If you're reading this it's because either you already know us and are interested in our adventure or you're looking for inspiration to someday dive into one of your own. Whatever the reason we'd love to welcome you to our blog and we'll do everything possible to put a smile on your face while you read away!

Let's begin! We are Rob, a British guy, and Ruth, a Spanish gal. Fate lead us to meet during 2013 in Bristol, UK, where we started off as house mates, continued to be together during many an afternoon tea session and, amongst all the chat, ended up sharing countless adventures. The mixture ended up being so good that we became best travel buddies and so... almost without realising it, we became what we are now, lifetime companions.

Since meeting we have travelled as much as our wallet and the 9 to 5 would allow, although always at the back of our minds was the thought "and what if we were to spend an entire year at it...?". But as with everyone who asks themselves the same question, a thousand and one doubts held us back. The daily routine and the comfort of home always won, so time and time again we put the idea on the back burner, although always knowing that the same question would rear its little head over and over. And it was so, during our last house move to Madrid (and our recent entry into the club of '30 somethings'), that the question arose once more. This time more than ever. This change made us reconsider everything and finally we decided to set off on an adventure, since we realised that it was now or never!

I must say that initially we didn't have a clue how to carry out a sabbatical year, but what was clear was that we needed to have some purpose and objectives, since at the end of the day it was to be one of the most important projects of our lives! Rob was keen to do some cycle touring and I had little idea, although I knew that I wanted it to be a productive year. And so, amongst comings and goings, watching various documentaries and videos of other people's adventures, we filled up on inspiration and arrived at the project as it is. That is crossing the Americas by bike while drinking at least 1000 cups of tea on the road! (at the bottom of the page you can find our yellow kettle 'tea-ometer' counting down the cups!)

Once all this was more or less clear we started off with your standard 'list of things to do' that included tasks that were far more interesting for some people than for others! Give me a spreadsheet to sort out the budget, Rob anything and everything to do with bikes or the route and we're both happy as Larry! But as a part of the objective of the trip was to get out of our comfort zones we had to also take on other tasks beyond what we were familiar with... For example, this is how we discovered what we believed to be one of the most useful things ever: the super folding bucket! It was to have a million and one uses such as, washing up, washing your face, washing clothes and I'm positive we will find more! Further down the line we will include a post about all its infinite uses!

Since then we have spent nearly all our free time carrying out this list, following really inspiring people through audio logs and YouTube. Amongst these a couple from New Zealand that cycled from London to their home town stopping off in Madrid along the way. Thanks to them we discovered the most inspirational bike shop ever. Found in the heart of Madrid, just behind the lively neighbourhood of La Latina, you can find our friend Rodrigo, a fella who's passionate about his work, with whom we've spent plenty of time over the last few months gaining advice and sharing laughs. In all honesty everything started to be worthwhile simply by living these moments during our preparations.#CiclosOtero, thanks for making these last months so special!

Perhaps you're wondering "where are these guys going to sleep, and eat, and wash?" Well all the answers are directly related to the fact that we are cycle touring. To solve the issue of where to sleep we have two main options, firstly the most obvious and maybe rudimentary, a tent! There are plenty of places where it's possible to camp such as standard campsites where for a few bucks you can have some creature comforts. The second option. which I must say has been a fantastic discovery, is the website "Warm Showers", basically a community of people that have some connection to the world of bicycles who offer a free place to stay in their homes as well as advising about your route and sharing a bit of their lives with you. Both options are amazing so we're going to make use of each one of them! :)

Once most things were crossed off the list one of the most important moments arrived... "the test weekend" that consisted of cycling from our humble home in the heart of the Chueca neighbourhood in Madrid to Soto del Real, found 50km to the north of the city. This weekend was decisive for various reasons, for one, I had not ridden a bike more than that required to get to the pub (and occasionally back!) during my youthful years in Bristol. And much less had I experimented with what it was like being loaded up with panniers! (those bags slung on the side of push bikes, pronounce as you will). And secondly, we had to make sure that all our gear (in large part obtained thanks to our lovely family and friends over Christmas) worked as expected. All this a month prior to setting off. It must be said that we, and the equipment, passed the test! It was a very gratifying and inspirational experience for me (just what I was looking for) at it allowed us to make a few adjustments to our kit before heading off on the big one, so we returned to Rodri, although this time to say goodbye.

Now with everything nearly ready (I say "nearly" because you've got to leave a little space for improvising) the least interesting part was to begin... all the goodbyes.

This in fact was the thing that held us back the most when deciding to leave in the first place, all that we were to inevitably miss with our friends and family. From watching the little ones grow up to sharing everyday moments and unforgettable times with the older ones. But finally we realised that if we didn't go forward with this experience that little question would keep on rearing its little head and we would remain incomplete the rest of our lives... Thanks to this thought we "obliged" ourselves in some way to concentrate on the positives that this journey would lead to, to develop as people and truly value what we have at home. And now we must say that what we have little doubt about is how much we love you and how much we will miss you all!

Thanks so much to all of you for your support over the last few months where, although sometimes uncertainty about the future nearly overwhelmed us, you have helped us to be true to our hearts and pursue this adventure that we have dreamed of for so long...

And now with mixed emotions, off we go!!! We will keep you up to date with daily updates to our "green line" on the "Progress" page and weekly with a summary like this about our adventure on the "Diary" page!

Oh and don't let me forget! In order to leave us comments on each diary entry, signing up and logging in is not necessary. You only have to put your name and thoughts below each post :) Also to change language you may select at the bottom of each page "es" for Spanish and "en" for English.

We will return shortly for a summary of our first week on the road. Until then look after yourselves (above all from the Corona virus!)