training chart

Our kitchen wall is decorated with a map of Holland and our travel route is marked clearly with little green lines from town to town. To the right is our red line mileage chart, which we colour in every time we complete a family training bike ride. The red coloured line has passed 215 km now, so our hope is that everyone's bikes and backsides are sufficiently familiar with each other. Our travel days on the trip will be between 30 and 50 km per day, so it will be a bit of a jump.

training in the rain

This rather unhappy group is getting ready for our dramatic 10 km ride in the stormy rain a couple of weeks ago. We (Rob and I, emphatically NOT the kids), wanted to test the rain gear, so on a blustery, downpourish evening, set out into the wind on the bayfront trail. Rain was pelting sideways, the waves were crashing, the kids were unhappy, and yet, the rain gear kept them dry, with the exception of their feet. Through it all, they kept pedalling. We have now assured the kids that they won't experience any worse weather than this in Holland. The faulty rain booties have been exchanged for real rubber boots, so all feet will be dry on wet biking days.

Euro's

Ten years of rolled loose change, several garage sales, and various other savings have gone into

the travel bin, and finally this week resulted in a trip to the bank to buy Euros for our trip. It was a family event, and all three kids took their own savings along to buy their own Euros for souvenirs. It was very satisfying to hear the thunk of all that rolled change on the bank teller's counter. Equally satisfying was the great exchange rate; we have Greece's poor economy to thank for that. Our gratitude goes to all those Greek tax evaders!