'Are you two police officers?'

There have been a number of novel experiences over the last few weeks but being mistaken for a law enforcer by a jaw gaped young man, out in his kayak on the grand union canal, was one of the surrealer. Phil and I braved the wilds of west London on Saturday and tested our 'kit'. It would seem that the overall effect of ten tons of merino wool, high performance 'stealth wicking' stuff and sleek pannier attachments is to make us look as if we're just patrolling the beat...hey ho. The good residents of South America are in for a treat.



Some friends have been rather alarmed that with ten days to go we deemed it the appropriate moment to go for our first bike ride. I have to confess that I've been rather putting the moment off for fear that I was going to mount my bike, toddle about three hundred yards and just fall off crying into the road. There has been so much planning, innoculating, purchasing, moving, learning of random things I never knew I'd need to know ('spoke keys' anyone), managing of expectations, answering of questions, bending and stretching, asking and thanking, sleepless nights of worrying and all round general denial going on that actually cycling (since we are about to do it everyday for nine months) went rather down the list.


In fact our 30k trip went well. We know now just how heavy our bikes are (courtesy of the delicious metal barriers on the canal), that we can ride along at a pretty comparable pace, that my thighs do in fact work and that my parents live at the top of a completely vile hill. It was a hilariously small beginning and so much that I cannot imagine lies ahead of us, but it was heartening to realise that we have much of what we need, that the bikes work and that if we can do nothing else when we arrive in Argentina we can arrest a person or two.

More anon..