We are ready to kick off yet another spin around western Europe, picking up where we left our bikes the last time, in Valencia, Spain. 

This will be our thirty ninth blog! These blogs have by now garnered an estimated two million views, which is not bad by some standards. For example, as a very random comparison, "Jay Leno Picks His Favorite American Muscle Cars", on Youtube, has 2.3 million views. 

Another way to look at our goofy more than a decade long cycling project, we have now pedaled 83,575 kilometers since we started to document our trips. To put that in perspective, the circumference of the earth at the equator is 40,075 kilometers. But in the Guinness Book of World Records, a round the world trip must be at minimum 29,000 kilometers. By that measure, we are on our third go 'round!

Now that you are reading this Introduction, you can confidently expect at least a further 100 posts, coming one per day after we fly from home, on February 18.  So strap in, and stock up on popcorn. There is no monetary benefit at all in doing the blog, but we do appreciate the thought that others are following along with us. You can give us a further boost by leaving comments (which we will always read, and often respond to) or by giving a heart to any photos or writing that you find good. You need to  Log In  to Cycleblaze to do that, but don't worry, the site has no evil designs on your information! The spot to Sign In and to Log In is in the upper right hand of every page.

As I write this, we are about two weeks from departure, and just finishing what has been something of a trial, plotting our route and making reservations. Spain has been the heart of the problem. It's a great country, but it has impediments for tranquil enjoyment on a bike tour. These include mountains and headlands, liberally sprinkled about, and trains that mostly do not accept non-folded bicycles. But now, we have it sorted, or at least the plans are as good as we can make them. More on that later. For now, the blog jogs back one step, and briefly covers our recent time in Costa Rica, that we are styling the warmup for the major European odyssey. Let's give it a go!