Oooh today I saw a lovely, lovely bicycle at the Edinburgh Bicycle Coop. The gorgeous Cannondale Rohloff. Rohloff means no twiddling of the gears for the girlies who dinnae understand derailleurs let alone know how to pronouce the damned word. I have asked the wise and wonderful Cannondale folks (who have already supplied me with mountain bikes and touring bikes - I should just pay my salary into the Cannondale bank account) if you can get these bikes in America yet. Please say yes, please gimme a discount.

Big Agnes has arrived. She’s big, she’s beautiful, she’s cheap, she’s a ….. tent! (what did you think I was going to type - you dirty minded readers). And I say she’s arrived, but not with me but with WandA in Denver. And I say she’s cheap, but not that cheap, but I did get her on discount from the lovely people at REI. She is temporarily in use as a kennel for Yoli the Hound until my arrival in April.

PS - she does have a roof!

Eventually we’ll get it prettily coloured in just as soon as I learn how to control a WordPress style sheet and then it will be full of gripping stuff about my pre-trip training schedule (oh how very funny!) and what I get up to as I mosey across North America.