10 days to go - old bike, new media

There is no update on the broken bike other than to say that it's still at the bike shop waiting for a new chain and pair of wheels to arrive. I'll pick it up tomorrow afternoon hopefully. The only thing that has not been changed on the bike, then, is the frame. This reminds me of the one broom sketch on Only Fools and Horses: one broom, but have changed the handle twice, and the brush three times.

Keeping in touch

Following the purchase of a Nokia 5230 mobile phone (pictured), I have now decided how I will keep in touch with people. This phone has internet, GPS and a camera. After some hours I managed to set it up so I take a photo that is tagged with the current GPS co-ordinates and then upload it to a publicly viewable map at Nokia's Ovi website so viewers can see my progress hour by hour. I'll publish the URL when I have something useful to display.

I also managed to install a Twitter app on the phone. I can't remember what it's called, but it seems to work, so I'll be able to send lots of updates during the trip. You can see the Twitter 'tweets' on the right of this blog. My Twitter page is here.

The third app I'd like to use is called Sports Tracker. It is basically a GPS tracker that tells you where you have been. You can save each journey to the memory card. When I get back I'll work out how to send it to Google Maps so you can see exactly where I've been, including the wrong turnings.

I cannot rely on mains electricity because I will be camping. I will strap a Solio portable solar panel (see photo at top of post) to the bike and recharge the phone overnight from the solar panel.