Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
understood what the lifestyle would involve. A lot of riding basically. I could only
hope that the day in, day out cycling routine that I loved would suit him as well as
it suited me.
Tim was probably thinking similar thoughts about me. He had talked for hours
about his love of the northern forests and the Arctic, but never having experienced
them myself, I couldn't yet share his enthusiasm.
For me, there was a big question mark hanging over the expedition. I felt that
it was still too soon to know how Nat and I would handle a year apart. As big as
my commitment to Tim, to the journey and to our sponsors was, Nat would always
come first. If the time and the distance began to seriously threaten our relationship,
I would be back home on the next plane. I'd admitted as much to Tim - shocking
him, I think, and adding yet another layer of uncertainty to the journey.
If nothing else, we had a starting point. We'd decided to begin our bicycle
travels in Petrozavodsk rather than Moscow, as this would give us a little while
to build up the bikes and get organised among friends. This route would also be a
more scenic and isolated way through the north, instead of the dense belt of popu-
lation surrounding Moscow.
We'd been together for nearly two weeks, but the adventure had just begun.
