As an initial check to see if the trip was feasable, I posted a message on the touring bike page of www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=66820

This is a sample of some of the replies I received:

"You are going to be vulture bait. If you even get by the "Persians" without so much as a suicide bomber pushing the button within your proximity, the African deserts will get you. Next to Antarctica, you will be going through one of the largest expanses of nothingness in the world. My money is going to the vultures dude. And don't forget your lip balm. You are kidding, right?"

"Are you out of your mind? i don't have any constructive web links or encouragement. as i write this, i am in a uniform and in iraq. right now, there are people who will pay good money for your head- simply because of where you come from. for a first-time tour, why don't you do something more tame? ride thru france or spain, and take a ferry to morocco if you want to see africa. What you are planning is nuts. i could think of a thousand better ways to risk it. the middle east is a toilet. you would have a better time sucking on ice cubes in mexico."

Go for it. Fortune favors the courageous. When I was about to head off for my open-ended solo bicycle tour (didn't know how long I would be gone, how many months/years, how many countries, or how long my tiny budget would take me), I was filled with terror and angst and doubt. A friend asked me what would be the worse thing that could happen to me on this trip? I replied, death. She said, Well, is that so bad? At first, I wanted to smack some sense into her, and then the more I thought about it, the more I realized that such an end wouldn't be so tragic after all. But, abandonning a dream because of doubts (or nay-sayers) would be a real tragedy, one that would cast a shadow over the remainder of my life. So, I went and my life has been a blast ever since To any ****** preaching gloom and doom and death around every corner, just ask him what has he done lately." "

"Don't worry about the alleged lack of you experience Dan. Just by the time you get from London to Bavaria, you will have gained enough experience to see you through most all you difficulties."