General touring stuff
Whether you attribute it to the extra beer I had indulging yesterday‘s dinner buddy Helmut (doubtful), better sleep (possible), or the fact that I was greeted by an adorable puppy as I came down stairs for breakfast (100% the reason), I was in a good mood from the get-go. My legs were still fatigued, but not overly so, and theoretically I didn‘t have so much
Meh I woke up feeling...not great. A little empty, a little off. Don‘t know if it‘s because I didn‘t sleep well, or maybe because my bee sting yesterday had caused my finger to swell to 1.5x normal, or what. Regardless, I wasn‘t super enthused about the day ahead. I knew I‘d have days like this. Was curious how I‘d react. Turns out, pretty well. It‘s
It hurts! Well, shit. There was a fair bit of deep knee bending coming down the mountain on my hike yesterday, which unfortunately meant that I woke up with sore quads today. Uh oh. I also mentioned yesterday that I don‘t have enough gears or muscles to power through long stretches over 15%. Comically unintentional foreshadowing. Today I had one stretch 400m long that averaged
Day 2: the biking Started with good vibes, good legs, and no hurry. Figured I had a shorter day, as I was only planning on about 65 km. The route was similar to day 1 in that I was generally headed towards mountains. What‘s amazing about Germany is that there are so many off-street bike paths. Day 2 had a few, but also my first
Started in Munich I really don‘t know why I look so grumpy. Not the enthusiasm you’d expect from a “I’m just starting a month-long stretch where I do nothing but bike in beautiful places“ face. It was there though, I promise. I was giddy. I spent the first hour giggling my way out of Munich and into the Bavarian countryside. Which is quite nice, by
Hard to believe I‘m sitting here in Munich, having spent the last 72 hours prepping for a trip that didn‘t work out and then finding a solution that would. What didn‘t work? Well, the original Eastern Europe plan, obviously. But as a workaround, I had rerouted myself to start with friends in Milan, go to one of their summer homes in the Italian riviera, and
Trying to stay sane Had the sky not fallen around us a few months ago and changed, well, everything, I'd be in Slovakia now, something like 3,000 km into my bike trip. I don't think so often about where I'd be anymore; I quickly accepted the fate of my plan, and dreaming about "where I'd be if..." is like psychological cocaine - feels great in
It begins with procrastination and a bad night of sleep Because obviously that's how you want to start your first ever bike tour. But I've led a charmed life and have never really suffered the consequences of poor planning, and I'm a Steele, so obviously I chose a video-beer with a friend instead of actually looking at a packing list and organizing myself. That could
Status update - May 1 is no longer a go So, this is a post I've been putting off for a while. I've known/suspected for a month or two that my bike trip - my light at the end of the tunnel, my grand adventure, my opportunity to turn my brain off and catch my mental breath - would need to be postponed or even
If you want to skip the narrative and go straight to the campaign, please head here: https://join.worldbicyclerelief.org/Jesse-Steele/yourownidea If you're in for the narrative, read on! Fundraising The truth is, I hate fundraising. I hate asking people for money. I have a hard time promoting my own professional accomplishments, which costs the listener nothing but her time, so needless to say promoting a cause which costs
