Preparations - the other stuff

The other thing is packing. We'll take panniers, and an additional backpack. which is not really a lot of space for a month travelling through Europe, including spare tyres, tubes, tools and clothes. And don't forget the chamois cream... Below shows the bed with James' attempt to line up all his gear. There's a bit more to add - computer, chargers, possibly some long pants. We think it will all fit. We hope it will all fit. IT HAD BETTER ALL FIT!

We've had a bike delivered to Ulm, James' mate Christoph has kindly agreed to be the staging point and take delivery of some odds and ends in advance, as well as putting us up for a couple of days so we can get ready. Hopefully everything is just about in place, we just need to figure out how Gillian and Kieran get to Ulm from Frankfurt airport with two giant bike boxes, how James manages to go to two conferences and then get from Deauville (France) to Ulm with only what he needs for the bike ride. And hope we've got all the hotels booked right, that James can sort out the navigation for the route, that it doesn't decide to rain for a month in Eastern Europe in August...