Some thoughts regarding more or less needed gear.

I was thinking of getting two things, a kind of ordinary shoe thats SPD-compatible, looks like these;

But I realize I must make priorities and will probably just use a pair of gym shoes because my budget will be stretched thin as is.

Also I am skipping the idea of getting the bike computer Garmin Edge 800 also due to budget concerns.

Preparations in progress.

 I've shopped a few things, the clothes and whatnot was quite a while back but the other gear was more recently - made record-paychecks from work back to back in November and December.

Ortlieb Panniers and handlebar bag.

Gore Bikewear bibtights

Aclima Woolnet 

Aclima Woolnet 

Craft Fleece

Gore Bikewear rain/wind jacket

Gore Bikewear rain/wind pants

Abus Bordo Plus

GoPro Camera

Left to right; Multicleaning solution, Antibacterial fluid, Insect repellent, First Aid kit, Whistle, Clean water fluid.

Awol!

I've been a bit on the lazy side updating the blog due to the holidays and me being up north where it never went above -20C and mostly looked like this;

It was a perfect Christmas with good food, creaking snow under your shoes and a few presents!

Runkeeper!

My account on Runkeeper gotta be some of the least used ever, however I plan to track my progress there until I go on my vacation.

http://runkeeper.com/user/marcus75/profile

My superhero name will be "Netman"!

Today I bought myself a Christmas present to help with cycling in the winter.

Woolnet from Aclima;

I've also started to run up the subway escalators just to add some everyday training to my plan. I also got a notification so I will get the bicycle panniers on monday, gonna be fun to see how the are.

Seas!

With my newly found interest I plan to start an idea of dipping my bicycle tires in different seas around the world - I have no time limit as this is a project of fun and adventure and I have no idea where it'll end up.

Here is Wikipedias list of seas.

I reckon I will at least be done with a few of them come the end of this summer, more precisely The Baltic Sea, Aegan Sea, Ionian Sea and the Adriatic Sea.

To make it a doable thing my goal is to get the ones with "sea" in its name done to begin with, thats 97 seas to start with.

Bike at home!

I got the bike yesterday...

...dragging it from Rosersberg to Sundbyberg by the help (or lack thereof) of public transportation.

Gonna try and put it together later today after work.

Money well spent, for once.

Bought my bike Koga Randonneur 2013 today together with the panniers from Ortlieb, (Front-roller Plus, Back-roller plus and Ultimate 5 Plus).

Thanks to guys over at Utsidan.se (a swedish site) I've gotten some pointers on good sights and routes so I have modified my route to this. The forum thread is here.

They say planning for is half the fun and for a lover of lists and notes I am in planning heaven.

I'm looking for guidance on what to pack from this swede who have travelled far, far, far and away...

Tallabomba's Europe to Asia by bike

What I am gonna place my ass on this spring...

Rethinking the trip across the pond...

Thanks Kate Harris, I realized that you don't have to travel to the other side of the world to go on an adventure thanks to your video; Cycling Silk 2011 Highlights (Even tho you actually went very far from home for that video it just got me thinking I have vast areas much closer than USA to explore)

So I thought I'd go for this route, it consists of this;

Skopje-Tetovo 41,9km

Tetovo-Gostivar 29,5km

Gostivar-Mavrovo 40km

Mavrovo-Debar 35,3km

Debar-Otishani 7,7km

Otishani-Dzhepishte 5,6km

Dzhepishte-Lukovo 13,7km

Lukovo-Globochica 5,9km

Globochica-Velesta 11,6km

Velesta-Struga 7,9km

Struga-Ohrid 14,4km

Ohrid-Pogradec 37km

Pogradec-Lin 20,2km

Lin-Elbasan 65,5km

Elbasan-Berat 65,4km

Berat-Corovoda 50,9km

Corovoda-Përmet 49,1km

Pëmet-Tepelena 37,3km

Tepelena-Vlorë 76,9km

Vlorë-Llogara 37,2km

Llogara-Sarande 90,2km

Sarande-Butrint 14,4km

Butrint-Blue Eye 33,8km

Blue Eye-Gjirokastër 33,8km

Gjirokastër-Vikos Anoös National Park 77km

Vikos Anoös National Park-Parga 131km

Parga-Mesopotamos 20,1km

Mesopotamos-Loutsa 6,6km

Loutsa-Vrachos 6,7km

Vrachos-Chimadio 4,3km

Chimadio-Kamarina 29,2km

Kamarina-Preveza 25,7km

Prevesa-Lefkada 27km

Lefkada-Amfilochia 57km

Amfilochia-Kalampaka 180km

Kalampaka-Mount Olympus 112km

Mount Olympus-Thessaloniki 152km

A grand total of 1653,8 kilometers and I plan to have 16 days on the bike and 6-7 days free.

Training for it starts soon.

Maps arrived from Adventure Cycling Association!

I got my maps yesterday, they seem good as an addition to my plan - the route will be modified somewhat to make it viable to finish that distance in the three weeks I have planned for it as it will go above 200 swedish miles otherwise.

I'm still contemplating options as I dont wanna perform a race but a vacation where the journey is the goal.