6 months on the road, can you believe it?! For me, it feels like yesterday we were packing up in Colorado to start our drive across America but it also feels like a lifetime ago after reflecting on everything we have accomplished in the past 6 months.
We have visited 20 countries in total (16 with our bike, Domino, and an additional 4 via flying) and have driven a total of 16,325 km (10,144 miles). During our time traveling, there have been many moments of pure bliss but there have also been challenging moments that have been teaching us a lot about ourselves, each other, and the diverse world we all live in.
We wanted to share some highlights and moments from the past 6 months:
Best day:
- Ellie: The Dolomites absolutely blew my mind. One of the days we climbed my first via ferrata near Canazei, Italy and it was a day I’ll never forget. The skies were perfectly clear, the views of the mountains in every direction were so stunning, and we climbed an exhilarating via ferrata together - it was the absolute best!
- Austin: For me, it’s still the first day we landed in Europe and picked up Domino at the airport. It signified a culmination of a lot of planning and logistics as well the beginning of our adventures together
Favorite meal:
- Ellie: Austin’s birthday dinner in Bergen, Norway; we tried a wide variety of seafood including whale, the king crab was the most flavorful and was very delicious
- Austin: Our wedding anniversary we had raclette (a Swiss cheese dish) which was every bit as good as I had remembered from previous travels
Most unexpected joy:
- Ellie: The people we have met, wow! God has orchestrated such generous and open people that we have been able to connect with throughout the past 6 months. I have loved sharing our story but more so have enjoyed learning all about the people that we meet and their views of life and lifestyles in their respective countries
- Austin: Meeting up with friends along the way. Whether it’s friends from childhood, Colorado, or past travels, it’s been so nice to see a familiar face in the midst of so much newness
Looking forward to in the next six months:
- Ellie: I am excited to see parts of the world that I am not as familiar with (parts of Northern Africa and Eastern Europe)
- Austin: Surfing! Travel usually incorporates some surfing for me so I’m itching to get down to Africa and find some warm weather and waves
Bike improvements / issues:
- Improvements: LED light on sidecar, trimmed mud-flaps, seat cushion gifted from a Swedish biker friend, adjusted suspension
- Issues: overheating and broken spark plug cap near Chicago, broken spoke and cracked fender in Vermont, flat tire in France, broken sidecar bearing on the Spain/Portugal border
Items we have added / gotten rid of along the way:
- Added: wool long underwear, neck gaiter, gloves, wedding attire for a wedding in Turkey, Ural t-shirts, Robby 3 wheels t-shirt, Switzerland plug adapter, additional spare parts, new riding jacket from a fellow Ural friend in Copenhagen, larger helmet lock, pacsafe backpack cover, books
- Gotten rid of: worn out hiking shoes, jeans, a t-shirt
We are excited to see how God guides us these next 6 months as we adventure to new parts of the world for both of us! Feel free to follow our journey on our Instagram: @ae_brown.rtw