I just looked at the calendar and realised that it’s only 30 days until my flight to Kirkenes. I’m about to live out my dream, cycling through 20 countries and close to 10 000km along «The Iron Curtain» in a period of 4 months.
Am I ready?
Ready for 4 months on the bicycle?
That’s a good question, but the answer is and have to be yes. I’ve been thinking about this trip for the last 1.5 year now, and I must say that I really look forward to it. Of course I am excited and a bit nervous.
My physical condition is better than ever, so I should definitely be in good shape to do this. I’ve been working on the psychical part as well, and I guess that will be the most challenging part.
Training for a bicycle race
As a part of my training and preparations for this trip, I have enrolled for the bicycle race: Colorline Setesdal Tour, which goes from Kristiansand to Hovden and is 210Km long.
I’ve been training a lot for this and as a result of this I should be well prepared for «The Iron Curtain».
Documentation of the trip
I have a lot of equipment with me, to be honest, I’m not even sure if I have available space for everything that I need.
My plan is to document this trip as well as possible. On earlier trips we’ve been taking pictures, written on the blog an not much more. This time I will do what I can to make a video out of the trip.
That is why I have a lot of technical equipment with me. Hopefully I will be able to recharge batteries on camp sites, cafeterias and maybe I’m lucky enough to get some power from people I meet.
I have the following electronic equipment:
Macbook Pro 13″, Ipad with sim card, GoPro Hero 3+, GoPro Hero 2, Nikon D90, Zoom H6 recorder, Røde Videomic Pro, Røde Lavalier mic, Bose QC15 Headset, Bose earplugs, memory cards, portable hard drives and more, but this is the most important for documentation.
Preparations like visa, bicycle, tent etc…
My visa application for Russia is being considered now. I’m really hopeful and positive about the application.
A Russian bicycle club arranged for the invitation for me. If this is accepted, I should have 30 days and 2 entries to Russia, 1 to get to St. Petersburg and 1 to Kaliningrad.
My bicycle is on a service now to be prepared for the trip. They are changing a lot of the equipment to make the bicycle stronger and ready for this adventure. I will as earlier use my Bob Yak trailer for the trip.
I have 3 tents available, hopefully I’m able to make space for the one on the picture here. This is a large tent which will give me space for the bicycle and trailer inside. Question is, do I have enough space in my bag?
Anyway, this is a part of my plan for security as well, better to have the bicycle indoor then outdoor, isn’t it?
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Norwegian