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DAY 42 Saturday JUNE 11 2005 Part Two Solutions. Solutions, this trip was to be a solution to my problem. Three things were to be accomplished. One: to have fun. Yep, overall I got that one accomplished. Two: To indulge my love of travel and other cultures. Yep, got that one down pat. Three: to get healthier and overall, hopefully, skinnier by biking the trip for eight months. Yes and no. Yes I am more healthy than when I started this trip. I can't spend 12 hour days walking and not get healthier, but am I skinnier? No. Did I bike for eight months? No. I was to bike this trip. The biking portion, that I did do, was totally awesome! It was those times, when I was on my bike, that I was totally at peace and just let things flow. I thought spending five hours a day on my bike would be the hardest part of the trip and yet it turned out to be the easiest part of all. Getting into a town, where no English is spoken, and spending two hours looking for a hotel and the internet while totally exhausted with no energy reserves whatsoever, now that was hard! Somewhere I made a miss-step with my funds. Think about it, by the time I reach home I will have spent 12,000 dollars in two months. I had only budgeted 2,400 per month. The thing is I don't know where I went wrong. A person mentioned to me that it is the way I travel. My entire being quivered with a huge question mark when he said that. Apparently I know I have done wrong but I don't even know enough to understand where. I had heavily researched for this trip for years. Everything looked good on paper. Every "T" was crossed, every "I" dotted. So, where did I miss-step? I am truly baffled. There were times I took whatever lodging was available due to the fact that when evening came I was in the middle of nowhere. I couldn't stay in a hostel every night as there are not that many spaced apart in that manner. I just don't know. My spending can be easily put into 6 categories. Lodging, food, internet, passport replacement, transportation costs, sightseeing fees. That's it. I have only bought four items since leaving Alaska. A jacket and three t-shirts for Jeff. All t-shirts are from the Hard Rock Cafe, Amsterdam, Germany, and Paris. I just don't know and so my trip ends early before my goal is fully accomplished. The one redeeming fact about this is I know I will finish it in the future when I restock my funds. There is no question about that at all. The question is: If I don't know where my mistake was made how I do I keep from repeating it next time? Still, though, I am very proud of what I have accomplished so far. Proud that I am tackling such a trip, even alone. I have and am having wonderful memories and experiences that have enriched my life immeasurably. I am sure that the next three weeks will bring even more (thank you Claudette). Also, I shouldn't forget that everything I wanted to see on this trip I have and am going to see, just not by bike. I will see Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and I have seen The Netherlands, Germany and France. I just have to remember that I really have done quite a lot in a short period of time. |