We're camping in Furnace Creek tonight and biking there tomorrow for our first ride of the year.

So, I have a sock story. A few years ago we were staying at a vacation rental house. I ran a load of laundry, and ended up with a missing sock. We looked all over for it, but was never able to find it. Very frustrating, since I had a limited number of socks with me. Fast forward two years, and we manage to book that same vacation rental. Again, I run a load of laundry, and end up with a missing sock. Looked all over, and it could not be found. I finally get the idea to actually lift up the washer from the front, and have a look underneath. There I found not only the sock I just lost, still damp from the washer, but the sock that I had lost two years ago.
Turns out this was a very old washer, and the tub wasn't sealed along the top, so during the spin cycle it was possible for lightweight articles of clothing to slip up over the top edge, and then fall down under the washer.
The sock gremlins can work in mysterious ways.

Oh the suspense!! Did you get a letter from one of the missing socks?

Noooooo! You cannot leave us with a cliffhanger like that for 24 hours! Nnnooooo!

You certainly chose a wild route through NZ particularly in the North island. What surprised me was that there were no bird photos and that there was no mention of birds except at Miranda which is not surprising as it is an internationally recognised site for migrating birds to the Arctic as well as about 40 other species which feed on the shell banks of the Firth of Thames

Message from a lurker: Try REI Co-op Merino Wool Lightweight Hiking Quarter Socks. I've been wearing them for many years. They seem to be identical to Smartwool except the price.

I remember almost all of those scenery pictures individually, but seeing them all together here makes me even MORE impressed with your year. Yeah, I know, I pretty much just copied my comment on the last page.

I remember almost all of those wildlife photos individually. Seeing them all together here somehow makes me even MORE impressed with your year.

Yes, we were so young then! This was our first overseas travel experience, and Rachael was barely 30 years old. I’m so glad I kept a journal back then because there’s so much we would have forgotten otherwise. It is pretty funny to look back though and remember I lost my wallet before we even left America, and my glasses in Greymouth. We’re older, but apparently not that much wiser for all the experience we’ve had.

Have just had a very interesting read. I was hunting through your journals to see if I could find information about riding around Murcia and came across your 1991 trip to NZ. It certainly was like going back in time and you sèem so young. The weather was certainly terrible and I was very impressed by seven 100km days in a row. You travel so differently now though the thread of losing things remains! Cycle touring was certainly so much more difficult with no Garmins, no mobile phones, no booking aps and tires that regularly pictured
Thanks for a very amusing read

We feel very honored!

I"ve been looking forward to your yearly calendar of photos - I'm sure the decisions were difficult!

Pretty great year in spite of our health issues, alright. Thanks to you and Janos for enriching it for us!

Thanks, Rich. We’re pretty optimistic about what’s planned for the coming year. With luck maybe we’ll see a shot of you in here next year.

We’re pretty pleased about seeing you in there too, Becky. It’s too bad we missed you in Tucson this winter, but maybe we’ll cross paths when we head north at the end of the month.