There were a lot of things that went absolutely wrong. You can only plan so much, but in the end most of that you planned is going out of the door as soon as you start pedalling away from home. But because you planned it, you can always get back to the that track when something doesn't go the way you wanted. 

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Medical things

I was lucky to not have many medical issues along the way on my trip in 2023. You can not really plan for those. I had a few days of horrible period cramps, which made me wonder how pro-athletes perform at that time of the month. I was an absolute mess that could barely move. I also developed a tennis elbow towards the end of my trip. It wasn't bad when I was riding, but as soon as I tried to carry the smallest item in my right hand it was very painful. Another niggle was a numb left ring finger in the last month of my trip. The finger was just numb from a suspected pinched nerve in my shoulder. It literally took six weeks to fully come back to lift. I got bitten by a bee on my foot, that then swelled to crazy proportions. Soon after that bite, it rained for 3 weeks straight. I was always wearing wet shoes. At that time my feet started to get super itchy. I didn't connect the two together. So I messaged a doctor friend and asked for advice. She told me I probably had some sort of foot fungus from the constant wet feet. 'Yeah, that makes sense' was my answer...

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Bike mechanicals and incidents

I didn't get into any accidents, but I did have a few mechanicals along the way. Of course a few holes in t he tyres. A lot of water in my frame due to the crazy rain I had. I needed a massive service when I got to Vienna. All my bearings were run down, my bottom bracket was making stupid noises and of course things like a new chain and brake pads. When I got back to The Netherlands and brought my bike to the shop to get asses to see what needed to be done, the mechanic didn't let me ride my bike home because 'It's really not safe without brakes and your brakes are not working at the moment'. It was a lot of money to replace all these things before, during and after the trip. But your bike is your home for as long as you're on the road, so it's worth the investment.

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What did you eat?

See here some examples of what I made out of those couple pots, on the side of the road or at the campground sitting on my garbage bag chairs. Dinners mainly consisted of store bought couscous salads, bag of lettuce and veggies. Or 1-minute rice with salad, veggies and a type of veggie meat replacement. Lunch was often left overs, breads, pre-boiled eggs and more veggies.