Meet Rex

He's a mid '80s Miele Turista touring bike with 700c wheels. I picked him up for a few bills over $200 at Cheapskates, the consignment sports store (lets hear it for cheapskates) and by halfway home, I already knew who he was. Most of my bikes have been girls (you just know these things), so I was a little surprised to find out he was a boy. The burly but smooth Cadilac like ride he offers, however, left little doubt that he was Rex, king of the road.

Right now he's in peices, but it's starting to come together. I've got a beefy new rear touring strength wheel on order, currently being built by Ed at mighty riders, and I'll be putting on a new tripple crankset (looking like 26/36/46), due to the fact that the original cranks came with worn out Sugino knockoff biopace rings; replacing 3 rings would cost the same as an entire new tripple crankset. New chain, cassette, and shift lever and swapping in aero levers are the next step after that, then racks and panniers. I'm looking forward to some loaded long distance training rides in the near future (Sassamat Lake anyone? I'll carry the beer!)

So, for those of you wondering, the sketchy (and largely open to spur of the moment or totally whimsical changes) outline of the trip looks like this:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=866090
I fly into Amsterdam on the 22nd of May, and out of Istanbul in late October (barring, as noted above, spur of the moment and/or whimsical changes). Other than that, anything goes.

Thats about it for now, but (if you care) check back for more pre-departure updates. Once I'm gone to foreign shores, I plan to use this blog as a place to keep all of you cats updated on my adventures.

See you on the road.