With just over a month away from our departure date, we've both come to the realization that our annual tours bring us too much joy to be ignored.  And, to skip this summer's trip would really force us to consider the following question:  What else are we going to do? So, of course, the tour is on.

Each year for the past dozen or so years we have gone away on a tour.  Our first cycle tour was in 1998, when we ventured off for the first time to Europe for three months.  I recall us both quitting our jobs, and deciding to head to Ireland, England, Netherlands, Belgium and France.  After that, we have done several local trips, and one big tour from Vancouver to San Diego in 2006.  But, Europe has really been our consistent go to destination for many years now.  

I believe that we took up cycle touring because our days of multi-day backpacking trips and 'roughing it' in the backcountry did not seem too appealing anymore.   But, that first taste of travelling by bike in Europe several years ago sparked a lot of adventure, memories and experiences for both of us.

Each year we usually go away for about a month, but that month has always been a very special time for Susanna and I.   Being on a cycle tour is really unlike any other form of travel.  It's slow.  It's physical.  It's  completely and utterly a sensory experience!  It's also, oddly enough, a solitary activity where you have time with your own thoughts...and just...'be'.  But, at the same still be together.  There's really nothing in our lives quite like it.  So, off we go.  

So where to?

After a couple of years off from touring during the COVID years, in 2022 we returned to touring and headed to the Dolomites.  If you're interested, here is a link to last year's trip:

https://www.cycleblaze.com/journals/dolomites/

For a few years now, Susanna has mentioned that she wants to go to Slovenia.  So, that's where we're headed.  Below is a general sense of our plan: