The first tandem tripess exciting than the African journey for us. After our short stop overs in Poland and Germany we moved back to Spain where we could work tranquil on our next project- a tandem trip from Argentina to Alaska. Even though the idea itself came up to life a long time ago, back in Georgia, only now was the time to make this dream come true.
We focused on pimping up the website as well as our social media pages. The first attempts were rather lousy but with time we were able to figure things out and make significant improvements.
Our first goal was to contact as many newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations as possible. It was a very important move in order to obtain sponsors. We assumed that it will be easier to find support once the project is present in the media. That’s why, we unremittingly contacted journalists, TV producers, managers, their secretaries and probably even their mothers in order to get to right people (which is unbelievably hard). It worked. We managed to gain some publicity which surprisingly resulted in media attention we didn’t even dream of.
Afterwards we spent countless hours on calling, sending e-mails and Facebook messages to bike producers, sportswear companies as well as outdoor shops and camping equipment manufacturers mostly in Poland and Germany. We managed to gather almost the entire equipment without spending a cent. Receiving our precious tandem was the greatest feeling ever. We also can’t wait to show you the amazing tipi tent- our home for the next four years!
We established a cooperation with few magazines willing to take a patronage over The Tandem Ramble project. Soon our texts are going to be printed in several travel and bike publications. In the recent past we were working to save up some money too. Thanks to that we are able to buy flight and ferry tickets in the near future as well as a laptop which had to be lighter than our three and a half kilo monster.
We have left Spain for good and can’t deny we are going to miss it. Marta visited her family and friends in Poland. For her it is the best way to recharge the batteries. In the meanwhile Ben was struggling with a huge challenge. He decided to travel from Torrevieja to Landau by road bike. It was the second time he travelled through Europe by bike. The first time he managed to drive the other way around (Landau-Torrevieja). This time he had several breakdowns which eventually made it impossible to continue. Half way through the journey he decided to hitchhike back to Germany (Montpellier-Landau) as there was no time to waste since we were planning to start our tandem trip just a few days after his arrival. It turned out to be the right decision.
A journey as huge as the one we are going to undertake requires a proper preparation. That is why we decided to go for a four months trial trip in order to find our weak points and fix them before leaving for South America.
The next adventure starts in a week. Leaving from Landau, Ben’s home town, we are going to pedal through Germany to Luxembourg and France to Great Britain. Heading north, to Scottish Highlands, we will visit the most beautiful corners of England. Later on we planned a tour through Northern Ireland which will end in the Irish capital city- Dublin. From there our tandem and us are going to fly to Iceland to spend there one full month. Afterwards we are going to come back to travel around Ireland. On the way back home we are going to cycle through Wales towards Landau right on time for some new wine tasting.
Now, just before the departure, we live in preparation fever, trying to precisely plan our route in order not to miss any worth-to-see place. Focused mostly on national parks we plan to see only few cities. Gathering all our stuff together we constantly go through our equipment list in order not to forget anything and pack only essentials to keep our bags as light as possible. Ben is extending his knowledge about bike(riding) and all the new equipment. He learns how to install and maintain all bike elements as well as how to fix them if any problems occur. Marta on the other hand is studying photo and video editing to make our pictures and films more professional, interesting and pleasing to the eye.
We can’t wait to hit the road again and try something completely new and exciting! Looking forward to camp in the nature, we hope for sunny weather. From now on we can move from one place to another independently and in our own rhythm. Start the counting and let the ramble begin!