Hi,
It only feels like yesterday that is was a year until I was due to depart for the Arctic. That means it must have been this morning that it felt like it was 200 days to go, and now its only 125 days to go... I'm not looking forward to how many days it will be tomorrow (although judging by the way time passes it will be 124 days).
I still have so much work to plan my trip but its feels like its really starting to come together. This week I've been working on the priority scenes for the filming of my trip. While I can't predict what will happen when I am away, having done solo bike trip before, most notably my last attempt on the Arctic, I have a good idea about the kind of things I'll be getting up to. By splitting this down I've put together a rather large 'to-do' list to keep the ball rolling on my preparations.
Hopefully you were able to read my blog last week from Iceland (if not click here to read). I did a vlog while I was away also but I had a few technical issues. I'll have to iron these out before I set off for the Arctic but I've still got time to practice. I finally have the Iceland vlog up on YouTube so please give it a watch, even if its just to see my super warm hat :)
Check the video below (2mins) or if viewing on a mobile click here.
Another part of the planning I've been looking into this week is how I'm going to use my mobile phone abroad to keep you all updated on my progress. I was lucky in Iceland in that every cafe, bar, shop, restaurant, and my hotel had free WiFi but then again I was in the capital city and the Icelanders are kind like that. I know from past experience that being on the road is a lot more tricky and that the only places that seem to have WiFi are McDonald's and some campsite.
I've got a few options to try and counter this and save me a few bob. The first is to buy a Pay as you Go sim for the countries I'm visiting and use the credit to update social media and my blog. Second option is to use boosters on my current phone. While the second option would be a lot more convenient, at nearly £3 a MB (that's about 20 emails send without attachments) I'll end up handing over my pension fund to T-Mobile at the end of trip to pay for it. So option 1 one is more realistic but I'll need to choose wisely which of the 9 countries I get a sim for so I don't waste money.
I'd love to hear from anyone who has used a foreign sim while abroad for any advice. Please comment below or tweet me @arcticride2014
Shout out to Chris, Paula, and Gary who have donated in the past few weeks. And MASSIVE THANK YOU to all who have donated so far. This has taken my total to over £700 for Cerebra which is over 28% of my target! Woohoo!
Please keep sharing my story and if you would like to donate please click on the Running Total below:
That's all for this week.
Ride safe.
Gordon
It only feels like yesterday that is was a year until I was due to depart for the Arctic. That means it must have been this morning that it felt like it was 200 days to go, and now its only 125 days to go... I'm not looking forward to how many days it will be tomorrow (although judging by the way time passes it will be 124 days).
I still have so much work to plan my trip but its feels like its really starting to come together. This week I've been working on the priority scenes for the filming of my trip. While I can't predict what will happen when I am away, having done solo bike trip before, most notably my last attempt on the Arctic, I have a good idea about the kind of things I'll be getting up to. By splitting this down I've put together a rather large 'to-do' list to keep the ball rolling on my preparations.
Hopefully you were able to read my blog last week from Iceland (if not click here to read). I did a vlog while I was away also but I had a few technical issues. I'll have to iron these out before I set off for the Arctic but I've still got time to practice. I finally have the Iceland vlog up on YouTube so please give it a watch, even if its just to see my super warm hat :)
Check the video below (2mins) or if viewing on a mobile click here.
Another part of the planning I've been looking into this week is how I'm going to use my mobile phone abroad to keep you all updated on my progress. I was lucky in Iceland in that every cafe, bar, shop, restaurant, and my hotel had free WiFi but then again I was in the capital city and the Icelanders are kind like that. I know from past experience that being on the road is a lot more tricky and that the only places that seem to have WiFi are McDonald's and some campsite.
I've got a few options to try and counter this and save me a few bob. The first is to buy a Pay as you Go sim for the countries I'm visiting and use the credit to update social media and my blog. Second option is to use boosters on my current phone. While the second option would be a lot more convenient, at nearly £3 a MB (that's about 20 emails send without attachments) I'll end up handing over my pension fund to T-Mobile at the end of trip to pay for it. So option 1 one is more realistic but I'll need to choose wisely which of the 9 countries I get a sim for so I don't waste money.
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| Where I'll be heading in Europe |
Shout out to Chris, Paula, and Gary who have donated in the past few weeks. And MASSIVE THANK YOU to all who have donated so far. This has taken my total to over £700 for Cerebra which is over 28% of my target! Woohoo!
Please keep sharing my story and if you would like to donate please click on the Running Total below:
Remember
100% of the money goes to charity Cerebra.
That's all for this week.
Ride safe.
Gordon