The British Man

 

And there you have it, everything is in place. I am now ready to live on the road!

The bike (cutey in the pic above) presented itself to me, in a quality bike shop in Shenfield, Essex, called Discount Cycles. The boss man Ted was so knowledgeable and really understood why I was doing the cycle. I couldn’t recommend the shop enough so if you’re in the area go have a look!

The bike is beautiful, I won’t go into tech specs but it’s comfy, sturdy and it’s British. It doesn’t have a front wheel in the photo but it was a tight squeeze getting it in my car, rest assured it’s all put back together now.

I’m moving out of the flat this week and my last day at work is this Friday, so everything is hectic right now. But maybe that’s a blessing, as otherwise I would be worrying about all sorts, an idle mind is the Devil’s playground ain’t it.

It’s a surreal feeling and I won’t lie I am nervous, leaving a comfort zone is always a bit nerve racking. But as John A Shedd once said….“A ship is safe in harbour, but that’s not what ships are for”.

6 sleeps until I leave the harbour gang.

Yours in cycling,

Dan

Make a decision Dan!!

Okay, okay I will.

I’ve been experiencing paralysis by analysis..

I need to make a decision on what bike I’m going to choose and where I’m going to source it from. I want to be pedalling within 24 hours of landing just to iron out any nerves.

I have 3 options:

1. Buy a bike stateside near the start point.

Buying a bike after I land makes sense. I’ve found bike shops near the airport that also offer a pick up service from the airport, taking you to the starting point in Yorktown, how good is that!

By buying it out there I know the bike will be a bike, but it may not be the bike for me. If I want a brand spanking new bike then I can look online on the sites of local shops, but I can’t easily get hold of a quality used one at such short notice.

Additionally, I don’t know the compatibilities with some equipment I’ve bought already. Even different wheel sizes could make some of the gear I’ve bought unusable.

2. Buy a bike in the UK and take it with me.

Buying a bike whilst I’m in the UK has its pros. I can take my time picking one (approximately 2 weeks). I can load the bike up and check everything is in order. I can sleep at night knowing there is a bike in place.

The only risk with this option is that the bike will need to make it to America in one piece. It can go on as luggage on the plane, but there are nightmare stories of bikes coming out the other end ruined and even worse not coming out the other end at all!!

3. Keep an eye out for unlocked bikes at the airport when I land.

Obvs I’m not going to nick one so that’s option 3 out the window. 😊

 

Decision Time:

Okay I’m taking action damn it! I’m buying a bike in the UK and taking it with me!

But I’ve made another decision… it must be a British bike! Okay it turns out the Germans were the creators of the bicycle in 1817 (good work Baron Karl von Drais pal), but us Brits took it and made it our own.

Obvs I don’t want this bike to unsettle Anglo-German relations that’s not what this is about. But I need a bike that shall cycle on the beaches, shall cycle on the landing grounds, shall cycle in the fields and in the streets, shall cycle in the hills; that shall never surrender.

The only bike that’s going to do this will have to have been borne on my native soils of Great Britain.

But after all of this bikes could be just like wands, and we all know that the wand chooses the Wizard.

Yours in cycling,

Dan