If you only read three things this week...

1. ​Finding castles in the sky - San Marino - the Lab
2. ​Sweden is the ‘world’s first’ country available by prescription - Adventure.com
3. ​The Stinging Nettle Surprise in Ecuador - the Lab

The Bike Challenge: Update from the Road

Hello from Grado, the half way point between Venice and Poreč on this year's bike challenge!

Thus far, I have learnt several important things.

First: thunderstorms sound far more romantic when viewed from indoors.

Second: all those January training routes in Wales in winter came in handy during the floods, sideways hail and the reconsidering of my life choices on a bicycle path.

And third: there is a particular kind of happiness that comes from discovering a dry pair of socks at the end of the day.

The route from Venice through Slovenia and into Croatia was supposed to be all sea air, old towns and exploration of UNESCO World Heritage Sites beside the Adriatic. And to be fair, those moments have appeared. Just not always at the exact moment I could safely remove a phone from a waterproof bag.

Weather Alerts

In short, weather conditions have made it tougher than it otherwise would be.

Which has me mulling over how our images of places almost always come dressed in sunshine. Not just the travel brochures of beach towns and sparkling seas. But Roman ruins and Venetian piazzas, too.

Of course, I'm not the first to have to deal with the elements. Those centurious who marched to Aquileia, a staggeringly beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site en route, also had to put up with rain. And they didn't even have GoreTex.

So, after a hot shower and in the safety of a hotel room, I can start to see that every kilometre earned under difficult conditions feels more meaningful than ten easy ones.

A hot shower becomes an event.

A patch of blue sky feels like winning the lottery.

And a quiet harbour after the storm passes suddenly looks cinematic.

The photos, naturally, capture the beautiful moments - because during the worst weather, staying upright becomes the goal and those rain soaked shots always look blurry and start to wreck my phone.

But perhaps that’s true of travel generally. We tend to remember the warmth after the storm more vividly than the discomfort itself.

Already, I'm looking back at last year's Albania cycling trip and can't really remember anything tough about it at all.

There’s still a long way to go before Poreč. More storms are forecast. My legs feel heavy, my wrists too.

But for now, the wheels are still turning. My shoulder is holding up.

And honestly, that feels enough.

Thanks for all the encouragement. Cheers, Abi

P.S. I'm flitting between "never again" and "why don't I do something like this again in September?" Make of that what you will!

Travel tip of the month

​Your ultimate pre-travel checklist.

​PPS - Only want the creative side of things and nothing about travel? ​Click here and your wish is our computer's command!