1. BIKES shall not travel unprotected. Be it a suitcase or a cardboard box, my bikes will travel in something to keep things from getting smashed and bent. To their credit, baggage handlers are just too busy with too much stuff to move around to tiptoe around when moving bicycles.

2. FIX the GPS routing. The eTrex 30 unit worked beautifully again to get me anywhere I wanted to go, except I still cannot enter a European address the way I can in Canada. There has always been a workaround, but it would be so much handier which is the purpose of a GPS. (UPDATE: Since getting home I got a new updated map and the local Euro addressing works fine. I guess it is time to plan another tour to test it out.)

3. TOURING with my Dahon Speed TR is 'okay'. It took some getting used to, and of course, I had to make repairs right at the airport when we arrived, and then the chain broke, but those are oddities. The feel of the bike is definitely different than my Raleigh with which I normally tour. The positioning on the saddle and bars is fine with no pain as with my C'dale. All this being said, I still much prefer my Raleigh. It is my first choice and it looks good. The Dahon looks silly, I think, though people seemed to quite like it when they saw it. Finally, on this tour we used buses and trains - using a full-sized bike would have been awkward. The folder did not make it 'simple' but much easier. One of the buses would not have allowed a full-sized bike without boxing which would have been tricky.

4. ARKEL panniers are the best. I took my fave EXR bags again, which I have done for the last number of trips, plus my TailRider. This combination works so well for me that I would not need any other bags, really.