1) Was the decision not to take photographs a conscious one on your part? If so, why? Weight of equipment? Time concerns? Not wanting to look like a stereotypical tourist?
A combination of laziness and practicality. I had stopped using my digital camera right after arriving in Thailand - I knew I needed certain software and a special cord to upload stuff onto the computer and I didn't feel like hunting through my stuff for it if there was a possibility that it wouldn't work out anyway. Also, for the first eight months in Thailand I didn't have a computer to upload anything to anyway. So I just stopped using the camera. Been that way ever since.
Also, my pack had virtually no empty room in it once filled with water and food. And I figured it would be a hassle or sometimes impossible to have to look for electrical outlets at some campgrounds / in the middle of the woods. I could have carried a few extra batteries to mitigate that and just charge all of them every week or so at a campground.
Honestly, I had enough stuff to worry about with covering the mileage, navigating, sightseeing, buying food, journalizing, finding campgrounds, setting up camp and washing clothes. So I don't regret it - it would have really been too much hassle. Besides I can find pics of the places I saw on the internet for the most part.
2) Did you buy a new bike in Germany and sell
it in Lyon, when you were done?
No, I took the Trek mountainbike I had bought for about $300 in Phitsanulok, Thailand. I had the store I bought it from deflate the tires and box it up for me for free - I had bought lots of accessories from them to sweeten the deal. Then I took a bus to Bangkok - I think I had to pay a few bucks to take the additional baggage on the bus. The base price for the 6 hour bus ride was only 10 bucks. Once I arrived at the Mo Chit northern bus terminal in Bangkok, I had to find a taxi to take me to the new, scandal-riddled Suvarnabhumi airport. I found a guy with a big pickup truck and I had to pay him 500 or so Baht instead of the usual 200-300 - it was hard for me to bargain from a position of power while lugging such a huge box, in addition to my regular luggage - when I tried to bargain him down he pointed to all my gear - so I graciously accepted the offer, saving all parties huge amounts of face.
I landed in Frankfurt and my friend, Roy, whom I met on a high school German exchange program picked me up. Coincidentally, he happened to be finishing his Master's thesis in Aerospace Engineering at the very same Frankfurt Flughafen!!! After a week or so of preparation and practice trips, I left his place on bicycle to start Day 1 of my journey. In Lyon I bought a ticket back to Mainz, had to change trains a few times, which was a pain - lifting my fully-laden bicycle up and down the platform steps. Then I took local transit from Mainz to his Floersheim stop, which is spelled the same way as the popular shoe brand.
The bicycle awaits me now at Roy's apartment in Floersheim.