are we crazy??

everything sounds like a great idea until reality hits & you have water dripping on your head at 03:00am…Those are the moments when I find myself repeating “the disasters make it memorable” over & over again in my head like a mantra.

“it’s great!” *drip* “I’m so glad we did this!” *drip* *drip* “holy f**k I’m freezing!!!!”

I roll over to look at Panagiotis & he’s all snuggled up in his sleeping bag wearing nothing but a t-shirt. He looks so cozy & warm. Clearly he hasn’t realised yet that the torrential rain is making its way through our tent. Meanwhile I’m freezing my tits off, fully clothed, scarf around my neck & a fleece onesie over it all with my sleeping bag completely engulfing me. He doesn’t understand how I always freeze. I keep trying to explain it’s hard to stay warm when you have no body fat.

Really though, all my bitching aside… I live for these moments. He woke up a minute later & broke into action-mode. In a flash he had his boots on & was outside braving the wind & rain to cover our little tent with the tarp we had under it. Before I know it, he’s throwing me a towel to start moping up some of the rogue water that had managed to seep into the tent. I sat there bewildered whilst he flipped over our helmets & transferred our touring suits into the dry bag. The truth is, I would have woken up in a swimming pool if he hadn’t jumped in to save the day.

I’m great under pressure. Normally. Middle of the night, no sleep, no coffee & still confused as f**k as to what’s going on? Not so much. This is when he shines exceptionally bright. You know, the take-charge attitude of righting the situation. I tend to look at him in awe with a hint of bewilderment.

Still, I repeat: I live for these moments.

Steaks cooked over an open fire. Hot coffee in a flask. Seeing a dog running with his chain trailing behind him, free & gleefully galloping his way to freedom. Snow on the mountain tops that wasn’t there the night before. An ever winding road climbing & descending from the mountains….

Sure, I may complain in print, but I’m always blissfully happy when we’re out on the bike. Panagiotis can attest to that. It’s also nice to miss home once in a while.

Did I mention we dropped the bike? Our first official fall. Actually, I say “we”, I wasn’t even on it. He was a gentleman & suggested I walked up the hill seeing as it was slick with mud from the down-pour. Down came the bike, off I went running, & before I could even help, he had it up like it was as light as a feather. I guess this means we can officially call her an adventure bike now… As my mum always says, the first scratch hurts the worst, the rest is child’s play.