Planning the trip

There are 1200 km from Copenhagen to Prague, so it is obvious that we would have to prepare ourselves physically for such adventure, mentally we already were prepared. We calculated that we could do the trip in 20 days, riding 60 km per day.

So what have we done so far for the planning and training?

Actually not much, giving the fact that is already May and the trip starts in June, take a look at all the things we have done so far...Well, let’s see:

In December we joined Pilates. We have been there about 6 times. Not much. We shot a video to do it on our own while we were away. Yeah right.

In February, for my 39 birthday, Boris bought us both 2 fantastic bicycles. For those of you who know my dear Boris, you will not be mistaken to think that these were probably the most expensive bikes in the market. The bikes are called KOGA, hand made and custom made just for us, by a Japanese fellow who lives in Holland.

In March we ordered bicycle maps from with different routes from Denmark, Germany and Czech Republic. I looked at them and realized all the work we have ahead…

It was only in April when the bicycles arrived each one with our inscriptions: Vika 2010 and Bo 2010. So we tried the bicycles for the first time with the kids (Tamara and Jacobo) for a day trip. We managed to do 63 km from Mairena to Carmona and back around Gandul and Alcalá. The bicycles were amazing but even so, I was not prepared for such a deal. Tamara and Jacobo were always ahead and I was always the last one. My back hurt, by knee hurt, my pants were stuck to my legs from the sweat and made it more difficult to pedal….at last I was so frustrated and tired I walked the last 2 km back home.

It is May and I still haven’t planned the damn trip yet so, I will finish this entry to the blog and start doing immediately after. Let’s see if it is true.

The idea of biking from Copenhage to Prague

Sometimes ideas come to us just as an idea, with no reason, motive or justification behind it. Some times the idea is not even our own, just someone else’s comment or suggestion. But once we decide to persue the idea, then we need to find the reason, the motive or justification to do it and when we do, we need to research it, plan it and even name it. At least, I do.

In this case, one day of October 2009, while taking a plane back from Istanbul, Boris my beloved partner for over 10 years, suggested the idea of doing a bike trip together. We do not bike anymore although we both were into serious biking as we were young. As a matter of fact, we do not exercise at all anymore. For both of us is hard to do it with our jobs and all the travelling that work involves.

When Boris mentioned the idea, it came along with a subtle challenging tone: as “We should make a bike trip from Copenhagen to Prague, would you do it?”

“Of course” was my answer immediately without any hesitation. But seconds later I wondered whether he was joking. This idea is the type of idea that comes usually from me, not from him. But he was serious, when he then told me that it was something that he really felt like doing. I became very excited with the idea but somehow thought that it would vanish along the weeks, since we had tons of projects to work on for the next months ahead.

Finally, we decided to do the trip after finishing some of the exhibitions, during the month of June.

I realized then, that this trip was important for both of us. We have been working very hard for years, we are getting old and we still want to put our energy in different things. Boris will turn 50 in 2 years and I will be 40 in one year, maybe is just a way to celebrate it all.

So I decided that it will be worth it to take this trip as serious as we can, and somehow save our thoughts, plans and experiences through out the trip since the beginning until the end.

This blog will help us do that and this way we also share it with you if you are interested.

The title for the blog and for the trip in general was clear to me the minute I started writing:
Hello 40 (that is me) Goodbye 40 (that is Boris)
A bicycle journey from Copenhagen to Prague.

I hope this works out!