Hello Again

 After a few days cycling in the rain, we made it to Leipheim. We cycled 65km, our personal best so far. We were going to stay about 35km further back, but the place we were going to stay in was a field on a farm, and it smelled, well, like a farm. So onward we went. We are 215km into the trip. 

Cycling in the heavy rain is no fun, and I’m not going to lie, we stopped a few times under the trees to let the heavier showers pass. Now we are in the sun and should be for a while.
The internet sucks around here so only one pic this times. Will post pics later down the path.

Peace my friends!

Passau At Last

 The internet in the campgrounds is still crap, but we hope to be in a hotel or guesthouse soon! We are currently pondering where to go next🤡

I could barely get two pics on this page. The campground is at a canoe club and, as you can see, it is very popular. We are right next to the river Ilz, which along with the river Inn, flow into the Danube from each side of the Danube, a few hundred meters from us. 

Peace my friends!

Herzliche Gruesse aus Deutschland!

No need to adjust your internet my friends, that is the German language on the sign. We are no longer in France, having snuck over the border into Germany. We crossed the Rhine River at Strasbourg and camped our first night in Kehl. 

The Meuse was a bust, and we are looking back on the last two weeks as a bad dream. More grist for our poetry and all that. 

We are going to cycle the Danube river as far as we can, from the source at Donaueschingen in the Black Forest, to at least Passau, just before the Austrian border.
The hacking has left us both, and we are looking forward to cycling and enjoying the brats, beers, and cakes. 

Here are a few pictures of France:

A French toilet, no seat, toilet paper or lid.

A requirement when traveling in France.

 A man in his undies.

 The Rhine River at night by our campground. 

The internet is a bit spotty here in the hinterlands, so the blog will continue when I can find good internet. 

Frieden my friends!

Bonjour Mes Amies

 We are finally in France (thank you Jesus) and out of the cold, damp countries of The Netherlands and Belgium. Not a very pleasant start to our trip, but I appear to be on the mend and not hacking up a lung anymore. Kirsty has got the bug now, but hopefully not as bad. 

We cycled to Dinant, Belgium and stayed at a place by the river. Except for being cold and very, very damp, it was nice. The four young men who showed up about 11pm to set up camp and drink, talk, smoke dope and eat something only added to the cultural experience we were having. Oh, and no toilet paper. 

We then cycled to Givet, France where we stayed at a place run by the Beverly Hillbillies. We were introduced to filthy toilets and once again, no toilet paper. As it was cold and damp still, we booked the next train to Verdun, France. Three train changes later we arrived and are going to stay here four days to rest up and decide where and what we are going to do next. The Meuse has not lived up to its up-and- coming status we had read about. So… who knows, stay tuned. 

Below are more pictures from The Netherlands and Belgium.

Delft canals

 

 

Gouda cheese

Our one sunny day so far, just outside Maastricht.

 Maastricht is a city of old and new. 

Not sure this name would work in the USA.

Camp dinner.

The following pics are all in Dinant, until the sign for Givet.
 

 

Here I am spreading the word for Ka'u coffee from the Big Island of Hawai'i.
 

More to follow my friends, peace!

Cycling about in Europe

 Here is our first update, a bit late but it has been a wee bit challenging the first week. This is a short update to let you all know we haven’t fallen off the edge of the earth just yet.
 

We left England from Hull, taking the ferry to The Europort, just outside of Rotterdam.

We cycled to Delft, about 35km away. It took us many more hours than we had anticipated due to the challenging way in which the cycle paths are laid out.

As you can see from this picture of the map we were using, the cycle paths are connected by junctions. Easy peasy to go from one to another. Or not. We found that the signs were missing at times leading us to ask WTF over and over again. 

Backtracking and going in circles adds many kilometers to the journey. Sometimes what looked like the shortest way wasn’t. So we struggled on. 

 This cycle path goes directly to the front door of IKEA, with a large bicycle parking lot in front. The Dutch don’t wear helmets here and the adults all seem taller than 6 feet. Also, the Dutch are raised to ride bikes from early childhood so they drive very fast, even through crowded streets and everyone magically doesn’t end up in a heap!

The Dutch have an extraordinary system of cycle paths here and it seems as if most people ride bikes instead of cars. Unlike the Italians who don’t follow road rules and thus require one to look left, right, backwards and forwards before crossing the street, the Dutch do follow the rules but you still have to look all ways because there are car paths, cycle paths, and pedestrian paths, and at controlled intersections, all have their own lights. And, mopeds can ride in cycle or car lanes willy nilly. A saving grace is that they drive on the right side of the road here!

Here we are in Delft, leaving soon for Gouda.

 

Damn signs!

Gouda cheese.

More Gouda cheese.

Some Dutch food.
 

Not Dutch food.

There are about a billion bikes in this country!

Anyhoo, we have both been sick this week and cycling in the wind and rain hasn’t helped. I am taking something a Dutch pharmacist recommended so I don’t get walking pneumonia. Did I mention the rain? Well one thing you can take for granted here is the wind, and the other is the chance of rain. 

More pictures from this week when I feel a bit better. 

Needless to say, we have had it with the fickle weather and took a train to Maastricht today (Monday) to a warmer locale. Soon we will be in France and all will be right in our cycle world.

Peace my friends!

I Was In A Bar In Roundstone With A Galway Hooker

Truth be told, I was having a pint of Guinness with my misses, so no worries. We were in Ireland to visit our good friends JP, Nicola, William and Molly in Westport and to attend a wedding of two of Kirsty's long-time friends, Aisling and Eoin.

Just a few pictures from Ireland and to tell you that we are going cycling in Holland, Belgium, France and Germany for the next few months.

 O'Dowds is the place to go to have great crab claws, a pint and superb brown bread while in Roundstone, Connemara!

Nice view of the harbor across from O'Dowds.

 Stopped off at one of my favorite beaches, Doolin, to admire the view and the anemones. The weather has been fantastic here in the west of Ireland, much to everyones shock!

I didn't want to be kneecapped by the official photographer, so no photos of the wedding! Suffice it to say that it was a very moving ceremony. Aisling and Eoin are wonderful folks!

My beautiful bride at the reception wearing her Hawaiian bracelet from her good friend Dot.

Peace my friends!

View From the Lanai

Early morning view of the ocean as the sun rises above the peak of Mauna Loa behind us. Don't often see the ocean this clearly due to early morning clouds. Quite the view when it is clear!

Peace my friends!