’ve tried it – on the Hungarian Divide, a trek across Hungary, it took 9 and a half days to cycle 1,400 kilometres with 23,000 metres of climbing, and most of it off-road. Based on the experience of this trip, we set the daily distance and the time – this time we will have to cover 1200 kilometres on paved roads with almost 6000 metres of ascent. If we take it that way, there will be one lap of Lake Balaton per day. I always say that I’ll end up doing what I love to do all day, hopefully the scenery will be eye-catching, varied and we’ll be cycling together all day, so we can encourage each other when the other one has a pain in the butt, cramp in the legs or similar physical pain.
What we can do for our bodies along the way is to eat and drink properly. Although we haven’t agreed with Andris yet, he has also suggested isotonic drinks, which we’ll definitely bring, we’ll need plenty of one-handed snacks: chocolates, sweets and fruit bars, and in addition to these we’ll have a fuel stove and some bagged pasta and soup. Since we will be passing through a lot of villages and towns, I don’t think we will have much of a problem with water replenishment and I also hope to grab some junk food sometimes.
Another thing that can be a problem on a trip like this, and it’s hard to be smart about it beforehand, is that we don’t know how fast the cargo van will be with the luggages, how fast we’ll be able to pedal with the Birdy, so we’ll definitely have to adapt to each other and to the situation. We might not be able to keep to the schedule and we might slip into the night for longer, but obviously we would be happiest if we could finish the day’s distance sooner. However, I think that both Andris and I will be able to remain reasonably flexible – even at the end of a tiring day.