Category Archives: Cycling Adventures

What Would You Do?

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Every cyclist and hiker that we met returning from their travels in the highlands of Scotland described the area as beautiful but rather brutal. Midgies (very small biting insects) were out in full force. Those beasts, plus non-stop rain, curtailed many outdoor adventure seekers plans. With a pint of Scottish lager under each of our belts, Steve and I asked one another what we would each do if we were on our own? Continue reading →

Yak Attack

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I’m soooo not a yakker! I’ve only puked two times in my entire life. Once when I was 4 onto our new white carpet, and once a few years back in Honduras when a 24 hour bug flew around the island where I was living. Neither time was the experience anything like what I felt on the train from London to Edinburgh Continue reading →

The Change Up

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While cycling the Southern coast of the Isle of Wight was pretty (& hilly) and happening upon a nifty luminated carnival parade in Shanklin was cool, I was still struggling to be motivated to both write and engage back fully in my experience.  Sometimes in life a change up is needed…and at my five month point on the bicycle, it seems I needed it more than I realized. That change up came in the form of Continue reading →

Connecting in Italy – unexpected and expected!

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I suppose the cluster-f!@# (hair-raising) events leading up to Florence, made the next series of events seem all the sweeter. Florence is where my old friend Tony (he’s not really THAT old, our friendship is. Ha!) and I decided to meet up. Amazingly we would be celebrating our 10 year anniversary of meeting, and this would mark the 7th country in which we would gather. I have not seen or talked to a friend or family member in months so I was excited to convene. However, I had one day in Florence before he would arrive. Continue reading →

Italy Part III: Wild & Weird

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Oh my…I am hot and tired! I sit and begin writing this on my first train since coming to Europe after attempting to cycle half way to Florence yesterday but I ran into snags. I am supposed to stay with a Warm Shower’s host tonight (little do I know at this point what’s in store for me). Okay let me back up a bit…
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Italy Part II: My New Strategy Came with A Bonus Meeting

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After my crap cycling day, I devised some new strategies to attempt to make my cycling more enjoyable. First things first, eat a big, hearty breakfast – no excuses (for me that involves bread, butter (peanut butter if I have it), jam and yogurt (if available). This I did. Given the heat, I wanted to try getting on the road early and taking a break for a few hours in the middle of the day to write, and then cycling again later in the day. I did this too. I made it to the mid-sized old Italian town of Belzano by 11:30 am and stopped until 3:30 p.m. I wrote in a cafe and had a luscious lemon ice, a cappuccino, and a fresh Continue reading →

Over the Alps with Only Minor Mishaps

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For the first time on this here cycling adventure, I bought a map. This goes to show that I was nervous about crossing the Alps. They look awfully high from a far and thought of getting turned around in them was weighing on my mind. Basically, all the cycling routes (Velo 7 and Alpe-Radweg)(http://alpe-adria-radweg.comAlpe-Radweg) take the same route from Salzburg up the Alps and begin to differ after the mountain pass.
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Twists of Fate on the Way to Salzburg

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Beep! Just one beep marks the arrival of the bakery lady dressed in a traditional Bavarian dirndl (dress). Out the back of a little truck, she sells fresh pretzels, breads, and an amazing plum covered cake –all made with locally grown ingredients. Each morning she arrives to the campground around 8:15 am. She beeps and the line forms at her truck. I loaded up for the day and then joined my artist-cyclist friend, Hubert, for our last breakfast along side the lake and alps. Continue reading →

A Bit of a Problem Getting to Austria

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No rain while I packed up Steel after our night of “wild” camping, but shortly thereafter it came and refused to stop. I rode into a larger town of Rosenheim at about 10 am and found refuge in a bakery. It closed at noon, but the rain continued. I circled Rosenheim and found another restaurant. Six hours later, it was still raining and I felt I had worn out my welcome in the restaurant. Surely the rain had to stop, right? Steel and I headed out, and as it turns out, in an “unanticipated direction” Continue reading →

Three Special Couples on My Turn to Munich

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I dig twist of fate moments in life –like when a man dressed in wonderfully humorous bavarian cycle wear stopped to ask if I needed assistance. I asked his opinion between two routes towards Munich. He suggested the one that turned out to be a beautiful ride on mostly trails through forested area and along rivers and lakes. Given my surroundings, I opted for another undesignated camping area and set up my tent as close to one can possibly get without actually being in the river. In the end, it was actually too close Continue reading →