We're often asked the logistics of keeping a web site on the road - this section details the way we went about it:

Before embarking on the ride, the framework of the web site was set up; it's general structure and layout. The plan was then to fill the pages with stories, photos and information that might be useful to other like- minded cyclists. It's a site that's developed over these last few months; our own ramblings have been galvanised by it's excellent design, for which we have Webmaster Talljames to thank, as well as his time in posting dispatches and photos.

For our end, despatches and articles were written on a Psion Series 5MX palmtop whilst riding between towns. Reaching an Internet cafe, these files were then transferred and converted into Word format, via an easily installed PsiWin CD and a serial port, to the local PC. Cut and pasted into Emails, they were then sent onwards to James. Likewise, photos from the digital camera were transferred in this way, using a Smart Media Floppy disk that fits the camera's memory cards, or a CD and USB cable - having first downsized them on the camera itself for web use. Photos were then sent as attachments, three to each Yahoo Email In capital cities, we often had access to a CD burner, allowing all accumulated photos to be offloaded onto a CD to clear the memory cards, as well as being sent more easily as attachments.

Despite our initial concerns, Internet cafes have almost always been more than happy to instal the two original pieces of software needed for these transfers. Techno savvy computer buffs have also been helpful in troubleshooting too. Fascinated by our gadgets, we've often had the chance to reciprocate their friendship by taking impromptu photos - in one case, we did a photo shoot for a shoe shop in return for free Internet access!

In this way, it's meant that the majority of the time we've worked off-line wherever our travels have taken us, devoting our city visits to pilgrimages to Internet cafes. Dispatches and photos were then posted in the UK by James, already juggling various jobs, when schedules permitted.

By the nature of the mushrooming world of Internet cafes, as well as previous journeys to the area, we knew that almost most major cities en a route would offer Internet access. It was just a case of tracking it down. In the event, we've been surprised by the number of smaller towns, and in some cases even villages, that have been on-line. Cyber tentacles are fast expanding. Indeed, all the countries we visited had a profusion of Internet cafes, generally very reasonably priced, reflecting the web's growing mass appeal.

Use of the Internet was perhaps most popular, and certainly the cheapest, in Turkey - as little as 25 cents an hour. Surprisingly, despite its policy of media censorship, Iran also provided access in most cities and provincial capitals, though the price was higher - around 2 or 3 dollars an hour. Similarly in Turkmenistan we found the Internet in Ashgabat, both in cafes and institutions, ranging from half a dollar to a couple of dollars an hour. Uzbekistan's main cities - including Buchara, Samarkand and Tashkent - are all online, for as little as 75 cents an hour. Lastly in Kyrgyzstan, which recently hosted a government sponsored Internet technology conference, the Internet is used by the majority of students. Generally around a dollar an hour, cafes are alive with keyboard chatter - from dating agencies to chat rooms to university applications abroad - and Internet telephoning is even available.

For more info on the kit itself see our Psion review.