I am happy to report that I am riding again! Yesterday I cycled over 100km with little difficulty. What a relief! I imagine my knee will continue to experience a far bit of pain, but if there is no more injury, I am happy.
We are now in Slovakia, in a small village near the city of Brataslava. We are only in Slovakia for one night; today we ride into Hungary, country number 6!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Riding in the car, on a bike tour?
The last week has been especially challenging for me. A few days ago, we had our longest ride day yet, 132kms. Although the day we long, with lots of hills and a very late arrival to our destination at 11pm, ironically, the challenges really began the next day on an easy 30km day.
We had all made it through the longest day of the tour thus far and were in high spirits. We had tackled a challenging day, had an easy day ahead of us and were staying at an amazing artist centre (CESTA) in the city of Tabor. The next day should have been a breeze; we joked that at 30kms, it was practically a day off. 6 kilometres into the ride, however, on a tiny hill, my knee gave way. I continued pedaling up the hill, trying to convince myself that it was fine, but it obviously wasn’t. Perhaps the previous day’s ride was catching up to me, or maybe it a culmination of the over 1000 kms ridden on the tour so far. In any event, it was time to stop riding for a little while.
For the last 4 riding days I have been riding with Phil in our support vehicle, trying to be patient with the fact that I haven’t been able to ride. After taking a few days off, I hope to be riding again the day after tomorrow, our day off in Vienna.
To add to the obstacle of my knee injury, I seem to have come down with a feverish, fluish, illness. After sleeping most of the day, I am feeling a bit better but I have elected to stay in tonight instead of going out on the town with the group.
It has been disappointing trying to come to terms with the fact that there will be a hole in my trip. I try and tell myself that in a 4000km bike tour, to miss 5 days doesn’t mean I will not successfully complete the tour, but it is disappointing nonetheless.
I am crossing my fingers that I will be able to ride with relatively no problems for the rest of the tour. Here’s hoping.
We had all made it through the longest day of the tour thus far and were in high spirits. We had tackled a challenging day, had an easy day ahead of us and were staying at an amazing artist centre (CESTA) in the city of Tabor. The next day should have been a breeze; we joked that at 30kms, it was practically a day off. 6 kilometres into the ride, however, on a tiny hill, my knee gave way. I continued pedaling up the hill, trying to convince myself that it was fine, but it obviously wasn’t. Perhaps the previous day’s ride was catching up to me, or maybe it a culmination of the over 1000 kms ridden on the tour so far. In any event, it was time to stop riding for a little while.
For the last 4 riding days I have been riding with Phil in our support vehicle, trying to be patient with the fact that I haven’t been able to ride. After taking a few days off, I hope to be riding again the day after tomorrow, our day off in Vienna.
To add to the obstacle of my knee injury, I seem to have come down with a feverish, fluish, illness. After sleeping most of the day, I am feeling a bit better but I have elected to stay in tonight instead of going out on the town with the group.
It has been disappointing trying to come to terms with the fact that there will be a hole in my trip. I try and tell myself that in a 4000km bike tour, to miss 5 days doesn’t mean I will not successfully complete the tour, but it is disappointing nonetheless.
I am crossing my fingers that I will be able to ride with relatively no problems for the rest of the tour. Here’s hoping.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
One Big Happy
Let me introduce you to my summer family. There are 23 of us: 20 riders, 1 support crew (driving our car) and 2 doc crew members. We are 21 Canadians, and 2 Americans between the ages of 20 and 33 (yes, I'm the 'senior'). Some of us are students, some professionals, some in-between and figuring out their next steps. Between us, we have a diverse group, from poli-science students, to rocket engineers, to filmmakers. Some of us had met before, but for the most part we are getting to know each other now, living and riding together 24/7. The group has gotten closer and closer as we face new challenges, share experiences and work out conflicts as they occur. I have been thrilled with the openness, humor and support I have received from the various members of the group thus far.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
The Road to Prague (You call that a @#$%*!& bike route?!?)
Hello from the Czech Republic!
Yesterday we rode 120kms into the city of Prague (Praha). The day started as all others, pack up tent, eat breakfast, make lunch, get route directions and head out in your riding pod for the day. The first leg was fairly uneventful, after riding a rough bit of the bike route, full of mud and stones, our group elected to take the highway as far as we could into Prague. Other than a flat tire which delayed us for half an hour, we were making good time. Making good time, that is, until about 40 km outside Prague. From that point it all went downhill (and UPhill!).
We were cruising along the highway in what we thought was the right direction. The wind was picking up and the hills were increasing, but we were still going at a good rate. It was then that we realized that we were off our route. We had somehow missed our turnoff and were now heading west instead of south. By the time we realized this, we had gone about 6 kms uphill and in order to get back on track, we needed to go up another 5-6 km uphill. All in all, about 20 kms was added to our route, arrrgg!
We continued into Prague. 25 km from the city, as the highways multiplied in both number and volume of traffic, we decided to take the designated bike route along the river the rest of the way into Prague. We had heard about the well established bike routes and had a mapbook to refer to as well.
Well, it started off great. A paved, wide path along the river. Scenic, direct, relaxed and awesome! Or so we thought.... 5 km into the route the path became gravel. Not as good as paved, but no problem, we could rock it. Another kilometer in however, gravel made way for a narrow single track trail through the grass on very bumpy hard packed mud. Less than ideal, but we'd suck it up. Then, we rounded a corner, and now our trail through the grass became a full on mountain biking, cross-country trail, over roots and stones, through stinging nettle and at the very edge of the river! WTF! You call that a touring bike path? The trail would have been a lot of fun with my mountain bike, but keep in mind that we were all on road bikes with 40 lbs of gear in our panniers! Crazy! Well, we got through this crazy stretch, like a bunch of troopers and the only casualties were my front fender which got totally destroyed and our bare arms and legs which got stung from the stinging nettle. By the time we got through that section of trail, we were all slightly stunned, adrenaline pumping and cursing the fool who thought that a trail like that should be put in a guide book for touring cyclists.
After that ordeal, we stopped to get directions from a Czech couple who told us the rest of the trail into Prague was much better than the one we had just ridden. With only 14 kms to go and a new sense of hope, we headed off again. False hope. The next section was only marginally better! Arrrgg! And then another flat tire!
At this point it was starting to get late. We got off the trail as soon as possible, figuring that being lost on the road, was much better than navigating more crazy bike trails in the coming darkness. Finally, after cycling up another HUGE hill, and getting directions from some helpful locals, we found the rest of the group in our accommodation for the next couple of nights.
After some hugs, a shower and dinner, the days adventures became another good story to share with the group, but I can't lie, I am soooo happy the next day was a day off!
Yesterday we rode 120kms into the city of Prague (Praha). The day started as all others, pack up tent, eat breakfast, make lunch, get route directions and head out in your riding pod for the day. The first leg was fairly uneventful, after riding a rough bit of the bike route, full of mud and stones, our group elected to take the highway as far as we could into Prague. Other than a flat tire which delayed us for half an hour, we were making good time. Making good time, that is, until about 40 km outside Prague. From that point it all went downhill (and UPhill!).
We were cruising along the highway in what we thought was the right direction. The wind was picking up and the hills were increasing, but we were still going at a good rate. It was then that we realized that we were off our route. We had somehow missed our turnoff and were now heading west instead of south. By the time we realized this, we had gone about 6 kms uphill and in order to get back on track, we needed to go up another 5-6 km uphill. All in all, about 20 kms was added to our route, arrrgg!
We continued into Prague. 25 km from the city, as the highways multiplied in both number and volume of traffic, we decided to take the designated bike route along the river the rest of the way into Prague. We had heard about the well established bike routes and had a mapbook to refer to as well.
Well, it started off great. A paved, wide path along the river. Scenic, direct, relaxed and awesome! Or so we thought.... 5 km into the route the path became gravel. Not as good as paved, but no problem, we could rock it. Another kilometer in however, gravel made way for a narrow single track trail through the grass on very bumpy hard packed mud. Less than ideal, but we'd suck it up. Then, we rounded a corner, and now our trail through the grass became a full on mountain biking, cross-country trail, over roots and stones, through stinging nettle and at the very edge of the river! WTF! You call that a touring bike path? The trail would have been a lot of fun with my mountain bike, but keep in mind that we were all on road bikes with 40 lbs of gear in our panniers! Crazy! Well, we got through this crazy stretch, like a bunch of troopers and the only casualties were my front fender which got totally destroyed and our bare arms and legs which got stung from the stinging nettle. By the time we got through that section of trail, we were all slightly stunned, adrenaline pumping and cursing the fool who thought that a trail like that should be put in a guide book for touring cyclists.
After that ordeal, we stopped to get directions from a Czech couple who told us the rest of the trail into Prague was much better than the one we had just ridden. With only 14 kms to go and a new sense of hope, we headed off again. False hope. The next section was only marginally better! Arrrgg! And then another flat tire!
At this point it was starting to get late. We got off the trail as soon as possible, figuring that being lost on the road, was much better than navigating more crazy bike trails in the coming darkness. Finally, after cycling up another HUGE hill, and getting directions from some helpful locals, we found the rest of the group in our accommodation for the next couple of nights.
After some hugs, a shower and dinner, the days adventures became another good story to share with the group, but I can't lie, I am soooo happy the next day was a day off!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
The Hills have Arrived!
Greetings from Eastern Germany. Today is a day off after four days of riding. The riding has gotten more intense since leaving the Netherlands, both in distance and in terrain. Over the last four days we have cycled almost 400 kilometres and have exchanged the flat land of Holland for the rolling hills of this region of Germany. Two days ago I had my first really hard day, with low energy, poor weather and tough hills over the course of the 110 kms ridden that day. Yesterday, however, was amazing despite a flat tire (my first of the tour), lots of rain and 11 hours on the road.
Today we spend our day off in Hecklingen, just south west of Strassfurt. It is a day to catch up on sleep, do laundry, check email and do odd errands. Access to the internet has been a lot more difficult to find then I had expected; internet cafes are not very common in the area so we have to rely on free wireless and the use of one of the three laptops brought by the riders.
Tomorrow we head southeast for 5 days of 100km rides and within a week we will be in The Czech Republic. I will enjoy my lazy day today before heading out on the next leg of the journey.
Today we spend our day off in Hecklingen, just south west of Strassfurt. It is a day to catch up on sleep, do laundry, check email and do odd errands. Access to the internet has been a lot more difficult to find then I had expected; internet cafes are not very common in the area so we have to rely on free wireless and the use of one of the three laptops brought by the riders.
Tomorrow we head southeast for 5 days of 100km rides and within a week we will be in The Czech Republic. I will enjoy my lazy day today before heading out on the next leg of the journey.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
On the Base in Ede
Well, today's accommodation is the most interesting, and I think the best yet. We are staying in an army base in Ede, The Netherland. After a 55 km ride from Utrecht, we arrived at the army base where I arranged accommodation for us thanks to my friend Rene, to find an entire building at our disposal. We are staying in army barracks complete with army lockers and narrow beds in neat, military rows. There is enough room to store our bikes inside and there are clean washrooms and towels. We are hardly roughing it here! What a great way to end a long day of riding.
Tomorrow, the real riding begins with our first 90 km day...
Tomorrow, the real riding begins with our first 90 km day...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)