Over the years I've done a number of short tours. Each a few days, often as add-ons to family vacations or work-related trips, and nearly always on my folding Brompton bicycle.

But circumstance has now afforded me the time and opportunity to aim higher and longer: a near-eight-week circuitous wander from Dublin to Berlin.

Why those places? Well, I have friends or family in Dublin, the UK and Germany. And I've always wanted to visit the Isle of Man and spend more time in Belgium and perhaps northern France. Why not thread these all together into a trip?

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For the first time, other than making necessary plane, train and ferry bookings, I haven't planned things much at all. I want to give myself the freedom to take a day off when I feel like it or change direction. I know I'll end up in Berlin eventually, but I'm not exactly sure of how I'll get there.

It's a week to go and I've amassed all the things that I conceivably could bring on the trip. Now I must pare it all down to those items that I will actually need.

I've also replaced the tires and chain on the Brompton and, in preparation for the hilly Ardennes and Sauerland, installed a smaller (39-tooth) chainring. That will help on the hills at the expense of being a bit slower on the flats. No matter, I'm not in a rush.

I fly from Vancouver to Dublin, via Newark, next week.