A very warm welcome to everyone, wherever in the world you may be, and thanks for taking a minute or two to visit this slightly-revamped blog site as we all gear up for the start of the summer break. You may have noticed that the site is now called Incidents of Travel (IOT for short), dear readers, since I had started to think that ‘Crossing Canada’ was a bit, well, 2017. It is still the place to go to follow blow-by-blow accounts of my occasional adventures both on and off a bicycle. Here’s what’s coming up in the near future:
A Summer Plan, and a few Stats for old time’s sake
If I spend long enough looking at a ‘new’ bike I tend to find that a plan for using it starts to hatch. Looking at the 31-year-old silver oddity pictured below (which was a very kind hand-me-down gift from our friends Miranda and Chis) got me thinking about finding a suitably odd scheme to go with the bike. 
Nothing totally confirmed as yet, but it will involve international travel (my flight is booked), returning to and from the same place on ride days for about a month (if all goes well…), and LOTS of water. As in sea water. And drinking water too, probably, since the average summer temperature where I’m planning to ride this original 1988 Dahon Classic III fold-up bike is 31°c, with an average humidity of 87%. And the supposedly “portable” bike weighs over 15 kilos, the same as my steel Hewitt touring bike, the one I rode across Canada. And it only has 3 gears (versus 21 on the Hewitt), and of those 3 gears only 2 seem to be working at present…and it really rattles when you ride it, and can suddenly fold in half underneath you should you forget to click the metal thing shut first. I think that’s everything.
A 31-year-old sticker still providing some good advice
So not a proper continent-bashing expedition by any means, but it should be interesting, and maybe even fun. All will be revealed shortly – for those of you with inside information who may have already guessed where in the world I might be talking about, no spoilers in the comments section please! Thanks.
So for now here’s a picture of some of the work needed to make this bike ready for action by August 2nd.
P.S. I’ve just got back from my first ride in the rain, and the bike completely failed to stop at a junction even with the brakes fully on, so perhaps I should add new brake pads to the to-do list?
See you back here on Incidents of Travel with an update very soon! Ben x
INCIDENTSᐧOFᐧTRAVEL 
Sounds amazing, Ben! Have fun revamping that 31 year old bike ~ and can’t wait to find out where you and said bike will be riding. All the very best!
Virginia ~
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Thanks Virginia – great to hear from you. I’ll be posting more info soon – it’s going to be HOT. Maybe a bit too hot…
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Are you ….. Converting it to a pedalo and ‘cycling’ between Thai islands in aid of the RNLI?
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😂
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The ad says it folds up and fits under a bus seat….maybe that’s a clue….xx
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Will there be maps like last time?
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Great idea! – I’ve just found and ordered a proper paper map of…?…
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Will avoid spoilers. Excellent work finding something to do this summer again, and more importantly, giving us another reason to stare at our phones! Every time I read Incidents of Travel I hear it like “INSSSSIDENTS OF TRAVAAAAAAAAL” with a sort of 80s tv graphic.
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It needs something like that, doesn’t it? I’ve just found such a great YouTube clip, the same sort of idea but more 1950s, but can’t post it until all is revealed!
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I am so pleased to hear there’s another adventure around the corner! Your blogs are just wonderful to read…..sitting on my comfy sofa with my feet up while you’re pedalling away hard in some wonderful part of the world! I think you’re planning to cycle ON water … and knowing you, Ben, you probably could make it happen! Please do keep us fully updated…excited already… xx
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Thanks Jane! I won’t be covering anything like the mileage of Canada, but it’s a long, long way from the Prairies! More soon. Bx
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Goodness me, Ben, how intriguing! Can’t wait to find out where in the world you’re going. If we end up in the same kind of area, do you fancy meeting up at any point? Say evenings and weekends?
Susie xxx
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I can’t promise anything, but I may have some availability. x
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I could even arrange to be in the same place as you. But you’d need to tell me where you’re going.
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Done ✅!
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