Discussion: Cycling very long distances

I couldn't find the old thread where I mentioned this, but my parents have most definetly reached europe (starting in Bangkok).
http://www.candmwanderings.blogspot.com/

Wha?! But Bankok--that's in Thailand...and Europe--it's way over there! No way! Besides, how would they bike across the Caspian Sea? Do they have special bikes with super puffy tires that float? Highly doubtful! Must be a hoax.

um, well there were some sections by ferry, and one or two sections through a dubious part of some country by bus/taxi. Look at the google map on the side of their blog for an overview.

As a sometime-bike tourer, I've been following your parents since you originally posted. They're putting together one of the most amazing bike odysseys I've ever seen. And their blog is well-written and illustrated, with lots of pictures....very readable. Would you care to describe their background in a lttle more detail than they have in their blog?

I take it that your mother Margo is the prime planner and motivator on these trips. Is that correct? I particularly liked her write-up of their Cuba trip...wish it were as detailed as their current blog.

The numbers: 15,000km in 9.5 months
Trying to get a ferry accross the caspian is harder than you might thing: http://candmwanderings.blogspot.com/2009/08/lesson...

Aditional background (not exactly sure what type of background Chitownclark wanted):

My mother (all-rounder, ex-forester, esl teacher, and sometimes travel writer) is good at languages and learnt some mandarin for this trip, she had previously learnt spanish for the Cuba trip. She tends to try to quasi speak the language of the country, while my dad is in charge of body language. Dad (dyslexic physisist) is in charge of making sure to see if the body language means anything dangerous. So my mum usually writes the more wordy posts (and any botanical references are hers), and dad likes to make photo essays (and the pythagoras references were his)

So, while Margo is the prime overall planner (and writes about the planning on their website and not the blog), chris is more into the nitty gritty details (looking up wind directions, weather trends, country warnings).

I am sure if anyone needed more information about parts of their current trip or past trip they would be happy to correspond over e-mail (they like to convert other people to cycle touring) - especially once they are back home in a month or so.