Today I thought I’d post a quick summary of recent news, plus a few stats from my four-day trip down to Dorset last weekend.

But before we get on to all that, here’s a very recent picture of my bike outside Beechwood Park School (where I teach for one day a week – hello Beechwood!), with a lovely new white flagpole attached to the seatpost. What do you think? It should really make the bike stand out in a crowd, much more than the puny little one I normally use, but I can see there could be problems when I try to board ferries with it. Also, I’m not completely sure it will fit in the overhead lockers on the flight out to Nova Scotia. Still, problems are just opportunities in disguise, I’m always being told.

At least it’s more compact than the one I tried briefly on Vancouver Island.

On to a little news round-up:

– The new wheel from SJS Cycles arrived safely, and I spent a morning swapping it over and test riding it. I also repaired the soldering on cables for my hub dynamo, which got pulled out when my bike fell over outside the pub in Litton Cheney, West Dorset. This incident was not related to having been at the pub, in any way, obvs.

– Bits & pieces for the trip have arrived through the post, from spare brake pads and mosquito zappers to lightweight towels and new stuff-sacks that compress things to save space. I’ll have a big ‘What I’m Taking With Me’ photoshoot someday soon.

– On the shakedown ride I discovered in the New Forest that the strong magnets that click shut the lid of my brilliant new Ortlieb handlebar bag seemed to be affecting the compass of my iphone, which is right beside it on the handlebars. Weirdly, I just can’t replicate the problem now that I’m home – it all seems to be working perfectly again. Perhaps the New Forest is like Area 51 in Nevada, and there are secret UFO-related force fields that they don’t tell us about.

– I’ve been handing out these cards that I had printed recently, to publicise my trip. To those of you whom I won’t see in person, here’s a virtual handout just for you!

And here’s a ‘distressed’ one that very good FOTB John Mills found in his back pocket. The QR codes were still working fine!

– The top of my puny flagpole actually broke or fell off on a ride the other day (this did happen once before when I was in Hong Kong), and I didn’t even notice until I stopped to take this photo. Sadly, the flags for Hong Kong and Canada have gone, leaving only Ukraine. So I’ve ordered a new flagpole along with some new flags for this trip. Photos to follow when they arrive.

– Plans are well in place to be somewhere nice in each country for two important Canadian and American holidays. Canada Day in Canada on July 1st, followed immediately by Independence Day just over the border in the US on the 4th.

– It’s looking good for a possible hosting in New York City, which I’ll tell you more about nearer the time. Fingers crossed!

– The same is true for Delray Beach in south Florida, where my brother Oliver and his wife Laurice live. Laurice has been visiting the UK and confirmed over a sunny lunch this weekend that it all looks good to stay with them towards the end of the trip. I just have to get there…

– Most commonly asked question by friends I see who know about the trip: ‘How long will it take you?’. The answer is a disappointing ‘I’m just not sure’. The US Visa Waiver allows a maximum of 90 days, so there’s the outside timing for you!

– My Just Giving sponsorship page sent me a message yesterday to say I’d already reached 10% of my target – huge thanks to everyone who has donated!

– It was World Bicycle Day on Saturday, so I’d like to end this news roundup by sharing some archive film of my favourite cyclist from the distant past, doing what he does best – being a total lunatic. Of course, it’s Jacques Tati! Welcome back to the blog, Jacques.

And lastly, a few brief stats from the 4-day shakedown ride to Dorset:

• Miles cycled = 330

• Calories used = 22,412

• Chocolate milk equivalent = 35 litres

• Hours in the saddle = 32h 13 (using roughly a litre of chocolate milk per hour!)

• Spokes broken = 1

• Wheels subsequently discovered to have dangerously worn rims, and need replacing before leaving for Halifax = 1

• Broken folding keyboards = 1*

• Wild Ponies seen = plenty.

• Wild donkeys = more than expected.

• Number of important things I completely failed to take with me = 3 (washing line, towel**, lightweight backpack)

*Such a shame. It’s worked perfectly for years, but has now been retired and replaced.

**I did still shower, honest. I just used the big cloth I normally use to wipe the tent dry with in the morning! Same thing, isn’t it?

incidentsoftravel.com