March 2nd 2001
We went to M5 in Middelburg to discuss the setup of the Shockproofs Werner and Bram of M5 were very thourough and opinionated about the parts that should be used. After about 2,5 hours of decisionmaking we left M5 very tired but satisfied. A detailed list of the bikes will be posted here soon.

March 13th 2001
Today I sold my Optima Baron. I feel just awful. It was my first recumbent and now that it's gone I am remebering all the good, and bad times that I experienced with this bike. It wasn't the most practical bike, but it had character. Not having a recumbent, even for a short time, makes me realise how special these strange bikes that we ride on are.

March 21st 2001
Another shocker! Malaria in Pakistan and India? Rabies in all of the countries that we will visit? We left the special Tropical clinic of the AMC Hospital in Amsterdam with two stiff upper arms from a series of – very pricy - vaccinations. Unfortunately the stinging is not over, we will have to return two more times.
We’re somewhat worried about Pakistan because of the supposedly less then perfect healthcare. No more tap water, only sealed bottles. We laugh about it, but are starting to realize that we will need to be very disciplined along the way.
Another issue we are starting to think about more and more is how Suzan will be treated in strict Muslim countries such as Iran and Pakistan. What will she need to wear? You can’t ride a recumbent in a long black dress!

March 31, 2001
Today we had hoped to be able to pick up the Shockproofs. Unfortunately it didn’t happen. All the M5 staff was at the ‘Fiets Rai’ in Amsterdam, so the M5 store was closed this Saturday. Damn! This would have been the perfect weekend– it finally stopped raining, freezing and just being all round miserable - to ride the bikes from Middelburg to Amsterdam, which is about a 200km ride.
Good news is that we are now definitely on for next weekend. We can’t wait! We are both starting to feel out of shape and untrained without a recumbent to ride. Since I’ve sold my Baron I’ve been riding my very crummy and wrecked old city bike to work and it’s just no fun.
After much work from especially Suzan we finally uploaded the site to www.cycletoinda.nl in html. The Flash version was nice to look at, but a lot of people had problems viewing the site on smaller monitors with it. We’re very surprised about the great number of visitors that we’ve gotten this first month (around 500) and hope that everybody will keep checking in once in a while.