Planning begins

We always knew there would be a lot to do. But I think the both of us severely underestimated just HOW MUCH there is to do. Over the past year we have romantically told people, we are ‘driving East,’ following the ‘Old Silk Road’ to China. ‘We will be following in the footsteps of ancient merchants laden with spices and silks, of dangerous nomads, of camel trains headed through deserts and mountains.’ No one dared to challenge us, to point out that the countries we were planning on going to do not even have paved roads, let alone tourist visas. That is until our friends Charlotte and Rick came over to deliver the ‘massive marrow’ (pictures to follow). Rick kindly pointed out that we, with around 6 months to our departure date, had absolutely no understanding of the tasks that lay before us. Desperate to prove that we did indeed ‘have a clue’ we rushed out to buy travel guides, maps and history books on the silk road, and finally grasped the enormity of our undertaking.

You will be glad to know, that in true British fashion, we have made a list. This list divides our monumental workload between us. It reads:

Lottie: Passports, visas.

Ryan: Find, buy and fix up bikes. Also sort out all other gear (e.g. tent).

We like to keep things simple.

So far I have made slow progress. The attempt to renew my passport was severely hampered by my realisation that I have a wonky face, and hence Saturday morning was spent trying to achieve the ‘perfect shot’ by holding the camera at an angle that made me look more symmetrical. Ryan has fared no better, and is coming to a slow realisation that no one in Scotland appears to own a motorbike of the ilk we require, and hence we have absolutely no chance of acquiring one, let alone two in the near future.

Alas, we are hugely excited. Our next post should include (if I can bully Ryan into writing it) an overview of the specifics of the bikes we are choosing, and why we are choosing them. This is with a view to helping other ‘clueless adventurers’ in the future.

In the meantime, thanks to Rick for giving us the kick up the bum we needed, and lots of advice on how to create this blog! 🙂