I will represent the University of Texas at Austin and bizologie on the 2012 Cycling For Library tour. Karen Holt from the UT Libraries and editor of the Librarian Lifestyle blog will be accompanying me on this adventure. The un-conference offers a week and a half of library workshops, debates, and tours with a diverse group of international librarians. This unique format combines library discussions with 373 miles of bicycling from Vilnius, Lithuania to Tallinn, Estonia. Yep, that is right, we'll be biking through the Baltics and solving global library issues! The 107 librarians participating come from 26 countries and work for national, public, academic, and special libraries. In addition to participating in discussions, all librarians are required to present on topics in their areas of expertise. Karen and I will promote the UT Libraries Human Rights Documentation Initiative and present on topics like using social media for business research and creating public programming events with artists and musicians.

Here's the route -- we cover 3 countries in just 10 days:

Vilnius
Vilnius to Trakai, bus-transport to Riga
Riga
Riga to Sigulda
Sigulda to Valmiera
Valmiera to Valka/Valga
Valka/Valga to Otepää
Otepää to Tartu
Tartu, bus-transport to Rakvere
Rakvere to Lahemaa National Park
Lahemaa National Park to Tallinn

I'm excited about this trip and the amazing opportunity. I do have to admit that I am not much of a biker and I've committed to biking around 30 miles per day. I started my own couch-to-tour training last month and now I'm up to 15 miles. Still have a ways to go, but the trip has been great inspiration to get moving!

Stay tuned for more info about Cycling For Libraries. Over at Librarian Lifestyle, Karen and I will be writing posts about the tour and of course we will cover our new obsession with bicycle fashion.