May 2001
June 2001
July 5th
Fairfax, California
Oregon was beautiful. There is only one bad thing I can say about
it. "THERE IS A THEIF IN OREGON!" My fluffy sleeping bag was stolen.
It was so dear to me , a present from my sister Hetty who will
be very upset when she finds out. So after buying a new sleeping
bag we rode into California and met our first killer. Big guy
comes up to us and gives us all the details of how to get rid
of someone. " Take them into the hills about 12 miles from the
highway and just POP em!" Thanks for the info but we have to move
on sir. The more south we have traveled the more colorful personalities
(you don't hear me saying FREAKS) we meet. Talking about colorful
personalities when we rode into the state we also met "ED"…
I'll leave it to Trent to describe ED.
Ed is a man with a somewhat 'stocky' structure at 5'8 and 220lbs,
thick coke like glasses usually wearing a large smile amidst the
problems he may have encountered. Something always happens to
this man as Rob and I are boring compared to this jolly individual.
He was robbed of everything while enjoying the 'all you can eat'
buffet, and struck by lightening twice and this is only the beginning.
Still the man pushes on with a bag full of teddy bears and puppets
and yet no food as too much weight bringing laughter to childrens
faces and ours. I have a feeling we may see this man again as
he travels the world 'with' his bicycle. Before going to press
with this entry we have spotted the elusive "ED" on several occasions
in the back of trucks, driving semi's and walking the golf courses
with multi millionaires, all the time we were sweating under the
hot sun cycling. Each evening we meet in different camps and it's
beyond us how this large man can be so fast when we push on at
an athletes pace. Thanks for the many laughs which turned to tears
as we rode off thinking of what could happen to just one man in
such a short time. With clear sunny days and the coastal breeze
pushing us towards the San Fran area we will be asking ourselves
"Where's ED?" The rains have gone as the Redwoods soon but not
without the lasting images of the morning fog creeping through
these towering forests. It's something to experience as the fog
lifts and the sun shines through these 2000 yr old giants. People
like "ED" and the californian "Killer" add life to these beautiful
places and a little spice to our day, everyday!
July 18th
Barstow, Cal USA
Haven't forgotten about the site for those plugging in daily
but things may get slower as we enter less developed areas. Thanks
for the continued support by many!
The Marin Headlands… Silence, Eagles flying and the wind blowing
through our hair ( or at least Trent's hair) as we overlooked
San Francisco. The Golden Gate bridge, Pier 39, Lombart Street,
The french Quarter, The italian side and of course China town
are just a few of the places we saw. We even had a place to stay
as Heather, John, Maria and Karrie were so friendly to let us
camp in their yard. Thanks to Maria for the little "drop of Southern
Comfort in the evening" and good luck on her Montana trip.
Out of the city through the HOT HOT valley where temperatures
rising to 44C and on one day things got very HOT! A routine stop
in a US Post office. Packaged some of our goods to send home (
to lessen the load) but the local postmaster thought otherwise.
At first we couldn't send it in a bag so we searched the trash
bins for a box and again this wasn't enough. "Too much labelling
on the box" and so finally after 5 attempts we had the box but
now we needed the correct tape. Of course the US Post sold if
for a mere $5.00 a roll and $5.00 a box but by this time our patience
and budget were running thin. The fiery , more spirited European
loses it! " First it's the boxes we needed then the tape and now
the way in which we address it, C'mon man this is Hghway Robbery!"
The more reserved and diplomatic Canadian kept all sharp objects
away and restrained Rob until a nice lady overheard all the comotion,
offered us everything we needed.
Finally we did get the mail sent and wished everyone a great
day but not before a half day spent in the post office and a test
of patience for the two of us.
Next we were biking to Yosemite National Park and through the
Sierra's, there is a gradual but very long climb which took us
three days over the Tioga Pass(3039m), after taking in the splendid
sights of the park. No bear sightings this time but we saw lots
of the more dangerous and not so endangered species (Homosapiens
and Automobilius)
Out of the park there was an absolutely fantastic adrenaline
pumping 8mile downhill where we were closing in on cars at speeds
of 89km/h. Crazy on fully loaded bikes with worn tires and a mere
$3.00 tube with 4 or 5 patches carrying our lives safely to the
bottom.
It's Rattlesnake country for now on….
Out of the forests and now in the dry seemingly dead desert.
(Hwy395) Past Death valley and into the Mojave Desert. Things
may appear dead but daily we hear the rattles at every toilet
stop here in the wide open valley, just you and nature… One
change from the original plan, as we avoided Death Valley due
to high's of 120f and possible shortages of water. Not to say
we avoided the heat as we have been forced to ride early morning's
and late evening's with an afternoon Siesta. Passes through the
US military bases without a problem, only startled once with a
F16 fighter plane crashing.
This dry heat and gloomy landscape has made for some long days
and mentally very trying for myself (Trent) yet Rob beats on(though
tired too) to the delight of his newly found country music. With
a lot of sad love songs we assume there must be a lot of lonely
cowboys out here.
August 2001
September 2001
October 2001
November 2001
December 2001
