Day 5: Work, Rest, and …

Day 5: Rest, Laundry, and the Great Bike Naming Debate

Pasberg | Rest Day
After four days and somewhere north of 600 km, the legs got a day off. With Adem’s knee still grumbling, a rest day wasn’t just nice, it was necessary. The area around Pasberg isn’t exactly a tourist hotspot, but for two people who needed to disappear into their laptops, it was perfect.

First: the medical update. Yesterday’s knee appeal generated an impressive response. Herrald shared local addresses, Annemiek called directly, Peter offered taping advice, and Karin Braune consulted both her son and husband before passing on their combined expertise. Then Karin went one step further and set up a live online bike fitting session with her husband Dirk — and we learned a lot. We are genuinely moved by the mobilisation of this much orthopaedic and bike-fitting knowledge on our behalf. Tomorrow will be the test. 🦵🤞

The rest of the day was, in the most honest terms, a full working day. The weeks before departure were hectic, and the backlog didn’t pedal itself away while we were gone. Apologies to all colleagues — we’re catching up, and we’ll get there.
For Jeroen our IT guy: yes, we are using a VPN. You can sleep soundly. 🔒
We also squeezed in a quick call with the team helping us with social media and trip logistics — Lauren, Marla and Jeroen, thank you. You’re doing more for this trip than we can properly explain from a hotel room in Bavaria.

In between calls: laundry. We’ve invested in washing bags, which work remarkably well. The room was converted into a full drying operation — every chair, door handle and surface pressed into service. Adem showed particular creativity in this department. We won’t elaborate further, but the man has a gift. 🧺
Tomorrow we ride in clean kit. Small victories.

Now, to the important business. The bikes need names.
At PJ’s house, all vehicles have names — Nelly, Theo, Troopy, Betsy. The bikes clearly deserve the same treatment. Two candidates are on the table:
PJ has been considering Reese — a nod to the brand (Riese & Müller). The drawback: “PJ is riding Reese” is a sentence that could be misread in several directions. Still under review.
Adem is leaning toward Consta, short for Constantinople — the historical name for Istanbul, and their destination. Poetic. But he’s not fully committed either.
Suggestions welcome. These bikes have carried us through rain, hills, medieval towns and at least one 100 km/h road — they’ve earned a proper name. 🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️

On the fundraising front: our Emixa colleagues have already logged 158 hours of sport on Strava. That’s €790 for the cause, just from people sweating on their own time. Keep it up — every hour counts.
And donations are still coming in, but we’re not at our goal yet. Please share the link and consider donating. As we write this, people dear to us are fighting this disease. That’s why we’re doing this. 🙏

The day closed with a gourmet dinner at the Golden Arches. Fries. Vegan salad. No regrets.
Back to work, and looking forward to the road tomorrow. 🍟Read more