Preparations and Logistics

The Bike

I have a bike, with all the stuff for long distance, unsupported touring. it is a 2010 Surly Long Haul Trucker, black with Tubus racks and Ortlieb bags. I have a dynamo on the front wheel to generate electricity to power lights and to charge my phone.
 
The Gear

I have camping gear: a tent, sleeping bag, air mattress, pillow and cookware

I have a ton of electronics:

• Cameras - still and video - nice and heavy
• Smartphones for talking and email. Also good for everything in the world of who, what , where and how.
• iPad for reading books, web surfing, email, navigation
• GPS - more navigation

The bike weighs a lot, 39+ pounds without the bags and gear. With the gear I am afraid to weigh it. It is too heavy. This will not be fun to climb hills. I customized the bike a lower front gear, and added shorter crank arms to take some of the strain off my 64 year old knees.

Logistics and Route

I will fly over to Europe, probably to London, UK with the bike in a box as baggage on the airline, unpack and ride to London to visit with my relatives for a few days.

The plan then is to head south, cross the channel (how?) and ride to Paris, after a bit of time in Belgium and Luxemburg.

After Paris, it South and then East across France, Switzerland and then into Italy, crossing the Alps at Saint Gottard Pass.

Next, Italy and then Slovenia, and into Croatia.

Depending on how things are going I will then decide on my next destination. Possible routes include heading farther south to Greece, or East into Hungary and Romania and to the Black Sea. Another possibility is to head north to Slovakia, Czech Republic and Poland, before heading back east to the UK for a flight home.