Could someone you know put us up for the night?

The cost of doing the trip is having a big impact on our bank balances so saving some money on accommodation would be a real boon! These guys have already offered to put dan up ;-) It would be great to stay with someone less scary though.

If you know anyone who lives in the following places we'd love to stay with them:
Dunkerque, Gent or Diest in Belgium
Aachen, Bonn, Kamp-Bomhofen, Frankfurt, Werthiem, Neustadt an der aisch, Velburg, Bogen or Obernzell in Germany
Linz, Willendorf or Vienna in Austria

Clockin up the training miles

We clocked up 220 miles last week - all part of our strict training regime. We did a 60 mile ride to maidenhead (facinating trip along the A4 - you wouldn't believe the scenery), plus Andrea did an extra long 30 mile trip to work one morning. And I did my regular 12 miles to work and back, the only difference being that I was fully lycra-ed - a bit like this fine chap.

Navigating our route

This guy was also worried about getting lost in the wilds of South Germany. Fortunately, he was able to rig up a small GPS system to his bike in order to rid himself of the hassle of paper maps.

Seriously, does anyone have a GPS system they'd like to lend to us as a donation?

Training trip across Dartmoor

We conquered Dartmoor this Easter. We made it on the second attempt - the first ended in a return to base after our fingers and toes got too cold in the rain. We Stopped at Princetown for food, but got too cold! Lessons learnt. So the next day, we tried again - this time it was dry, but still cold on the exposed parts of the moor. We made it to Exeter after leaving Plymouth 43 miles away. It was a hard ride - some tough hills - so good for the thighs, but hopefully harder than what we're going to experience in Belgium and Germany on the trip.

Dan's got a new bike too

A Trek 1200. It's really light, really fast, and I'm worried about how hard the saddle is! May have to get one of those gel saddle covers

Andrea's New Bike

Andrea finally let the moths out of her purse and bought a new bike to help make the trip a touch less painful. Isn't it beautiful...

Under the sea?

No, we're not cycling along the ocean floor - once we get to Dover we're getting the ferry to Dunquerke. We booked the ferry tickets and the flights last week so it's all starting to seem more real. It's all about hours in the saddle,so we're using our commute to work to start our training. Think of us on these cold, winter mornings, arriving at the office in lycra shorts with the padded bum and faces like beetroots - well, Andrea's is anyway.

We're loving maps

We've got loads of maps for the trip. There are 5 for Germany alone! We're planning each leg of the route for each day so that we cycle around 60 miles per day and can arrive at a B&B at the end of it. But google maps have made it easier - allowing us to check distance and locate B&Bs in one foul swooooop