Life change.. a trip around Europe

FrenchBlade

FrenchBlade

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2,124
Location
South of France
Hey guys,

Most of you haven't seen me in a while, I had a few PMs, but that's it ;)

As they say, some people have their midlife crisis and buy a red sports car. (I bought a black one at 30ish), and go galavanting with younger ladies etc....

Well, I'm up nearing 38, sort of not where I want to be, so I decided to chuck it all and go around eastern Europe on a recumbent trike for 6-12 months... Maybe even grow a beard... :blush:

Anyways, a lot of things need to be sorted, since I'm giving up my apartment, selling 80% of my belongings, and putting the rest in storage.

I've been told I can't just f*ck off like that, I need to tie a few knots here and there...

As you all know, I've sold most of my collection of razors, the rest will follow, here and on eBay, straights, strops, blades, DEs the lot...

The trike is ordered, beginning to look for suitable extra gear I need,
I'm beginning to empty and sort my possesions (bin/eBay/fleamarket/keep)

Thought I'd just let you guys know, Hopefully I'll find what I'm looking for on this trip :p

Departure date is scheduled for late April / early May 2014, so that gives me another good 6 months to get everything straightened out.. (which is no luxury when you know french bureaucracy)

M.
 
pugh-the-special-one said:
Never look back you can't change the past look to the future enjoy your wonderful new adventure.
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Oh yeah, I have no regrets on past events, I've lived in 4 countries, speak 4 languages (and get by with a few more), I've worked in a variety of fields, going from electronic engineering to IT and nursing, all without having finished highschool. (secondary school). I've roamed the streets with the homeless, and partied with the stars.

But I've fallen into a routine, which in France we call "Boulot, Metro, Dodo"...

I see life as chapters, maybe even several books in a series, same main character, just a new story..

To be short, I'm bored out of my tree.. I need adventure ;)
 
Tall_Paul said:
Good luck Max. Sounds very exciting and life is too short for 'what-ifs'!
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Completly agree, and I know myself, when/if this journey ends, I'll be penniless and homeless, but I'm quick to get back on my feet, never had a problem with chucking it all and doing something new. This will be my 4th "f*ck it, I'm out!" in my life, probably not the last!

Thanks guys for all the well wishes, I'm not gone yet though.. waiting for the weather to get a bit better, and for my f*cking bike to arrive from the US.
(and I'll need to do a bit of training before I go anywhere, I'm not exactly in athletic shape, but I did quit smokes 9 months ago, so there is that...)

M.
 
My friend in France has told me a bit about French bureaucracy, it makes ours look streamlined!
I hope you have a fantastic time Max! When you've gotta go, you've gotta go. Did something similar myself at the grand old age of 45. Whilst I was away, I felt like I could have stayed forever, and was even planning to return for another 6 months the following year. But after a while back home, I realised that whatever I'm looking for isn't in a different physical location. All in all, the best thing I've ever done, and I'm totally glad I did it. Not sure HWMOM and the rest of the family felt the same way.....but you can't please all the people all the time. I guess I was lucky I had them all to come back to, probably not a lot of HWMOM's would put up with it.
I'm sure you've got your survival kit planned to a tee; but I always find tissue and a small roll of cheap plastic sandwich bags are lifesavers when away from civilisation for any length of time. :)
 
Your outlook on life is a fair bit braver than mine! That said, I plan on going bush and teaching elsewhere than deepest rah-est Surrey next year. Just need to formulate a plan as my escape route is almost assured.

I'm interested to hear your last preparations for going walkabout!
 
Burgundy said:
Your outlook on life is a fair bit braver than mine! That said, I plan on going bush and teaching elsewhere than deepest rah-est Surrey next year. Just need to formulate a plan as my escape route is almost assured.

I'm interested to hear your last preparations for going walkabout!
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Some call it "brave", other would call it stupid.. I'm pretty sure my mother would agree on the second definition when she finds out.

So far preparations have been:

  • Buy a map of Europe
  • Put down a hefty chunk of change to order the bike
  • starting to sort books and shit to sell
  • Buy clipless shoes and speedometer for a bike I don't have yet
  • Checking out how f*cking expensive specialist luggage costs
  • Looking at said map, and thinking, "Robbed, tortured, kidnapped, killed, or all 4?"

I'm also looking at the dutch foreign travel advisory (I think the equivalent of the UK foreign ministry), which does not approve of Bulgaria, or one of my goals "Istanbul".. so if I make it alive up to there, I might as well go all the way to Syria...

Also, I'm very happy to know that the dutch government has a policy to never negotiate with terrorists, and they're a bit flaky on getting their own out of foreign prisons.

The good thing is, being dutch is almost like being swiss, they're fairly neutral in most conflicts. (like being french in Syria would not be healthy)

This is currently a rough estimate, since I'm on a bike, not a car, you can add at least 30-40% to that milage, especially since I'm planning on faffing around a bit.

I'm probably looking at 10-12.000km (6-8000 miles)

http://goo.gl/maps/P7JEs

If Bulgaria and Istanbul are no-go, then I'll go up towards Ukraine and Odesa. (through Romania)
 
Bonjour buddy,

So it's gonna be an adventure eh? Sounds good ( not for me though). Man, the idea of riding a bike all over the place does not grab me at all. Although, I looked at those trikes and its gotta be about the laziest way to use a bike I can think of.....heh. Seems like you can sleep on those things. Might be so boring you could maybe nod off while peddling. Isn't it kinda like riding around on a Lazy Boy chair?

I will include a link to one thing you DO need to purchase for your trike. Gives you a nice goose in the speed department and you can use it for a wine/beer cooler. Glad to help.
http://www.recumbenttrikestore.com/ElectricAssist.html

Bon voy ahh gee Max (said in my best B Bunny voice)
 
Max, top effort.
Not sure about the trike. I'm a two wheels good sort of chap. But will it take a hub dynamo - you can charge your iPad/phone on the fly. And light the path...
My friend rode to Instanbul this summer (on a motorbike), Bulgaria was fine.
Ride on fella :)
 
dodgy said:
Bonjour buddy,

So it's gonna be an adventure eh? Sounds good ( not for me though). Man, the idea of riding a bike all over the place does not grab me at all. Although, I looked at those trikes and its gotta be about the laziest way to use a bike I can think of.....heh. Seems like you can sleep on those things. Might be so boring you could maybe nod off while peddling. Isn't it kinda like riding around on a Lazy Boy chair?

I will include a link to one thing you DO need to purchase for your trike. Gives you a nice goose in the speed department and you can use it for a wine/beer cooler. Glad to help.
http://www.recumbenttrikestore.com/ElectricAssist.html

Bon voy ahh gee Max (said in my best B Bunny voice)
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Well, the thing is, a recumbent bike is just a lot more efficient than a normal bike, and I might do the whole camping in fields, shaving in the river and stuff, but when you travel, travel in style.
I chose a trike config since you can't fall off, I still got stabilisers on my 2 wheeled bike ;) Also helps when crawling up a hill...

I like the idea of the electric assist, except I'd need a travel plug and bloody long extension cord! I don't think my small solar panel will charge that thing ;) (it'll charge 4 AAs in 4-6 hours)
 
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