Greetings! 

I have decided to go on a trip, a very big trip in the country. 

I will set off from the south of France in mid-March and cycle through a bunch of countries to Azerbaijan, on the Caspian Sea. More specifics below. I will then either continue east towards China through the 'Stans, or double back on myself, cross the Black Sea and head west-northwest to Poland and finish in either Berlin or Helsinki. If I choose to cross the Caspian Sea, who knows where I will end up.

I am raising money for Refugee Action, for all the fantastic work they do on the ground. They offer help and advice, compassion and real practical assistance to some of those who need it most. Please visit their website for more goodness.

In case it all seems a bit far-fetched, I have included some photos of my last cycle trip (when I was raising funds for Arthritis Research UK and the National Kidney Federation) below. More photos and ramblings can be found on my cycling blog at 

www [full stop] brunocooke [full stop] co [full stop] uk 

Do visit!

(Go to Archive -> 2016 -> Summer entries for cycling journals)

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So, the route I have planned will take me from France, through Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Macedonia (FYROM), Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia, Armenia to Azerbaijan. That is the definitely planned bit.

Then, I will most likely double back and head for the Georgian port town of Batumi, from which I will take a three-day ferry across the Black Sea to Chornomorsk, next to Odessa on the Ukrainian coast. I will cycle through Moldova and Ukraine to Poland. If the summer lasts long enough, I will then head north to the Baltics, passing through Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to finish up in Helsinki, Finland. If not, I will go west to Berlin and finish there. End of August, end of trip.

The alternative, from Baku (Azerbaijan), is to cross the Caspian Sea to the Kazakh city of Aktau, travel through Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, into Xinjiang Province (China) and then who knows where. That's plan B.

Total distance will be somewhere in the region of 10-15,000km over 24 (ish) weeks. Wish me luck; I wish you the stars.

P&L.

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