I might as well get this out of the way right now.  The reason this is An Unbelievable Tour Around an Imaginary World is that it hasn't happened yet.  Nobody in his or her right mind would ever believe a guy like me could ride his bike around the world.  Furthermore, the tour never WILL happen.  Yet, somehow, I'll be writing daily reports about it anyway.  How can that be? 

You guessed it, this journal is a work of fiction.  Formerly, I also envisioned it as being a work of parody.  I actually posted the first versions of these pages a couple weeks ago.  Thankfully, wiser minds talked me out of the parody idea.  I deleted the whole thing about two hours later--before most Cycleblazers ever saw it--based on the truth that parody can sometimes appear to others as meanness, sarcasm, and jackassery.  I don't need that kind of reputation here.

Since then, I have received a couple messages of encouragement to continue on with my project.  Oh man, I was torn between scrapping the whole shebang, or completely overhauling it.  I've decided on the latter option.  My new strategy is to go forward with tall tales and absurdity instead of jackassery.  The only person I'll be parodying is myself, and I think you'll agree that I am a pretty ripe candidate for satire.

All of this is to remind you of my main point:  This is a fictional journal.  It is not real.  Like most works of fiction, it's only partially real.

Now, before you rush off to report this journalistic abomination to the Cycleblaze administrators, you should know that I already e-mailed them to explain my little idea and a couple days later, I was granted permission--along with the encouraging words, "I'm interested to see how it's received . . . ."  

I'm interested too, though I honestly don't have the highest of expectations.  Maybe I'll be surprised, but I worry this experiment might be too bizarre--even for the bizarro bike touring minds out there that I so much admire.  That's why I'm going to ask, once again, for some input regarding this revamped fictional journal.

Even though I have the blessing of the creator of this website, I still feel squeamish about it.  I still feel the need to consult a higher power.  That would be you, the Cycleblaze readers and writers.  If you don't think this is the place to do such a thing, please say so in a comment.  If the response is overwhelmingly negative, I'll take the hint and THIS time it will be removed forever.

But here's the thing:  This is all about my need for something fun to write about until it's time to post an actual journal about an actual bike tour.

Now, please proceed to the true beginning of this fake journal.  I should have the route page ready to read in the next few days.  Thank you.