...and then there was insurance......

Being a fastidious fellow I wanted to get the proper insurance for my sojourn across the world.  Little did I know just how tricky this would be.  Ok, so I've had a little episode of AF over two years ago (when the heart didn't quick tick and tock correctly for a few minutes) but with the pounding I give the ticker three times a week on the bike I reckon it's up to the job.   I sort of understand though that this might put the premiums up.

What I hadn't anticipated is just how difficult it is to actually get at the small print of proposed insurance policies.   When you do get to them there are some wierd and wonderful policy statements that effectively mean I'm not covered. 

'What sort of wierd policy statements' I hear you say.....well, if someone in my family (that could be you living out there in Australia or up in London, or in the deepest North of England or down in Plymouth....) has had a medical check up in a hospital in the last 12 months then large parts of the cover is invalidated.  

Similarly, on the cusp of making a payment to one insurer I threw into the conversation that I was looking forward to my bike ride...only to then be told, well, if you are riding a bike then you will not having any of the personal liability cover.  That's kind of a risky place to be in litigious America I reckon.

Aaaanyway, after a long trawl over several evenings by the two of us we finally got signposted by the CTC to an insurer that'll cover me, 'dodgy' ticker and all, regardless of what the family have been up to and with confidence that if I run over the pet poodle of a litigious American I'll not have to re-mortgage my house. 

I won't tell you who this way....but I came away thinking...'That'll do nicely sir'

Flights booked :)

Yep, .....committed myself now.

Big amounts of money transferred this morning for a round-the-world ticket.

I'll be leaving the UK, Seattle-bound, on August 16th, returning from Australia on Dec 14th.

The detailed planning begins....

Yep, that's half the fun isn't it.

Initial review of ACA maps suggests that riding an average of 77km a day (not a lot...but remember some of those passes push 10,000ft...) then I reckon I can fly out to Seattle on Aug 7th and be flying out of San Diego by 9th October.

Hmmmm.  That's a lot of cycling isn't it

So where does Mike think he's going?

The descriptions of a route taking me past volcanoes, long stretches of forested countryside, busy towns, deserts, orchards and everything in between was too good to miss.  The thought of those 10,000ft passes is a little daunting but there's nothing there a bit of training, a tiny chain wheel and focused determination won't sort out. As for the bears though, hmmm, that's a different matter.
Check out the official route here http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/sierracascades.cfm