The Day Of Resolve

Just a few short days ago, I was looking forward to a 3 week vacation that was to be divided into two parts; a one-week sailing adventure in the USA, followed by a two week safari in Namibia. Then both segments fell through and I found myself with nothing to do from September 6 through September 30.

As an expat living in Dubai for the past 3+ years, I couldn't bear the thought of another "sofa-surfing" vacation back in the States. It's great to go home and feel normal again surrounded by Western culture.

BUT, the saying goes that "Fish and house guests start to stink after about 3 days".

I guess when you're the fish, you can't help but smell yourself either. This was supposed to be my "Adventure Vacation". It's been a long hot summer of long hard work and being cooped up in the blazing heat of the Middle East. Similar to what happened to me in the winters back in the US, summers in Dubai tend to be when I turn pale and put on weight.

And the summer of 2011 has been epic for me in the physical fitness, weight gain, & skin tone departments. I need to get outdoors!

Reading an article in the New York Times travel section about the new Electric Bikes (e-bikes) got me excited. The uber-green power assist peddling e-bikes enabled mere mortals like me exploration of the extensive bike trail networks through Switzerland's near-vertical Alps. I thought "THAT'S IT"!

Then I found that it's 65 Euros a day (or $1,980 for 3 weeks of JUST the bike rental) making a brand new Mercedes E class a cheaper rent in Switzerland than an e-bike. But it got me thinking about biking.

After a google search, I read about the EuroVelo network of bike paths across Europe. Of particular interest to me was route #6 ( www.eurovelo6.org ) that is primarily flat and follows river valleys and canals from France's West coast across Europe to The Black Sea.

Spending 3 weeks of vacation on a regular pedal bike could do me wonders. I went to Wolfi's Bike Shop (www.wbs.ae) and priced touring bikes. The best bike I could find was 12,000 AED or about $3,250 for the Storck Multi Task. A German engineering marvel built for the very thing I wanted to do. Unfortunately, my bank account was NOT built for such German engineering marvels. They were out of stock anyway.

I considered renting a bike, but that seemed like an even bigger hassle.

I forgot: I HAVE a mountain bike. I only rode it once since buying it 2 years ago with good intentions. It's been stashed away for 6 months at my friend's house here in Dubai. With a little money to tune it up and replace the knobby mud tires with more pavement-friendly rubber, I could make it an affordable touring "hybrid".

MY GOAL: In under 21 days fly to France, position to St. Nazaire, pedal all the way across France to Basel, Switzerland [See Picture of bike route above], and fly back to Dubai.

I have ONE WEEK from today to:

1. Retrieve my mountain bike from my friend's house
2. Service and convert the bike into a long distance touring bike.
3. Kit myself with biking clothes, helmet etc.
4. Plan my trip to at least my starting point of St. Nazaire, France
5. Condition myself as much as possible in one week (seriously?)
6. Study for exams for work