Well it was rather difficult to watch them back on Qik, so we’ve uploaded them all to YouTube and here is the magic player that lets you navigate from the very first video, to the very last. Enjoy 2 hours of three men chatting to a crappy video camera!

First Interview (Patrick, Stace and Matthew in the London Studio)

Second Interview (Matthew, in Germany about to cross in Poland)

Third Interview (Matthew, at Riga, the brake downs!)

Fourth Interview (Matthew, returning from Russia, in Poland)

Final Interview (Matthew and Stace at the Five Live Studio in London)

There’s also a short video we shot whilst we were chatting waiting to go into the studio, which is fascinating I’m sure you’ll agree:

and here’s the video from our last interview where we got the host to try a heater meal!

You can see them all here

Or you can see Matthew’s Photos, Stace’s Photos, or Patrick’s Photos in separate streams.

However before we all slip back into everyday life we’d just like to express our thanks to everyone who has supported us on our journey. We’ve all enjoyed the experience and the memories will remain with us for ever and most importantly of all we’ve done a little bit of work to raise awareness (and a bit of cash) for Everyman.

That being said we couldn’t have done it without you guys wishing us well from a far. Your messages kept us going on the journey so now sit back and enjoy (once we’ve sorted them all out) the pictures and videos…….

Latest videos now appearing at the top of the screen – don’t forget we’re doing several a day now (shorter ones!) so click on the ‘qik’ button and make sure you’re up to date with the latest news from the road.

Germany here we come!

Not much to write that’s not already in the video – but talking of the video – they’re not working properly. For some reason the videos ARE uploading to the QIK service but not to our website – so to see the latest video go over to www.qik.com/matthewcashmore to view… I’ve emailed support and it may just fix itself. For those interested it appears the RSS update isn’t coming through… mmm odd.

Anyway – all is well here and here’s the latest video. Not quite live, from Poland.

See you all soon.

xxx

But none of that matters! Because we’re in a camp site of our dreams…. the first three we went to today were shut – this one was open – and why is it so fantastic? Because they’ve let us camp in the band stand, and they have wi-fi – and all this for four euros each.

We’re now two days behind schedule – tomorrow we should get to St Petersburg – with any luck – and we need it. You’ll know what’s gone wrong if you’re following the videos above (tip – click the ‘qik’ button to watch older videos – we’re now doing more than one a day) but essentially all our problems have meant we’ve had to seriously re-think our plan.

So far the plan goes like this…. get to St Petersburg… after that we’re going to see how much money and time is left. The repairs to the bikes have hit the pocket hard as have the enforced stays in hotels – either due to horrendous weather of breakdowns.

Anyway – we’ll update you more when we get to Russia. Keep watching the videos – I’m also uploading some photos to flickr – but they’re taking ages so don’t expect too many :-)

The party was fantastic – there’s loads of photos on Facebook – go look… they’re there somewhere… I should have ordered more food.. and certainly should have made more potato salad – fun fun fun…

Today was really long – I didn’t sleep at all on the ferry and just hit a brick wall at about 2pm – I had to pull over and force down Red Bull – it’s hideous by the way – but it did get me to Berlin in one piece.

We saw nothing of Holland and Germany other than the motorway network – that was always the plan – but still it still feels a bit wrong. Tomorrow we hit Poland – only 185 miles (rather than the 450 today) so we can take our time, take in the sights and enjoy the country through which we’re traveling.

PS – The podcasting isn’t working right now – we don’t know why but I’m looking into it!

Paul Davies and Partners do quite a lot of charity work, and they’re a big company… international architects and are in the top 100 companies to work for – a pretty cool company who’ve given us a pretty cool £200 to stamp out male cancers.

The bike has been serviced and all went well until 4pm yesterday when I tried to start the bike… then it was all a bit Arghhhhh!

Bike simply refused to start even though there appeared to be sufficient power for lights etc – I went through the alarm, and ignition circuits, checked the fuses – you name it I checked it. In the end I took a gamble and dashed up to Honda in Luton to buy a brand new battery (£49), which also cost me a parking ticket (£65), but when I got home, charged the battery and put it on the bike – all was well and it fired up (priceless).

So today is paperwork and last minute shopping – hopefully it’ll be a lot more way-hey – my fingers are crossed! :-)

Details over on the facebook event page.

We’re going to meet at around 3pm, and party until we leave at 7pm – there’s a band booked to play and there’ll be shed loads of burgers, rolls, and importantly jelly (it’s not a party without jelly).

In other news:

We’re going to be ‘livecasting’ every night at 7pm BST – right here on this site – you’ll be able to watch a live two minute TV show from where-ever we are on the road – all thanks to the magic of my Nokia N95 and a new service called Qik. If you miss the show, don’t worry the last one will be available all the time right here on the front page.

And in exciting BBC News – you’re going to be able to keep up to date with our movements via Up All Night on Five Live - how cool is that?

We’re on-air early morning of Saturday 30th September before we leave, then again on the phone on Monday 2nd September (again early morning), Saturday 6th September (early morning), Saturday 12th September (early morning) and finally on Sunday 21st when we come back.

It’s fair to say we may have been a little obsessed with our kit. The problem was of course, that we were delayed by a year – and there’s only so much time you can take up obsessing over visas and injections – so kit seemed a harmless hobby.

I’ve lost count of the tents we’ve tested, taken on the road and now finally, regretfully in some cases, rejected. This weekend we headed down to see Les from Traveldri-Plus – the mecca for anyone kitting themselves out with kit that will last more than one festival (Blacks – sorry guys you don’t hold a torch to this guy).

This is our second trip to Devon, and once again, for a chap who is running a business, we were blown away by our welcome (thanks for the sandwiches and tea!) and by his amazing depth of knowledge about this stuff.

I’ll take some more time tomorrow to write up what kit we actually bought and what the final tent arrangements are, but this photo may give you an idea until then ;-)

Or use this player to listen:

If you want to automatically receive the podcast updates in your podcast software follow the instructions on the Podcast page.

Or use this player to listen:

If you want to automatically receive the podcast updates in your podcast software follow the instructions on the Podcast page.

Anyway, great news from them today – they think they’ve found a new drug that will combat prostate cancer – this is your money and your support that’s making this possible – BBC News Story about new Prostate Cancer drug.

As we get closer to the off, and as we’re getting the party together – I just wanted to say that if you are coming to the party and are thinking about bringing a bottle… consider giving that money to Everyman instead… we’re very close to the £1000 mark and it would be great to tip it over the edge before we go.

Finally I’d like to leave you with a short video.

I must admit I’ve had a few issues with it. I’ve had to return it to factory defaults (keep hitting F9 at start up) about 5 times, all down to the fact that I got irritated by the basic set up and tried to install new and wonderful applications and advanced user interfaces. Fortunately all my files and documents are kept on the 8gb SD card slapped in the side, so I didn’t lose anything, but the re-install and then update of the system takes an hour or two – it can quite happily be done on the road – but if you want the updates you need a pretty hefty Internet Connection. I did manage to do it in Starbucks whilst away but it cost me about 20 GBP in coffee to sit there for two hours!

This has actually given me confidence in the kit, unlike most other laptop software setups, if it dies, you can just hammer F9 until it takes it back to the simple set up it came with out of the box – and to be frank – that’s enough to email, blog, skype, sort out my photos etc.

However, there is no way this machine can be used as your primary set up, I’ve had no luck sourcing a decent / simple video editor that has worked consistently, at least, no editor that can pull the DV files off my camcorder as they’re downloaded and then allow me to edit them (using MiniDV). You can combine about three bits of software to do this, but none of them are very good and you will end up getting very frustrated. The simple solution to this is to install Ubuntu and run a better application – combine this with buying a new SD based camcorder and you’d be laughing – of course – you’d need a little bigger internal memory too – the 4gb is quite limiting – even if you are just using it for the system and no actual file storage.

I’ve now had a good play with the new 900 units with a 20gb internal drive – much easier to install new apps and OS – the screen is much better, and it’s just more flexible all round. But at over 350gbp it’s into the territory of other probably better ultra light laptops, and frankly, whilst I can almost afford to lose 200gbp if the asus doesn’t stand up to the journey – 350gbp is somehow, more difficult.

If you accept it’s limitations in order to have a fantastically small, light, bomb proof machine; it’s worth it’s weight in gold. If you desperately need video editing, or advanced photo editing, it’s probably not for you, and perhaps you should have a look at the myriad of new ultra portables (for a little more cash) coming out of everyone from Apple to Dell.

There’s a good round up of the products available over at CNET

it’s a little out of date now and there are many more on the market – but it’s a good place to start.

Uploaded from South Wales, where I discovered that a simple rip stop nylon poncho packs up smaller than the army issue job, and even fits me!

Not a video review this time, unusual for us I know, however I’ve just got hold of a really nice piece of kit that may well prove more valuable than mine and Matt’s (failed) Russian language (Svetlana please forgive us….) course we had planned to do for the trip – I finished having trouble speaking English let alone Russian.

It was a gift ‘to help you on your trip’ said the voice. It was a small pouch with a belt loop – a bit like an ammo pouch. Guns – I hope not? I dread to think where they think we’re going. Anyway looking at the pouch I wondered what it contained fearing the worst but I was pleasantly surprised…

It contained a small book, hinged in one corner. Between the covers were a number of pages of plastic paper featuring lots of little cartoon pictures of everyday and not so everyday things and events. It’s called a Pocket Comms book and the neat little hinge allows the pages to be fanned out to see many pictures at once. It’s been developed by an ex-army intelligence guy who came up with the idea whilst overseas and is based on pictures he used to use when communicating with locals. This developed into the book. Each page is double sided and the book contains hundreds of little cartoon drawings covering any number of situations that you might want to talk to someone about but would find it hard to because you both didn’t speak the same language. All the cartoons are grouped according into categories and each page edge is colour coded so red is used for emergency situations and so on. It’s a really clever idea and at about £8 for the basic book well worth the money. Looking at the website The Police have run a trial using it and there’s even a special Military spec one for the boys and girls overseas.

I’ve spent the morning thinking about things I might want to say and so far I’ve not found anything that I can’t use this book to say for me and I’m not a person of few words so I’m pretty impressed. There are similar things out there that have been more widely used and some of them are free, however in my opinion this really is a gem for the price, size and ease of use – yes you can print a pdf but to make is any good you’ll have to laminate it and all that takes time so why not just get one done for you? Of course the real test is taking it to Russia – although certain aspects of ‘youth culture’ means it may come in handy closer to home. However I think it will serve the 3 of us well on the trip and I’ll report on it’s usefulness upon our return.

You can see our photos as they’re uploaded right on flickr over at http://www.flickr.com/photos/journeytorussia/ – where you can comment on them and leave us little notes of encouragement – like this one. In order to do that you’ll need to sign up to flickr – and if you want our photos to appear on your flickr homepage then you’ll need to add us as a contact.

The easiest way to keep up to date with the photos on the road is to simply add the RSS stream to your feed reader.

We promise to upload all photos and not censor any at all…. well maybe some… we don’t want people having nightmares….

First of all I wanted to play around with configurations to keep as much of the water off the bag as possible – that resulted in this set up:

A simple rip-stop nylon basha combined with a ground sheet and a couple of poles. A simple solution that for about six hours in moderate winds kept 99% of the rain off the canvas.

However, I then left the swag, and having not tied the ropes down properly, the basha came lose and exposed the swag to the full fury of a coastal South Wales storm. Got up this morning to a small water problem. I’ve called this the second ‘test’, when in fact it was my stupidity forcing one.

The canvas inside was dry, as was my sleeping bag and mat. I got in and gave the canvas a good prodding. Nothing got through. Must admit I was surprised and very impressed.

I then rolled the swag up, and left it in the back of the car for about six hours for the journey home. Just unrolled it and the water has started to seep inside. Not a great result, but proof if I needed it that I have to ensure that the bag just doesn’t get this wet – either by avoiding camping in the worst weather on the road – or by ensuring I get the basha set up properly and securely.

On a more successful note…. the poncho works!

By subscribing to the Journey To Russia video show, you’ll automatically get the latest video delivered straight to your computer – what more could you possibly need ;-)

All you need to do is make sure iTunes is installed – then click on this link

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=273247169

And you’re subscribed. Of course, not everyone uses iTunes, and if you use one of the other pieces of podcast software – simply use the normal RSS feed

http://journeytorussia.blip.tv/rss

After we got back Michael dropped us a line and very kindly offered to send us some bits and pieces to help us get our kit ready. I must be honest I’ve never really believed in after-market waterproofing – we’ve all been there and bought the sprays and the liquids and everything in-between from the camping shop – so when I put the jacket in the wash this weekend I wasn’t holding out much hope.

My jacket is three years old, it’s never been washed and to be totally frank it was not really very waterproof around the tummy area. I’ve always put that down to the way my tummy pushes against the front and desperately tries to escape :-)

So into the washing machine the jacket went, following the instructions on the tech wash bottle – 30 degree hand wash cycle – out it came dripping wet and not very much cleaner than before – but Michael had warned me – use the tech wash first otherwise the waterproof wont work.

Given the beautiful weather this weekend it was dry in a couple of hours, so went back in on a 40 degree wash, gentle cycle, slow spin with the waterproof liquid. To cut a long story short, it took six hours in total to wash the jacket, dry it, wash it again and leave it dry once more. It’s not a task I’d do in anything but the best of weather.

Allowing for British weather I didn’t have to wait long to test the application. This morning it was throwing it down, a perfect opportunity to see in action the wonder proofing that Michael had promised. I rode for an hour in the rain, constant but not heavy, fully expecting to have to change my top when I got into work.

Arriving in west London I noticed something very odd, the water, as it was hitting my jacket was beading, gathering in little balls before running off all together. It’s not 100% efficient but most of the water simply wasn’t staying on the fabric. Getting into the office I pulled the jacket off to discover no wet spot – nothing at all – bone dry underneath.

These two products form the basis of the Nikwax range, and frankly if everything else they produce works as well as these two, then it’s a name I’ll trust in the future.

I know, slightly strange to be talking about forming some sort of bond with something as silly as a tent, but after all this small, insubstantial shelter is going to be your home for the next goodness knows how long, why not take some care in what you chose? Why not take into account how you feel about your home?

With that in mind may I introduce the first tent that has made me feel something about how it’s put together – the Coolabah swag bag from Burke and Wills – distributed in this country by www.theaussieshop.co.uk

It’s completely made of canvas, both it’s best and worst point. I remember when I was a kid camping with my dad, a massive six person tent that took up the entire rear of the car, and took about a week to put up. It smelt bad when it rained, if it rained for more than a couple of hours you’d get a fine mist working its way through the material. But it seems even with the oldest tent material in the world we can have a bit of an update.

I couldn’t tell you exactly what it is, but it’s more ‘waxy’ and even though I’m yet to test it in the wet I can quite believe the claim from Burke and Wills that once it’s been wet, the seams expand and it’ll deal with everything but the worst of the weather. They suggest before you use it you take it out and give it a good hosing. Makes sense.

It’s certainly a ‘choice’, once I’d decided that I didn’t want to take a tent that took a lot of time to put up, and decided that I didn’t need a tent that I could get changed in etc, then the one man options became more sensible, the problems as ever boiled down to how you get in and out when it’s raining and where do you sit if it rains.

I’ve looked at a lot of one and two man tents, but all the modern ones just seem to be far to complicated. I’ve been looking for something that I can pull off the back of the bike un-roll and get in – complete with sleeping mat and bag. With the Coolabah I’ve finally found it. It ships with a foam mattress that frankly I’d be comfortable with as my main bed, but practically it’s just too big and doesn’t roll to a sensible size. I’ve now replaced that with my Exped Downmat (from Traveldri-Plus) and my sleeping bag – it now rolls up to half the size but it’s still fairly wide. If you’re on a narrow bike with no panniers you may struggle to find a way to fit it on. My bike, just like me, is quite wide and with 54 litre panniers on either side this isn’t going to cause me a problem.

The attention to detail is superb. As you get into the tent through the very accessible top door and put your head on the pillow you notice immediately how well put together it is, how close all the stitching is and how good the material is. I was very impressed when I saw a handy little loop for my torch and a series of pockets just above my shoulder for those little things like phones and glasses. I was slightly concerned about storage for things like my camera, but actually there’s so much room down by your feet that I stowed both my stills and video camera there without noticing them during the night.

There’s enough space inside to comfortably move around during the night and even change your undies and put some trousers on, but putting a top on is a bit difficult and you’ll need to poke your head out to achieve the more space conscious dressing activities.

The design is perfect, rather than the usual crawling into your tent you use a door on the top of the tent, very coffin like. In reality this means you can lie down and look out at the stars, either directly or through the mosquito net before pulling the canvas door over your head for a totally dark night. There is a door at the very end you can crawl through – but frankly – I don’t fit – I do like the fact you can leave the canvas on the end open with the net down however.

In summary, a great tent, very well made and once you’ve pulled out the supplied foam mattress and replaced it with a more sensible version just right for putting up each night very quickly. The only issues are with the size once rolled up – if you can deal with that and can find a sensible way to cover yourself in the rain (think tarp and poles off your bike) then go for it.

A short video that takes you through the top tent designs and what to look out for when you’re buying a tent. Originally posted on thelondonbiker.com

So to my absolute delight I discovered that you can freeze-dry wine – no seriously – you can buy 200ml of wonderfully rich ‘rouge’ wine direct from Touratech, and in a tiny little silver packet. Perfect.

I was open minded about the wine, I’m not a snob and tend to drink bottles that are less than £5 a pop, but for £3.04 plus p&p even I was a little worried about the quality of the plonk delivered in a mere three weeks.

I prepared the equipment (a jug with 200ml of water, a long stirring thing, and a glass), opened the sachet and dropped in the rather lumpy, congealed powder – not confident at all it was going to dissolve. But to my surprise, the wine dissipated after only gentle encouragement. Five minutes dragged by and I was rewarded with a deep red jug of wine, ready for drinking at the fireside. What could be more perfect?

The only thing remaining was to actually taste it. This is where the dream of wine on-the-go falls to pieces. Dear Lord… holy cow… and some other non-printable expletives. I’m struggling to describe it without having to resort to blawah, but I can’t come close. It tasted of chemicals, with a hint of toilet cleaner, and and after taste not dissimilar to Sunny Delight.

This is a great idea, and I’m sure if somebody spends some time thinking how it actually tastes rather than trading on the idea of wonderful modern ease and travel, then it may succeed. Until then, drop into your local supermarket, buy the cheapest box of red - remove the outer packing – and be in rouge bliss.

The Ady Smith school sounded like a really great way to spend the weekend. Not only was it going to be fun but I was also looking at it as further rider training and being able to relate some of things I learned on the weekend to my road riding.

Ady Smith runs a good school that puts the safety of those on the course at the top of the list. So after being kitted up in full protective clothing and introduced to the latest 2008 KTM off roaders we had a safety briefing and I felt very at ease.

The first part of the course was where we got used to the bikes on easy terrain. It was good to get the feel of how the bike behaved under power on slippery ground and in the corners. With not having fallen off I was feeling pretty upbeat and so on to a slower section where we learnt basic slow control and cornering.

The format was pretty much the same for the rest of the weekend. We had sessions of instruction followed by practice then a bit of time putting it all together. As the course continued continued we tackled more complex skills.

It all ended with a run around the enduro course where displayed the skills we learned from sliding the back end round bends, flat corners, riding through ruts and Jumps (yes jumps…) to name but a few. As we did this Ady and guys displayed a far higher level of skill and this added to the feel of the day. I can’t wait to try this again.

On first impressions the book is nicely presented. It’s a full colour hardback that’s typical of many recent Haynes titles. The look and feel makes you want to pick it up and thumb through it looking at the stunning pictures that are included. I found myself settling down with a cup of tea almost straight away and looking forward to a quiet afternoon dreaming about a long trip on a bike.

The book starts with a good introduction that highlights some of the pioneers of adventure motorcycling from the early days to more recent travelers like Grant Johnson and Ted Simon.

Robert Wicks has divided his book into 3 parts, Before Leaving Home, On The Road and finally Typical Adventures. It’s nice and straight forward and each section contains a good level of detail on the sort of things you need to consider prior to the off and when you’re on the road.

Each section contains small packets of useful information interspaced with inspiring photography from around the world. It’s a nice mix that’s easy to take in and isn’t heavy going at all and it’s all rounded off nicely with 3 ‘typical adventures’ which describe 3 different trips from a short two week jaunt to a mammoth 3 year adventure. There’s also a nice section that points you in the direction for finding further information.

And this is the thing with the Haynes Adventure Motorcycling book. You can find quite a bit of information about planning a trip but without the depth you might need that you’d find in other titles on the subject. And this is the crux of the matter. Whilst it’s a great introduction for people starting out in the planning of a bike trip it’s not going to be enough for anyone looking for a bit more depth.

When you look at the photo’s the other thing you notice is that it makes a lot of use of supported trips on the latest machines. To me and many others the idea of doing a trip like this on the latest kit is a dream but the reality is that any bike will do and it would have been nice to see some of the more everyday types of bikes featured too rather than just the photo credits looking more like advert.

Thinking about whom this book is designed for it’s great for those who aspire to do a long distance trip by motorbike and provides a useful starting point for when you start the planning process. However it doesn’t have the depth of information you might need and instead points in the direction of where you might find the additional information elsewhere

So on whole a nice looking book that I found to be a great read and certainly made me wish for my departure date to be a lot closer than it is. As Ted Simon says in his forward if you read this book it will sharpen your appetite to discover the road ahead.

Happy travels!

I’m going to use it as a bit of ‘light’ training…

Myself and some friends from www.xrv.org.uk will be attempting to ride from John O’Groats to Lands End on 21st June 2008 – the longest day of the year. It’s approx 870 miles in total depending on the route. All in a day starting at about 4:30 am and finishing outside the Lands End Hotel – hopefully before midnight….

Why on earth would I want to subject myself, and in particular my rear end, to 850 miles plus in the saddle in one day? Well as I said it’s good practice for Russia but more importantly it’s to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. Macmillan work to support people with cancer and their families. They provide doctors, nurses and other specialists in hospitals and help families and loved ones cope with caring for someone with cancer.

Our Russia trip is raising the profile of Everyman a group fighting male type cancers and this trip is helping a group dedicated to helping people cope with disease.

Here’s a link to our Just Giving Page …. I’m looking forward to doing this run and I’ll be thinking of The Old Man on the way

In fact we had quite a long discussion about if we should do it at all. It got quite cynical – would it help us get sponsorship? Would it help us get a foot in the door with people who could help us? Looking back now that seems absolutely dreadful, how could we possibly use a charity to further our aims of getting money out of large companies to pay for our summer holiday!? But those thoughts did cross our minds, in part I think because of the current explosion of Adventure Travel shows on the TV that do exactly that.

But thankfully in the end we got talking to some fantastic people over at Everyman – part of the Institute of Cancer Research – apart from the fact male cancers get very little air-time in the media we felt really strongly that men don’t take enough notice of this kind of thing, it’s something very close to all three of our hearts – for various reasons – and if we can raise even a little cash through this site and this adventure, well, we’ve done something to help out.

Today I’ve been humbled again by another £50 donation through our justgiving page – it always leaves me with my mouth open as I see people parting with their hard earned cash to help out a charity like Everyman.

So to everyone that’s dug deep, to everyone who’s given what they can afford…. Thank you.

It sounds more exciting than it really is, but bookmark this link

http://journeytorussia.co.uk/watch-the-show

or subscribe to the RSS feed at

http://journeytorussia.blip.tv/rss

Shows in the pipeline include a guide to which tents will serve you best on the road, and the first of what I hope will be many cooking themed shows, with recipes that will keep you healthy using local food and the simplest of tools.

If there’s something you’d like to see us film drop us a note :-)

We’ll also be using the map to display our photos and videos whilst we’re on the road. You’ll be able to access the map on the Route page.

View Larger Map

The guys who run the rally are not faint of heart, in fact they’re pretty damn brave most of the time with reports of locals taking pot shots at competitors quite common (not to mention the hundreds of injuries and the tragic deaths). But this year the organisers have announced that they are calling off the event because of, “direct threats against the race issued by terrorist groups”.

This has serious repercussions for the future of the race, it’s not clear yet what the financial issues will be, but I’m sure they’re not going to be able to sort this lot out in a month.

There’s still no official announcement on the Dakar site, but the ASO have said, “Following several consultations with the French government – in particular the ministry of foreign affairs – and taking into account its firm recommendations, the organisers of the Dakar have taken the decision to cancel the 2008 edition of the rally”.

Latest news direct from the rally camp via Rally RAIDio

Click To Play

(embedded movie from blip.tv)

The Trangia is a wonderful all round system. I use the 25 (the slightly larger version) because I find the 27 too small for a decent cup of tea for more than one person, and whilst there is an obvious space saving issue, I also find the 27 too fiddly to use with the multi-fuel burner. Talking of which I’d consider the multi-fuel system an absolute must – the meths burner which comes with the system is fine if you have an hour to make a cup of tea – but as we discovered on the Dartmoor training run last year – the last thing you need when you’re cold and tired is to be wondering if your food will ever actually be ready.

The 25 can be had for around £50, the multi-fuel burner is about £80 and then you’re looking at between £5 and £10 for the various accessories, like the multi-disk and extra fuel bottle.

And so it was done.

It may not be cheap, but £115 for total sleeping comfort is worth every penny. I love camping, there’s nothing I’d rather do that get way out into the countryside in the middle of no-where and sit staring at the stars. But when I crawl into my little tent I do actually want to sleep.

There’s a glut of cheap ’simple’ sleeping mats on the market – in fact there are also some pretty expensive ones – things like the thermarest – but does anyone else think that they’re just the biggest things ever!? I mean… who is going to pack one of those on the back of their bike?

Sure, the small one is tiny, but it’s so thin that even my little 10 month old kitten would find it uncomfortable. So enter the king of sleeping mats – the Exped 7 DLX!

The thing you have to understand of course is that this is no ordinary mat – oh no – it’s actually filled with down – and because down compresses so damn well it packs up really really tiny – much smaller in fact than the smallest thermarest. Having said all that when you inflate it – it’s wonderfully comfortable – even my large frame doesn’t touch the floor and it’s toasty warm on the coldest of nights.

It’s also quite clever – none of this just leave it inflate and then top up with your breath (which actually puts water into your mat and shortens it’s life) no! You use bag it comes in to inflate it! Amazing!

Stace is off to Cornwall and France for a bit of R&R he’s off soon and no doubt will have some breathtaking pictures upon his return. Having learnt much from the prep for this trip he found he didn’t have to worry about the Cornish leg and the Foreign Office assured him that Cornwall was indeed part of the UK and the terror threat was low(ish).

Matt seems to have drawn the short straw again though. As with Russia he seems to have engaged mouth before brain and a throw away remark now seems to be sending him somewhere warm and sandy. I suspect when he mentioned he wanted to go to Morocco to Mrs Cashmore and later to Stace and I he at least hoped for some worry over his plan…Not so!

Indeed ‘Ooooo great idea’ was one of Catherine’s comments and ‘How soon can you leave’ was mine… Joking aside this is a big trip for the Big Boyo. He’s taking on a monster run down through France and Spain and then dipping his toe in the sands of Africa (who needs to be a journo to write this stuff….) is a big undertaking – especially for the solo rider.

However it’s also a fantastic oppurtunity to test some of the bits we’re planning for Journey To Russia. So hats off to Matt and like us you can follow progress at journeytomorocco.com

As readers of this blog will know, we’ve all had some nasty offs over the last month or so, Patrick in particular is still in a pretty bad state – as he puts it;

“Thinking back to the accident one of the first things that hit me, other than the bike, was the notion that a September departure for Russia was slipping away from me.”

A truth that we’ve simply had to accept. Whilst JTR may have started out as one persons dream, it has never been about any one of us. JTR would not exist and does not exist without us being a team, unless all three of us can make this journey then it’s not Journey To Russia.

With that in mind we’ve decided to postpone our departure. We’ll now leave the UK July next year, with a fit team and bikes that are not in several parts in several garages.

This is a huge blow to us as a team, not least because it means losing a lot of momentum that we’d built up, and a lot of the work that has already gone in is now going to have to be re-done – but it’s the right decision – it’s the sensible decision.

We pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and head for Russia in 2008!

Essentially we’re getting quite a lot of coverage – in fact in the last few days we’ve secured a series of articles on the BBC. Which it has to be said is pretty cool – we’ve also go other stuff which is coming up, so from a sponsors point of view there’s a lot of readers or viewers that would see their brand. I guess what I’m getting at is that there’s something in it for everyone.

Our major sponsor – trustedplaces.com – have been amazing, they really have, and as we move forward over the next year we hope they’ll see a real return for the trust they’ve placed in us. But the interesting thing is how many people have sent us essentially the same letter… it goes something like this.

“Thank you very much for your letter concerning Journey To Russia we regret to inform you that we wont be able to help you with your trip.

As you can imagine we get many requests for help each year and we have decided that we are concentrating on just one charity this year.

We do a lot of charity work… etc etc etc…”

But then we got a letter from Blacks that appeared to be from an actual person rather than automatically generated (some of which were not even signed), that was a nice enough change that it made us feel quite good – but on top of that they also sent us three 10% off vouchers – a really nice touch as we genuinly felt that when they wished us luck for our trip that they meant it.

So as a thank you to Blacks we’re going to add a little advert to our site and buy as much of our kit as we can from their stores – and you should do the same!

Foot looked pretty grim when it came out of plaster. A bath and a rub with a towel removed some of the horror but the shreds of skin still take a bit of getting used to but it will be fine in no time I’m sure.

I’ve already seen my physio and have some exercises to do. I do feel like a new born lamb though – it’s quite tender to walk on so I need to do the exercises and be positive. Doctors are being cagey about the likihood of making the trip date – I still have along way to go.

One part that’s been particulary vexing for me has been the front fairing spur – without being to technical it holds the front fairing and the intruments to the front of the bike and a new honda one is about £200.

Afterweeks of looking on Ebay (UK and Germany) I bit the bullet and ordered a ‘discounted’ one from a well known Honda parts specialist.

 Now I know you know where this is going but not two days after placing my order (non returnable & money upfront) I was tralwing on ebay.de and low and behold not one but TWO of the dam things are listed and both shipping to the UK.

I hate the internet.

Since then we’ve done nothing, we’ve not looked at visa applications, vaccinations, entry points, route details, nothing at all.

We’re starting to surface again now though, work, personal issues and the crashes are starting to fade a little allowing us to see the mammoth task that still lies ahead for us.

And collectively we’ve said. “Oh Shit.”

Crisis meeting Monday night, are we up for this? Or have we bitten off more than we can chew?

The garage is a hive of activity (photos to follow) I have a little fold up chair to sit on and I’m removing bits off the bike. It’s a slow process as I’m keen to keep everything together so I don’t lose any bolts. The front is quite badly beaten up – still gives me the shivers looking at how twisted it all is.

Removing the front fairing spar is proving difficult – the multitude of wires to the instruments and trip computer doesn’t help – but I’m marking these as a I go so hopefully it will be a breeze when it comes to putting it back together again (famous last words…).

There is a pile of broken parts on one side of the garage and in time this will include the forks, the afore mentioned spar, instruments, fairing panels, front mudguard and a mirror. In addition and depending upon whether I can bend things back into shape it may also include the headlights, footpeg, pillion footpegs and pannier racks and possibly the yokes. The fuel tank is a bit bent out of shape too and looking at it in detail was very nearly holed by the brush guards being forced into it when I crashed.

It’s not all doom and gloom though as I have been very fortunate in being able to secure some parts. Previous ebay adventures mean I have most of the fairings I need and 2 (yes I know…) fuel tanks so those pointless just in case purchases were in fact a great buy in the end and don’t tell me you’ve never done it!

A very good friend of mine on www.XRV.org.uk let me have a set of fork legs for nothing and I sourced a spare set of Yokes just in case. I had to buy the faring spar but used a discount supplier and saved about £40 off the Honda price.

The front wheel has gone off to be put back into shape so fingers crossed it can be done with the existing components. If it needs a rebuild I’m not sure I could resist the temptation to have both hubs and rims annodised and rebuilt with stainless steel spokes – at times the lure of fitting cheap or gawdy tat to my bike worries me. Colour coded bolts on a say a gixxer makes me sick but it seems anything goes when it comes to my AT.

So fingers crossed.

It’s a revelation. I made the mistake of reading the first couple of chapters just as I was heading for bed whilst away in Swansea. Away from my wife and my family I read how Jonny lost his love as she died in his arms in India. Not what I needed for a good deap sleep, in fact it stirred the most silly dreams and I ended up calling Catheirne in the middle of the night to make sure she was okay.

Now the story is into full swing, it’s settled into a wonderfully woven thread that grabs you and refuses to let you put it down. So if you try to get hold of me over the next couple of days, forget it, my head is buried in this fantastic book

I’m sure it will heal very quickly but I can’t wait for the shoulder bruising to sort itself out – It doesn’t look much but the whole shoulder hurts when I try to rotate my arm – I’ll give it a few more days and if I’ve still had no joy – back to the docs.

These accidents are playing havoc with our training schedule – and the fact that we can’t get out to write reviews for TrustedPlaces!

I’m now hurting quite a lot – bruised chest from going through my windscreen, bad ankle and knees but according to medical staff I’ll live – which is nice.

The weekend training run is of course off whilst I deal with insurance companies and getting Toby back on the road.

He says he’s okay though. He’s in shock and I’ve berated him for not going to Hospital so he said he’ll go later. Bike is a bit bent but not to bad.

I’m expecting an update shortly so I’ll keep you posted!

If you’ve got any ideas where I can head this weekend drop me a line, at the moment the plan is to just head north, then west, then south then home.

The other bits to try out this weekend will be writing each night. So far I’ve been so pre-occupied with actually getting the tent up, cooking, and all that jazz that I’ve not sat down and written for the blog or searched out interesting places for our TrustedPlaces reviews.

Actually talking about the NHS I have to say what a top job it did to fix me up. It gets knocked but the people working in the NHS make it work. From the moment the paramedics turned up everything was done with the mimimum of fuss – a very British thing and I found this a real comfort to me being on the receiving end.

I’m no stanger to NHS trauma care having broken my left ankle coming off a previous bike a few years ago – once again everyone who I saw worked hard to patch me up. I did my bit by wearing the right kit but nonetheless a top job thank you!

Glad to be home though…

I’m non weight bearing on my right leg at the moment. My left leg is not used to doing the work but it’s coping. I’m taking it easy but having learned from experience I must not get to much of the ‘I am helpless’ mindset and I’m trying most things for myself. Lots of stretching and body weight exercises (whilst keeping weight off the right leg) are the order of the day. So wish me luck and any advice would be great.

However I look at it. I have a bit of a “stretch goal” to achieve to make the trip. I’ll be out of plaster for sure however it’s more a question of how strong my leg is. My big fear would be to become injured in a silly accident as a result of a leg not up to the extra strains the trip will bring. Of course there is no predicting what will happen so at the moment it really is a case of sitting tight and seeing how my body heals.

I do however have a secret weapon. Both myself and my partner are very interested in nutritional therapy and I’m looking at getting the best food and supplements inside me in order to be ready to meet the challange of being fit for the fith!

If you think of Steve Austin (a.k.a The Six Million Dollar Man) and you know what I’m thinking .I have the red tracksuit on order already….

Fit for the Fith – My war cry as I hobble into a period of weightless uncertainty…

We’re all very relieved that the man himself is home, and we’re crossing everything for a speedy recovery so he can get straight back on the bike.

Hopefully tomorrow we’ll have some shots of the damage to the bike and we can assess what needs to happen to get the man himself back on the road – he’s even applied for some print outs of his x-rays, which will certainly brighten our flickr stream up!

Thanks very much to all the people who’ve emailed me to help find some gloves for Patrick – sorted now thanks to the wonderful Ness!

If all goes well and his test come back clear he’s hoping to get out of the hospital tomorrow and start the long road back to fitness.

He’s asked me to find him a pair of weight training gloves, or cycling gloves – just something to stop his hands getting blistered with the crutches – so if you’ve got an idea where I could get those drop me an email.

Also been glad to hear that you can get over this quite quickly – asked the guys over at Horizons Unlimited what they thought and they’ve come back saying he’ll be back riding fit in no time. One chap in particular broke his leg and was back up and about in 8 weeks – so here’s crossing our fingers that Patrick will be up and about ready to battle his way to Russia.

He’s trying to get hold of a copy of his x-rays so with any luck we’ll have those up soon!

There was some ligament damage and it sounds as if more pins were needed than initially thought. But the important thing is that the operation went well and with any luck our fellow traveller will be out tomorrow – crutches and plaster complete.

The only problem now of course – is how on earth do you keep a very active fellow ‘active’ when he’s got one leg strung up?

We’re all crossing everything here that it’s nothing more simple than a pin, if it’s a plate then Russia may be off for him. It’s something none of us want, but if anyone is going to get over a broken leg, get fit and ride to Moscow, it’s Patrick.

More news as soon as we have it – at this point he’s still in hospital and we think he’ll be in a cast for as much as eight weeks. All fingers crossed for a speedy recovery.

We headed out from St Albans bright and early just before noon, why we never manage to leave on time is beyond me, we plan well, we all have good intentions, but we always head out on the first day stupidly late. Fortunately this time round the nights are longer and the prospect of pitching tents and cooking in the dark wasn’t a realistic one. Heading out through Hertfordshire, into Oxfordshire and beyond I started to get really excited about going home, there’s nothing as beautiful as the Welsh hills in the evening light.

As we crossed the border (somewhere in Shropshire) I punched the air with Joy – I was home. The joy was short lived however, five miles later we passed back into England and seemingly away from God’s own land. Fear not, we slowly snaked our way round the A-Roads and crossed once again into Wales. Now we were really training, passing fields of gold, rising so fast into the mountains that our ears popped every mile or so. The air cleared, the pollen receded and was replaced by the sweet sound of new born lambs chasing each other across fields of short grass. I started to relax, and rather forgot the veritable trailer of stuff on the back of my bike, it’s amazing how badly a bike can corner when you’re heading into a 90 degree hairpin at 60 miles an hour.

The nights entertainment was helped along by a field of horses who took great interest in our attempts to get our new Trangia MSR burners working. But we were the ones laughing once we’d got them fired up, rice, tuna and asparagus soup kept us warm and full as we played black jack, smoked our cigars and kept the chill away with a small tot of whisky. All of this took place under the latest addition to our kit list – a 20 foot awning that will keep all but the most determined rain off us come the worst.

Riding back down the A470, A469, and other well known Welsh roads it occurred to me how well they were being looked after. None of the usual dips, holes or ripples; just smooth comfortable and grippy tarmac. If the roads on our trip are half as good we wont have a problem, but I have a feeling Poland may have a different opinion on how roads should be looked after. Getting home was a welcome relief, as was the warm bath and glass of wine – I wonder how I’ll fair when there’s no sign of a hot bath or decent wine for three weeks?

Sorry about the strange characters in the posts whilst we were away – the photo update stuff seems to put them in – will get that fixed ASAP.

Phil sets to work peeling off all the excess bits from the pre-cut shapes on the sheet of film, I say film, Phil did explain to me that it wasn’t really a film as in plastic but something else but to be honest I have forgotten. He also told me that it was developed originally to go on the tips of helicopter rotor blades to stop them from wearing away so quickly, if only the VFR went that quick. Now that Phil had the sheet of film ready he picked up one of the many bottles he had and sprayed the front of the bike in a soapy solution. He then explained that this was necessary as the soap acted as an inhibitor to the adhesive on the back of the film and allowed him to position it in the correct place. After a bit more spraying and positioning Phil was happy that it was in the correct place and started to use a small piece a hard rubber to squeeze out as much of the excess moisture as possible. As he was doing this Phil explained that because the film was micro-porous it would take about 7-10 days for the film to cure during which time I should keep smoothing down the edges and where the film went over decals.

It didn’t take long for Phil to finish doing the rest of the front during which time I looked around at all the very nice high performance cars in the workshop one of which was a Pagani Zonda. Most of it was covered over but the rear was all exposed where the gearbox had been removed as it was having a new clutch fitted. After looking around and taking a few photos of the Zonda and other cars I went back over to Phil as he was finishing off the front of the bike.

As I have a baglux tank cover fitted there was no need to fit the tank parts of the kit but so I wasn’t short changed it was agreed that I could have the film used on the back of the bike around the pillion seat. However, as there wasn’t a template for this area Phil had to mark out and cut each part by hand. He did this with the same attention to detail as he did whilst fitting the pre-cut elements for the front resulting in a fit that looked as if a machine had done it.

Now that all the bits had been fitted the next stage was for Phil to go round every piece using a hot air blower and his hard bit of rubber smoothing down each bit again ensuring that all the edges were stuck down. He then, using a microfiber cloth, went round the whole bike again and polished off any water marks leaving the bike shining like it had just left the showroom when it was new.

When you consider how much the kits cost then add on the cost of a pro fit it is easy to see why some might say “its nice but a bit expensive” but to those people I would say that the cost of having it fitted is worth every penny. The service you receive is fantastic and, as for the film, apart from it protecting your bike for chips, scuffs and abrasions it also lifts the shine making the bike look great. For example, my seat cowl was really starting to look its age what with boot scuff marks and rubbing from my Ventura bag yet after Phil gave it a little polish with some fine compound and then fitted the film it instantly looked like it was brand new.

In short, I can only urge people to get their bikes covered. It is well worth the money, the service is fantastic and with all the loose debris on the road it just makes sense. I know I’ll be a lot happier when we are on our Journey to Russia knowing that my bike is as protected as it can be. Thank you Phil you did an excellent job.

It’s a beautiful spot right at the heart of a beautiful country (not that I’m biased). I’m really looking forward to the long corners and steep bends that the road up to Dolgellau offers. We may even have time to drop in on the family.

The run is only around 188 miles one way, but that should be more than enough to blow the cobwebs out and get used to long days in the saddle. I’m trying to work out at the moment if we should blast across the A40 all the way to Breacon and then go up and over the hills, or if we should go up along-side the M1 and M6 through Birmingham and Shrewsbury and then break across mid-Wales. Perhaps we’ll do both – should make for an interesting ride!

Here are some of the amazing shots he took of our Dartmoor run – he wasn’t even trying to take brilliant shots as we were all for the most part just worried about where the next cup of tea was coming from.

You can see all the photos from the run on our Flickr stream – make sure you comment :-)

Well, almost. I still need to change my sprockets and chain, Stace needs to re-configure his luggage after buying a new 2 second tent with a smaller ‘wing factor’, and Patrick needs to ride-in and make sure his recent head bearing replacement has taken.

Next week we’ll also be announcing a stunning partnership with another site… so keep your eyes on the RSS feed :-)

The following is an excerpt from Tim Cahill´s book Hold the Enlightenment. I would like to reproduce a good portion of it hear, assuming that he will not mind as long as I make a shameless plug for his books.


Tim Cahill’s Travel 101

Have a quest. You really want to meet indigenous folks, understand their concerns, find out how things work, make friends. You don’t do this in the company of English-speakers. So have a quest, some bit of business that will shove you into the cultural maelstrom… Perhaps you are interested in trains, or motorcycle clubs, or ecological issues. Find locals who share your passion. You’ll make friends.

You will be bored. Bring a big book.

Stop whining, no one wants to hear it.

Read guidebooks and books by local authors and expect them to be wrong or out of date.

It ain’t about the money. There are places where you are expected to bargain and sharpies who want to take advantage of you. Unfortunately, too many people who think of themselves as “world travelers” become obsessed with money. Too often money, and the process of saving money, becomes the entire point of traveling. If the nature of your quest is financial, stay home and get into arbitrage.

Thinking of your hosts as “natives” who can be “spoiled” dehumanizes people and creates the kind of abyss that is impossible to bridge with friendship.

Try the local foods. Eat what is put in front of you.

Learn the rudiments of the local language.

You are the foreigner, dickweed.

The “natives” have their pride.

Schedule a rest day every now and then. Contrary to what you read, insights seldom happen at the summit of a mountain, at the moment a whale is sighted, or in the face of some overwhelming bit of landscape.

The worse the experience, the better the story.

There are no bad experiences.

I first got into Tim Cahill’s books when I overheard someone at a Horizons Unlimited meeting talk about his book Road Fever which recounts a world record run in a car from Argentina to Alaska. Hilarious!

Friday night saw me gripping the sides of my toilet in horror as my tummy and I had a severe disagreement over kipper, thinking about it the underdone scrambled eggs may also have been a factor. The upshot of this personal time my toilet and I shared was that the very first Journey To Russia training run was off. I was supposed to meet Patrick and Stace at a Little Chef just north of Guildford at 9am the following morning. Yeah right. My wife Catherine made the dutiful call to announce my illness and subsequent no-show.

By 6am the following morning I was feeling much better, there was nothing else to, well I’ll spare you the details but I was on, I was going on the trip and that was that damn it. I gingerly ate a piece of bread and drank a glass of warm water, only to end up running for the loo yet again.

9am came and went and I sat dejected in my bed, warn out and irritable. Then the phone rang and the wonderful Patrick let me know that Stace was going to be an hour late, he’d tried packing his 2 second tent on the back of his VFR only to find it acted rather like a wing – a 2 foot round tent will do that. So I had a chance – running to the shower I shouted at Catherine to make me some toast and warm Ribena – I was going to Dartmoor whether my tummy liked it or not.

3 hours later we pulled out from the Guildford Little Chef, ready for the day and fighting to prove we could do this thing. I forgot to fill my bike with petrol, this wasn’t going well, but after filling up at the next available station (evil Esso – I shall never forgive myself) we really were off. The plan – stop every 100 miles, not before, we must make up some time! 50 miles later we gently pulled into another garage on another a-road and had a frank discussion about 50 miles being much more realistic – and this way we could stop and enjoy the journey, take photos, have a chat and cup of tea – who’s idea was the 100 miles anyway?

After yet another long stop at more services (Exeter this time) we got our heads down and arrived in Dartmoor National Park around 6pm, wonderful! We just needed a campsite, or at least somewhere to pitch our freshly bought and untested tents. It was still light, just, so we blasted though the winding roads, slowing to admire the views and take photos, and to try and work out where we could pitch. There were quite a few spots indicated on the map, but obviously they were closed this side of Easter, we decided that we should stop at the next shop or pub and ask for help, the light was fading fast and none of us wanted to be building camp in the dark.

We stopped a further two times, both at pubs and both times none of us could be bothered to get off our bikes and go ask for help, we really are a lazy lot. But as luck would have it, a little further down the road we found a farm who offered a field, a standpipe, and a cold outside loo. Bliss. Tents were erected in record time (2 seconds for Stace, 10 mins for Patrick and I) and the camp kitchen brought together. We were cold, hungry and the last thing we needed was to have to wait 30 minutes for water to boil for tea and to get the potatoes, onions, carrots and gammon on the go. Our Trangia stoves, the stalwart of the Swedish army are fantastic, if you have time to wait. Stace saved the day with his gas stove and we ate a fine meal with plenty of energy and warmth, all in the pitch dark and all by the light of Patrick’s headlamp.

The evening wasn’t a total disaster but it was cold, uncomfortable and we learnt a lot of lessons. Firstly we needed more than one stove, we also needed stoves that could boil water quicker and cook more than one thing at a time. We also need a little bit of camp discipline, we spread ourselves out a little far and had to stand to pass things to each other, not helpful when all you’re interested in is eating.

The morning dawned after and eventful night of Park Rangers with piercing spot lights, farmers with shotguns and foxes hunting lambs. The rain was moving in and none of us wanted to get the tents wet, camp was broken quickly without the aid of tea and a warm breakfast, we jumped on the bikes and pulled out from the farm. What a mistake. With no warm food or drink inside us we really struggled to pull the bikes up the steep inclines and shallow valleys, every corner was complicated and long, every car an evil star fighter trying to take us out. This was definitely not a good idea. Little Chef once again called and we answered with grateful arms (and worried wallets).

Once warm and fed the rest of the journey home was very pleasant, the weather brightened up, Staces constant supply of Cadburys Fruit and Nut, and the smooth running of our bikes saw us hit Guildford in only 4 ½ hours.

Quick good byes and a debrief delayed our separation but I was glad to get out on my own. It was only when I got home that I realised that even though I’d only spent 48hrs with the boys, I already missed them and it felt wrong that evening to be at home on my own with only the TV for company.

The dressing gown and red wine are a comfort, but no substitution for a cold night with friends on Dartmoor.

Firstly a sudden stomach bug laid Matthew low and Friday night saw him pulling out of the trip. Stace had problems with his tent and needed to repack his bike prior to departure so he arrived late and as for me I’m lucky I made it there in one piece having seen what got tangled in my rear axle whilst travelling to the meet point.

However despite all of these mishaps at just before midday we set off. Line astern for Devon. The sun was shining and it was a great day for a ride on the bike. My Africa Twin handles weight quite well and spent most of the trip in the middle of the group. This amused Matt – at the back not least because of the need for him to be down wind – as he was kept wondering why one box was smaller than the other.

We settled into the swing of things quite well. The looks of disbelief from the drivers we passed with out camping kit was priceless. We avoided motorways as best we could and made good time. We planned a stop every 100 miles for break and a chat. This helped break
up the ride and kept us fresh.

Towards late afternoon found us passing a sign for the Dartmoor National Park and the hunt was on for a camp site. As the light faded we at last found a sign. The location looked promising as there was a tent in a field near the farm house. Alas however as apart from a few ponies and some sheep no one was about. We had a dilemma do we pitch and run the risk of being turfed off or do we look to free camp? Fortunately as I was away scouting possible free camping locations the farmer returned and for a small fee we could pitch up.

Pitching in the dark was a useful lesson to us all. In hindsight we need to pitch with enough daylight and space our tents better. And what tents to pitch from the flick of a wrist 12 second tent of Stace to Matthews back door special to my mini Sydney Opera house. Between us we have enough covering to store all of out kit indoors!

As for food and camp admin again we need to do a little bit of work. Looking ahead we’re looking at ‘All in’ type of meals as this will be simpler and use less equipment. A stove each man is a must as we can’t cope with just one and it’s also not fair for one person to be left with the job of cooking. That said this is exactly why we’re doing these training runs. We all agreed that is was great to learn all this stuff now rather than later.

And so to bed….Or perhaps not. Matthew was making his way back to the campsite following a visit to the facilities when he was caught in the bean of a high powered lamp. Was it people out lamping? Where using a high powered beam you seek out the light reflecting in the eyes of game and shoot? Luckily for Matthew it was not – especially as being ready for bed he had put on his all in one pyjamas with bunny ears…

It was however more likely to have been a ranger looking for illegal free camp sites – the rules of which ban camping within 100 metres of the road or in site of the road. A disturbing moment for Matt nonetheless.

We settled down to sleep. BANG went the shotgun…. Dam foxes keep the farmers busy at lambing season.

We awoke refreshed. At least I did – it was cold but not unbearable. The day showed a promise of rain so we broke camp quickly and headed off. Again hindsight piped up. We need a breakfast before starting out as stocking up on energy before the off will help stave off tiredness and possible accidents.

Homeward bound and another Little Chef and numerous coffees later we were nearly home, despite my best efforts to get us lost Stace lead us home. A good weekend and a real viable training run completed. We had a range of issues to deal with just like we will on our trip so we’re glad for the opportunity to practice them now rather than on the road to Moscow as that would be a CATASTROPHE…..

We talked last night about food, tents, and security; we’ve talked so much about so many of these things that now I think we ‘just need to get on with it’.

I’ll be posting to the blog during the trip, as well as uploading photos and tracking – it’s a perfect opportunity to test our tech. I’m expecting a lot of it not to work, but we’ve got quite a long time to get this kind of thing sorted.

Couple of reasons for doing this, but mainly it’s there to show our progress, and if anything goes wrong, where we were at the last upload.

I’m working on a way of pulling out the GPS data from the Tom Tom Rider, converting it to a sensible XML format, then creating a KML file for download (which will contain a GPS position every 60 seconds), and a google maps file (which will contain a GPS point every 4 hours).

I’ve got the KML uploads sussed, now I just need to find some way of stripping out all of the data (except one every 4 hours) and converting it to a google maps format… then I can start working on the upload function… ideas / thoughts… help!? email me

Click image to see larger version

The aim this time is to see what the dynamic between the three of us is like. We’ve ridden with each other before but not actually all three of us together, so that will certainly be interesting.

I think the best thing about this training run is to see how grumpy we get after a wonderfully long hard ride from London, when we’re not fit, not used to the distance, and not used to our bikes being fully loaded.

We’ll also be trailing the technology that will allow you to track us on the big one, not to mention a little podcast and video – if we’ve not killed each other :-)

Everyman fund research to help cross out male cancer, they also spend a lot of time educating people about the early tell tale signs that can mean the difference between life and death.

We’ll be working as hard as we can to raise the profile of this fantastic charity, and with any luck raise some money towards their research.

If you would like to dontate to Everyman, you can use our Just Giving page here

http://www.justgiving.com/journeytorussia 

Do you have the latest information on our border crossings? Do you have any practical advise on how we can keep our bikes running perfectly over 5000 miles?

We’d love to hear from you, and about your experiences about riding long distances over unfamiliar ground – contact us now – there’s at least one pint in it, maybe more!

You can see the final route here.

The journey will cover several thousand miles in a very short period, crossing the familar western Europe and venturing into eastern Europe before entering the former USSR. The chaps will visit:

Holland, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary, and France.

Russia still holds a mystery, for so many years behind the iron curtain Moscow was a city of secrets, and intrige. It’s still not the easiest place on earth to visit, especially on two wheels!

Read more…