Msg: 1
Date: 2000-05-13
Subject: Washington, DC

My son and I came from Pikeville, NC, to the International Youth Hostel in our
nation's capital today so I can join the cyclists in Odyssey 2000.  We are
scheduled to leave here on 5/18 to ride to Freeland, Md, the first leg of the
trip to Quebec.

You may not hear from me until the first day of riding.

Dave Porterfield

Msg: 2
Date: 2000-05-18
Subject: Hereford, MD

Today was my first day to ride in Odyssey 2000.  I didn't ride all the miles
between Washington, DC, and here but I did ride over half of them.  The 47.6
miles I rode made today's ride my longest this year.

We stayed at the International Youth Hostel in Washington.  From there we went
a few blocks east then turned north.  It didn't take long to get to Maryland.

The fine residential districts eventually gave way to farmland.  I saw no
cornfields.  Most fields seemed to be planted in grasses for making hay.

Not many of the downhills resulted in enough momentum to make it up the other
side.  There were lots of good, fast descents and just as many tedious climbs.

Road kills included raccoons, groundhogs, blacksnakes, butterflies, a gray
squirrel and unidentified remnants.  I saw no dead deer.

I finished the ride in a van.  That was hard on me because when I sit with no
opportunity to move my legs they stiffen and I'm unable to walk for a short
time.  It has been five months since I fractured my left acetabulum.  I don't
know how much longer the stiffness will continue.

Our campground is above the athletic field of Hereford Middle School.  Dinner
was served in the cafeteria.

Tomorrow we ride to Pennsylvania, which is not far north of where we are.

Msg: 3
Date: 2000-05-19
Subject: Ronks, Lancaster County, PA

Today's mileage for me was only 21.92.  Those who rode the entire route rode 63
miles.

The parts of Maryland and Pennsylvania where I rode were so hilly that my body
just wasn't ready for them.  It probably will take a lot more weight bearing
activity before I have recovered completely.  Bicycling is not a weight bearing
activity.  I had a little chance for weight bearing today by walking 0.26 mile
on hills.  Other hills where I chose not to walk when I couldn't climb any
further I handled differently.  I rode until I was too tired to pedal another
stroke, then waited a while and got back on the bike to pedal another 35 to 50
revolutions.  That was faster than walking.  One rider who walked those hills
kept getting further and further behind me.

Corn plants were about six inches high today.  Again there were lots of fields
of grasses.  A new sight was a vineyard on a hillside in Maryland.  It looked
much like vineyards in Germany.

My riding was cut short not only because I was running late and was tired, but
also because I had a visitor.  Pierre was moving bikes to make room on a rack
for mine so he could move me ahead to the checkpoint.  Just then Bekah
Mellinger showed up, so we put my bike in her minivan.  Bekah, mother of three
school-age children, and I met last summer while I was cycling between
Philadelphia and Washington after the Pedal Pennsylvania tour.  She had passed
me and when I got to the Mellinger driveway she brought me a quart of cold
Gatorade.  That was a welcome treat on a day when I drank 150 ounces of water.

Odyssey 2000 has a reputation of attracting rain.  If you've read some of the
riders' web pages you know that there were 60 days in 2-1/2 months that they
had rain.  Today kept the reputation going.  One out of two days of this stage,
with rain promised for tomorrow, will keep that figure rising.
I'm looking forward to the day when I can ride all the day's miles.

Msg: 4
Date: 2000-05-20
Subject: Worcester, PA

April showers bring May flowers, and May is warm and dry, right?  Wrong!  Not
here.  It was cold and rainy all day.  I wore a fleece layer over a cycling
jersey and a rain jacket over the fleece.  After the checkpoint I added leg
warmers to cover bare legs from thighs to ankles.

At one point I decided that a hill was too much for me and dismounted.  As soon
as I started walking the combination of low temperature, soggy shoes and
continuing rain made me shiver uncontrollably.  In a few minutes a pickup truck
carrying two Odyssey 2000 riders and their bikes stopped.  The male cyclist
said that I was in worse shape than he and got out to ride.  The heated cab
felt good.  The driver took us to checkpoint, and I felt good enough after that
to ride to the finish point.

The driver of the pickup was raised as Amish and has many Amish beliefs.  His
parents and sisters are true Amish, but he modifies his practice by shaving,
not wearing the Amish style of clothes, not working on the farm and owning a
pickup truck.

Today there were many Amish buggies on the roads.

My mileage today was just over 50.  That included a visit to the memorial arch
and the visitor center at Valley Forge National Historic Park.  I had been
there last summer so I didn't spend much time there.

I find myself getting tired on hills and having to stop partway up.  After
resting I am able to get a fresh start most of the time.  The one hill I walked
made the difference between cycling and walking obvious.  Calf-muscles get a
better workout in walking.  I need some weight-bearing exercise so I may walk
at least one hill a day.

The weather pattern on TV looks like we'll continue to have wet, cool days for
a while.  I'll wear fleece under the rain jacket tomorrow.

Msg: 5
Date: 2000-05-21
Subject: Addendum for yesterday's message

Our campground is a Variety Club camp which is operated for underprivileged and
handicapped  kids from the Philadelphia area.  Not many cyclists pitched their
tents.  Most of us opted to sleep in a gym.

Msg: 6
Date: 2000-05-22
Subject: Cheesequake, NJ

The azaleas, irises and Dane's rockets bloom on time despite the cool
temperature and liquid sunshine.  Yes, we had rain again today.

One good thing about today was that thee was more level ground than on the past
three days.  There were hills, of course.  We dropped down to the Delaware
River, crossing to New Jersey on a narrow two-lane open deck bridge.  Bicycles
must be walked across the bridge.

As I was walking across the bridge a cyclist caught up to me and said that he
had ridden last year with a woman who was planning to ride Odyssey 2000.  He
had ridden Pedal Pennsylvania and didn't realize that I had also ridden that
tour.  Joan S., the woman he mentioned, probably will rejoin in New York.  She
has been off route since the group reached Washington.

Today I had my longest ride of the year.  I was quite tired when I finished the
77.45 miles.  There were times when I didn't think I would reach the
destination before dark, and there were times when a sort of pinch made me
think that hailing a sag would be a good idea.  Several vanloads of riders had
already been shuttled to T.G.I.Friday's for dinner when I reached our
campground at Cheesequake State Park.  I got into a van right away without
pitching my tent.  I set up my "bed" in the luggage tent.  My bed is a 3/4
length pad and a sleeping bag.

Msg: 7
Date: 2000-05-22
Subject: New York, NY

Today qualifies as a rain day but not for me.  The rain started after I had put
my bike in the storage room and checked in, after riding the 36.98 miles from
Cheesequake to Park View Hotel, across the street from the north end of Central
Park.  My Odyssey 2000 miles on the bike total 234.03 in five days.  I rode
239.83 miles in North Carolina this month.

Rooms in Park View Hotel are just big enough for two people in a double decker
bunk.  The bathroom next door has a tub with shower pipe but no showerhead.
The door, marked MEN and WOMEN, doesn't close unless you slam it hard.  However
if you slam it hard the only way to open it is for somebody outside to hit it
hard with a shoulder.  There is no switch for the single light.  It has a pull
string.  When you leave the room you don't want to lock the deadbolt with the
key from outside because it doesn't unlock with the key.  The latch locks
automatically, so it's not a good idea to leave the key inside when going out.
I'm not complaining.  This is better than sleeping in a tent in the rain.

There's a coin laundry across the street, so that's where I'll go when I finish
this.

When we got near the Goethals Bridge to Staten Island we loaded our bikes onto
and bodies into vans to avoid the high speed traffic.  That cut about three
miles from today's trip.

From the bridge we cycled to the Staten Island Ferry for a 30-minute ride to
Manhattan.  The ferry trip gave a good view of the Statue of Liberty and the
cloud-topped skyscrapers on Manhattan.

The ride to the hotel was a new experience.  A bike lane was on the left side
of a big portion of Eighth Avenue.  Despite a sign in every block noting that
the bike lane is for bicycles only it served as a double-parking lane
for taxis, limousines, electricians, plumbers, air conditioning servicemen and a
few unmarked cars.  "DON'T WALK" seems to mean "JUMP OUT IN FRONT OF A
BICYCLE".  New Yorkers on bicycles run red lights, entering intersections
diagonally.  They also ride the wrong way on one way streets and don't wear
helmets.  After the bike lane disappeared we still had a long way to go on
Eighth Avenue and then had to work our way over to the right lane at a traffic
circle because the street became a two-way street beyond the circle.  I guess
motorists are used to cyclists's actions because they didn't threaten us.  I was
riding with only one other person.  If we had all arrived at the same time we
could have ruled a lane.  There was a hint that we might have a police escort,
but the timing wasn't right for that.  I hope we have an escort when we leave
Thursday.

Msg: 8
Date: 2000-05-23
Subject: New York, NY, layover day

There are millions of things to see and do here, but I'm sort out of it.  Even
though I grew up in Pittsburgh when it was the tenth largest city in USA, I'm
not fond of cities.  In addition, it's still uncomfortable for me to walk.

After breakfast I spent a couple of hours at the laundromat.

If I can drag myself out of bed early enough tomorrow morning to meet a group
at 5:00 o'clock I'll go with them to center city for the Good Morning, America
show.  If you can't watch you may want to tape the Yellowheads.

The ATM in a store this morning had a limit of $80 and a $2 charge.  If I have
to pay $2 to get money I want to get more than $80.  Paying 2.5% to get my own
money is too much.

Most of the Odyssey 2000 riders are enjoying New York City.  I'm happy to have
a day off to give me time to do more than one set of sports medicine therapy
exercises and to wash clothes.  The things I'm doing can be done in any place
where there's a laundry and space for exercising.  If I could walk fast with no
aches or pains I might have a different attitude toward the big city.

Msg: 9
Date: 2000-05-23
Subject: Today Show also

It seems that the group will be split between Good Morning, America and The
Today Show, so you'll be able to see yellow helmets on either one tomorrow
morning.  This is late breaking news and might be too late for you.

This afternoon I walked to 120th Street then west several blocks and back to
110th Street.  There are many grocery stores in Harlem.  Until I realized how
many of the buildings are high rise apartments I wondered how so many groceries
could survive.

There are also many laundromats, restaurants and hair salons.  Restaurants are
usually no more than one block apart.  Laundromats are about two blocks apart.

The east-west streets have row houses rather than high rise apartments.
Several in every block have no windows and have been gutted.  Some of those are
being renovated inside and maybe the others are awaiting renovation.  The
outsides don't seem to be in disrepair.

Not one bank was on the streets where I walked.  A bike shop worker said that I
would have had to walk over another block to get to a bank.

Lots of residents sit in chairs on the sidewalks in front of their houses.
Many others stand around in groups.  There is some litter on the streets, but
not much.

Not many people looked me in the eye.  When someone did I always said "Hi" and
they responded.  I'm obviously an outsider.  I seldom saw a Caucasian.

Harlem's bicyclists are a different breed.  All the ones I saw today wore
helmets and obeyed traffic lights.  It almost seemed like they had never been
south of Central Park to learn to ride like New Yorkers.

As I get ready to send this the rain has started.

Msg: 10
Date: 2000-05-24
Subject: New York, NY, layover day

Today started very early with a subway ride to Rockefeller Center to see the
outdoors portion of The Today Show on NBC television.  Another group went to
Good Morning, America, at the same time.

After walking several blocks from the subway we were at the outdoor studio at
6:00 a.m.  Temperature was 63 degrees but the wind whipping through the city
canyon made it feel like the 40's.

Nobody from our group was interviewed on camera but we were included in the
fleeting shots when a camera panned the crowd.  We may also have been in the
background during parts of the filming of a talk about travel toys.

Standing for over three hours made my ankles and feet swell.  I guess the
capillaries haven't finished the healing process.  I was in no condition to
walk around the downtown area, so I returned to Harlem, ate a late breakfast
and returned to the hotel for a nap and one set of sports medicine therapy
exercises.  After I repack my duffel I hope to find time for more sets of
exercises.  I took time to install a kickstand on my bike.  More people return
to the trip every day, so there won't be enough trees to lean bikes against in
campgrounds.

We leave New York tomorrow.  It will be a long day with the destination of
Berryville, NY.

Saturday will be our last full day in USA until December.  After that these
messages will come by international long distance instead of the toll-free
service for PocketMail in USA.  There will be times when they accumulate
because there's no chance to get to a telephone.  There will be long lines at
telephones.  Response time to questions may also be delayed.

I may be the only member of Odyssey 2000 who has negative feelings about New
York City.  My physical limitations have kept me from going to a museum or
concert hall or theater.  When I sit it's difficult to walk when I get up, and
when I stand or walk my ankles and feet swell.  Riding the bike and lying down
are my most comfortable activities.

The sun shone today and the temperature was quite high.  That probably won't
happen tomorrow when we hit the road.

Msg: 11
Date: 2000-05-25
Subject: Barryville, NY

We left New York via city streets and the George Washington Bridge to New
Jersey.

Kittatinny Campground is 101 miles from Park View Hotel, but my bike computer
shows only 53.49 miles.  I walked parts of many hills in the morning before
being picked up by a van and taken to the midday checkpoint.  I had ridden
about 33 of the 62 miles to that point.

In the afternoon I walked up more hills then walked about four miles when my
chain broke.  The sag was pretty late because there were so many to pick up.  A
huge plateful of pasta was saved for each of us but the salad was gone.

Most abundant roadside plant today was poison ivy.

This has to be short because it is so late.

Msg: 12
Date: 2000-05-26
Subject: Otego, NY

Yesterday's van ride up the Delaware National Scenic River was spectacular,
almost rivaling Amalfi Drive in Italy.  The twists in the road weren't as sharp
as the Italian ones and the was a little more space between the pavement and
the cliffs.  I didn't share Amalfi Drive with the Odyssey 2000 cyclists, but
their descriptions brought back the memory of a tour coach ride on that road
in 1952 when I spent time in Naples.

I'm starting this message while riding in a van.  This morning I replaced the
SPD cleats on my shoes because the cleats I've had on those shoes for about
three years were worn and wouldn't release easily.  When a pannier fell off
yesterday afternoon the right cleat wouldn't release and I gently flipped the
bike.  Arnica montana, a BandAid and, later, a shower to wash off the dried
blood took care of the road rash.

The new cleats don't work.  That means that there's no power on the upstroke
and the shoes can move around on the pedals.

Most of the sky has 100% cloud cover but an open spot has been letting the sun
shine through for a while.  We've been passing lots of O2K cyclists.  A Mobil
station had a sign, "WELCOME ODYSSEY 2000".

When we get to checkpoint I hope a mechanic can make my cleats work.  I've
biked only a little over ten miles.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Checkpoint was at The Famous Roscoe Diner.  I had never heard of it.  It
doesn't look like a diner.  Food was good.

The mechanic looked at my cleats and said I shouldn't put them on so early in
the morning.  I had them turned the wrong way.

The Catskill Mountains were too much for me.  I walked up one mountain and rode
down the other side.  My top speed on the descent was 34.5 mph.  Total mileage
for me today was only 27.45.  Twice I rode in vans to avoid the other mountains
and get in before dinner is over.

We're camping at an elementary school.  I opted to "camp" in the gym because
the sky looks like it may rain.  Some tents are set up in the field but lots of
sleeping pads and sleeping bags are in the gym.

Msg: 13
Date: 2000-05-28
Subject: Otego to Verona, NY

Breakfast workers at Otego Elementary School were the junior high school honor
society students.  They did a wonderful job.

Small world department:  The man wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers sweatshirt said
that he had lived north of Pittsburgh.  He had moved from Scott Ridge Road,
Lancaster Township, about 20 years ago.  He's David White, who became an Eagle
Scout in Troop 360, Middle Lancaster.  Carl Miller, one of his neighbors, was
his Scoutmaster.

More small world stuff:  Sean McDonough from Annapolis, MD, has rejoined
Odyssey 2000.  He had things to do during the first days in USA.  His father
and I were classmates from kindergarten through high school.

The day was another tour of mountains, and I got my share of weight bearing
exercise walking uphill.  My riding mileage was about the same as yesterday:  a
little over 27 miles.  When I was advanced by van to checkpoint my bike was on
the rack before two others, so I just stayed in the van to the campground.

Where I stopped to eat an apple and my last Clif bar there were twelve wild
strawberry blossoms.  Birds or other animals will probably have a small feast
there next month.

I stopped for lunch at Edmeston. The small sub was 8" long.  Next door to the
grocery-deli was an ice cream store.  My cone was peanut butter frozen yogurt
with pieces of chocolate all through it.  The sag van came just as I was
finishing the cone.

We are camped at a KOA.  The phones are signed "Out of order".  I want to take
a picture of one which has a sign next to it bragging about the quality AT&T
long distance service.  I'll look for a phone tomorrow.

This is our last night in USA until December when we get to Hawaii.  We sleep
in Ontario, Canada, tomorrow night.

I'm looking forward to the day when I can ride the whole ride day after day.
Getting out of the mountains should help.

Msg: 14
Date: 2000-05-29
Subject: Verona, NY, to Ivy Lea (Lansdowne), ON, Canada

Most of the hills I rode today were tolerable.  Some were very long but not
steep.  As a result I cycled almost as many miles today (a little over 54) as I
rode in the past two days.  There were two hills that I walked.  I tell myself
that I need weight-bearing exercise, which is true.

I saw a Great Blue Heron and heard lots of warblers, including the elusive
Yellow Throat.  We rode on a bridge over the Erie Canal.  The towpath has been
made into a multi-use path.

I was about 20 miles from the end of today's ride when the sags were ordered to
bring in anybody who hadn't reached the turn-off to the bridge.  I had also
been sagged in the morning, so my ride was not much more than half of the miles
possible.

Mid-afternoon snack was a three-scoop cone of peach and raspberry-chocolate
frozen yogurt.  I hope there were live cultures in it because the KOA water
from yesterday probably killed all the good bacteria in my body.  The water
tasted like it came from a swimming pool.

Msg: 15
Date: 2000-05-29
Subject: Lansdowne to Ottawa, ON

We didn't stay by the St. Lawrence River long.  Ivy Lea KOA is at the 1000
Islands area.  Many of the islands have houses on them; i.e., one house apiece.

The aroma of lilacs was the most notable thing about today's ride.  There were
lilacs in bloom in New York State, but Ontario has many more.  The wind blowing
toward us most of the day had the sweet scent of lilac on it almost all day.

We had headwinds and crosswinds but no tailwinds today.  The windsock at a
grass airstrip showed that we were experiencing a direct headwind.  We were
pointed toward all the points of the compass from east through north to west
and had headwinds from almost all of those directions.  Once in a while a line
of trees protected us.

I rode 64.46 of today's 100.6 miles.  At times I felt really strong.  That may
have been the result of eating two scoops of Breyer's ice cream after a
sandwich and small can of V-8.

I was sagged to checkpoint after riding only 19.5 miles.  Checkpoint was in
Merrickville at mile 55.6.

Merrickville was established ten years before Canada.  It has a canal that
bypasses rapids of the Rideau River.  The highway bridge over the canal is a
swing bridge.

Today I walked parts of two hills.  The last one was shortly before the turn
toward Carleton University, where we will spend two nights in a dorm with two
people to a room.  There's a laundry in the basement.

Dinner tonight was the typical college/university dining hall offering with
many choices.  A group of junior school students is on campus.  One boy ate at
least four desserts.  I took two small squares of chocolate cake because last
night's caterers didn't bring enough and ran out of dessert before I ate.  I
also had ice cream, but an all-day cyclist considers ice cream to be a main
dish rather than a dessert.  And the peach cobbler was to make up for the one I
didn't get at Emily's Restaurant in Harlem, so that didn't count as today's
dessert.  The heavenly hash was on the salad bar, so even though it was loaded
with marshmallows it didn't count as dessert.  It doesn't look like I'll lose
weight this year.

There was one stretch of road this morning that was really bad.  The DRG (Daily
Route Guide) advised us to watch for 5.3 miles of dirt road after the village
of Outlet.  The construction started before Outlet and lasted for about three
miles.  The asphalt paving had been removed, exposing rock-strewn dirt.  The
bouncing of the bike jolted my bones.  It was as close to being painful as I
want to be.  Trucks were spreading sand and sprinkling it with water and a
grader was smoothing out the sand.  Fortunately most of that part of the work
was happening on the southbound side.  Our half had some wet and muddy spots,
but most was dry.

Except for the wind this was a good riding day.  I started out with shorts,
jersey, fleece vest, rainjacket and long-fingered gloves.  It didn't take long
for me to peel off the top two layers and switch to fingerless gloves.

Msg: 16
Date: 2000-05-30
Subject: Ottawa, ON

This morning I rode the 4+ miles to center city because when I sit on a bus
it's so difficult to stand and walk after the ride.  When I went into a
restaurant for lunch I locked my bike to a bike rack.  When I returned all that
was there were the helmet and cable lock.

Missing:  bicycle, bike computer, handlebar bag with waterproof camera and mini
tape recorder, left rear pannier with fluorescent green windbreaker jacket,
arnica montana, 99 BandAids, 3 energy bars, finger gloves, fingerless gloves.
The bike also had a new rear cassette with better gearing than the original and
Travel Agents to improve braking.

Two other Odyssey 2000 bikes were stolen today.

Dick Ryan told me that his doctor doesn't want him to ride tomorrow and
possibly two additional days and offered to let me ride his tomorrow.

The Odyssey 2000 bike costs $1300.  I may opt to buy a less expensive bike in a
bike shop.  I don't like the idea of paying that much for a replacement bike.

This morning the Ceremonial Guard band rehearsed in the building where our dorm
is.

I hope there's nothing else bad is going to happen on this trip.

Msg: 17
Date: 2000-06-01
Subject: Ottawa, ON, to Parc Voyageur Provincial Park, Chute-a-Blondeau (Hawkesbury), ON, Canada

This morning Dick Ryan let me ride his bike because his physician told him not
to ride.  The relatively flat and slightly rolling roads, coupled with a
tailwind part of the way, made this my longest ride of the year.  Distance was
86.6 miles, bringing my total Odyssey 2000 mileage to 547.27.

Except for the river, there was nothing particularly notable in today's
landscape.  Dairy farms, cattail swamps, forests and scattered houses filled
the spaces between towns.  We followed the Ottawa River for much of the day.
It's one of the widest rivers I've ever seen.  It's not wild.  At first glance
it looks like a lake.

Maybe I was still so distracted about the stolen bike to pay much attention to
what there was to see.  Some of the roads were rough, but most were good.  The
rough ones caused a little pain, but it wasn't bad enough to hail a sag.  This
was only the third day that I rode all the miles.

Msg: 18
Date: 2000-06-01
Subject: Chute-a-Blondeau, ON, to Montreal, PQ, CANADA

Today was a hot, sunny day.  It wasn't so hot that perspiration ran down from
the forehead into the eyes, but the heat came early and stayed.  I can see a
sunburn line on each thigh.

Again I rode Dick Ryan's bike.  He won't know until tomorrow afternoon whether
or not he'll be riding on Saturday.  Tomorrow is a layover day in Montreal,
giving me a chance to buy a new camera and possibly some other replacement
things.  I won't take a borrowed bike to town.  I have to get to a post office
to mail a check to the Ottawa police to get a copy of their report for
insurance purposes.  The report probably won't reach me until we get to London
on 17 June.

As a group of us rode along one of Montreal's streets on our way to McGill
University a local cyclist caught up and rode beside me for a while.  Shortly
after he had mentioned that Montreal is biker-friendly a motorist cut in front
of him to make a right turn, nearly causing us to crash.  The others I was with
made the next green light but I missed  it and had to start following the DRG
instead of following the group.

Corn hasn't been planted in this area.  The only growing crops seem to be
grasses and grains.  There weren't as many lilacs as there were yesterday.  At
least the mosquitoes didn't follow us out of the park.  They feasted on me
while I sent and received PocketMail in the park.

Somebody gave a leftover breakfast croissant to a squirrel outside the dorm.
Dan Oshop got a couple of photos of it with the camera he had just bought.  I
don't know if he posts pictures on his website.

We have single rooms in the dorm and will eat in the university cafeteria
across the street.  I have just enough time to shower before dinner.

Msg: 19
Date: 2000-06-05
Subject: Layover day, Quebec, PQ

There was a bike shop within a mile of the university so I walked over there
and finished my shopping for what will be my new bike when we get to Paris.  At
Bicycles Record, Inc., I bought a Specialized Body Geometry saddle, a set of SPD
pedals, a chainstay guard, a pair of gloves (on sale) and a couple of bungees.

I decided that a bus ride to the old city would be the thing to do, but
neglected to tell the bus driver where I wanted to go.  I didn't see anything
that looked like an old city and kept riding to the end of the line.  I had
enough time to get back to the university for dinner.  While I was eating I
felt something hard in the food and found that a tooth had chipped.  Now I need
to see a dentist in the morning.  There is a dental school on campus.

People who got to the old city said that the Hotel Frontenac is fabulous.  I've
seen pictures of it.

We leave tomorrow at 3:00 pm (1500) for the airport to get the flight to Paris.
Please remember that if you want to send me e-mail from now on the limit for a
message is 4000 characters and I will be paying international telephone rates
to get your message.  That's OK if it's important, and not many people have
been writing.  We won't have toll-free PocketMail until we get to Hawaii in
December.  I'll plan to check about half an hour before departure time tomorrow
to get incoming mail.

Except for the stolen bike, this trip is just what I expected it to be.  It is
a bit more difficult for me than it would be if I hadn't lost strength, but
there have been times when I have charged hills successfully and made pretty
good time riding.  Some days I get a bit tired, and Dennis's saddle nearly
ruined me.  Hopefully the new saddle will fit my "sit bones" better and I'll
ride like the wind on my new bike in France.

Paris and the Loire Valley:  you are about to be invaded by "yellowheads"! 
Fifty-six years ago tomorrow is the anniversary of the Normandy invasion. 
That's pretty good timing.

Msg: 20
Date: 2000-06-06
Subject: Jean-Lesage International Airport, Quebec, PQ

We were shuttled here in vans instead of by bus.  We have plenty of time before
boarding time.  Takeoff time will be about an hour after boarding time.

After breakfast I called the School of Dental Medicine to make an appointment
to have the chipped tooth repaired.  Dr. Morand is an endodontist but said he
can still do repairs even though that's not what he usually does.  He did a good job.

Finding the dental faculty office building then going to the mall for lunch
didn't leave much time before the van trip to the airport.

Next message will come from France.  We won't have much time in Paris.  I'm
anxious to get a relacement bike and resume riding.

Msg: 21
Date: 2000-06-07
Subject: Paris, France

The flight took us through a few time zones putting us six hours ahead of EDT.
First in-flight movie was "Hurricane".  After that I must have dozed because I
didn't see the beginning of the second movie and pulled the earphone cord out of
the jack because I didn't know what was happening and didn't want to find out.

We flew at 39,000 feet for about 5 hours, 45 minutes in an Airbus 330, which
gave us plenty of room for people, bikes and luggage.  Retrieving baggage took
about an hour.

Going through customs was fast for most of us.  One woman, probably chosen
randomly, had to empty everything out of her bags.  After loading the buses we
had to wait a long time while drivers of the rented vans fueled their vehicles
and got back to the airport.  Rented vehicles have just enough fuel to get them
to the nearest gas station.  Those drivers had to follow the buses to be able to
find the hotel.  Bikes were also being moved from the plane onto a truck.

A frame was in a trailer here and my new bike is being assembled as I write this.
Despite not having had sleep for 28 hours, Jason, a mechanic from State College,
PA, is putting it together so I can ride tomorrow morning.  He started working
on it while I took a nap.

In Etap Hotel we sleep three to a room.  Only 45 rooms were immediately available
when we got in.  Those were assigned to people whose names begin with A to E.
That type of selection never seems to use first names.  Three to a room didn't
sound bad until I learned that there is one double bed with a bunk bed above it.
The rail on the bunk bed will keep me from falling on Dave and Mary Moulds, who
moved last year from Bridgeville, PA, to Florida.  The painted metal rungs on the
ladder are too slippery and too narrow to wear socks while climbing up or down and
will not be an easy way to travel in the dark.  I drink so much water during the
day that I get up several times every night.

The rooms are just a bit too small to fit our luggage into.  They are clean, and
ours doesn't smell of tobacco smoke.  The hotel is new.  Location is about 15
blocks east of the Seine River.  A Metro station is a block away.  Dinner will
be in a restaurant a couple of blocks in the other direction.

People who want to spend a full day in Paris can ride a bus tomorrow evening to the
campsite, but will pay $50 and get there too late for dinner.  I want to ride my
new bike.  I hope to reset my internal clock tonight and adjust to the new schedule.
A day in Paris wouldn't be enough to see the insides of museums and cathedrals.
I've seen the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe Etoile and the outside of Cathedral of
Notre Dame.

Msg: 22
Date: 2000-06-08
Subject: Paris to Jargeau (Orleans), France

My new bike was partially assembled yesterday before Jason had to quit because of
fatigue.  He had been awake for 28 hours when I talked to him.  He had flown into
Quebec just a couple of hours bfore we left for Paris.

This morning I have to ride in a van to Checkpoint to get the bike.  The mechanics
will work on it there.  The only problem with that idea is that the keys to most of
the vans were misplaced last night.  I have a ride in a van but don't know when
we'll get to Checkpoint because it's the sweep van.  That means we play leapfrog
with the last few riders to make sure nobody needs a ride.

I got to Checkpoint at 1630 but didn't realize it was so late.  I had my saddle,
computer, bell, taillight, kickstand and computer with me, but the pedals were on
the bike.  Jason installed the saddle, computer and taillight and took a test ride.
When I left Checkpoint, with over 90 kilometers to go to the campground, it was 1700.
I had ridden 67.17 Km by the time Jeff picked me up in a van to take me to the
campground.  I was glad there was still food available because it had been a long
time since we had stopped for lunch in Versailles.

Getting used to the new bike will take some time.  It won't shift onto the small
chainring under pressure, so I must remember to downshift before I need to.  The
handlebar became loose and will need to be tightened before I ride tomorrow.  The
saddle should conform to my shape soon, but it hurt a bit today.  It wasn't as bad
as Dennis's was the other day.

Where Jeff met me there was a church complex that looked like it was built in medieval
times.  I took a couple of photos but didn't record the name.

The Loire River is much wider than I expected it to be.  I hadn't thought about
mosquitoes.  We left a lot of mosquitoes behind in Canada, but there are plenty here.
Soil at the campground is sandy, making it easy to set the stakes for the tent.  I was
glad of that because, at 2200, it was almost dark when I started to pitch the tent.

The campground was exceptionally quiet when I got in.  I was told that one rider had
been notified that her son had been killed in an automobile accident today.  That was
sad news for what has become a close-knit community.

Msg: 23
Date: 2000-06-09
Subject: Jargeau to Montlouis Sur Loire (Yours), France

It's raining.  I was still riding when it started.  Today I rode the whole
distance - a little over 144 kilometers.

High point of the day was the chateau at Thoury.  I didn't take time to go
inside but did walk some of the grounds.

Major roadside flower was the poppy, with thousands in view at times.  Another
common one was chicory.

Several times I tried to send e-mail and was able to reach the PocketMail computer,
but the phones weren't compatible with the computer.

We had a beautiful ride most of the day.  We rode atop a levee where we could see
the river most of the time.  Rich alluvial soil is farmed with food crops for humans
rather than animal feed.  Huge fields of beans had good sized plants.  Corn wasn't very tall.

Every village could first be seen by its church steeple poking above the horizon.

It's morning again and the phone at the campground gives the same result:
"Your device was not detected properly.  Please dial in again or use another phone."

It's still the same 30 kilometers down the road.

Msg: 24
Date: 2000-06-10
Subject: Montlouis-sur-Loire to Chalonnes-sur-Loire (Angers), France

The first sound in the morning is the zipping of tents.  The mournful sound of
the Mourning Dove follows.

My distance today was 135.69 kilometers.  Twice I missed turns.  The first time
there were about half a dozen of us who couldn't find a sign pointing the right
way.  The second time I was alone and realized after a while that "no services"
didn't describe where I was.  After showing several people the DRG and getting
negative responses I showed it to a man who spoke some English.  He pointed me
in the right direction. I had just passed the place where I should have turned
when Pierre came along in a van and called out to me.  I turned around and followed
him and sagged to camp.  I had been about 17 kilometers from camp when Pierre saw
me.  Distance today was supposed to be 140.5 Km, so I would have been almost
there if I hadn't missed turns.

I saw what looked like a Great Blue Heron today.  Later a bird with the markings
of a Mockingbird flew into the woods.  Still later I heard a Mockingbird,
confirming the sighting.  I also saw my first road-killed crow.  I thought crows
never got hit by cars.

Vegetable farming continued to be the main occupation, with green beans the main
crop until we reached the vineyards.  Three times I saw sheep and once there was
a herd of dairy cows.

Wine caves are big tourist attractions.  Palaces and castles also draw their share of tourists.

Some of the vineyards were fairly small.  Others stretched as far as the horizon.
Stems looked like small tree trunks.

I still haven't been able to get the phones to work with PocketMail.  Others have
been successful.  I tried one phone that Jason had used a couple of minutes before
and got the non-detection message.  Messages are accumulating and the order may be mixed up.

Msg: 25
Date: 2000-06-11
Subject: Chalonnes-sur-Loire to Saint-Aubin du Cormier, France

Once again the distance was too long for me.  I rode 131 kilometers.  The DRG
showed 155.1.  We were in hillier country, away from the river.  It was still
predominately farming country, but there are more animals than there were
along the river.  Beef cattle, dairy cows, sheep and pigs were today's livestock.

I walked on only one hill.  Many of the hills were long but not steep.  There were
even some rolling hills where I could get almost to the top on momentum.

One hundred percent cloud cover until mid-afternoon was the same as yesterday.
A few drops of rain fell.

Al Young (Biker Al) was injured today and won't be riding for the next three months.

I lost the filling in tooth #23 today.  In Quebec I lost the filling in #22 and had
it repaired at Laval University.

I'm still accumulating messages.  Other people have been sending theirs, but the phone
system I'm using doesn't let the PocketMail device communicate with the computer.

Msg: 26
Date: 2000-06-12
Subject: Saint-Aubin du Cormier to Le Mont-St. Michel, France

Another day started with 100% cloud cover.  This one had a mist in the air which made
me wish I had eyeglass wipers.  There were hills, on one of which I walked the last
200 meters.

We're camped not far from Le Mont-St. Michel.  When the tide comes in it's on an island.
I rode out there and took pictures of it.  I had taken one from far away where we could
see it from a hilltop.

Pizza for lunch was strange.  The crust is thin and goes only about halfway to the
center.  It's not something you would want to pick up to eat.

The campground has level grassy sites separated by hedges.  We put two to four tents in a space.

The distance today was short compared with other Odyssey 2000 days, allowing time to get
close to the castle.  Many riders went inside.  I'm still not ready to walk around in
museums and other buildings.

My distance, including a few kilometers to and from Le Mont, was 57.33 kilometers,
bringing my total in France so far to 535.62 Km.

This morning EDT (1230 or so French time) I talked with my son, Sean.  He tried a
three-way phone call to connect to PocketMail but, like my connection with French
phones, my device was not detected.  Fred Sheppard, aka Freddy Merckx, called with
his phone card and was able to send the messages I had piled up in my outbox and
to receive several.  The connection with Sean was so good that I wonder why
PocketMail hadn't worked from the same phone with the same method (Delta Three).
The Aquila callback service requires that I give a phone number for the return
call.  French pay phones don't have a number on them.  Maybe I'll be able to send
daily in Great Britain.

A French couple talked with Gerry and me while Freddy was on the phone across the
street.  They said that General Patton had come through their town in his push
toward Germany in 1944.  The street where we were talking is Rue de Gen. Patton.
We were not far from an American cemetery from that year.  Tomorrow we should see
the American cemetery and Omaha Beach, one of five beaches on the Normandy coast
where German-occupied France was invaded on 6 June 1944.

Time is 2030 (1430 EDT) and it looks like the sun will be above the horizon for at
least 90 more minutes.  My hand-washed clothes aren't dry and probably won't be
before the sun sets.

It's getting cool, which means I'll start tomorrow with long-fingered gloves and a jacket.

Msg: 27
Date: 2000-06-13
Subject: Le Mont-St. Michel to St. Aubin-sur-Mer, France

On this cloudy day I thought of the motto of Allegheny High School, Pittsburgh:
ONWARD AND UPWARD.  In Latin it was "Porsum et sursum".  That was how the morning
went.  There were descents, but mostly we climbed.  After 42 kilometers of riding
I was 2/10 of a kilometer from the top of a hill when I had to get off the bike
and walk.  I had made it up all the hills before that one.  Some were not steep
but were very long.  Just as I got back on my bike the van came along and I was
sagged to Checkpoint about 40 kilometers ahead.  From there I rode to Omaha Beach
at St. Laurent-sur-Mer.

Omaha Beach was probably the worst of the five beaches used on 6/6/44 for the
Normandy invasion.  The slope is so gradual that there's a long distance from
the waterline to the steep hillside.

A monument dedicated to the United States Army National Guard (ANG) was built
atop a German pillbox.  The ANG fought in Europe in World War I and World War II.

From Checkpoint to Omaha Beach was a pleasant ride.  I was sagged from near Omaha
Beach to the campground.  Those who rode said that I missed the best part of the
ride.  It was flat and there was a tailwind.  However I would not have been in
in time for dinner.

Total distance for me today was 96.07 Km or 59.64 miles.  The DRG showed 170.1 Km
but those who rode the distance said it was 195 Km.

I saw a sign pointing to the German cemetery but none pointing to the American
cemetery.  There is one nearby.

Many of the names of towns were familiar because they were mentioned in news
briefings in 1944.  The campground is near Juno Beach.

A couple from England mentioned that their spring has been wetter and cooler than
usual.  People who have been with Odyssey 2000 since the beginning said that almost
everywhere they've been they were told that the weather was not typical.

Msg: 28
Date: 2000-06-14
Subject: St. Aubin-sur-Mer to Fecamp, France

The gear trucks could not have gotten up to the campground, so we are divided like
Gaul into three parts and are staying in hotels.  I share room 211 in Hotel Normandy
with Al, who probably was the last person in because he stops to take lots of pictures.

This is not like our hotel in Paris.  We have separate beds and no bunk bed.  Each room
has its own bathroom, same as in Paris.  I had expected shared facilities like we had
in the hostel in Washington and the hotel in New York.

Fecamp (there's an acute accent on the "e") is on the Normandy coast.  The English
Channel is too wide to see England.

Today was another "onward and upward" day.  I walked part of one hill.  Like many
others, I got one fourth of the way up a 200 meter hill.  If you have ever looked
at the street across from the north end of the 31st Street Bridge in Pittsburgh
you can visualize how steep that hill was.  Most other hills today were not steep
but were long.  At least one was over 3 kilometers long with switchback after
switchback.  It was a challenging ride.

At one point I read the name of the town we were to head toward but saw that name
on a sign for route D80 rather than D10.  Thinking it was a typographical error
I headed for that town.  When I got there I saw that there was no road leading to
our next town, so I asked a couple how to get to the next town.  I had to retrace
5 kilometers because there was no direct route.  Fortunately I was on a ridge and
could zoom on the flat road.  I got to see the fields of snow peas and wheat a
second time.

I classify today as one of my better days.  I climbed all the hills except that one
short, steep one.  I rode the distance except for about 10 kilometers.  I was picked
up just after I had climbed 2+ kilometers so I could get to dinner on time.  My total
distance today was 140.52 kilometers.

There's a bike lane on the Pont du Normandie (Normandy Bridge) over the Seine River.
It was over 3 kilometers across the bridge, with a fairly steep climb the first half.
Big trucks roared by in the lane next to the bike lane.

Typically it was cloudy all morning and sunny in the afternoon.  Although the sun was
still high I needed to put my jacket back on about 5 kilometers before I was sagged.
It was a good day.

Msg: 29
Date: 2000-06-15
Subject: Fecamp to Drancourt (St. Valery sur Mer), France

Today's distance on the DRG was shown as 124.1 kilometers.  My bike computer has a
negative error of almost 2%.  It showed 134.81 kilometers.  Yes, I rode all day
without sagging, except for walking a total of 0.45 kilometer on two hills.  There
were so many major climbs that I lost track of them.

The white cliffs of France come to the high tide line, so it's not possible to
build level roads everywhere along the coast.  We earned lots of descents to get
us to the villages and cities on the coast.

When I looked at the cliff on the way to breakfast only about half its height was
visible.  Fog or mist or a cloud covered the top half.  A mist was in the air at
sea level.  In the morning we had no views of the land below us after we reached
the level of the bottom of the cloud.  Late in the morning it was no longer necessary
to wipe the moisture off the eyeglasses.

Some of the climbs were as long as three kilometers with many switchbacks.  I'm glad
I was strong enough to make it up.  The downhill rewards and, after the air cleared,
the views from the summits made the climbs worthwhile.

There were more fields of snow peas today as well as wheat, corn, green beans and
unidentifiable crops.

A tent pole broke this evening.  I don't know how easily I can get a replacement.
I'll try a duck tape repair tomorrow.  (I don't know how duct tape got to be called
duck tape.)

The overcast sky is making it darker than usual this evening.  Daylight lasts until
after 2200 most days.  I just looked at the time.  It's 2213, so I guess it's time
to start getting dark.

Being one of the last riders in has a disadvantage.  People in the front of the dinner
line had a wider selection of food than people at the end of the line.  Eventually
more tomatoes, carrots and lettuce were brought into the room, so I did get some
vegetables, but I saw apricots and cake at some place settings, but those things
were gone.  I observed some people taking more than one serving of things that were
gone by the time I got there.  The satisfaction of doing an entire challenging ride
compensated for that shortcoming.  I didn't go hungry and had enough vegetables to
satisfy me.  Plain yogurt wasn't a big hit with some people, so I was able to get a
double ration of that from a huge bowlful.

Msg: 30
Date: 2000-06-16
Subject: Drancourt, France, to Martin Mill (Dover), England

Most of today the sky was overcast but there was no rain or mist.  In the morning
the roads were relatively flat, but three killer hills were there in the afternoon.
After I had walked part of one and had started to walk partway up the second one
Jeff came along and took me and others to the Hoverport.  He also took us to camp
after the flight across the English Channel.

The hovercraft traveled at 59 knots, or about 58 miles per hour.  A rainbow traveled
with us in the spray.  It took 35 minutes to cross.

My distance before I was picked up was 111.16 kilometers, equal to 69.03 miles.
Total distance in France was 1018.18 kilometers or 632.29 miles.

France impressed me most with its intense farming of food crops for humans.  There
were plenty of dairy and beef cows and sheep, but most of the land seemed to be
devoted to wheat, corn, beans and peas.

There are museums everywhere and ancient structures from the days of the Roman
Empire as well as medieval times.  Tourists seem to gravitate to the coastal towns,
especially the larger ones.

In general motorists gave us plenty of room, although a few came closer than necessary.

Because there are places where the cliffs come down to the sea there were many hills
to climb.  That made many downhills, of course.  My maximum speed was 54 kilometers
per hour, which is less than my maximum of 39 miles per hour on 5/19 in Pennsylvania.

Worst road surface today was one that used stones about the size of #2 instead of
chips.  Going downhill I was pedaling as hard as I could and going only 15.5
kilometers per hour.  The difference in rolling resistance was really noticeable
when we got to smooth surfaces at the rotaries.

There was a monument at Cap Blanc-Nez today that looked like the Washington Monument.
It had a great view of the countryside.

The campground is beside a railroad which has frequent passenger trains.  There isn't
time in one night to regress to the time when I was used to trains going by.

Tomorrow I'll have to get used to riding on the left side of the road.  Riders who
have been to South Africa have already been trained for that.  We'll ride from here
to London tomorrow.

When I returned from dinner I found two items by my tent:  a repair sleeve for the
broken pole and a rearview mirror to replace the two that were stolen in Ottawa.

The trains have quit running for the night.

Msg: 31
Date: 2000-06-17
Subject: Martin Mill to London, England

It was a long day.  The DRG called for a short ferry ride across the Thames River.
I was riding with Hewes and Susan, who ride a Cannondale tandem, and saw a sign
saying that the ferry was closed.  People were coming off the last ferry of the
day.  We must have missed it by only a few minutes.

Hewes tried unsuccessfully to reach the emergency phones.  Camera Al showed up and
asked somebody about the foot tunnel which was shown on our map.  He learned that
there is one that's closer to where we were than the one shown on the map.  It,
too, was shown but was called a subway.  We had been there over an hour when we
went to the tunnel.  It had 127 stair steps down and 127 stair steps up.  That's
a lot of steps for bikes with panniers.

Al's panniers have a lot of photography equipment.  Hewes and Susan have two front
and one rear pannier on their big bike.  I carry emergency food, tools, rain
jacket, PocketMail device, camera, cable lock, spare tire and tubes.

We rode from the tunnel to the college in the dark with no headlights.  We had
flashing taillights and reflective piping and stripes.

DRG showed 76.9 miles today.  My mileage was 84.22.  Part of that was added when
I roamed the streets of Canterbury.

Today's countryside was similar to France's.  Added crops were mustard and what
may have been flax.  Fields of brilliant yellow mustard blossoms were next to
fields of blue blossoms which I assume to be flax.  In places poppies grew alongside
the roads, same as in France.

Pay phones in England don't do any better for me than they did in France.  The weak
signal is made even weaker by the shape of the handset, which keeps the PocketMail
mouthpiece away from the phone.  I hope I don't accumulate messages too long.  They
are dated but will not be sent in chronological order.

There were plenty of hills today, but I walked less than 1/10 of a mile on one hill.  

Riding on the left was a strange new experience for me.  The others had already
done that in South Africa.  A couple of times when I was making right turns I
turned onto the wrong side, but by the afternoon I was not making that mistake.

At Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, we are assigned single
rooms.  Mine is Room 16A on the fourth floor of Maynard House.  Pod 16 has five
rooms, each with a sink.  The pod had one room with a toilet; one room with a
tub/shower and a toilet; and one room with a kitchen, table and chairs and
ironing board.

Msg: 32
Date: 2000-06-20
Subject: London

This is our third full day in London.  On the first day I spent over two hours at the
launderette and most of the rest of the day sleeping.  The day before had been exhausting.

Yesterday I rode to town with Gerry, where we went to a bike shop then toured the
War Room Museum.  I started on a bus tour of London after the museum visit and was
able to ride the entire red route before it was time to go to dinner.

The War Room Museum is in the basement of a building under three feet of reinforced
concrete.  Much of it was left intact when it no longer was needed, and the rest has
been restored to its former condition.  All the clocks were stopped at 1658.  Maps
and diagrams were left in place.  Each visitor is handed a device which describes
each room just at the right pace.  It also has special spots for listening to
speeches and comments.  The whole story of the War Cabinet of Prime Minister Winston
Churchill is depicted and told.  It is a fascinating place to visit.

On the bus tour I sat on the open upper deck so I could get pictures.  The pictures
may not be so good because of the movement of the bus.  I had no chance to write down
the name of each building or scene so the only way to tell what they are is to know
that any photo taken om 19 June was taken from the tour bus.

Because the tour bus ticket was good for 24 hours and included a walking tour I went
back to town this morning and went on the walk.  The main feature of the walk was to
be the changing of the guard at Buckingham and St. James Palaces.  Rain arrived in
time to cancel the ceremony.  We saw the guards wearing ponchoes but the oncoming
and outgoing troops didn't meet.  After that I rode the tour bus on the blue route.
I got off at Baker Street so I could go to the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B.
Holmes was fictitious, but his fictitious residence and scenes from some of the
stories have been created for fans.  When I was young I read many Sherlock Holmes
novels, so I couldn't resist going there.  The two museums I visited are unique to
London.  Maybe I should have taken time to go to the world-famous wax museum
instead of eating lunch.  London has many museums, many of which are the same types
that can be found in any large city.

Mailing film was my only other requirement.  Rolls 4 and 5 are on their way to USA.

Tomorrow will be a difficult one after three days without riding.  The university
doesn't start breakfast until 0745.  It takes a long time to feed our big group.
Saturday's DRG told us that we have 93.8 miles of cycling with lots of congestion
for 30 or so miles and with some hills.  There will be slippery mud and rocks on
the smaller roads, particularly after steady or heavy rains.  Yesterday's tour
guide said that we will have thunderstorms tomorrow.

 
If you like big cities you'll want to add London and Paris to your list of
objectives.  My time in Paris this month doesn't qualify as a visit; I just wasn't
up to the chore of touring.

Msg: 33
Date: 2000-06-21
Subject: London to Winchester, England

As I expected, it was too long a ride today.  I quit at Checkpoint.  My ride was
only 51.01 miles, including to and from a bike shop and bank while I waited for
a van at Checkpoint.

Leaving the dormitory I did something I was once told not to do.  I followed two
riders.  I thought we had gone further than the first turn listed on the DRG.  That's
when I learned that they had signed off route and were headed for a railroad station.
I didn't go more than a block out of the way but had to ask several times how to get
to London Bridge.

The current London Bridge is an unimpressive structure.  On my trip west in December
I wasn't far from the original London Bridge at Lake Havasu but didn't take the side
trip because I wanted to ride as long as possible in California.

Today's hills were doable.  They were long but not steep.  On one a woman called out
to ask if there was a power shut-off.  She said no motorist would stop.  I don't know
why she didn't go in the house and check a light.  She had started her car and backed
up toward the gate but it wouldn't open.  She wanted to go to the school to pick up her
little girl.  She had no phone.  I asked at the next house then went back to tell her
that the power was off.

Further up the hill a woman was backing oout of her driveway.  I asked her if she was
going to the school to pick up a child.  She replied that I had just missed the woman
who was running that errand.  When I told her why I had asked she said that it was
hard to believe that somebody living in England in the 20th century didn't have a phone.

The first field I noticed was about 23 miles from the start.  There wasn't much
evidence of farming between London and Winchester.  There were some huge mustard
fields and I could see livestock on a distant hill.

The thunderstorms I anticipated didn't show up.  The temperature alternated between
warm and cool.  It was warm when I stopped for lunch but cool when I left the
restaurant.  The wind increased after that.

Those who rode the whole distance today said that it was over 100 miles.  I can
believe that because my computer showed that I had ridden over five miles more 
than the DRG showed.

Westminster was the first capital of England.  Its 901st mayor hosted our dinner.
She wore a red dress and a string of large golden medallions that rested on her
shoulders and hung halfway down her back and as far down the front.  The servers
wore black skirts and trousers, white shirts and black bow ties.  The diners were
not dressed formally, having ridden from London.

The campsite is on the city's cricket field.  The grass is as short as the greens
on a golf course.  The field is level and stakes go in easily.  We will have wet
tents in the morning becuse the sky is full of rain clouds.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
It's morning.  It rained off and on most of the night and early morning.

Msg: 34
Date: 2000-06-22
Subject: Winchester to Bath via Stonehenge, England

Summer Solstice was an important day for Stonehenge.  People go there to see the sun
line up with the stones.  One cyclist I met along the road had camped there and was
on his way home.  Because I was late I didn't take the tour.  There's a walking tour
with the same kind of device that was included with the War Rooms Museum tour.  One
yellowhead said that it was interesting but mostly conjecture.  Who can know the
thoughts of people who aren't here to confirm them?  There had to be a purpose.  It
was a great undertaking to move those huge stones around.

The cathedral at Winchester wasn't nearly as impressive as the one at Salisbury.  I
couldn't get a good view of the one at Salisbury because there were other buildings
in the way.  On a roundabout (rotary) where I got the best view it wasn't a good
idea to stop to take a picture.

I stopped 19 miles short of the end of today's ride.  I had been riding with Elbert,
our oldest cyclist, and we agreed that the rain and falling temperature were leading
to hypothermia.  We were standing at the corner of a road that was signed toward
Bromham, not realizing until a van went by that the next road signed toward Bromham
was the one where we were supposed to be.  We missed that ride and waited another
half hour for the next one.  There was plenty of food when we got in, and the rain
had stopped before we pitched our tents, so all ended well.

My mileage today was 68.48.  The only hill I walked in the morning was one where my
chain had come off the small chainring and I couldn't get started once I had put it
back on.  In the afternoon the only one I walked was one that Elbert couldn't make.
Each day there are more hills.  Many of the roads are too rough and full of surprises
like loose stones or mud for me to want to go downhill fast enough to have good
momentum for the next uphill.  One downhill that came after Elbert and I had stopped
was so steep and rough and slippery that some cyclists walked their bikes down.  It
looked steeper than the one that was marked as a 14% grade.  I'm surprised that there
weren't a lot of falls today.

I've been wondering if the British grow vegetables.  Most crop fields seem to be
growing food for livestock.  Today there have been dairy farms.  There was one potato
field.  Maybe they import their vegetables.  Perhaps vegetables are grown in other
parts of the country.

Tomorrow is a layover day in Bath.  It's reputed to be one of the most beautiful
cities in England.

Saturday we will have about 60 miles of "rolling terrain".  I don't expect it to
meet my definition of "rolling".  We will reach Wales, which has the highest
elevations in Great Britain.

Msg: 35
Date: 2000-06-23
Subject: Bath layover day, England

After I had brakes adjusted I walked up the public footpath to the bus stop and rode
to the center city for a walking tour.  I spent several hours in the Roman Bath.  That
doesn't mean I took a bath.  The water is green with algae and closed off from the
visitors.  It's a museum and has the same kind of hand-held tour guide that the War
Rooms Museum had.

The hot spring that feeds the baths was channeled by the Romans when their empire
extended beyond here.  They built huge baths with different temperatures. The lead
pipe for moving the water is still in use.

I also walked around the city looking at buildings.  One bridge didn't look like a
bridge until I had turned right and looked back.  It was lined with shops on both
sides.  A tour boat went under it.

Bath (pronounced "Bawth") is a quaint but large city.  Some of the rooftops looked
like Mary Poppins should have been on them.  That movie was filmed in London, where
I saw similar rooftops.

It was a good day.

Msg: 36
Date: 2000-06-24
Subject: Bath Upon Avon, England, to Cardiff, Wales

At Caravan Park the sun is shining and the temperature is comfortably warm after a day
of riding under a cloudy sky with a chilling wind.  I took my jacket off for a short
while when an opening appeared in the clouds, but it didn't stay off long.

The first climb this morning was a little over a mile long, even though the DRG
showed that was 0.6 mile.  Grade was as steep as 20%.  I rode the first 0.3 mile
and the last 0.25 mile.

Except for that steep uphill walk of 0.5 mile and another shorter hill that I had
to walk because my chain came off the chainring, I rode the whole distance today.
I registered 62.36 miles.

Farmland is mostly used for livestock production.  There were dairy cows, beef
cattle, sheep and goats.  Several times we saw people riding horses.

We went through or toward some places with unusual names in England today:  South
Gouchestershire, Pucklechurch, Coalpit Heath, Frampton Cotterell, Gaunts Earthcoat
and Ingst are real places.

Our longest bridge was Severn Bridge which has a separate bike path.  It connects
England and Wales.

Our most unusual bridge was Transporter Bridge, also called Aerial Ferry.  It is
one of seven in the world designed by French engineers.  It has been in operation
since 1918.  From a distance the superstructure looks like an elevated bridge, but
that's a track which works like a crane to move a ferry across the river.  It's
powered by two 35 horsepower motors.  Cars, people and bikes are loaded onto the
ferry, which is then moved across the river by the crane.  That was the first
bridge I've seen that moves from one shore to the other.

The campground is quiet, which means that there is a long line where we have
dinner at the National Sports Center for Wales.

Bob Batz will have an article about Odyssey 2000 (R) in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
on 2 July.  He has been writing about Dan Oshop since the tour began and is adding
me now that I have joined...

Msg: 37
Date: 2000-06-25
Subject: Cardiff to Builth-Wells, Wales

Those are not a bunch of white rocks on the hillsides in the distance; they're sheep.
Some of the sheep are free-ranging, which means they get onto the roads.  Most stay
in the pastures.

In one field there were dark brown and black sheep mixed in with the white ones, and
one was white with large brown spots, making it look like a small cow.

Mileage today was 54.87.  The DRG called for 61 miles, but the hills made my 54 miles
seem like more than 80.  I was glad when the sag came along because I had just started
to weave, a sure sign of fatigue.

Some grades today were 10%, 16%, 20% and 25%.  After a really long climb I clocked the
distance down the other side.  It was more than three miles of joyful drop with no need
to use the brakes until our turnoff appeared.

The hills are so steep that there were steps built for water.  I wanted to get a photo
of that but there was no opening good enough for that once I had ridden past my first
view.  There was too much traffic to return to the good view.

Riding through today's part of Wales was like riding through a tunnel or subway.  The
narrow roads were lined on both sides with hedges that were too tall to see over.
Sometimes the trees arched over the road.  One time it was like going from day to
night.  Many of our roads were single track with infrequent wide spots for passing.

We are camped at the Royal Welsh Showgrounds.  A caterer came in with dinner and
will be here for breakfast tomorrow.  Hamburger was served on a bap, which is a bun
bigger than any I've seen at Burger King, McDonald's or Wendy's.  The ketchup bottle
was a Heinz bottle but the ketchup wasn't Heinz.  I took an orange soda to the table
but returned it when I read the ingredients.  Number two ingredient was sugars, but
further down on the list were saccharin and aspartame.  I traded it for 7Up which
doesn't contain those two things.

Today was no exception to the rule that ice cream is required every day it can be
found.  I had a scoop of pistachio nut ice cream and a scoop of blackberry yogurt.

Msg: 38
Date: 2000-06-26
Subject: Builth-Wells, Wales, to Barmouth, Wales

This was a day of hills.  Most of them seemed to go up and never come down.  I walked
part of eleven climbs.  On one, which was 1.5 miles long, I rode the first 0.3 mile and
some at the end; between that the grade was 16% and I walked 0.64 mile of that.  There
were a few wonderful long hills as we headed toward the coast.  Some were steep enough
to be scary.  My bike computer registered the wrong maximum speed.  I'm sure it was
over 40 mph.

There was a glaciated gorge partway up one hill.  That was one that I rode, stopping
to see the gorge and a waterfall.  That was in Dylife.  Another thing in Dylife was a
sign telling, in English and Welsh, the story of John the Blacksmith.  In 1700 he
murdered his wife and children and tossed the bodies into a mine pit.  The bodies
were discovered and he was hanged.  His head was placed on a metal frame but
disappeared.  Two men found the frame and skull in the 1970's (I think), which
confirmed the story that had previously had no proof.  The frame and skull are in a
museum in Cardiff.

The ride today was listed as 72.1 miles.  I rode 57.95 miles, not counting three
miles to and from dinner when I didn't have the computer on the bike.  I rode the
sag to be sure I didn't miss dinner and could pitch my tent in daylight.

It was warm enough by 10:00 a.m. to take my jacket off.  The sun shone most of the day.

It continued to be sheep country with much open range.  Cattle guards are called
cattle grids, even they are for sheep.  The bars used to run in the direction of
travel but the sheep learned how to cross them so the direction was changed.  A
few sheep have learned how to cross the revised models.

There were also dairy cows and beef cattle in a few pastures.

This was a good day.  I wish I had ridden a little faster so that I could have
finished the ride along the coast.

Msg: 39
Date: 2000-06-27
Subject: Barmouth, Wales, to Dublin, Ireland

I'm starting this on the Stena Line ferry that will take 1-2/3 hours to go from
Holyhead, Wales, to Dublin.  I rode the sag about 14 miles because the vehicles
had to be at the ferry landing an hour before sailing and they didn't want
anybody to miss the ferry.

Some riders left at 0400 so they could ride the 1345 ferry.  I was on the road at
0716.  My mileage to this point was over 65, and we will be riding from the shore
to the Merville Hall dormitories at University College Dublin, where we will have
single rooms in pods of three with shared bathroom facilities.  One thing I will
want to do is dry my tent.  Another project will be washing clothes.

Some people whose land bridges cross set up toll booths or stand in the middle of
the road to collect tolls.  Motorists are willing to pay 5 pence or 30 pence to
save miles of driving around.  Bikes travel free.

My lunch today was lambburger.  I wonder if it was the one that had the word "EAT"
on it yesterday.  That word may have been a coincidence because letters stand for
vaccines that have been administered to the sheep.  I ate at a sidewalk table
across the street from Caernarfon Castle in the walled city of Gwynedd.

Today there were more dairy cows and beef cattle than there have been on other days
in Wales, but they were far outnumbered by sheep.

I walked parts of only three hills today.  Some of the climbs were much more gradual
than they were yesterday.  One, however, started up immediately after we crossed a
busy road and I rode only a few feet up the beginning of that one but was able to
ride the last part after the grade got easier.

I stopped to talk with some high school students who were waiting for a bus.  They go
to school all year with short vacations.  Their buses are coaches.

The wake behind this ship is so wide that it must have four screws.  I photographed
the wake through dirty glass.

It was 4.6 miles from the ferry slip to the dorms.  My mileage today was 71.84.  My
room number is 2013, a house number that our family had in Pittsburgh for many years.
People on the 1825 ferry got to the dorms after the dinner hour.  Our dinner was
pizza, baked potato and soda (pop).  That was the first time I had ever tasted apple
soda or red lemonade soda.  Neither tasted like its name indicated it would taste.

Msg: 40
Date: 2000-06-28
Subject: Dublin layover day

After a late breakfast I dried my tent, its fly and footprint (ground cloth).  Then
I decided to walk to the launderette, which was supposed to be a ten-minute walk away.
If I had known that it was a 25-minute walk I would have ridden my bike.  By the time
I got back from the laundry it was too late to get to the sightseeing bus.  It was 1630
and the dinner hour had been moved to 1700.  A sightseeing bus trip takes 90 minutes.

There was only one cashier working when I got to dinner.  After I had stood in line for
a while a second cashier went on duty.  She was to handle only Odyssey 2000 people.  I
was next in line for the first cashier by that time, but she told me I would have to go
to the other cashier.  When I asked the second cashier why she couldn't have put the mark
down while I was on the other side she said that she couldn't see what was on my tray.
Since we didn't pay, because TK&A had paid, I couldn't understand why she needed to
tally us.  We had already been checked into the room by name.  One rider went 49 pence
over the 7-pound limit and had to pay.  It was OK to be under the limit.

The ride into St. Petersburg, Russia, has been deleted from the itinerary.  Some riders
are planning a train ride from Helsinki, but I had to decline that offer.  A visa would
cost about $100 and the train fare plus three nights in the hotel would cost $400 to $500.

I'll go to bed early tonight.  Gear trucks will open at 0600 and breakfast starts at
0600 at a restaurant off campus.  I must remember not to wear my orange jacket.  I
don't know if the IRA would target people who wear orange but I won't take a chance.

Msg: 41
Date: 2000-06-29
Subject: Dublin to Athlone, Ireland

No sagging for me today.  The DRG showed today's distance as 87 miles.  I rode 95.37
miles.  I disobeyed the unwritten rule that says never to follow a yellowhead or a
sag because they don't always know where they're going.

At mile 19.7 the entry said that Friel's Shell Service Station was on the right.  It
wasn't a Shell station and I didn't remember that it said Friel's, so I kept going,
looking for a Shell station, instead of making the next turn.  Three yellowheads had
kept going straight.  I thought there would be a Shell station but there wasn't one.
When I caught up to the others they were getting directions to get back on route, so
I stayed with them until we were where we belonged.

My extra mileage of 8.37 was not all from the mistake.  Going to breakfast and
backtracking added some of that mileage.

We're camping at the Athlone Rugby Club's field.

Today's Irish hills required no walking.  It was mostly rural with a few villages.
There weren't as many sheep farms as I've been used to, but there were dairy farms
and beef farms.  Ireland is green.

The people are friendly and, as everywhere we've been, interested in our tour.

Somebody said that midnight on 1 July will be the halfway point of the year.  That
has to be adjusted for time changes.  Where we are we're eight hours earlier than
California and the change to daylight savings time will make it 0900 on 2 July here
when it's 2400 on 1 July Pacific Standard Time.

Msg: 42
Date: 2000-06-30
Subject: Athlone to Strandhill (Sligo), Ireland

We've reached the west coast of Ireland.

When I got in at 1900 I decided to ride to dinner instead of pitching my tent.  That
was a mistake.  It started to rain just as I left the restaurant and it was pouring
while I pitched my tent.  Of course the inside got wet, but I've dried most of it.

I walked part of only one hill.  It was short.  At the top a man told me that he has
trouble walking up without pushing a bike, especially after he has had a few drinks
of Guiness.  The historic Church of Ireland was just past the top of the hill.  The
surprising thing I saw while I walking up was Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witness.  It
surprised me because many Presbyterian churches are no longer being used as churches.
Ireland is a Roman Catholic nation.

Mileage today was shown on the DRG as 80.2.  Mine was 86.84.  I doubled back once
because I thought I had missed a turn.

Almost all of the houses today looked like they had been painted this year.  All were
made of masonry.

This is haying time.  All but one field had round bales.  In one field rectangular
bales were being made.  The emphasis in Ireland continues to be livestock rather
than vegetables.  The vegetables must be grown in places where we don't go.

We may be having an all-night rain.

Msg: 43
Date: 2000-07-01
Subject: Strandhill to Rosbeg (Donegal), Ireland

Once again we are camped on the sand dunes.  I didn't make it all the way here under
my own power but got a sag after 56.75 miles.  It was a hilly ride and the worst
hills came after I got in the van.

Parkes Castle, listed as a Heritage Site of Ireland, was 12 miles from our starting
point.  It wasn't open for visits when I got there.

The Town of Donegal had a festival today.  It was crowded.  I could hear music before
I got to the center of town and for a while after I passed the center.

One sign we've seen a lot lately is "LOOSE CHIPPINGS AHEAD".  It's a warning that
there are loose stone chips on the road.

Green fields and many large lakes are what we see when we can see over the walls and
hedgerows.  We continue to climb and descend a lot, getting magnificent views from the
tops.  Many of the roads have been rough.  The people are friendly.

Msg: 44
Date: 2000-07-02
Subject: Portnoo, Ireland, to Portrush (Giant

The hills continued in Ireland.  One climb was about five or six miles, followed by
a five-mile descent.  The descent was great until the road got rough.  The ride to
breakfast put me four miles ahead of the DRG.  Our campground had been changed,
putting us further from the restaurant than today's DRG showed.

On the smaller roads there is little litter.  Most of it is cigarette packaging.  On
larger roads litter is comparable to what is seen in USA.  The same was true in Canada,
France, England and Wales.

On the long climb there were free ranging sheep in Glendowan National Park.  Three times
the ones on the road ran in the same direction I was going.  It looked like I was a shepherd.

Ruins of stone cottages dotted the road in the national park.  Even the inside walls
were double-thick stone.  None had a roof, window glass or a door.

Before I was picked up by a sag I found a phone that accepted phone cards and was able
to send mail and bring my credit balance down a bit before the card became a souvenir
of Ireland.

Msg: 45
Date: 2000-07-03
Subject: Portrush to Belfast, Northern Ireland

When I say "Hi" or "Hello" or "Good morning" to somebody I habitually nod my head.  In
Ireland and Northern Ireland the people make a sideways motion.  Their way almost looks
like "No" in contrast to my "Yes".

Today we mainly followed the coastal route with a variation that took us to Giant's
Causeway.  That's one of the world's outstanding geological curiosities that has been
named a World Heritage site.  Cooling of lava which burst through the earth's crust in
the Cainozoic period, 55 to 60 million years ago, resulted in the splitting of the
basaltic rock into 40,000 columns.  Most have have six sides, but one has eight sides.
Irish legend says that the eight-sided column was the first stone used by Finn MacCool
to build the Causeway.  I couldn't find the eight-sided column but I saw a picture of it.

Unfortunately the visitor center burnt down so there was no audio-visual presentation.
I learned about what I saw by reading postcards.

I spent so much time climbing the stair-like columns and taking photos that a van driver
stopped to shuttle me to Checkpoint.  I then rode from Checkpoint at mile 47.6 to The
Queens University of Belfast, Queen Elms Halls of Residence at mile 84.5.  My mileage
was 56.1.

I didn't go to see Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge.  I stopped and walked part way down
the hill, but when I saw how far it was I decided to return to the top without seeing
the bridge.  The bridge is put up each year by fishermen to access an island to put out
their nets to catch migrating salmon.  They have been doing that for about 200 years.

The oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world was located 1/4 mile off route but
that had no interest for me.  There were several castles near the road.  I photographed
some of them.

The sky was overcast all day.  The temperature dropped in the afternoon, but not enough
to make me want to stop to put on a jacket.  I had removed tha jacket when I got too warm.

In Northern Ireland the paper money is issued by banks.  British coins are used.  When
I got money from an ATM machine I didn't realize until the money came out that it was
not British pounds.  Northern Ireland pounds have the same value as British pounds.
Republic of Ireland merchants give a 20% premium for British pounds.

Tomorrow is a layover day.  That may be a good thing for us because there are some
concerns about wearing green in an orange neighborhood or wearing orange in a green
neighborhood.  Even though the week-long demonstrations start tomorrow we've seen
young people who jumped the gun and were blocking streets a couple of days ago.  They
let us through with no problem.  A couple of riders who usually have orange safety
pennants on their bikes removed them today.

Somebody asked if there's a Fourth of July in Northern Ireland.  The quick reply was
that there's a Fourth of July everywhere.

Msg: 46
Date: 2000-07-04
Subject: Belfast layover day

The 2.5-hour historic bus tour of Belfast was interesting.  I didn't know that the
animosity between Roman Catholics and Protestants had been going on for so long.
There are neighboring sections of Belfast where a wall separates the residents of the
two religions.  In one cemetery there is a wall extending six feet below ground
separating the Catholics from the Protestants.

The day off let me get the tent dried out.  Even when it doesn't rain the tent gets
wet from condensate.  Every time we camp I put away a wet tent.

Some major changes have been made in the itinerary.  I knew that Russia was being
eliminated but didn't know that Japan was going to disappear from the list.  Instead
of flying from Germany to Australia we'll leave from Amsterdam, Netherlands.  We'll
have more layover days in Australia.

In order to get the gear trucks from Scotland to Norway we'll be riding buses to
Aberdeen from Inverness.  Bikes will be sent ahead also.

Total mileage for the year will drop to 19,102.9.  There are 8,585.8 miles or 13,848.0
kilometers to go.

Msg: 47
Date: 2000-07-05
Subject: Belfast, Northern Ireland, to Ayr, Scotland

I waited until this morning to pack my duffel, which took enough time that I missed
the first ferry from Belfast to Stranraer, Scotland.  The second ferry got in much
later than the first one.  While I was waiting for the ferry I rode around the dock
area, adding about 2.5 miles to the day's distance.

On the way to the ferry landing I saw bricks, a knocked down traffic separator and
other debris ahead.  It was right after I was to make a turn, so it wasn't a bother
to me.  Helicopters were patroling much of last night, which told me that there were
confrontations between the orange and green Irish.

Light rain started while I was writing the last paragraph.

Scotland so far looks a lot like parts of Ireland.  There are sheep and cows.  There
are walls and hedges.  The people are friendly and want to know about our trip.  I saw
a potato farm and a sign advertising freshly dug Ayrshire potatoes for sale.

The coast road doesn't always hug the coast because of the terrain.  Sometimes it's
necessary to climb.  One climb was an elevation change of 300 feet in 3/4 of a mile.
I didn't have to walk any hills.  I rode the whole distance and finished last.  My
mileage was 57.73.  Mileage had to be short today because of the ferry ride, which
took about 2-1/2 hours.

It's good to be able to visit another of the countries where my ancestors lived.  On
a previous trip I visited Germany, Switzerland and The Netherlands.  Those will also
be included in this trip.  Last month and this month I completed the list by visiting
England, Ireland and Scotland.  (Ireland was a stepping stone between Scotland and USA.)

Msg: 48
Date: 2000-07-06
Subject: Ayr to Inveraray, Scotland

This was a meaningful and memorable day for me.  It was my first day not to follow
the DRG.  When I rode out of the campsite I headed back to center city instead of
going northward.  I bought a train ticket from Ayr to Johnstone, the nearest
station to Kilmacolm.

In Johnstone I couldn't determine which way to go but learned from a woman that I
was on the right road but headed in the wrong direction.  I had gone only a few blocks.

When I got to Kilmacolm I couldn't find the Duchal Manor House, so I asked a woman.
She gave me the right directions but I thought an unpaved road was the one she meant
for me to take.  That turned out to be the farm lane of an 82-year-old man and his
80-year-old wife.  He said that I could see one of the Duchal fields and told me to
turn left, then turn right.  I did that and got tired of riding uphill for a mile.
I stopped at a trout hatchery and learned that the farmer should have said that I
needed to make two right turns.  I followed the new directions and wound up at the
right place.

The lost time kept me from returning to Kilmacolm to see the Presbyterian Church,
and Porterfield Road.

Lord McClay graciously interrupted his work to search through an eighteenth century
history of Renfrewshire to find references to the Porterfields, the first of whom
lived in Duchal in 1455.  While was reading those pages he made photocopies of
documents describing some difficulties in the Presbyterian Church.

I took photos of the house and other building.  There were Black Angus cattle and
sheep in one of the pastures.

I didn't have time to find the castle ruins.  I'm considering renting a car on Sunday
and driving from Inverness to Kilmacolm.  There's an open house in the Duchal garden
that day with proceeds going to two charities.  That would also give me time to
search out the castle ruins, Porterfield Road and the church.

My morning ride had hills.  I was high above sea level.  I regret not taking a photo
of Greenock when it first appeared.  I started down a hill, then saw the city below
me looking like an aerial view.  I was already moving pretty fast and didn't stop
until I got to the bottom.  I rode the coast road to the ferry to cross to Dunoon
and start to follow the DRG.  There were no giant hills after that, from my viewpoint.
I did ride past one walking cyclist.

I decided to leave the post-dinner entertainment in order to pitch my tent.  I had
gotten in after dinner had started.  I wasn't last.  One rider got in after the
entertainment was over.  I rode 65 miles today.

Msg: 49
Date: 2000-07-07
Subject: Inveraray to Fort William, Scotland

Today's distance was 73 miles.  My computer made lots of mistakes and showed only
59.1 miles.  When I was going downhill it would show the actual speed then drop to
zero then show random numbers.  At the end of the first 12 miles it showed that I
had gone 8 miles.  After 17.3 miles it showed 12.52.  After 34.3 miles it showed 27.9.
After 49.2 miles it showed 40.61.  I could follow the route but couldn't use the
distance clues.

From our campground we can look across the road at Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in
Scotland.  We did some climbing today, but it's good to know that we didn't climb the
maximum possible.  There was only one hill, which had 13% grade, that I had to walk.
The first 13% hill we encountered was early enough that I rode up it.  We came to the
second one after riding more than 40 miles.

Ben Nevis is one of the mountains included on an annual charity drive.  The other two
are the highest mountains in England and Wales.  All three have paths.  We saw
Highland cows today.  They're docile, although the females will defend their calves.
The males have horns that go straight out.  The horns on the females curve upward.
Hair hangs down in front of their eyes.  I don't know how they can see.

Yesterday I failed to mention how "Duchal" is pronounced.  It rhymes with "knuckle".
My earliest ancestor to move there did so in 1455.

Except for seeing Highland cows and a few castles, plus doing the whole ride,
nothing was special about today.  Rain sprinkles hit us several times and it rained
when I was ready to pitch my tent, making the newly mown grass cling to everything.

Msg: 50
Date: 2000-07-08
Subject: Fort William to Inverness, Scotland

The top third of Ken Nevis was in the clouds this morning.  There was 100% cloud
cover when the zipper brigade went into action.  After it started to rain the clouds
were higher and patches of snow could be seen high up on Ken Nevis and a few other
mountains.

For several days I have looked for a phone card.  Small stores and post offices have
had only the kind that are used with mobile phones.  One service that I have, Delta
Three, works fine with voice calls but doesn't work with PocketMail.  People with AT&T
and MCI cards have been able to use PocketMail.  I've been piling up messages.

Because of the rain and low temperature I accepted a van sag after I reached a
monument to the Commandos of World War II.  British Commandos received their training
in Scotland.  They went on raids in Asia, Africa and Europe.  When they were successful
Royal Marines and Allied soldiers were also trained here.  About 1700 were killed in
action.

When the van stopped and was going to stay there for a long time I got out and rode
more miles than I had ridden on the first leg.  Total mileage was about 26.  My bike
computer has quit functioning.

Msg: 51
Date: 2000-07-09
Subject: Inverness layover day, Scotland

Most of the day it has been raining.  After I washed clothes and got a "toasty" for lunch the rain stopped
long enough for me to ride into town to find a couple of streets shown on the tourist map.  (A "toasty" is
a sandwich on toast.)

The first street was called Porterfield Bank.  I couldn't see a bank but there must have been one there at
one time.  My guess is that it was a land feature, not  financial institution.  After I found that I asked
a woman if she knew the origin of the street name.  She said that the only thing she knew was that it was
next to Porterfield Prison.

Next street was called Porterfield Road.  It led to a street that went by the back of the prison.  I rode
along that street and made a couple of left turns to get to the front of the prison.  The current name of
the prison is Inverness Prison.  I went inside and learned that it was built in 1903 on three acres of
country land bought from a Porterfield.  The city has expanded and it is now surrounded by houses.

Next stop was James Pringle Weavers of Inverness, established 1780.  They weave clan plaids.
There was no reference to Porterfield in any of the books they had, but my dad once told me that our clan
was MacPherson.  The map showed the MacPherson clan to be much further north than Renfrewshire, but since
there were Porterfields in both Renfrewshire and Inverness, which are over one hundred fifty miles apart,
it's reasonable to believe that they could have gone in different directions, just as they did in the New
World.

Our bikes are being loaded onto a semi-trailer in this hour before dinner.  They will leave tomorrow
morning to go to Bergen, Norway.  We'll ride buses to Aberdeen, then fly to Bergen.  We'll be packing wet
tents into the gear trucks in the morning, hoping that they don't mildew before we see them in three days.

Msg: 52
Date: 2000-07-11
Subject: Aberdeen Layover day, Scotland

The strike by the number keys is apparently over.  I wasn't going to write today but
I have a little time left on my phone card and should be able to get this off in the
morning.

I rented a car to drive back to Kilmacolm so I could photograph the church where my
ancestors worshipped.  On the south wall is the Porterfield monument.  It's hard to
read the inscriptions, which have been there since 1560.  They were moved outside the
church in 1903, coincidentally the same year the Porterfield Prison in Inverness was
built.

I drove on Duchal Road and Porterfield Road, then found, with the help of a man whose
guide dog was taking him for a walk, the ruins of the Duchal Castle.  It no longer
looks like the ruins of a building.  There's one stone arch visible down over the
stream bank and part of what used to be a wall.  It sat high above the confluence
of two streams.

A man in Kilmacolm told me that there's a story that a huge cannon was taken from
Edinburgh to Duchal to try to knock down the walls.  I don't know if the walls were
knocked down that way.

Tomorrow morning we fly to Bergen, Norway.  It's a short flight that will take us to
a cold country.  We'll have to concentrate on riding on the right side of the road.
It was raining there today and is supposed to rain on Friday.  It rained in Scotland
off and on today.  I don't know if I got a picture of the rainbow while I was driving
at 70 miles per hour.  It wasn't possible to safely look through the viewfinder at
that speed.  I just held the camera up and touched the button.

Msg: 53
Date: 2000-07-12
Subject: Aberdeen, Scotland, to Bergen, Norway

The flight from Scotland to Norway took only 55 minutes.  If I had known that we were going to get an
in-flight meal I wouldn't have bought lunch just before the plane left, especially because I had no more
UK money and had to charge the meal to a credit card.

The pilot told us it was cloudy and raining in Bergen.  He was right.

We're staying at Montana International Youth Hostel, partway up a mountain.  The clouds are floating along
above us, covering the top third of the mountain.  We are probably about one-third of the way up the
mountain.

Rooms have two double decker bunks.  There would be enough storage space for four normal people, but it's
pretty tight for four people with duffel bags.  Most people who go to hostels don't have a year's supply
of gear.

I'm mentally preparing for cold, wet weather in Norway, Sweden and Finland.

Prices here are higher than I'm used to.  Exchange rate is about 8.6 kroner to the US dollar.  A stamp to
mail a post card costs 7 kroner.  The post card cost 5 kroner.  In Scotland I bought 12 post cards for 1
pound when the exchange rate was about 1.60 to the dollar, and postage was 0.40.

Msg: 54
Date: 2000-07-13
Subject: Bergen to Risnes, Norway

The day started out with full cloud cover.  It was cool enough that I wore arm warmers and fleece vest
under a rain jacket.  The rain jacket may have kept the rain away.  By mid-morning it was warm enough
under a partly sunny sky for me to peel off the vest and arm warmers.  I kept the jacket on as a
windbreaker.

Scenery was spectacular.  We climbed and descended repeatedly, giving us views of fjords from high points
and low points.  Norway is another green country.

I saw sheep and dairy cattle, but no wild animals.  There was an elk crossing sign and we were told to
watch out for moose.

I stopped to look at a war memorial dedicated to the soldiers and sailors of Norway who fought in World
War II.  There was also a stone telling about places Norwegians (Vikings) explored.  Flags flying there,
which is what attracted me to it, were USA, Norway and Canada.  There was a Lutheran church there which
had been brought from "Dakota".  The volunteer Methodist preacher who talks to visitors didn't say which
Dakota it was.  He said that Norwegian Quakers emigrated to Pennsylvania.

It may have been at that memorial where I saw Ole Bull's name.  Ole Bull State Park, situated along the
Susquehannock Trail in Potter County, PA, is the site of a Norwegian settlement.

Two elementary school students practiced their English on me.  Four of them were standing at the side of
the road.  Two were too young to have learned any English.  The two older ones did very well.  One of them
attends the school where we are camped tonight.

The further north we go the more hours of daylight there are.  It's light enough at midnight that a
flashlight is not needed, even in the tent.  

With the computer not working all the time I recorded the distance as shown on the DRG.  It was 96.7
kilometers, equal to 60.05 miles.  We had a 16-minute ferry ride and 0.3 kilometers through a dark tunnel.

When the evening's entertainment started I didn't know that the time had arrived.  I was talking with the
men and boys who were selling soda, ice cream and candy, so I missed the talk about the area.  I learned
that English is taught starting in third grade.  I went in just before two girls in native dress played a
violin duet.

You will have to sort these by date if that's important to you because I haven't found a phone card for
here.

Msg: 55
Date: 2000-07-14
Subject: Risnes to Forde, Norway

The morning was beautiful.  There were only a couple of clouds.  It was cool enough to wear a jacket, but
I wore shorts and fingerless gloves.  That changed in the afternoon.  It got cold enough for me to stop
and put on a fleece vest as a middle layer, arm warmers and finger gloves.  When the rain started it felt
even colder, especially when going downhill.

Much of the day was spent climbing.  The first climb had magnificent scenery.  There was no wind, so the
lakes were like mirrors reflecting the mountains which were packed with spruce trees.  Between lakes there
were mountain streams rushing and falling.  Even when they were out of sight the rapids and falls could be
heard.  It got warm enough for me to remove the jacket.

On the 3-kilometer climb that began at about the 20-kilometer point the grade got to be too much for me.
I didn't count the switchbacks.  I started to walk after about the third switchback, then would get back
on the bike when the grade eased at switchbacks.  After doing that a few times I realized that I was
losing enough time getting on and off the bike to quit that practice and just walk.  The height of the
climb was 480 meters, which is about 1600 feet.  I didn't know that I was within 100 meters of the top
when the sag picked me up to take me to the ferry landing.

I stayed in a van after the ferry to get far enough along that I wouldn't be late for dinner.  Where three
of us were dropped off I met a father and son team who were going to England and Ireland with their bikes.
The boy is 13 years old and is on his first long distance bike ride.  Our conversation brought back
pleasant memories.

The first climb after that was gradual enough not to need switchbacks but made up for that in distance.
It must have gone uphill for 5 kilometers.  I couldn't tell because I still don't have a working computer,
but the descent was shown as 5 kilometers, and it was steeper than the climb.  The rains came and changed
the feeling for the day.  I took no photos after the ferry ride.

There is still some snow on the mountains.  I assume that it's melting because lots of water is coming
down the mountainsides and going into the streams that feed the lakes, which in turn spill water into
streams that go to other lakes.

Hay bales were round today.  I've seen sheep and dairy cows.  One farmer was cutting hay for ensilage.

My distance today was only 63.1 kilometers, equivalent to 39.18 miles.  That includes walking up part of
one mountain, pushing the bike.  Tomorrow morning I'll reach my 2400th mile since we left Washington.

Msg: 56
Date: 2000-07-15
Subject: Forde to Sogndal, Norway

Today's climbs and descents were much steeper and longer than yesterday's.  We got close enough to melting
snow to touch it.  One descent was ten kilometers of snaking, narrow, bumpy, terrifying road.  Veteran O2K
riders liked that one and went full speed down, braking only for hairpin switchbacks.  I braked on and off
the whole way down until the grade eased.  The sign at the top said that it was an 8% grade and cars
should go down in low gear.

Waterfalls and raging whitewater were evident during all the climbs and descents.  Awesome, spectacular
and beautiful would be some of the adjectives that would describe today's world.

A permanent avalanche roof had part of its back reinforced concrete wall breached by stones.  The next one
was a tunnel with earth fill on top of it to let an avalanche go over the road.

My distance today was 90.3 kilometers or 56 miles.  Those who rode the whole way rode 128.8 kilometers.
The steep climbs sapped my strength, making sagging necessary.

We're camped on the soccer field inside a huge building.  That will keep us from having wet tents in the
morning.

Msg: 57
Date: 2000-07-16
Subject: Sogndal to Gol, Norway

There was no rain today.  It was cool enough for a jacket until about the last dozen kilometers, although
people who made the 13-kilometer climb didn't need jackets for their last 80 kilometers.  I sagged for
26.5 kilometers to avoid that climb.  We picked up three cyclists on that climb.

Checkpoint was at the top of the big climb and it was mostly downhill from there to the campground.  There
was a headwind for part of that 68 kilometers, but it was easy cycling.  The river on the downhill side of
the mountain had some rapids but wasn't nearly as fast or as full as the river on the uphill side.  Much
of the snow has melted on the southeast side of the mountain.

I talked with three kayakers who were going to run a section of the river on the northwest side of the
mountain.  It is probably a class five river today.  Like other people who want to talk they were
interested in what we are doing on Odyssey 2000.

This morning we had a 45-minute ferry ride from Kaupanger to Loerdal.  The motor vehicles, including our
two semi-trailers, had to back off the ferry.

The first 45 kilometers today had the most level roads we've had since I caught up with the trip in
Washington.  We went through two short tunnels.

The beauty of Norway hasn't diminished.  Mountains and raging streams are everywhere.  We were above the
tree line at Checkpoint.  There were more deciduous trees today than on previous days.

It's 2130 and still light enough to see clearly the small keys of the PocketMail device.  There is about
one hour of semi-darkness during the night.

My distance today was a little over 72 miles, taking my total since Washington to 2524.7 miles.

Msg: 58
Date: 2000-07-17
Subject: Gol to Hokksund, Norway

The pitter patter of raindrops on the tent fly started at about 0330 and didn't stop until we had struck
our tents, loading the gear truck with the weight of a lot of water.

I made it up about the first kilometer of the longest, steepest climb this morning.  I was sagged the
other 13.5 kilometers.  Going down the other side took me 45 minutes.

There was hardly any snow visible on the mountains today.  The rivers and waterfalls were still as wild as
they have been.

Moose warning signs have appeared on the roads, but the only moose I saw was the stuffed toy moose one
rider bought.  There were sheep on the roads.  Two of them ran across the road in front of me then stopped
on my right.  They are unpredictable.

My distance today was 131.2 kilometers or 81.48 miles.

Msg: 59
Date: 2000-07-18
Subject: Hokksund to Oslo, Norway

This short day was complicated.  It took five pages of instructions to get us here.  It took more than
that for the cyclist I was riding with toward the end of the ride.  We were unable to find where the bike
path went twice and added extra distance.  Finally a man whose home is or was in Minnesota but who has
been working in Oslo for fourteen years led us to the hotel.  He pointed out things of interest as we
rode, including the Heyerdal vessel KON TIKI.  I hope I get my laundry done early enough tomorrow to have
some time to see things.

Tomorrow I'd also like to have time to install the new computer I bought today.  Following directions is
tough when you don't know distances.

Today's ride had some hills.  The only time I had to walk was just after the chain came off.  There were
29 directions in the first 18.1 kilometers and 29 in the last 12.2 kilometers.  It was just as complicated
between those points.

There were fruit and vegetable crops visible from the road today.  One orchard was on a hillside.

My distance today was 67.5 kilometers or almost 42 miles.

Msg: 60
Date: 2000-07-19
Subject: Oslo, Norway, layover day

My day started with a flat rear tire.  I pumped it up, but it was flat again within two kilometers.  While
my clothes were in the laundry I changed the tube.  There seemed to be nothing in the tire, but there was
a pinhole in the tube.  That was my first flat tire of the tour.  It took two of us to remove the wheel.

Next project was to install the computer I bought yesterday.  I hope it keeps me on route.  Most of the
day was gone by then.

I walked aound Oslo for a couple of hours after that because there wasn't enough time to visit any
museums.  They aren't close to the hotel.

Tomorrow the routine will start early.  The ride will be more than 100 kilometers.

Msg: 61
Date: 2000-07-20
Subject: Oslo to Halden, Norway

It was sunny part of the day.  At times the clouds looked threatening, but I felt no precipitation.  I
didn't wear a jacket today.

After the initial climb out of Oslo the hills were the easiest we've had for a while.  The scenery changed
to rolling farmland with no spectacular mountains or waterfalls.  Some waterfalls were only trickles.  The
views reminded me of Western Pennsylvania.

When I was going down one hill I saw a couple picking red raspberries.  I stopped downhill from them.
They wheeled their baby buggies down towards me and the woman said, in perfect American, "I recognize you.
You were on TV.  You're on a world bicycle tour."  We talked for a while, all the time picking berries.  I
wasn't careful enough and brushed against a ripe berry, staining a white portion of my WPW Bicycle Club
jersey.  If the stain doesn't come out it will be my souvenir of Norway.  When I asked the woman where she
learned to speak English well enough to sound like America she said she had lived in Wheaton, IL, for two
years while her dad earned his doctorate.

A field to the left had waving grain.  The wind was making it look like the ocean.  It was a tailwind for
me.  That's the first time I've seen a field that looked like an ocean.

One road today had a short section with new paving followed by over ten kilometers of bone-jarring road.

Distance for me today waw 133.03 kilometers or 82.61 miles.  I was lost only once, and that was because I
didn't read the DRG correctly.

Fredericksten campground is a short walk from Fredericksten Fortress, which is still used for billeting
Army personnel.  This is a busy tourist season.

Msg: 62
Date: 2000-07-21
Subject: Halden, Norway, to Lysekil, Sweden

The tent was drier than it has ever been this morning.  Usually the underside of
the fly is wet with condensate even if it hasn't rained.  

The temperature wasn't low enough for me to want to put on a jacket, but the
mixture of clouds caused me to put on a rain jacket.  I took it off three times
during the day and put it back on each time within a few minutes because it
started to rain.  Finally I decided to keep it on and pull the sleeves up.

A scenic waterfall was listed on the DRG just before the crossing into Sweden.
When I later looked at a map I realized that things on the other side of the river
we crossed to get to the waterfall were in Sweden.

The last store in Norway on our route didn't open until 1100.  I got there at 1017.
The first store in Sweden was within a couple of hundred meters and the lady there
accepted Norwegian money.  Earlier cyclists had taken all of her Swedish coins, so
I spent my whole 50 kroner bill instead of taking Norwegian coins.

The second sign in Sweden advised motorists that dipped headlights are required
during daylight hours and seat belts must be worn.

The scenery in Sweden continued to look similar to Western Pennsylvania except for
the huge rock formations.  Most farms produced animal feed and cattle.  There were
wheat and oat fields as well as some vegetable crops.  As in Norway, forest
harvesting was done in the clear cut method.  I don't know their method of planting
replacement trees because I didn't see any new growth.  Maybe they depend on nature to
do that.  Many truckloads of logs were on the roads.

One stone church I passed was built in 1100.  Once in a while I could see what
looked like a fortification on top of a huge rock.

This campground is inconvenient for tenters.  Most of our campgrounds have had
toilets and showers in more than one location.  That's not the case here.  I'm about
a quarter mile away from that building.

My distance today was 137.36 kilometers or 85.3 miles.  I didn't get lost and didn't
walk up any hills.

Msg: 63
Date: 2000-07-22
Subject: Lysekil to Goteborg, Sweden

Condensate was present this morning, so wet tents went into the gear lockers.  Breakfast was not served in
the campground.  We added about five kilometers to the day's ride going to a restaurant.  I wore a jacket
to breakfast but took it off there and left it off for the remainder of the day.

After the morning ferry ride I missed a turn and went 2.5 kilometers beyond it.  A sag driver who had
missed the same turn stopped on the way back to tell me about it.  So I turned around, making my mileage
ten kilometers high instead of five.  By the time I finished the day by not being able to find the roads
listed to get to the campground I had ridden 124.58 kilometers (77.36 miles) instead of 194.9 kilometers.

I stopped to eat a sandwich just as we lost a shoulder.  There was a wide paved spot there which gave me a
place to be out of the way of traffic.  While I was eating a moose crashed through some brush between the
woods and the road.  When his front hoofs hit the asphalt his knees bent, making his front legs go under
his body.  He slid on his belly, dragging his hind legs, and came to a halt in both lanes.  Fortunately
traffic got stopped in time.  He gathered his huge body up and continued his run.  I didn't have time to
get a photograph.  One other rider saw a moose today.

We had only a few drops of rain today.

Bridges around here are high above the water and very long, sometimes ending at a tunnel.  The wind on the
bridges is intimidating.

We rode an articulated bus to dinner at a restaurant that is normally open only Monday to Friday.  The
caterer arranged that.  We didn't get back until after 2100.

Msg: 64
Date: 2000-07-23
Subject: Goteborg, Sweden, to Draby Strand (Ebeltoft), Denmark

I'm starting this while we are lined up waiting to board the ferry.  A girls' soccer team from Atlanta
will be on the ferry.  I talked to a couple of the players and a couple of coaches.  One girl said she had
wondered how I spoke English with an American accent.  They didn't mention why they were playing in
Denmark.  There's a Swedish boys' team going too, so there may be a world competition.  I should find out
in the next 3 hours.

The teams on board will be competing in Denmark.

Denmark was as flat as can be.  To Checkpoint we had 240 feet of climbing.  My distance to that point was
85.74 kilometers or 53.24 miles.  (The climb figure was provided by another rider.)  At Checkpoint we were
given the option of riding a bus or riding bikes for an additional 113.7 kilometers.  Those who were on
the early ferry rode the entire distance.  I wouldn't be here yet if I had chosen that option.

The further south we go the earlier it gets dark.  It's 2218 and it's too dark to see the keyboard.

Our route today included a short ferry ride in Denmark in addition to the long ferry ride from Sweden to
Denmark.  The flat Danish roads often were in sight of the beaches of Alborg Bugt, which didn't have high
dunes behind them.  "Bugt" may mean "bay".

Farmland was interspersed with villages.  Many of the farms produced hay.  Wheatfields also were
plentiful.

Msg: 65
Date: 2000-07-24
Subject: Draby Strand to Copenhagen, Denmark

The morning started with a ride of about eleven kilometers to a ferry for a forty-five minute ride.

Much of the ride was similar to yesterday's but we had a bit of moderate climbing.  Some people were
luckier than others when it came to rain and flat tires.  At least two people had three flat tires.  I had
only one, which came at the end and will be fixed in the morning.  Most riders had only sprinkles of rain;
I was in four downpours.  During the fourth one I came to a sag and got in.  A few minutes later the rain
stopped, but I didn't ask to have my bike taken off the rack.  That was a mistake, because it didn't rain
again and we had to wait for the last riders to make sure they didn't need help.  Had I left the van I
would have been in an hour earlier.

Dinner was far enough from the hotel that we had to be bussed there.  Entree was trout.

Msg: 66
Date: 2000-07-25
Subject: Layover day in Copenhagen, Denmark

After breakfast I took off one side of the tire and removed the tube.  There was a pinhole but once more I
could find nothing that could have caused it.  It was not in the same place as the last one.  I'll have to
get a mechanic to look at the rear wheel tomorrow morning because it doesn't go all the way in where it
belongs.

I got my laundry done.  The berry stain came out of the WPW jersey.  Most of the people in the laundromat
were Odyssey riders.

Tivoli is called "the most beautiful garden in the world".  It was a disappointment to me.  It's about
five percent garden and ninety-five percent amusement park.  It was a waste of forty-nine kroner.
(Numbers below 8 won't work today.)  It's not a first rate amusement park.

Copenhagen is a city of bicycles.  The Odyssey riders are a tiny minority.  Bicycles are parked
everywhere.  Most of them are unlocked.  People riding bikes are also everywhere.  Most ride single speed
bikes and observe traffic lights.  A few must have learned in New York.  One reason there are so many
bikes and relatively few cars for such a large city is that the tax on an automobile is 180%.  (The low
numbers are working again.)  The terrain is basically flat.  Because my rear wheel isn't seated where it
belongs I walked from the hotel to Tivoli.  I would rather have gone for a ride to see more of the city
(and probably get lost).

Msg: 67
Date: 2000-07-26
Subject: Copenhagen, Denmark, to Markaryd, Sweden

This was a beautiful day.  Morning temperature was high enough that a jacket wasn't necessary, and it
didn't get excessively hot during the day.

We had a short ferry ride from Denmark to Sweden.

There were no scenes worthy of stopping to capture them on film.  Much of the time we had forests on both
sides.  It was good to see that an area which had been clearcut had had the slash removed and had been
planted with replacement trees.

There was farmland too, including food for people.  I don't know what the vegetable was.  It looked like
large spinach leaves.  There were cattle and sheep.  A combine was harvesting grain in one field.

One rider was hit by a tractor/semi-trailer today.  His leg had to be amputated below the knee.

The only picture I took today was of a sign warning of airplanes crossing.  A grass landing strip started
just off the road.  On this trip I've seen signs for pedestrian crossings, school crossings, bicycle
crossings, railroad crossings, road crossings (crossroads), farm machinery crossings, truck crossings, a
penguin crossing, deer crossings, cattle crossings, sheep crossings, elk crossings, moose crossings and
today an airplane crossing.  Last year I saw a sign for a frog crossing.  Many of the frogs didn't make it
across.

My distance was (small numbers just quit working again) one hundred  forty-eight point sixty nine
kilometers or ninety-two point thirty-four miles.

Msg: 68
Date: 2000-07-27
Subject: Markaryd to Savsjo, Sweden

You can tell that the low numbers don't work.  The lowest number available is 8.

The ride was fairly easy today until the rain started.  Fast riders missed the rain, but slow pokes really
got it.  It wasn't as bad as the ones going into Copenhagen, but riding with wet shoes and socks is
uncomfortable.  I gave up after one hundred thirty kilometers (80.+ miles) and accepted a ride in a van.

The hills were gentle enough that I climbed them all, and some descents gave enough momentum to get me to
the top of the next climb with a minimum of pedaling.

Woods and forests could almost always be seen.  There were quite a few lakes.  Moose crossings were not as
frequent as on other days.

I tried to send e-mail a couple of times with no success.  I'll try a different method tonight.

Msg: 69
Date: 2000-07-28
Subject: Savsjo to Kisa, Sweden

Numbers below 8 aren't working today.  This morning I stalled around until
eight forty, hoping the rain would stop.  It slackened a bit, so I rode out.  It
didn't take long for the rain to get heavier.  It lasted most of the morning and
quit for a while before noon.  It didn't take long for my shoes and socks to get
saturated.  I had dried the shoes with newspapers last night.  The sun came out
for the last part of the ride.

First and last parts of the day didn't have impossible climbs.  There were two
hills in the afternoon that I walked up.

Scenery was pretty much like yesterday.  I saw heaps of slashings from
clear-cutting forests.  Blocks of mid-sized trees showed that the reforestation
program has been going on for a long time.  Properly managed forests can provide
an endless source of lumber and firewood.  I don't know why a farm type sprinkler
was wetting down a pile of logs at a sawmill.

I've still been unsuccessful at sending PocketMail.  Fifteen messages are waiting
to be sent.

Distance today was one hundred twenty point eight kilometers, a little over
seventy-five miles.  I was the last person to arrive at the campground, not
counting one who had been advanced by van.  I'll be surprised if I make it all the
way tomorrow.  It is shown as one hundred seventy-two point four kilometers.  I don't
think I'm ready for one hundred seven miles.

The official website at http://www.odyssey2000.com/ should have mail stops for
Munich, Germany; Luxembourg, Luxembourg; and Canberra, Australia.

I don't get to see what's on the Internet.  My website, which will have photos as
they become available, is at http://www.lifetrek.net/ .  I'll have to wait until I
have time to go to an Internet cafe to see the photos.  That may happen in the
extended layover in Helsinki, Finland.  It also archives these messages.

Msg: 70
Date: 2000-07-29
Subject: Kisa to Nykoping, Sweden

Because today's distance was so great vans were scheduled to move us from the ferry landing at one hundred
thirty-four kilometers to the campsite at one hundred seventy-two kilometers.  To free up the one van that
was roaming before checkpoint I was sagged from a point twenty-five kilometers before checkpoint, then
rode to the ferry.  My distance was 109.97 kilometers (68+ miles).

Rain started just after I got into the sag van and quit before I got out.  Much of the day the sun was
shining.  That made it possible to look through the trees to see if a moose was there.  There was no
moose.

The best view of a lake came while I was climbing.  When I got to the top I couldn't get a photo.  A huge
rockface was on the other side of the lake when I got the first glimpse but the climb was so long that even
if there had been no trees in the way I wouldn't have captured the best view.

There were lots of lakes, fields and forests today.  Not many cows were visible.  Crops were pasture and
grain.

This part of Sweden has had a great deal of rain.  A canal contained muddy water.  Microbursts of wind
seemed to have been the cause of flattened spots of grain.  Sometimes the flat spots were on only one side
of the road.

Msg: 71
Date: 2000-07-30
Subject: Nykoping to Stockholm, Sweden

It was a beautiful day with no rain.  A dark cloud went over once but it spared us.  We headed northeast
to Stockholm.  Hills weren't too steep to climb and there were plenty of flat roads.

Scenery repeated that of the last two days.  There were plenty of lakes.  Farmland was mostly planted in
grain and grasses.

Elbert and I got to a Shell station and stopped for ice cream.  Paula was there with a van and welcomed
somebody to read the DRG because cities require many turns.  So that we wouldn't have to stop every block
or so to read the DRG we rode in with Paula.

My distance today was a little over 112 kilometers (almost 70 miles).  I'm riding
faster except on the climbs.  During the first four hours today I averaged a bit over 18 kilometers
per hour.  That dropped to about 16 for the next two and a half hours.  There was more climbing in
the last part.  Overall average was over 17, which isn't bad for somebody who was in bed with a leg
in traction for over a month in December and January.  My average before the fall was usually between ten
and twelve miles per hour, and seventeen kilometers per hour is in that same range.

I found a patch of wild red raspberries this afternoon and had a feast.

Tomorrow is a layover day in Stockholm, giving me a chance to wash clothes.  The nearest laundromat is not
close, so I probably will ride my bike over.  Usually it's necessary to have the exact change for a bus.

Day after tomorrow we'll have an early ferry to Finland.  It takes eleven hours, so there may be stops at
some of the islands between Sweden and Finland.

Dan Oshop rode a two-day ride yesterday to have an extra day in Stockholm.  He said it was about
300 kilometers.

Msg: 72
Date: 2000-07-31
Subject: Stockholm layover day

Laundry was the first stop after breakfast.  Round trip, with a few detours, was about ten kilometers.

I saw a bike shop on the way there but it was closed for lunch when I returned.

I found a couple more bike shops later and bought handlebar tape and socks.

I roamed around by bike for twenty-six kilometers.  That brings my total distance this year to over
3,800 miles.

Msg: 73
Date: 2000-08-01
Subject: Stockholm, Sweden, to Turku (Abo), Finland via ferry

Cycling mileage was only twenty + km or twelve + miles.  We rode a little over three
miles to the ferry and the rest to the hostel from the ferry.

The ferry ride was about eleven hours.

Much of the time there were rocky islands beside the ship.  One island had two
tunnels in the rocks.  Once in a while an island had a small building or a
navigational aid on it.  Less frequently there were houses, roads and cars.

The ship was as big as many ocean liners and had two decks for cars and trucks.  Our
bikes were on the bottom car deck.

The ship had restaurants, swimming pool, sauna, bars, casino, slot machines, video
games and movie theater.

So far Finland looks pretty much like Sweden did.  Roads this evening were
essentially level.  Tomorrow we'll get a better idea what Finland is like as we cycle
toward Helsinki.  This southern part is all we'll see of Finland.  Tomorrow's DRG
shows that there's a bailout around one hundred kilometers for people who don't want
to or can't ride the full distance to Helsinki.

Al Young (Biker Al) is back with the tour.  She wears a neck brace and will not be
allowed to ride her bike for five weeks.

Msg: 74
Date: 2000-08-02
Subject: Turku to Helsinki, Finland, two August two thousand

The day started out cloudy and cool but changed to sunny and warm.

In some places birch was the predominate tree species.  They are backed by spruce, so
it still looks a lot like the rest of Scandanavia.  There have been a few lakes but
we are south of the huge quantities of water shown on the map.

Birds and flowers seem to be the same types as in Norway, Sweden and Denmark with the
addition of poppies once today.  One bird looks like a cross between a chickadee and
a junco.  The shape is the same as a junco, and it has the white tailfeather stripes
that a junco has.

Streams are full of suspended silt.  We probably just missed the rain.

Bailout point was at about one hundred seventeen km.  Checkpoint was supposed to be
at seventy-five km but I sailed past the van at about seventy-three km.  I had to
turn in and double back to the van.  They had orders to move me ahead but didn't tell
me that they were advancing me to the bailout point.  I could easily have cycled that
distance before the second bus was due.

The Easy Seat came to Helsinki by UPS.  The Bike Shop at one twenty W. Culpeper St.,
Culpeper, VA, stocks the seat.  It is much more comfortable than a saddle.  I've
missed my Easy Seat since my bike was stolen in Ottawa.

Only about half the riders are going to St. Petersburg, Russia, tomorrow.  The staff
members will have a retreat in Estonia for two or three days.  I haven't decided what
to do.  Estonia is only a forty-minute ferry ride away, so I may go there, returning
the same day.  I may just stay in Helsinki for the whole layover period.

My distance today was only seventy-eight + km or forty-eight + miles.  I had planned
on riding over one hundred km.

Msg: 75
Date: 2000-08-03
Subject: Helsinki, Finland, layover days

Thursday I retaped the left half of the handlebar, giving the handlebar the
colors of Seneca Valley.  The original tape was black.  The left side is now
blue.

The Easy Seat was a bit difficult to install.  The heavy duty wires that attach
it to the seatpost fitting weren't spaced the right distance apart and had to
be squeezed together to make them fit.

I went for a test ride after I put the seat on the bike.  It felt much better
than a saddle.  With the friction eliminated I should be a happy cyclist.

On my thirteen km ride I stopped at a park that had plant art under
construction and other huge artistic constructions in place.  There was also a
slide show showing how some suburban areas had changed.  The theme there and in
other parts of the city is "Helsinki, European City of Culture Two Thousand,"
celebrating the city's four hundred fiftieth anniversary.  There are nine
European Cities of Culture this year.

Riding in a strange city that has few parallel streets and is cut up by many
bodies of water is a challenge.  Street names are difficult to handle because
there may be several intersecting streets that have the first half dozen
letters the same.  Most street names contain a dozen or more letters and often
two words.  Each street has two names.  The Finnish name is first with the
Swedish name under it.  Hiekkarannantie Sandstrandsv and Hietaniemenkatu
Sanduddsgatan meet.  It's a tee intersection, so that's easy to figure out.  

Msg: 76
Date: 2000-08-04
Subject: Helsinki, Finland, layover days

Friday morning I got a little over one km from the hotel when thunder chased me
under shelter.  It rained so hard that rain was coming over the curbs.  That
heavy rain caused me to decide not to go to Estonia.  The next heavy rain came
just as I reached a railroad underpass.  Like the first one it lasted a long
time.

When I stopped for lunch to get native cuisine at McDonald's (the McFish had to
be native) a woman asked me how old I am.  I told her in English that I couldn't
understand any language but English.  A man at the table beyond hers told me
what she had asked.  Her other questions were concerned with whether I am
married and how many children I have.  I didn't know if she was just curious or
if she, at age seventy-three, was husband-hunting.

After that I decided that it was a good idea to head for the hotel.  Just as I
reached the hotel's garage door the third rain started.  I went in and removed
the seat and pedals and turned the handlebar to be ready to load it onto the
truck on Saturday.

Msg: 77
Date: 2000-08-05
Subject: Helsinki, Finland, layover days

Saturday's first chore after breakfast was laundry.  The duffel needed to be
packed and enough things had to be left out to take care of every day until
Tuesday.  That will mean putting on the cleanest dirty clothes on Monday and
Tuesday.

I walked to the post office today, only to learn that it's not open on
Saturday.

I helped to get bikes from the garage to the truck.  Bike truck, gear trucks
and vans are on their way to Berlin.  We'll see them Tuesday morning.  Our
plane will make its two-hour flight Monday evening.

Msg: 78
Date: 2000-08-06
Subject: Helsinki, Finland, layover days

Sunday after breakfast a group that had made reservations to go to Tallinn (aka
Tallinnan), Estonia, said that one of the group didn't feel well enough to go, so I
got the ticket switched to my name and made the trip.  I concentrated on the old
town.  It was a walled city with narrow, winding Belgian block streets.  Not many cars
are in the old town, but the few drivers who are there drive like maniacs.

People from Finland shop in Estonia because the prices are much lower than in
Finland.  One couple bought a bottle of wine on the ferry for less than one-third
of what a wine of lesser quality had cost in Helsinki.

There were over one hundred fifty steps to the top of the wall.

In the old town if Taillinn I saw a sign with a story in four languages about a
bombing of the city by the Russians in nineteen forty-four.  It killed over four
hundred people and made about twenty thousand people homeless.  I thought that the
USSR had annexed Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania earlier than that.

When it started to sprinkle again I left Tallinn two hours early.  I couldn't have
kept walking any longer.  Now I wish I had spent twelve krooni on two ice cream
bars because it wasn't enough to buy anything on the ferry.

Msg: 79
Date: 2000-08-07
Subject: Helsinki layover days

A money exchange gave me four Finnish marks for the twelve Estonian krooni.  I was
able to spend all my Finnish money except fifty-three pennia.  I decided that a belt
would be good to have since my slacks slip down.  Some of the fat must have left my
middle.  Another thing that seemed like a good idea for the rest days is a watch.
On the bike I don't need it because the bike computer has a clock.  I bought the
least expensive digital watch I could find.

Walking around Helsinki and looking at things for sale in the marketplace took up
most of the day. The marketplace is a combination of a farmers' market and a craft
sale.  The vegetables looked perfect.  I had plenty of time to get lost without
having to be concerned about missing dinner or the bus to the airport.

We had to check out of our rooms by noon.  The Grand Marina, a Scandia hotel, is a
first class place to stay.  We had a full breakfast every day:  apple, orange and
grapefruit juice; bread and rolls; hot and cold cereal with yogurt or milk;
scrambled and hard boiled eggs; cooked sliced ham; cold sliced boiled ham; cheese;
lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber slices and pickle slices; fruit bowl; apples, oranges
and bananas; coffee and tea.  With no bike to ride I have to be selective.  It's
tempting to sit for a couple of hours and munch on most of those things.

Dinner has a salad, vegetable dish, potatoes, fish or meat and dessert.  A pitcher
of water was on every table.  There may also have been coffee and tea but I don't
look for them.  It's an hour and a half before dinner is scheduled but I'll send this
now.  We leave for Berlin right after dinner.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Our original scheduled departure time was twenty forty, but we were told when we
checked in that the flight would be delayed until twenty-one thirty-five.  At
twenty thirty the board showed that the flight was further delayed until twenty-two
hundred.  It's a two-hour flight with a one-hour time change, so that put us in
Berlin at twenty-three hundred.  It's a good thing we have a layover day tomorrow.

Our flight from the outskirts of Helsinki took us over cities where we have cycled:
Helsinki and Turku, Finland; Stockholm, Sweden; and Copenhagen, Denmark.  The plane
was a Britannia Airways Boeing 767-300, which can carry 328 passengers.  It cruises
at over 890 mph with its two General Electric jet engines.  Smoking isn't allowed
but the magazine, which is written entirely in German, has cigarette ads and they
sell cigarettes in the shop.

A couple of times we had turbulence but it wasn't too bad.  One of the music
channels played classical music, hosted by James Galway.

Msg: 80
Date: 2000-08-08
Subject: Berlin, Germany

Tuesday morning we unloaded the bike truck.  I didn't know until then that the gear
trucks were open.

I rode around Berlin for a while, seeing a monument in Oswald-Schumann Platz, the
Brandenburg Gate, Potsdamer Platz and Checkpoimt Charlie.  The fences that were at
Checkpoint Charlie have been removed.  Only a post remains.  There's a museum there
but I didn't want to park my bike and go in.
Potsdamer Platz is a huge construction project in which the drab Russian buildings
have been torn down and are being replaced by structures that are more
representative of modern Berlin than of Communist USSR.

Part of the ride today was just to retrace my route because I lost my rear rider
number.

Thinking that my riding clothes will be wearing out sometime this year I bought a
jersey and shorts that were on sale.  Things like that probably won't be available
in Asia.

Msg: 81
Date: 2000-08-10
Subject: Berlin to Senftenberg, Germany

The length of the trip today was a bit too much for me.  Again I disobeyed rule one
and followed Yellowheads instead of reading the DRG.  That cost me twelve kilometers.
A detour because of road construction cost another ten kilometers.

I had ridden almost one hundred twenty-four kilometers when the rear tire blew out.
When I checked it I could see that the sidewall was abraded from cobblestones, but the
hole was on the normal contact surface.  That tire lasted less than three thousand
miles.  Fortunately I had a spare tire with me.  The spare tube had a leak, but Al
gave me one that was too small for his new tires.  Rod stopped to help when I couldn't
get the last couple of inches of tire to fit onto the rim.  His tools did a better job
than mine did.

The distance listed was one hundred fifty-eight kilometers.  I rode over one hundred
forty-four and was still about forty kilometers from camp when I was picked up.

There was one shower that caught me and another that probably caught some of the
people ahead of me.  It's raining now in camp.  I have my tent up but haven't moved my
bike near the tent or taken a shower.

Landscape today, once we got out of Berlin, was alternating between villages and
farms.  Haying was in progress in lots of fields.  Crops included grain, corn,
sunflowers and squash.

Roads were mostly level, but what the DRG called cobblestones were too frequent.  Once
they lasted over four miles.  The jarring comes up through the arms and penetrates the
whole body.  It wasn't a pleasant experience.

I consider cobblestones to be rounded stones.  Maybe I'm wrong.  Some of the streets
and highways were paved with what I call Belgian block.  They're rather large and are
not as round as what I call cobblestones.  One problem with them is that the spaces
between them can trap a tire.  Some were much smaller and more closely spaced.  Some
streets and bike paths were paved with bricks, which provide a much smoother surface
than any of the stones.

Msg: 82
Date: 2000-08-11
Subject: Senftenberg to Dresden, Germany

The day started off with a sprinkle during breakfast, but no more rain came our way
during the day.  It rained last night.  Unfortunately the party people in the
campground were able to keep up their noise until at least four thirty in the morning.
We hadn't had such a crowded campground and hadn't had such inconsiderate campers.

I noticed a lot of cars parked at entrances to forest roads today.  The roads aren't
paved.  Some are blocked with barriers but most just have signs saying that only
forest workers are allowed to drive on them.  Parkers are considerate and do not block
the entrances.  There is never more than one car parked at an entrance.  Eventually I
saw a couple carrying a basket.  They were too far away foe me to talk to them.  A
little later there was a family close enough for me to talk with them.  Only the
teenage daughter knew any English.  When I told her that I was curious about what they
were doing she showed me the small basket she was carrying.  In it were a cellular
phone and a mushroom.  They and the others were gathering mushrooms.  Elbert said that
when he was a lad he was taught not to gather mushrooms in a pine forest because they
were poisonous.  He gathered his in an oak/maple forest.

Predominant trees in the forests are pines.  They were planted in rows. Needles are in
clusters of two.  Other trees I noticed were white birch, small leaf linden, several
kinds of oak, maple, one mimosa and many I couldn't identify as I rode.

Crops included larger fields of sunflowers than I saw yesterday, including one field
of a dwarf variety, pears, apples, grasses, rape, corn and grain.  Many standard pear
and apple trees were planted so close to the road that the fruit dropped on the road
and was crushed by tires.  Sometimes there were signs warning motorists not to drive
into the trees.  I saw sheep but no cattle.  I saw an 8-bottom reversible plow, the
largest plow I've ever seen.  Straw was baled in large round and "square" bales.  In
several fields hay was being tedded.  Most of the tractors were large.

I got lost only once today, and that was my fault.  I wasn't following anybody.  I
didn't see the name "Sandweg" on a road and turned left on the next road.  When the
time came to see a crossroad it wasn't there.  I kept going rather than turn back.  I
found myself in Boxdorf,  which was off route.  However I saw a sign pointing to
Dresden.  I looked at the map and saw that there was a road going to Dresden, so I
turned left.  It turned out that the road I was on was one that the route crossed, so
I thought all I had to do was find the crossing.  It wasn't quite that easy.  I
couldn't find the crossing but, with the help of a company security guard, I found one
of the other roads we were to take and found the hostel.  My distance was seventy-six
point seven nine kilometers (over forty-seven miles) instead of sixty-seven point five
kilometers.  It was essentially a flat ride with only a few climbs.  The climbs were
gentle but sometimes long.  There must have been a good descent that I didn't notice
because my maximum speed was fifty kilometers per hour.  My maximum on the tour was
over 89 km/hour (over fifty mph) on twenty July, if you don't count the erroneus
maximum of two hundred mph when the computer went awry.

In the past three and a half months I've ridden over three hundred more miles than I
rode all of last year.  The toughest day was yesterday, when we had a lot more
cobblestones than we had today.  I've had two flat tires and one blowout.

I found blackberries this afternoon in the forest.  That was a good supplement to
lunch.

Msg: 83
Date: 2000-08-12
Subject: Dresden, Germany, to Terezin, Czech Republic

The DRG had this entry:  Cobblestone road ahead and fast twelve percent descent.  The
cobblestones continued through the entire descent, and it happened again about three
kilometers later.  Vibrations travel through the arms and are felt everywhere in the
body.  My fastest speed was on a smooth road, but I moved pretty fast at the bottom of
each cobblestone hill.

Tonight is the night to see the Perseid meteorites but I don't know if I'll wake up to
see them.

Of course every descent needs a climb.  The climbs were longer and steeper in Czech
Republic than they were in Germany.

The border crossing took a long time.  I zipped past the waiting lines for both the
German and the Czech sides.  It took hardly any time for them to look at my passport.

My distance today was over one hundred seventeen kilometers (over seventy-three miles).
The first part was along the Elbe River but we left the river to get up to a national
park which had some unusual rock formations.

There were vineyards on the hills in Germany.

Hardwoods seem to be the predominant trees in Czech Republic.  I saw lots of maples,
linden and birch plus others I didn't identify.  Farms included a cabbage farm,
cornfields, orchards, harvested grain with the straw either baled or in windrows.
Villages and towns were fairly close together.

Terezin was built as a fortress but never served that purpose.  The Nazis cleared out
the residents and made it a ghetto and staging area for sending Jews to concentration
camps for slaughter.  The museum had closed for the day when I got here.

Msg: 84
Date: 2000-08-13
Subject: Terezin to Praha (Prague), Czech Republic

I missed the meteorite shower last night.

One of the climbs was too much for me.  I walked three hundred meters.  I also walked a
little on a road that was all but impassable.  The map showed an alternative, but I
decided to stay on the road where vans would go by.  The only redeeming feature of that
road was a row of elderberry bushes.

Some cabbage fields were being irrigated today.  Other vegetables were also evident.
Once I could see what could have been pole beans or grapes, but the poles were too tall.
When I got closer I could tell that the leaves were not grape or bean leaves.  The fruit
seemed to be pods.  Somebody told me they were hops.

The most abundant roadside flower is chicory.  That has been a common plant in many
countries.

The best descent was the approach to Praha.  I wish the bike computer hadn't gone crazy.
It showed that my maximum speed today was two hundred fourteen km/h.  It felt like I was
going about fifty.

Except for the big increase of climbs, some of which were over three km long, today was
pretty much like yesterday.  The villages were again spaced fairly close to each other
and usually had nothing but a few houses.

The sun is so hot and the temperature so high that the tent dried quickly.  I hand-washed
some clothes and hung them out to dry.  We'll be at this campground tomorrow and part of
Tuesday until we board the buses for our return to Germany, so I should be able to finish
my laundry in the morning.

A little after forty-eight miles into the ride I heard something hit a spoke and bounce
across the road.  About fifty meters later the right half of the Easy Seat came off.  I
walked back down the road and found the piece of the seat that had hit the spoke.
Fortunately the three cars that had gone down the hill hadn't run over it.  I found the
pad in the grass on the right side of the road and reassembled it.  I'll remember to
check the thumbscrews after riding on rough roads so that doesn't happen again.

The problem with the phones in Germany may be that they don't have true touch tones.  I
don't have the MCI code for Czech Republic, so I may wait until we get to Germany to try
the tone generator.  Some people here have the MCI toll-free numbers; I have to get them
for many other countries.

Msg: 85
Date: 2000-08-14
Subject: Praha, Czech Republic, layover day

This morning I finished washing clothes and got some dry before I went to town.  I rode a
tram and subway to get to town.  I walked around for a while, then took a bus tour.  Half
the bus tour was a walking tour of the castle and its included cathedral and streets.

On the third attempt I saw the animated clock when the figures were moving.  It wasn't as
impressive as the one in Munich (Munchen) which I saw fourteen years ago and will see
again this month.

The Czech phones that I tried didn't have true tones, and I didn't take the tone
generator, so I still haven't been able to send mail.

Finally I found an eyeglass case that my prescription glasses fit into.  I've been
looking for one since my bike was stolen in Ottawa.

After dinner I went to a concert by the Prague Royal Orchestra.  That's a strange name
for an orchestra in a republic.  They played music by Handel, Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart,
Grieg, Dvorak and Tchaikovsky.

Msg: 86
Date: 2000-08-15
Subject: Praha, Czech Republic, to Passau, Germany

We're traveling by bus today.  Just before we left the campground Tim Kneeland told us
that today is a holiday in Germany, which means that trucks are not supposed to move
until twenty-two hundred.  Our gear, including tents, is on trucks.  That should cause
some grumbling.

About fifty miles before Passau it started to drizzle.  At least two cyclists left
yesterday morning to ride to Passau, even though that's not required to qualify for
riding every mile.  One still has the goal of riding twenty thousand miles this year.

At the Czech border we had to wait while passports were checked.  Passports were taken in
a bunch instead of having each person present the passport so photos could be compared
with faces.

Gear trucks were at the border and left shortly before we did.

Between Praha and the border the agriculture was mostly haying.  A couple of goats and a
small flock of sheep were the only livestock I saw.  The terrain got hillier, with small
mountains visible.  Spruce was the predominant tree.

Bus and truck drivers got lost but we eventually all got to camp.

Msg: 87
Date: 2000-08-16
Subject: Passau, Germany, to Salzburg, Austria

It was a hot day for riding.  I drank five bottles of water and was still thirsty.  My
distance of over one hundred twenty-two kilometers included walking up parts of two steep
hills.  I didn't quite reach the hostel but rode the last part of the one hundred thirty km
in a sag.

Scenery continues to be similar to the last few days of riding plus more hills.  Corn, hay
and forest products are the main crops.

We don't have a layover day in Salzburg so I may just stick around long enough tomorrow
morning to go to the Mozart house which has his piano and violin.  It's the only place in the
world where it's possible to buy a set of four CDs of Mozart music played in that house on
those original instruments.  It opens at 9:00 a.m.  I may have to ride the train to Munich.

Msg: 88
Date: 2000-08-17
Subject: Salzburg, Austria, to Munchen (Munich), Germany

I cycled to the birthplace of Mozart afer breakfast and waited for it to open.  Four other
Odyssey riders arrived to form a line.  A Japanese tour group didn't respect our line and
charged up the stairs before the museum was open.

It was an interesting place with lots of memorabilia, including the first violin Amadeus
played and his piano.  I bought a set of CDs of Mozart music played on his instruments in
that house, available only there.

Next stop was a post office to mail the music to North Carolina.  I'm sarting this on a train
that will stop at Rosenheim, which is at 90+ kilometers on today's ride.  I'll ride to Munich
from there.  I see cows and corn between villages with the Bavarian Alps in the background.
We're climbing a little, but it's an easy climb this way.  Although I got the train in
Salzburg it's a German train.

Salzburg is full of statues of cows, all painted differently.  The painters have named them
and each has a sign giving the name of the painter.

As I got off the train at Rosenheim I noticed Yellowheads waiting to get on the train.  They
had cycled over 90 km in high temperature and were going to ride into Munich.  I rode
seventy-nine km today, including roaming around Salzburg to find the Mozart museum and a post
office.  I also rode around Rosenheim looking for the right road.  I had sixteen km on the
computer when I saw Bryan and Theresa and learned where we were on the DRG.

Tim, who had a hip injury in Italy, is back.  He can meet people he never saw when he was
riding near the front of the pack.  He mentioned that he gets short of breath when riding,
which is what happened to me for a while after I started riding.  Spot expects to come back
when we get to Amsterdam.

I've signed up for a bike tour tomorrow morning.  I also want to ride to Dachau to see the
Nazi concentration camp.  I may take the guided tour instead.  It leaves from the railroad
station.

Some of the people who rode the whole distance today in temperatures that exceeded one
hundred degrees Fahrenheit looked like they were coming in from a battlefield.  They rode
over one hundred miles; I rode only forty-nine miles.

Msg: 89
Date: 2000-08-18
Subject: Munchen (Munich), Germany, layover day

Although I had signed up for a bike tour I missed it because I was still eating breakfast
when they left.  That was unfortunate because I was dressed to ride.  I went for a short ride
alone but didn't see anything special because I stayed on one street.

When I returned I thought I had just enough time to get to the railroad station to join a
tour to the Dachau concentration camp memorial.  That tour was overscribed and had just left
so another Dave and I, following a suggestion of the tour operator, hurried to the subway and
tagged along.

Dachau concentration camp was built in the year Adolph Hitler became dictator.  It was not
built as a death camp but became one because of the way it was operated.  The first crematory
had two ovens which were built because so many people were dying that it was becoming
expensive to transport the bodies to Munich.  The second crematory had three ovens.

The official story is that the gas chamber wasn't used, but I don't believe that.  People
were dying of malnutrition and disease, but I think that some were gassed also.  About six
thousand Russian prisoners of war were executed.

It was a horrible place with a sordid history.

I returned to Munich and rode Larry Gore's bike back to the hostel so he could stay in the
center city.  That gave me about a dozen kilometers today.

Msg: 90
Date: 2000-08-19
Subject: Munchen (Munich) to Oberammergau, Germany

City traffic was so light that I realized it was Saturday morning.  Days of the week mean
little except when they affect what stores will be open.

The route headed north, even though our destination was south of Munich.  We were routed
through Dachau.  That gave me a chance to take photos that I missed yesterday when I ran out
of film.

The countryside was a continuation of the alternation of villages and fields.  Flower boxes
on houses reminded me that I was still in Bavaria.  Field corn, vegetables and hay were the
crops, with lots of fields where grain had been harvestd.  In the afternoon the hazy Bavarian
Alps appeared to the south.

I missed turns three times.  Sometimes roads going to the same place are so close that it's
easy to take the wrong one.  Checkpoint was shown at seventy-seven and a half kilometers.  My
distance to that point was ninety-one and a half kilometers.  Temperature was in the
nineties.  That was a good point to call it a day, fill an empty water bottle and sag into
camp.

Camp was the tightest one we've had.  Tents were pitched with almost no space between them
and even overlapping.  This is the high season of camping in Germany.  Here it is made even
higher because of the passion play that is put on every ten years.  Tickets are sold out many
months in advance.

Mountains just outside the camp remind me that tomorrow will be a tough day in the Bavarian
and Swiss Alps.

Msg: 91
Date: 2000-08-20
Subject: Oberammergau, Germany, to Braz, Austria

There were a few patches of snow visible near the tops of some mountains, but most has
melted.  The rivers in some places are dry and the waterfalls are small.  Except for the lack
of a coastline and much less water, this part of Austria rivals Norway in scenic beauty.

The day started with a comfortably cool temperature.  Descending from the first pass was a
cold experience.  Climbing to that pass wasn't extremely steep, but I developed an ache and
decided to sag in from Checkpoint.  I had ridden over seventy-five kilometers (almost
forty-seven miles).

The hills are alive with the sound of music.  What I heard came from the bells the cows wear.
I guess their owners can tell which is which by the tone differences.

I didn't miss any turns today.  

Quitting early deprived me of the tunnel experiences.  One tunnel, which had a bypass that
some cyclists missed, was so dark and curvy that those who went through it were in danger of
hitting the wall.  Many were half tunnels with one wall and a roof.  The columns that hold up
the roof are spaced widely enough that it's almost like being outside.  Some full tunnels
were lighted and had cycle paths.

Msg: 92
Date: 2000-08-21
Subject: Braz, Austria, to Flims, Switzerland, via Liechtenstein

The weather was kind today.  Rain didn't start until I had struck my tent and quit while I
was eating breakfast.  There was no more rain until I had pitched my tent and was eating
dinner.  It quit shortly after I finished dinner.  Between rains the sun shone and the clouds
were white.

The Alps were around and under us all day in all three countries.  I made it to within a
dozen kilometers of camp, at which point the climb became too steep for me to ride.  I was
about one-quarter of the way up that steep mountain when I started to brave the heavy traffic
on a narrow road that had no shoulder.  It was good to see a van in a bus stop area.

Rain started after I had my tent up and returned several times before I went to bed.

It was too dark to "write" after dinner so this is being written Tuesday morning.

When I got out of the tent I knew I was in a cloud.  By the time I had eaten breakfast the
cloud was higher up the mountain.  This is a layover day in Flims.  The town is about four
kilometers from the sports complex where we are camped.

Msg: 93
Date: 2000-08-22
Subject: Flims, Switzerland, layover day

This was a lazy day for me.  There was a gondola ride available, but I think it was
necessary to walk back down the mountain.  I walked enough up the mountain yesterday that
I didn't feel like going up today and having to walk back.

I cleaned one layer of dirt off my bike and lubricated the chain.  I rode a little less
than six kilometers into the town and back to camp.  The first hill took five minutes.
That hill will probably take longer tomorrow when I'm carrying road gear.

On the road I carry a rain jacket, light windbreaker jacket, tire pump, spare tire, spare
tube, tools, cable lock, sunglasses, sunscreen, camera, wallet, passport, PocketMail
device if I have mail to send, headband and food that I buy along the way.  I needed the
headband yesterday when the sweat ran into my eyes.

It's dinnertime so I'll send this today and not take it tomorrow.  I'll be going to bed
early so I can have an early start tomorrow.  We ride ten to fifteen kilometers to a
railroad station and ride a train part of the way tomorrow.

Msg: 94
Date: 2000-08-23
Subject: Flims to Raron, Switzerland

Today was a different kind of day.  Some people opted to ride the original distance, but
over one hundred of us accepted the revised route.

We rode about nine and one-half kilometers from the campground to the railroad station in
Ilanz.  Except for the short hill up to the road and the level street to the station, it
was downhill.  My maximum speed was sixty-four kilometers per hour.

After loading our bikes into freight cars we boarded the train for the ride to Brig.

Scenery from the train rivaled the landscape of Norway.  There were no fjords but there
were high mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, swift rivers, tunnels, ski lifts and corkscrew
highways.  On the steep climbs there were cogs.

Corn, hay and cows were the crops.  The cows roam the mountains.  One was at the ridge,
silhouetted against the sky.

Those who cycled enjoyed their ride.  Some took two days; others did it all today.

I had no food with me on the train so I stopped at McDonald's for a Mac Fisch.  I need to
get some Swiss francs because we'll be in Switzerland part of tomorrow and three or four
days later.

My distance was a little over twenty-five kilometers.

Msg: 95
Date: 2000-08-24
Subject: Raron, Switzerland, to Abondance, France

Our destination was changed from Chatel, putting us a little closer to tomorrow's goal.

We went from the German-speaking part of Switzerland to the French-speaking part.  We also
went from the dairy part to the grapes and fruit part.  I tasted one grape to see if wine
grapes taste good.  They do.

The one and one-tenth kilometer climb before we entered the vineyard area seemed much
longer.  That was just a preview of things to come.  On the DRG at a distance of eighty-six
kilometers, which was more than ninety kilometers for me because I followed a bike path
once and got onto the wrong road, there was a steep climb of thirteen and three-tenths
kilometers.  I made it up only about two kilometers, stopping three times to let my pulse
rate drop.  From there I wanted to get a lift to the top, but because my bike was first one
in the van I didn't ask to be let out.  I missed a nice downhill ride.

Water carves the soil as it tumbles down the mountains, leaving steep "rivers" of rock.

There's no apparent difference between the last part of Switzerland and the first part of
France.  We are still in the Alps.  Fortunately most of today's distance was on fairly
level roads in valleys.

Msg: 96
Date: 2000-08-25
Subject: Abondance, France, to Geneve (Geneva), Switzerland

There was not much climbing today.  The descents were not as exciting as those on previous
days.  My top speed was only forty-eight km/h.  Road surfaces on some descents felt smooth but
seemed to provide a lot of rolling resistance.

Vineyards, cornfields, potato fields, hayfields and deciduous forests filled the spaces between
villages until we reached Lake Geneva.  Mountains were still visible.

Our "campsite" is a floor in a bunker.  Bunkers have been used as temporary housing for
refugees.  Our room has over twenty double-decker bunks.  Gear trucks are parked about a block
away.  Meals will be at a university across the street.

We have a layover day here.  Main projects will be to dry the tent and wash clothes.  I don't
know how much of Geneva I'll see.

Except for the chewing gum I ran over, some of which will have to be removed from the frame of
the bike, it was a good day.  I made one ice cream stop (a scoop each of chocolate and
pistachio).  When I missed a turn I realized it quickly and stopped.  As I was about to return
to the turnoff a couple of off-route riders in a car told me I had missed the turn.  At one
point I returned to a place that said to enter a town and make an immediate right towards the
Switzerland border.  The border didn't show up so I kept going.  It turned out that the right
turn wasn't really a turn but only a curve in the road, and the border had only a small welcome
sign without saying where we were welcomed.  There was no checking for passports or customs.

Msg: 97
Date: 2000-08-26
Subject: Layover day in Geneva, Switzerland

Our campground for these two nights is a bunker that is used to house refugees.
We're two stories below the street.  It's strange to waken in the morning and
find that it's dark.  The sun was shining outside.

I decided to leave my wet tent in the gear truck until I get to tomorrow's
campground.

My bike was behind too many others to get out easily so I rode the bus to town
to wash my clothes.  I planned on taking a bus tour of the city but the bus was
filled with people who had bought their tickets earlier, so half a dozen of us
were unable to join the tour.

I walked around town for a while then returned to the bunker.

Some itinerary changes were posted before I got back from town so I copied
them.  We'll camp some days near Amsterdam and stay in a hotel other days.  The
final day in Amsterdam we'll have to clean all our gear to prepare to go to
Australia.  Australia inspects for organic matter to try to prevent
introduction of diseases that will affect plants and animals.

We're scheduled to fly out of Germany instead of The Netherlands.

Msg: 98
Date: 2000-08-27
Subject: Geneva to Salavaux, Switzerland

It started to rain during breakfast but slowed a bit before I was ready to
ride.  My rain jacket went on and off twice then stayed off for an almost
perfect day.  There were a few drops of rain when I got to camp but it stopped
before I finished pitching my tent.

We followed the lake shore from Geneva to Lausanne, then climbed a hill.  I had
to walk one hundred meters of that hill; that was my only walk of the day.

There was an international triathlon in Geneva.  One of our riders, Jim, said
that he didn't do well in the swimming but had a good time.  He wasn't the last
one out of the lake.  Our route took us on some streets that were closed for the
triathlon.  Odyssey riders participated in both the full and the half triathlon.

In Lausanne our route took us onto a street that was closed for an in-line
skating event.

In the afternoon a bunch of puffing race walkers came toward me on a rural
road.

Lausanne is Olympic headquarters and has an Olympic museum.  I didn't stop to
see it but did stop to take a picture of nearby Roman ruins.

For a long time I could see a plume of black smoke from a structure fire.  Two
fire engines passed me, then one more passed.  After a while the color of the
smoke lightened.  The building was still fully involved when I got to Ogens.

There were still vineyards today plus fruit trees and fruit trees trained to
grow on wires.  Some grapes had netting over them.  Once in a while a cannon
boomed to chase away birds.  Sunflowers looked like they are ready to harvest.
Other crops included spinach, potatoes and hay.   Animals included dairy
cattle, goat and sheep.

There were some great descents to balance the climbs.  My definition of a great
descent is one that doesn't include many corkscrew turns.

My distance of one hundred thirty-six kilometers was less than two percent more
than the DRG showed.

The lights in the shower are activated by sound and turned off by a timer.
They don't stay on after the timer turns them off even though the shower makes
noise but come back on a little later when noise is made.  Like in many other
places, shower water is controlled by a timer.

Dinner tonight included ice cream for dessert.

Msg: 99
Date: 2000-08-28
Subject: Salavaux to Zurzach, Switzerand

Much of my day was spent on relatively flat roads.  Because I was a bit late at
Checkpoint I rode in a van for about fifty kilometers, missing what was listed
as a "serious climb".  The climb that I didn't miss was serious enough for me.
At least two cyclists walked part of that one.

In one town a car came out of a side street with plenty of space before I would
get there.  It had one front wheel, two back wheels and two seats side-by-side.
Big letters on the back gave its name as "TWIKE".  It was licensed as a car.  I
guess the big letters were used to let people know that it wouldn't go fast.
Chalk up my first overtaking and passing of a car.

Vineyards, vegetable farms (onions, potatoes, spinach and more), sunflowers and
hayfields were on the agricultural scene.  Onions being harvested filled the
air with strong onion smell.  Cows, sheep and goats were the only animals I
saw.  Even though we've had pork and ham I haven't seen or smelled a pig farm
for a long time.

Zurzach is celebrating the beginning of is fourth millenium.  In pre-Christian
times the Romans ousted the Celtic tribe of the Helvetii.  Forty-five years ago
hot thermal water gushed up to the surface from a depth of one thousand, four
hundred feet.  A large spa center was built.  The campground is about two
kilometers from the spa.

Instead of switching from a bike path to the road I stayed on the bike path.
When I entered Zurzach I wondered how to get to the right road.  Not to worry.
Somebody had put up directional signs just for us.

We have a layover day here, then will travel by bus on Wednesday to
Rheinmunster, Germany.

Msg: 100
Date: 2000-08-29
Subject: Zurzach, Switzerland, layover day

Because the list for use of the single washer and drier was so long, I rode into
town to do errands.  Timing was off.  Many places are closed for lunch.  I rode
in again while my clothes were in the washer and rode the Rhine River path
after the clothes were dry.  When I was on the way back I met Ron, who was
looking for the Roman ruins.  I asked a cyclist where they were and Ron and I
went to see them.

Kurchliuk is what remains of a Roman double castle that had significant
fortifications.  It was built in the fourth century A.D.

The Rhine was flowing at a rate of about 8 KM.  This is one of a few stretches
that have not been dammed.

I rode across the Rhine on a bridge to Germany.  The three trips added up to
sixteen kilometers.

Msg: 101
Date: 2000-08-30
Subject: Zurzach, Switzerland, to Rheinmunster, Germany, by bus

About fifty people rode the whole distance on their bikes today.  They didn't
expect to climb so much.  They and we went through the Black Forest
(Schwartzwald).  The cyclists probably had better scenery than we did because
the buses were mostly on major highways.

The campground is the biggest and best one I've seen.  We took a tramride around
it.  There are supermarkets, beerhalls, church, children's church, three lakes,
mini-golf and restaurants.  There are about 99 toilets and 99 showers.

Msg: 102
Date: 2000-08-31
Subject: Rheinmunster to Bad Durkheim, Germany

A little over ten miles into the ride we crossed the Rhein (Rhin, Rhine) River
into France.  When we got back to Germany over twenty miles later we were in
vineyard country.  The vineyards stretched all the way to camp.

This part of Germany has terrain much like that in Western Pennsylvania.  Trees
that were being harvested were pine and spruce.  Many of the standing trees
were deciduous.

In Sollingen there was a Canadian Starfighter on a pole.  The words on the
plaque were in German.

A fort on a hillside seemed to be guarding the vineyards.  A local man told me
that it is now a restaurant and hotel.  I'm glad we didn't climb to it.

Distance today included some extra for me.  I stretched one hundred fourteen
kilometers to over one hundred twenty-five.

Msg: 103
Date: 2000-09-01
Subject: Bad Durkheim to Koblenz, Germany

Today was the eightieth anniversary of the birth of our oldest rider, Elbert
Pence.  Elbert is an inspiration to all of us.  He rides part of every day's
distance.  When he can't ride all the way up a hill he walks and pushes his
bike.  When I was walking more than I do now we spent a lot of time walking the
same hills.

The day was dedicated to Elbert.  With balloons tied to his bike he led a small
parade out of camp.  He rode a little over eighty kilometers both yesterday and
today to celebrate the last day of his eightieth year and the eightieth
anniversary of his birth.

The day once more was through wine country.  That was good because the shotgun
firings were called an eighty-gun salute to Elbert.  Guns are used to scare
birds away as grapes ripen and harvest season approaches.  We did get to see lots of
turnip fields, cornfields and orchards, but grapes were the number one crop.

There were sprinkles off and on and heavy rain late in the day.  I took refuge
under a bridge during the heaviest downpour.  It had quit raining before I
reached camp.  The rain started again before I could finish pitching my tent.

It was birthday party time during dinner.  Elbert was able to blow out the
candles on two cakes.

I saw three ICE (Itercity Express) trains today.  Two were going only about one
hundred kilometers per hour. The third appeared to be going at its maximum rate
of two hundred kilometers per hour.

Once we had to cross railroad tracks at an old gate.  It was necssary to push a
button and ask somebody to open the gate.  Fortunately there was a local
cyclist who reached there when I did.  We had been talking about the tour.  He
talked into the box and got the gate opened, then did it again when the gate
shut just before a van got there.

I was so wet that I rode in a van the last sixteen or so kilometers.  My
distance was almost one hundred twenty-seven kilometers.

Msg: 104
Date: 2000-09-02
Subject: Koblenz to Wintrich, Germany

Between striking a wet tent and pitching a wet tent we had a lot of water
today.   A sinuous course along the Mosel River, which we crossed several times,
was ridden in the rain.  A few times the sun visited briefly.

When I stopped to fix a flat front tire Jeff came along in a van and advanced
me eight kilometers to a spot that had a tree and a picnic table.  A tiny piece
of glass had made a small hole in the tube.

The steep hillsides along the river were planted in grapes.  The only machinery
was carts that are used to bring grapes to the bottom.  The cars usually ride a
single rail.  Some vineyards don't have carts.

The calendar shows that we are about three weeks away from autumn.  Waking up
in darkness, getting cold while riding and leaving dinner in darkness tell me
not to believe the calendar.

Distance today was one hundred six kilometers (about sixty-six miles).

Msg: 105
Date: 2000-09-03
Subject: Wintrich, Germany, to Luxembourg, Luxembourg

The rain quit.  The temperature was about as cool as it was yesterday.

Scenery changed from vineyards to forests.  When the river wandered into a
horseshoe shape we cut across, which required climbing.  The first climb was too
much for me.  I got as far as a spot just short of Elbert's position and
started to walk up with him.  When a van came along we got in and didn't ride
any more.  There were climbs and descents we missed.

Distance today was fifty-three and one-half kilometers (over thirty-three
miles).

Tomorrow is a layover day.  I need to get laundry done and change money.

Msg: 106
Date: 2000-09-04
Subject: Luxembourg, Luxembourg, layover day

It was raining when I was ready to leave the hotel to get to a laundry and see
the city.  Before I got to the door I learned that the laundries and other
shops would be closed because it's a holiday.  I washed my clothes by hand and
hung them over the bathtub.

To start to get ready for the departure from Europe I emptied my duffel to
see if there was anything that I didn't need.  Although it's almost spring in
Australia it snowed there a couple of days ago.  It's probably not a good idea
to get rid of all warm clothing.  Japan can be cold in October, especially when
we climb hills.  I found only a few things that I won't need.  I don't think my
tent will survive a washing, and we will have forty-one nights of camping after
we leave Europe.  It should be replaced in The Netherlands.  Dirt from the
poles gets into the sleeves of the tent.  Everything we take into Australia
must be clean.

Now that it's too late to go to town I learned that the banks and post offices
and some stores were open today.  All the laundries were closed.  Some of the
open stores had sidewalk sales.

Our hotel, the Novotel, is first class.  Meals have been the best we've had.
Each room has a bathroom with combination tub and shower.  That was necessary
on a day when the laundries were closed.  It's bedtime but my clothes aren't
dry.  I hope they're dry by morning.

The hotel phones work for sending e-mail using the PocketMail device but not
for receiving.  I'll have to look for a pay phone when we start to ride
tomorrow.

One person found a machine near the railroad station that accepted foreign
currency and dispensed Luxembourg money.  She didn't have to push any buttons
even though she was changing Swiss money.  The machine didn't charge a
commission.  She said it made a whirring noise.  I guess it was programmed to
recognize various currencies.  There were no directions telling which way to
face the bill.

Stores here accept German marks, French francs and Belgian francs.

Msg: 107
Date: 2000-09-05
Subject: Luxembourg, Luxembourg, to Barvaux, Belgium

The climbing today was very tiring.  The first hill was too much for me but
that was the only one I walked.

Our route took us through the hilliest part of Luxembourg, the Ardennes.  Hills
were usually covered with spruce trees.  Fields had corn, most of which wasn't
tall.  There were sheep and cows.

The distance was listed as one hundred twenty-six kilometers.  I was picked up
after I had almost ridden eighty-seven kilometers (almost fifty-four miles).
When I concentrate on climbing and descending I don't see much more than the
road.  I stopped in Bastogne because that's where my father ate a meal after
the Battle of the Bulge. He had ordered rabbit but afterward wondered if the
disappearance of the cat from the windowsill had anything to do with his meal.

Msg: 108
Date: 2000-09-06
Subject: Barvaux to Mol, Belgium

Rain started before I was out of the tent and kept coming down most of the day,
It had stopped before I started to pitch the tent in Mol but started again just
after I spread the groundcloth.  The tent is soggy.

We climbed a lot all the way to Checkpoint.  At that point I gave up.  There
was too much climbing and too much traffic.

The cyclists had an easier time than the motor vehicles in Lommel.  There was a
street market or festival which closed the street we were on and we went around
and around trying to find the route.  Cyclists could follow the route.

If the route was scenic I didn't know it.  My hip area started to hurt from so
much climbing and was aggravated by a long and rough section of milled surface.
Probably only fifty to eighty people rode.  It was a good day to go for a train
ride.

Phones haven't worked for PocketMail for a couple of days.

Distance to Checkpoint was over 80 kilometers.

Msg: 109
Date: 2000-09-07
Subject: Mol, Belgium, to Kamperland, Netherlands

We had rain early in the day, but it wasn't heavy or steady. I've started this
in the dark and it has started raining again.  It felt cool most of the day.

At dinner we had a talk and slides about the projects that prevent damage when
an unusual tide occurs.  It's called the Delta Project because of the delta
formed by three rivers.  As the projects continued each one taught new lessons.
The one closest to here was designed to allow sea water to enter the estuary
when there is no danger of an exceptional tide.  That helps the shellfish and
shellfish harvestors (people and birds) to survive.  Steel gates are closed when
needed.  The structure is one of two man-made objects that can be seen from
space.  As you probably know, the other one is the Great Wall of China.

Except for a few places where hills were made, such as for overpasses and
bridges, roads today were level.  Most of the time we had headwind.

Because darkness would have arrived before I would have gotten to camp I once
again rode with Pierre.  I had ridden over one hundred sixteen kilometers when
he picked me up.

Msg: 110
Date: 2000-09-08
Subject: Kamperland to Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands

The DRG was complicated today.  Cities require many turns.  The big city we
went through was Rotterdam.  A further complication for some people was a
change in campgrounds.  The DRG led to the campground where we were originally
going to stay today, but distance was added to get us to tomorrow's campground.
The change added thirty-six kilometers.  Some cyclists followed the original
directions instead of the modified DRG.  One rode two hundred twenty kilometers
instead of one hundred sixty-five.  I rode one hundred twenty-five then realized
that it would be dark before I could finish.

Early in the day we rode across several parts of the Delta Project, including
the latest part which is still under construction.  Concrete is all in place.
Steel doors are being placed.

Netherlands (Holland) is flat.  Most roads in the western part are on dykes
because the land below the dykes was once sea bottom.  It wouldn't make sense to
compact the sea bottom for roadways when the dykes were already compacted.  The
land below sea level is mostly farmland.

It rained.  We had tailwinds a lot of the time but ran into headwinds often.
Without the tailwinds I would have ridden a much shorter distance.  With
tailwinds my cruising speed was twice my normal speed.

Dairy cows and sheep shared pastures.  A big vegetable crop was broccoli.

It rained while I was pitching my tent in the dark.

Msg: 111
Date: 2000-09-09
Subject: Jan De Wit Campgrond to Leeuwenhorst Hotel, Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands

Actually we have five layover days in Noordwijkerhout.  Today we move from the
campground a little less than five kilometers to the hotel where we'll sleep
tonight and tomorrow night.  We'll then move back to the campground Monday and
pedal back to the hotel Wednesday for a day of cleaning bikes and gear.  We
won't see our bikes again until we get to Australia.

Thursday we'll ride buses to Cologne, Germany.  Friday night we'll be bussed to
the airport for departure at a little after midnight (really Saturday morning).

The schedule doesn't look right to me.  When we leave Germany on Saturday
morning it's already Sunday morning in Australia, but it shows that we reach
Canberra at about six a.m. Sunday.  It certainly takes more than five and a
half hours to fly that far.

Today I rode a little over nineteen kilometers.  I cycled to breakfast then to
a camping store where I ordered a tent that will fit into my duffel.  That
means that I won't have to wash and dry my tent on Wednesday.

Tonight we'll see the latest video of the tour and have a meeting to bring us
up-to-date on Australia and Asia.

Msg: 112
Date: 2000-09-12
Subject: Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands, layover days

Two beautiful days in a row let me explore the area.  I went to a tourist area
where there is a sandy beach, a bunch of hotels and streets with shops.  All
the shops were open on Sunday, whereas in other towns it was difficult to find
any open shops.  A circus tent had been set up but I didn't check to see the
dates.

We started this layover with one night of camping, then rode to a hotel about
five kilometers away, where we stayed two nights.  Rooms were the largest we've
had.  One drawback was that they charged for phone calls to toll-free numbers.
That was offset to a degree by having only two people to a room and having a
private bath and television.  Elbert and I watched the X Games in San
Francisco.  Those cyclists can do things that I couldn't imagine were possible.
We'll return to the hotel for one night after two nights at the campground.

Wednesday will be cleaning day.  The bike will take the most work.  The wheels
on the duffel will also take time because they pick up dirt, grass and stones.
Australia will not permit those things to enter.

About ten cyclists went to Berlin to run the marathon.  It was the
thirty-second marathon for one woman.  For some it was the first.  They were
tired, happy people when they returned.

People have been returning to the tour after their side trips.  People who left
weeks or months ago are coming back, telling what they have seen and done.

Spot (James Macdonald) has rejoined.  He has some difficulty climbing but has
made an amazing recovery from his bout with a windshield in Italy.

Pittsburgher Dan Oshop, who has ridden every mile of the tour, rode forty
kilometers to Amsterdam one day.  He returned a different way, which was fifty
kilometers.

Msg: 113
Date: 2000-09-13
Subject: Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands, layover days

Tuesday I parked my bike at a bike shop in De Zilk then saw a sign on the door
saying that it was closed two days a week.  A man stopped his car and
approached me.  I asked him what the Dutch word for "Tuesday" is.  He told me
the bike shop is closed Monday and Tuesday.  We talked a bit.  At the end of
our conversation he said that he and his wife take English classes on Tuesdays.
He asked if "You're welcome" is the correct response to "Thank you" and seemed
to be proud that he had remembered that.

After dinner on Tuesday I talked with a Dutch middle school teacher.  He was at
the International Youth Hostel with a big group of middle school students.
School started two weeks ago.  Because they come from many schools the boys and
girls are taken early in their first year of middle school to a setting where
they can have fun while getting to know each other.  The hostel has bicycles,
big scooters and a playground.  It's close to the dunes and seashore.  Middle
school goes from fifth grade through US high school.  It's called "middle
school" because it's between elementary school and college.

Tuesday I rode to Haarlem from the camping supermarket then rode back on the
bike path along the seashore and on the dunes.  Riding the dunes path first
would have been a better idea because I had headwinds almost all the way back.
Distance was over fifty kilometers.

Wednesday I mailed some things that won't fit in my duffel.  I had to do a
triage on things to keep the most useful ones.  We lose our gear lockers before
the flight to Australia.  I could tuck my tent in corners of my locker but it
wouldn't fit in the duffel.  I got a new one that was on sale.  It fits in the
duffel.  Lots of us are mailing things today

Thursday after I squeezed my duffel into the locker Karen-Ann came out to tell
us that the bike truck and buses are stuck in a blockade somewhere.  The strike
is over in England but must have spread to oher countries.  It's a protest
against high fuel costs.  We have cleaned everything for the trip to Australia
and have rooms in Cologne, Germany, for tonight.  We'll just have to wait to
see what develops.

Msg: 114
Date: 2000-09-14
Subject: Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands, to Cologne (Koln), Germany

Just as I was going to walk to the store to get road food and spend as much as
possible of my Dutch money the buses arrived.  The bike truck came after we had
gotten on the buses, so staff members will load the bikes.

I've figured out what some Dutch signs mean.  "Te koop" means "for sale".  "Let
op.  Drempels" means "slow down.  speed bumps".  "Uit" means "exit".  I can't
figure out what "no work" means because there has never been anything nearby to
give a hint.

A few weeks ago we were asked not to make sandwiches from the breakfast food
for our lunches.  Despite that request and the fact that most mornings the last
people at breakfast find that little or no food is left, some people still make
sandwiches and wrap them in napkins or put them in plastic bags.  Lunch was
excluded from our contract.  I have heard some rationalize that the food was
there when they went through the line and they could have taken it for
breakfast.

Somebody forgot the combination to a cable lock and abandoned it.  There was a
note by it saying that it was free, so I took it and spent the first part of
the bus ride twirling the numbers until it opened.  I then changed the
combination to a number I can remember.  It's the same kind of lock that was on
my bike when it was stolen in Ottawa.

Once when I checked our speed it took forty-eight seconds to go one kilometer.
Next time I checked it took forty-five seconds.  We crossed into Germany and I
checked again because I sensed an increase in speed.  It took thirty-six
seconds.

Three teachers are supervising a group of sixteen students at the youth hostel
in Cologne.  One boy is in a wheelchair; one is mentally challenged; the rest
have low IQ.  (Secondary students here go to schools according to IQ.  This
group is from the school ranked at the bottom.  There are three levels of high
schools.)  They are spending this week touring Cologne and learning how the
surface and underground transportation systems work.

Friday.  This is our last day in Europe.  I walked around most of the day.  I
didn't feel like walking up five hundred steps to the top of the cathedral
because I had climbed enough steps crossing streets.

An exhibit of one thousand families is being erected on a street and a bridge.
The families are from all over the world.  Before I was halfway across the
bridge it started to rain so I quit reading the paragraphs that told about the
families.

Next message will come from Australia.

Msg: 115
Date: 2000-09-17
Subject: Cologne,Germany, to Canberra, Australia

Our DC-ten left about an hour later than it was scheduled.  Although we had
been told that we would not be allowed off the plane while it refueled at
Colombo, Sri Lanka, we were taken by bus to the passenger terminal.

At the money exchange window no Sri Lankan money was traded.  Goods could be
bought with any kind of currency in the shops and any kind of currency could
be exchanged for any other kind except Sri Lankan at the exchange window.
I didn't want to exchange money or buy anything.

We had to follow signs going in and out of the terminal.  Police were there
to make sure we didn't go the wrong way.

Today was the first time I've crossed the Equator despite my having served
in the Navy for almost ten years.

Canberra's airport is not an international airport but a team from the
immigration and customs offices was sent to the Royal Australian Air Force base
at the airport to process us.  It took a lot of time because there were so
many of us.  We were released from the airplane in groups of about forty.
As we walked toward the passenger terminal a drug-sniffing dog was told to
check each of us.  He caused one rider to be detained.  I've never understood
why people use drugs when life can produce great highs without drugs.

People apparently were chosen randomly for searching.  I'm glad I was sent
through the "nothing to declare" door because I had a lot of little things
in my panniers.  It would have taken extra time to empty them.  One rider who
had passed the sniffing dog test was randomly chosen for a bag search.
She had some melatonin in an unlabeled container but it tested positive for
an illegal drug.  The pills were sent to an independent laboratory for testing.

Because of the Olympics there were no buses available to take us from the
airport to the motel.  We rode a little over ten miles with a headwind most of
the way.  The wind was so strong that riding the long, level road (eleven
kilometers) felt like we were climbing.

One farm with a special breed of cattle had blooming cherry trees lining its
lane.  Spring is here.

A large bird dived at me several times, nearly hitting my helmet.  It followed
me for about one hundred meters.  At brunch a woman told me that the same
thing had happened to her.

The only kangaroo I saw was dead.  Its head seemed to have been detached from
its body.  It was behind a tree at the top of the bank, which made it look
like it wasn't hit by a car or truck.  While I was showering a group of
kangaroos were observed on the motel grounds but it was too dark for me to
see them by the time I got outside.

Fruit trees are in bloom at the motel.

We have another layover day tomorrow.  That will give us a chance to start
recovery from jetlag.

The Canberra Carotel is the strangest motel I've seen.  Room three eleven is
about twenty-five feet square with a large area partitioned as a bathroom.
The shower has no curtain or partition and the whole bathroom gets wet.
The main part of the room has five double-decker bunks.  The sign at the
entrance said that it is a member of the Budget chain.  I don't know if that's
the same Budget as in USA.

Our locker trucks are history to this tour.  They are semi-trailers which have
over one hundred fifty lockers each.  Each locker measures seventeen inches by
seventeen inches by about twenty-seven inches.  My duffel fits into the locker
with a little room to spare in the depth.  I have had to sit on the duffel to
be able to squeeze it in.

Msg: 116
Date: 2000-09-18
Subject: Canberra, ACT, Australia, layover day

Daylight savings time was started early this year because of the Olympics.
There won't be enough daylight hours for long rides, especially if we have to
climb.

Last night I set up my new tent to make sure I can do it in the dark when that
is necessary.  I bought a smaller tent that will fit into my duffel because of
the loss of our locker trailers.  That also meant that I didn't have to clean
the old one.  Australia doesn't want dirt, plants, seeds or other organic
matter brought in.  The old tent had sleeves, which picked up dirt from the
poles.  The tape on its sealed seams was beginning to dry out and flake off so
I would have had to take a day to seal the seams.  With only forty-one camping
days remaining on the schedule I decided to look for a smaller tent which I
wouldn't have to clean to enter Australia and which would fit in my duffel.  I
found a closeout with a twenty percent discount in De Zilk, Holland.

The Dutch-made tent is about the size of a Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight.
It's low at the back and high enough to sit at the front.  It holds two people
without luggage or one with luggage.  The bike has to stay out.  It uses clips
instead of sleeves.

I was finally able to be at a telephone and have time at the right time to call
Sharp, manufacturer of the TM-Twenty PocketMail device.  Mine has developed a
defect in the number row.  The only number keys that work are 8, 9 and 0.  The
"caps" of the other numbers don't work either, so I have no exclamation point,
at, number/pound sign, dollar sign, percent, carat or apersand.  I do have *, (
and ).  The device has to go to Illinois for repair so I'll be spelling out
most numbers for the rest of the trip.

The device has a QWERTY keyboard, a window that displays text and buttons for
selecting functions.  Buttons are labeled Compose, Inbox, Outbox, Address,
Schedule, Preferences, Menu, Power, Scroll Up, Scroll Down and Light.  An
acoustic coupler enables the device to transmit to and receive from a computer
in USA if the telephone system is compatible.  Maximum size of a message is
four thousand characters, including spaces.  Digital phones don't work with
PocketMail.  In USA and Canada there are 800 numbers to call, but elsewhere
it's a toll call.  Fortunately if all goes well calls are short.  Some phone
systems let the device send but not receive.

The PocketMail device weighs only a few ounces.  It measures about three
inches by six inches by three-quarters of an inch when closed.  It operates on
two AA batteries, which are available everywhere.

Because I've had the experience of waiting as long as three hours for a van
(that was on another trip last year) I carry more than most riders on my bike.
I have a foldable tire, spare inner tubes, tire irons and pump.  Most carry all
of that except the tire.  I also have rain jacket, lightweight windbreaker
jacket, PocketMail device, calendar notebook with MCI World Com information,
inner tube patch kit, camera, wallet, passport, three bottles of water and some
food.  I buy the food wherever I see a store when my supply runs low.  I like
to have a bag of roasted peanuts and apples or other easy-to-carry fruit, such
as nectarines or plums.

Last time I checked my web page there were no photos yet.  Have patience and
eventually you'll find them at http://www.lifetrek.net/o2k/   These
messages are also archived there.

I rode thirty kilometers today to see parts of Canberra.  It's the capital of
Australia.  "ACT" is the equivalent of "DC".  I think it means "Australian
Capital Territory".

A herd of kangaroos gave us a show across the road.  They looked like they were
on pogo sticks.  They jumped over a fence, some springing up about fifteen
feet.

Msg: 117
Date: 2000-09-19
Subject: Canberra, ACT, to Goulburn, NSW

This was a difficult day.  Jet lag takes a while to overcome.  I got sleepy in
the afternoon.  We had lots of climbing.  I walked about two hundred meters on
one hill and stopped to rest on a couple of hills.  The level roads and paths
in Holland (The Netherlands) didn't prepare me for climbing.  The wind was
against us most of the day.

I saw a few live kangaroos and a few dead ones today.  Dead rabbits on the road
were huge.  The only other wild animals I saw were birds and a huge hill of
medium-sized black ants.  One magpie hit my helmet twice.

The land is mostly pasture for beef cattle and sheep.  I saw a lot more sheep
than people.  Once we left Canberra things were kind of drab.  Maybe spring
comes earlier in the city than in the country.

Motorists here have little consideration for cyclists.  Europe spoiled me.

I nominate Australia Capital Territory (ACT) and New South Wales (NSW) as the
part of the world with the most broken glass in bike lanes and on shoulders of
roads.  Riders who were in Baja Mexico say that it was worse.  There was a lot
more roadside litter than I saw in Holland.  So far Australia is not a place I
would want to see again.  It's my least favorite country.

I rode one hundred sixteen kilometers today.  I'm ready to sleep but have to
walk about two kilometers to dinner first.

Msg: 118
Date: 2000-09-20
Subject: Goulburn to Wollongong, NSW,Australia

The day started with a temperature that made me wish I had worn finger gloves
but quickly warmed enough that I could tolerate fingerless cycling gloves.

We were on fairly level roads for the first ten kilometers, then started to
climb.  We climbed and descended for hours.  It was tiring.  The jetlag
condition was still present.  A little over one hundred kilometers was all I
could ride.  I quit about twelve kilometers before reaching the start of an 8
KM descent.

The first wombat I've ever seen was dead, and I didn't see another.  It lookd
vicious.  It was about five feet long and had the shape of a hog.   No kangaroo
appeared today other than a couple of dead ones.

An alpaca farm had no alpacas in sight.  An angorra farm had no animals in
sight.  I saw many sheep and quite a few beef cattle.

Roads today were in better condtion than yesterday's but were rougher than I
would expect to see on a system of roads marked as a tourist route.

A welcome change from yesterday was the behavior of motorists.  There weren't
as many as yesterday and they didn't come as close.

We'll be staying at Campus East of University of Wollongong for a few days.
It's about an hour's train ride from Sydney.  Tickets to most Olympic events
are prohibitively expensive, so I'll miss Sydney.  TV gives a better view than
seeing things in person.

We load our bikes and gear onto trucks on Friday morning but don't leave
here until Monday morning.  That leaves three days here without a bike and
biking clothes.

One entry in today's DRG showed that six hundred twenty meters is seven hundred
twenty feet.  I'm sure the Aussies didn't shorten the meter. As I rode along I
had some mental arithmetic to do.  My calculation gave me two thousand
twenty-five feet. [Editor's note: it is 678 yards or 2034 feet.  SDP]

First impressions are lasting.  Despite the improvements in today's experience
and the travel brochures, Australia hasn't moved any higher on my list of
places I'd like to be.

Msg: 119
Date: 2000-09-20
Subject: Wollongong, NSW, Australia, layover day one

My plan for this morning was to hang up my tent to dry after breakfast then go
for a ride.  It was drizzling when I started out the door to go to breakfast
but stopped while I was eating.  I decided that it was prudent to wait until
the tent was dry before unlocking the bike.

I rode to Wollongong, which is a few kilometers south of here.  Lunch was a
veggie sub at Subway.  Then I rode to the lighthouse, where there are cannons
from the nineteenth century.  They were placed there in about eighteen ninety
because there was fear that the Russians were going to attack.  They were never
fired and were removed after it was realized that shipboard guns could be fired
from their range of one mile.

I rode back to the university along a bike path and continued past my exit to
be sure to ride at least ten miles.  The beach bike path continues for about
eleven kilometers.  I turned back after about four kilometers.

Tomorrow's easy task will be to remove the pedals and seat and turn the
handlebars to get the bike ready for shipment by truck to Townsville.  The hard
job will be to take out of the duffel what I need for the weekend here and the
short flight to Townsville on Monday.

Msg: 120
Date: 2000-09-22
Subject: Wollongong, NSW, Australia, layover day two

Loading of bikes and gear was delayed until eighteen hundred (six p.m.), giving
me a chance to ride over thirty-two kilometers (twenty mlles). I hand-washed
two jerseys, two shorts and two pairs of socks before breakfast.

I rode across the bridge over the railroad to the nearby town of Fairy Meadow,
then returned to the seacoast to ride the bike path northward.  I'm not yet
accustomed to having the sun in front of me when I ride northward.

Lots of people were in the ocean.  Some were getting ready to take surfboards
in.  I was surprised at the number of cyclists on the bike path on a Friday
morning.

The Pacific Ocean at this point is called the Tasman Sea.  That's what is shown
on the area map but I think it's not like the Mediterranean Sea.  I'll have to
look at a map of the world or of Australia to see what it looks like.

We loaded bikes, luggage and tour gear onto semi-trailers this evening.  They
are on their way to Townsville.  We go there by air on Monday.  Tomorrow and
Sunday I'll probably watch Olympics events on TV.  I'm not going to spend two
hours each way to go to Sydney.  Maybe I'll walk to Fairy Meadow tomorrow
morning.  That's about one kilometer each way.  Wollongong is about four times
as far.

The jetlag adjustment seems to have been made.  It took a few days.  When it's
noon in California it's six a.m. the next day here.  Both places are on
daylight savings time.  It was started early here because of the Olympics.

Msg: 121
Date: 2000-09-23
Subject: Wollongong, NSW, Australia, layover day three

To prevent piling up of dirty clothes and take advantage of good weather I
hand-washed yesterday's clothes this morning.  The cycling clothes dried
quickly.  A cotton tee shirt is still on the line more than five hours after it
was hung there.  I wear cotton only when we're staying in one location for
several days or when I'll be washing clothes at a laundromat.

In the village of Fairy Meadow you can reach a cluster of USA stores within a
one hunded meter walk.  Blockbuster Video, Burger King, Chili's, Texas Steak
House and McDonald's are on the east side of the street.  Pizza Hut and KFC are
across the street.  McDonald's has an Olympic promotion going on.  With
purchase of a burger or a muffin you get a rub-off game piece.  If Australia
wins one or more medals for the game shown on the date shown you get a free Big
Mac.  The other rub-off circle has free prizes or a second chance for a prize.

Railroad tickets are sold by a machine that resembles an ATM.  At Fairy Meadow
the southbound machine takes only coins, but the northbound machine takes coins
or currency.  Sydney is north of here.  However I learned at dinner that the
largest bill it will accept is ten dollars.  I have only a twenty dollar bill
and no stores will be open early on a Sunday, so I probably won't get to Sydney
tomorrow.

I watched synchronized diving, running, swimming, rowing and women's beach
volleyball today on TV.  I walked to Fairy Meadow for lunch.  It took about
forty minutes to get as far as I went.  

There are no dessert police in the cafeteria.  There's no limit to the number
of times you may go through the food line.  Four or five flavors of ice cream
are available.  I couldn't get more than two scoops on a cone but I got five
scoops in a bowl.  That's probably not a wise action now that our bikes have
left.  At the university where we stayed in London I saw that somebody had
yogurt.  When I found the supply I didn't think about it being with the
desserts, because I don't consider yogurt to be dessert unless it's frozen.
The dessert policewoman made me put it back.  She knew that I had already taken
dessert.

Msg: 122
Date: 2000-09-24
Subject: Wollongong, NSW, Australia, layover day

This is our last layover day at University of Wollongong Campus East.  Tomorrow
morning we fly to Townsville.

I rode trains to Sydney today.  From here it was necessary to change trains
twice.  It took only twelve minutes to get to the first interchange.  The
middle part of the trip took over an hour and included eight tunnels and a
couple of switchbacks.  The countryside was fairly rugged.  Part of the time I
could see the sea on the east and mountains on the west.  Then there were
mountains to the east between the railroad and the sea.  Hang gliders looked
like they were heading for the sea but there may have been beach that couldn't
be seen from the train.

I spent my time in Sydney walking around the harbor.  There is a wide pedestrian
bridge across the harbor.  The National Maritime Museum is at one end of the
bridge; the National Aquarium, at the other.  A destroyer, a submarine and a
lightship are tied up next to the museum.  I didn't get over near the opera
house but I've seen pictures of it.  The city is big enough that I didn't want
to go anywhere that would get me disoriented.  There were signs pointing toward
city hall rail station in very block.  One said "HALL CITY" but I knew what it
meant.  Street level of city hall and two floors below that are full of high
class shops.  The rail station and subway station are below street level.

I got back to the campus just after it started to sprinkle, in time to take
down my dry clothes.

Msg: 123
Date: 2000-09-25
Subject: Wollongong, NSW, to Townsville, Queensland

It's a hurry up and wait day.  We are in a chartered Qantas Boeing seven sixty
seven.  We'll have a movie and lunch.

Breakfast was moved to six-to-seven a.m. so we could board buses at seven
fifteen.  At the airport we had to wait until eleven fifteen to board the
plane.  We were airborne on time and are getting lunch while watching a movie.

It wasn't a long flight to Townsville.  There's a lot to do to get ready for
tomorrow.  The switch from day pack at the dormitory to panniers for the bike
takes time.  The tent is up and I'm moving things from bag to bag to prepare
for a long ride tomorrow.

Townsville is Australia's largest tropical city.  Now we have to adjust to the
tropics.  As we ride northward it will get hotter.  We have one more week in
Australia with five days of riding.

I went for a short ride to check out the bike after I pitched the tent.  The
kickstand was bent during shipment, as usual, and I hadn't tightened the
handlebar enough.  We turn the handlebars so the bikes can fit in the truck.  I
remove the seat because one was ruined during shipment.  The Easy Seat can't be
replaced outside USA.

Msg: 124
Date: 2000-09-26
Subject: Townsville to Cardwell, Queensland, Australia

One good thing about a monotonous view of today's part of Australia was that it
allowed me to pay full attention to the road.

The shoulder came and went.  It changed width frequently.  Heaps of loose
aggregate appeared, making it necessary to leave the shoulder.

The wind usually came from the right.  When a large truck went by it blocked
the wind (we ride on the far left) and caused the bike to veer right, towards
the truck.

On the left an above-ground pipeline followed the road for many kilometers.
The trees had spindly trunks.  Hills were off in the distance.

On the right a set of narrow gauge railroad tracks paralleled the road.  Most
of the entries on the DRG warned of railroad tracks where branches from the
left crossed the highway to join the main line.  The railroad is used for
hauling sugar cane to a processing plant.

One scenic overlook was listed at the top of a small rise.  I walked one and
one-half kilometers up that small rise.  Cramped muscles during the night told
me that I hadn't massaged them enough.

Many of the roads were rough.  They are made that way on purpose, but I don't
know the purpose.

It was a long day.  Most of the distance was basically level.  The long walk
earned a hazy view and a good descent.  At one hundred forty-six kilometers I
quit riding because I calculated that I wouldn't reach the campsite before
dark.

Freddy was hit by a car shortly before he would have reached the campsite.  The
driver failed to give way at an intersection.  He broke the windshield and his
wrist, but he has one finger protruding from his bandage so he can use his
PocketMail device.

Msg: 125
Date: 2000-09-27
Subject: Cardwell to Flying Fish Point Queensland, Australia

Flying Fish Point is near Innisfail.  We were warned to watch for crocodiles if
we go in the ocean.  If they are in a wet spot they can jump pretty high up
into a tree, so it's not a good idea to climb a tree to escape. On land they
get tired after running twenty meters and quit chasing.

We crossed railroad tracks twenty-two times today.

Sugar cane and bananas were the principal crops today.  The cane plants were
planted or seeded, whichever they do, in fields that had hills and troughs.
Some were planted on the hills; others, in the troughs.  I don't know why they
wouldn't all be planted the same way.

The banana trees all had what the Aussies call rough-edged leaves.  The fruit
is sweeter and smaller than fruit from trees with smooth-edged leaves.  The
rough edges are fringed.  A roadside stand sold bananas for one dollar for two
kilograms.  One Aussie dollar is worth about fifty-six US cents.

Distance today was a little over one hundred four kilometers (sixty-five
miles).  Today I passed the five thousand mile mark for the tour.

Msg: 126
Date: 2000-09-28
Subject: Flying Fish Point to Tinaroo Falls Dam, Queensland, Australia

Two dogs jumped over my bike, which was lying down, and bumped into a guy line
for the tent, bending one stake and pulling another one out of the ground.
That made the top of the tent hit me.  I left it that way and went back to
sleep.

I stopped at Johnstone River Crocodile Farm this morning.  In addition to
crocodiles there were kangaroos, wallabies, wallaroos, peacocks, turkeys, guinea
fowl, emus (you can see the emu flock on West Cruikshank Road, Butler County,
PA, just past Three Degree Road) and cissowiry birds.  Wallabies look like
small kangaroos.  Wallaroos are a little larger.  Most kangaroos are, when full
grown, much larger.  Joeys (baby kangaroos) poked their heads out of pouches.
I was glad the crocodiles weren't free ranging.

Crocodiles have a heart rate of about three beats in two minutes.  They open
their mouths when it's hot.  They usually eat small animals but sometimes will
drown a cow.

I had a flat tire which I though might just be a slow leak.  There was a hole
in the tube.  After I patched it (Adrian stopped to help) I noticed a bulge in
the tire, so I took it off and replaced it with a new tire.  That took more
time than I wanted to spend.

A couple stopped their truck and came over to see if I was lost.  They had seen
lots of yellowheads going toward Cairns.  I knew that the yellowheads were
off route and showed the couple where I was going.  They said I was going the
right way.

The tire changing in the hot sun sapped my strength so much that I was happy to
stop pedaling after about fifty kilometers and ride in a van.  It was quite
hilly today.  I'm sorry I ran out of film because the ride was the prettiest
we've had in Australia.  I guess it's hills that make beautiful scenery.  I saw
no sheep but a sign showed cattle and sheep crossing.  I saw Brahman bulls.

Australia could send some of the vowels from Woonoonooran National Park to
Czech Republic, where sometimes four consonants appear consecutively in names.

The park is in the rainforest, home of the deadliest snakes in the world.
There's no reason to discover an antidote to the venom because twenty-five
meters is about as far as a person can travel after being bitten.  The venom
quickly reaches the brain.

There was hardly any roadside litter today.  One piece that I noticed was a
yogurt container the same brand we had for breakfast.  The splash marks showed
that it had been throwwn or dropped today from a moving vehicle.

We were offered the opportunity of sleeping indoors tonight.  I accepted and
had a lower bunk.  Staff had marked lower bunks for a few of us who have
difficulty climbing into an upper one.

Msg: 127
Date: 2000-09-29
Subject: Tinaroo Falls Dam to Wonga (Mossman), Queensland, Australia

Because of the loose sand I walked up the road from the camp to the paved
highway.  One fractured pelvis is enough for one lifetime.  One good thing
about walking was that I got a better look at the rainforest than I would have
had had I ridden.  "Tropical rainforest" means "jungle" to me.  No entry is
visible.

There were only a dozen sets of cane railroad tracks today.  Much of the cane
is hauled on road trains to the railroad.  The signs warn motorists to watch
for slow moving road trains but they move faster than I do.  When two were
passing in opposite directions I was forced off the road onto a dirt shoulder.
I can understand why the driver hauling three cane containers up a slight grade
wanted me to get off the road.  The shoulder was hard ground and I was able to
keep moving and return to the roadway.

At a fruit stand I bought two tangerine-type fruits.  Although they had
different names I couldn't tell the difference.

Some fields were being irrigated today.  Crops were sugar cane, hay, corn and
tobacco.  I saw beef and dairy cattle but no sheep.  There probably were sheep
that I didn't see.

The first of thousands of termite mounds that I saw looked like an elephant.
They are also called anthills and at least one had small black ants instead of
termites.  The surface is as hard as rock.  Height was as much as eight feet.

A military museum wasn't due to open for half an hour so I chose to keep
riding.  That was the right decision because we crossed the Great Dividing
Range.  I walked short distances twice and, joining Elbert, a longer distance
once.  Elbert and I stopped when we reached the van that was waiting about
twenty-five kilometers before end-of-day and rode in with Jeff so we could get
our tents pitched during daylight.  I rode over one hundred thirteen kilometers
today.

Tomorrow is a layover day at Pinnacle Village Holiday Park.  I'll wash clothes
and ride.  I need about nineteen miles to make it one thousand miles for this
month.

Now that I have been in Australia for a few days I can change my mind about not
liking it.  Queensland is the best state of the ones we've been in as far as
I'm concerned.  Both the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales had
too many motorists who drove in a threatening manner.  Both had too much
roadside litter, especially broken glass which was tossed out of vehicles and
flattened many bicycle tires.  Queensland has hardly any roadside litter or
broken glass.  With hills, mountains and tropical rainforests Queensland is
much more scenic than Canberra, Sydney and the rest of New South Wales.

Msg: 128
Date: 2000-09-30
Subject: Wonga, Queensland, Australia, layover day

Last night I changed my alarm time to 8:00 a.m. but the topical birds woke me
three hours early.  After breakfast I washed clothes in a washing machine and
dried them in the sun.

In order to bring my mileage for the month above one thousand I rode to
Daintree Village for a crocburger.  It wasn't a true burger because the meat was
chunky.  It required a lot of chewing.  The restaurant also sells kangaroo
burgers and emu burgers.

As I pedaled along I could hear animals scampering through the leaves and I saw
a snake going up the bank.

We'll be sleeping in tents for only thirty-two of the next ninety-two days.
There are no campgrounds on our route between Japan and New Zealand.

The sideways shake of the head that I noticed in Ireland is a greeting here
too.

Msg: 129
Date: 2000-10-01
Subject: Wonga to Cairns, Queensland, Australia

"Cairns" is pronounced "Canes" or "Cans".

The other day when I asked how to spell the name of a flightless bird I thought
Mick's wife spelled it "cissowiry" but she really spelled "cassowary".  The
letter "a" sounds like "i" here.

It was hot today.  I drank about five bottles of water and a Gatorade.   The
ride was a little under 98 KM (finally I can use numbers because they are above
"seven").  We followed the seacoast most of the way and most of the ride was
level.  When the mountain came down to the sea the road had to climb.  Waves
crashed against the rocks or washed onto sandy beaches.

We're staying at the Rainbow Inn tonight and tomorrow.  Tomorrow is a layover
day which will allow us to repack for the flight to Kansai, Osaka, Japan.  The
time adjustment will be only one hour so jet lag won't affect us the way it did
when we came to Australia.

We've been warned not to attempt to take drugs into Asia.  Anybody caught with
drugs is taken directly to jail without passing "Go" and is subject to the
death penalty.

Msg: 130
Date: 2000-10-02
Subject: Cairns, Queensland, Austraia, layover day

The oceanfront here has no sandy beach.  Birds searching in the mud were the
only creatures I saw there.

McDonald's, KFC, Baskin-Robbins, and Hungry Jack's were among the many food
places along the esplanade.  Hungry Jack's is the same as Burger King.

Food and tourism seem to be the main things for sale in Cairns.  When I got back
from my walk I learned that the lowest price I had seen for a half-day tour of
the Great Barrier Reef was not the lowest available.  Somebody had found one
for fifty dollars.  Because I depleted my saving so much after my injury I
decided not to go there on this tour.  I'll have to be content to see photos
and listen to other people's descriptions.

The rest of the afternoon will be devoted to repacking for tomorrow's flight.
Our bikes and duffels need to be loaded within the next three hours.

We'll have a meeting this evening which may be a briefing on Asia or may turn
into a gripe session.  Most riders are satisfied that they are getting what
they expected from this trip, but a few come up with nothing but negative
thoughts.  My thought is that, except for the first four and one-half months,
when I was recuperating, I've been getting what I expected and what I was
promised.  The big exception was medical staff, but that is being corrected for
Asia, the area where English-speaking medical personnel might be hard to find.
My problems stem from the unexpectd weakness that followed my accident, not from
anything that TK+A has done.  On the contrary, when we have bunk beds a lower
bunk is saved for me and for others who have difficulty climbing into an upper
bunk.

We got a revised itinerary at tonight's meeting.  Just before the meeting the
people at JAL (Japan Airlines) decided not to let our Malaysian Airline plane
land.  The Malaysians will be putting pressure on JAL to let us in on
Wednesday.  We'll be in Cairns an extra day.  The schedule will be changed to
eliminate one layover day in Japan.

Msg: 131
Date: 2000-10-02
Subject: Cassowary

The cassowary is a large flightless bird which stands up to two meters tall and
ranges from New Guinea and the Aro Islands in the north to near Townsville,
Queensland, Autralia,in the south.

It lives mainly on native fruits, seeds, berries and sometimes fish.  Its diet
makes it an important part of the ecosystem because its droppings spread seeds
which germinate in the rainforest to continue the cycle.

After laying the eggs (usually three or four) the female cassowary abandons her
mate, leaving him with the jobs of incubating the eggs and caring for the young.
During this period he can be quite aggressive, attacking with an elongated,
sharp outer talon, so no attempt should be made to approach on foot.

The cassowary is wary but can be quite curious.  The best opportunity of
sighting it is usually just after dawn and before dusk, when it sometimes can
be observed crossing the road.  If you stop the car and turn off the engine
there is a chance it may come right up to the vehicle.

Those at the Johnstone River Rocodile Farm kept their distance when we were
feeding bread to the kangaroos and wallabies.

Msg: 132
Date: 2000-10-03
Subject: Cairns, Queensland, Australia, extra layover day

This morning I went to the pier before breakfast to take a cruise to the Great
Barrier Reef.  I knew there would be a glass-bottomed boat so that even I, a
non-swimmer, would be able to see the coral reef and some colorful fish,

The reef has beautiful structures.  Sometimes it looks like a scene from a
science fiction movie.  Seeing it while snorkling or scuba diving would have
been better but I quickly learned that neither of those methods would work for
me.

When I returned from the sea there was a note posted on the hotel door saying
that we will leave tomorrow morning for either Malaysia or Japan.  Our plane
has been at the airport since Sunday.  At dinner we learned that we will not be
flying to Japan tomorrow and may stay here another day.  We may know more in
another hour or may not know until morning what will happen.

Msg: 133
Date: 2000-10-04
Subject: Cairns, Queensland, Australia, departure

We have a firm schedule.  We'll leave the hotel by bus at ten fifteen this
morning, fly in a chartered Malaysian Airline plane to Kuala Lumpur then split
into two groups to fly a chartered Japan Air Line plane and a chartered
Malaysian Airline plane to Kyoto, Japan.

We'll be in Japan for dinner tomorrow (that's today for USA) and will have the
next day as a layover day.  I'll not be sending a message for over twenty-four
hours unless we have a delay in Malaysia.

Msg: 134
Date: 2000-10-04
Subject: Cairns, Queensland, Australia, to Kuala Lumpur

The business class section of the aircraft was reserved for staff, riders who
have ridden every inch of the tour (there are seven still on that list) and
some of us older riders.  That's the first time I've ridden in the first class
section of an airplane.

We had a fairly large screen for movies and VCR tapes of TV shows without the
commercials.  Stereo headphones were provided at each seat.  We had two meals.

The plane touched down at about six thirty p.m. local time, which is two hours
earlier than it is in Cairns.  It was dusk but is now dark.  We're still in the
arrival room waiting to go to another building to pick up baggage so we can
clear customs and change planes.

We have been divided into two groups.  One group will ride with Japan Airlines
(JAL), leaving at eight forty-five.  The other group will ride with Malaysia
Airlines (MAL), leaving at eleven forty-five.  I'll be on the MAL flight.  It
doesn't matter, though, because the JAL people will ride the same buses to the
hotel that the MAL people will ride.

The tallest buildings in the world are here but we can't see them from the
airport.  They are twin towers connected by a bridge partway up.  The city is
seventy-five kilometers from the airport.

We could see a lot of water and rubber plantations as land came into view when
we dropped below the clouds.

~ ~ ~ ~

We're lucky.  Our checked luggage was taken from our incoming plane to our
outbound plane without our having to handle it.  We thought we would have to
handle it.

The airport is modern.  It has a lot of shops, moving walkways, elevators to
the second floor and aero trains to gates in the A and B areas.  I got on the
people movers going the wrong way to use them like treadmills.  I went the
whole distance on both of them.

We have to ride the aero train to our gate soon to wait an hour to board the
plane to Japan.  The cargo plane that was supposed to take our bikes is kaput
so we won't have bikes for two days at best.

The pay phones in the terminal accept credit cards and coins, with Visa, Master
Card and American Express shown on the sign, but my Master Card and Visa
weren't accepted.  A coin worked but access to the toll-free number I dialed
was denied so I'll have to see what success I have in Japan tomorrow.  Another
rider had the same result.

Msg: 135
Date: 2000-10-05
Subject: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Kyoto

We arrived at Osaka airport almost an hour earlier than we expected.  Customs
clearance was quick.  The drug-sniffing dog was a white German shepherd who
resembled my brother Jack's dog, Shiro, which he got in Japan.

Next step is to board the buses which will take us to Kyoto.  We have no idea
when we'll get our bikes.  Tomorrow is a layover day in Kyoto.

~ ~ ~ ~
Our bags came with us on the MAL plane, an Airbus three three zero, from Kuala
Lumpur.  It will take a while to get them unloaded.

Our hotel is about half a mile from the old imperial palace.  Kyoto was the
capital of Japan for one thousand years.  There are many shrines and temples in
and around Kyoto.  I'm too sleepy to wander around today.

Msg: 136
Date: 2000-10-06
Subject: Kyoto, Japan, layover

My plan this morning was to walk to an arcade, which is about seven blocks of a
street with a roof and shops on both sides.  From two p.m. to 9:00 p.m. cars
are excluded, but I was there in the morning when cars, mopeds, motorcycles,
bicycles and pedestrians were competing for the same space.  I wanted to buy a
pair of quick-dry shorts because I have only one.  The shopkeeper does not
honor credit cards, so I walked a couple of kilometers to an ATM.  It didn't
accept my card.  Inside the bank I learned that there is one bank that accepts
Visa and one that accepts Master Card, but neither has an ATM.  I had to take
my card and passport into the bank to get Japanese yen for lunch money.

Unfortunately I went on a visit to the Kyoto Handicraft Center because I had a
ticket for a free ride in a taxi.  I say "unfortunately" because I spied some
tee shirts there that I just had to have and spent lunch money for one and
bought the other two with a credit card.  Those purchases were not in my plan.
I didn't have time to get back to the arcade to get the shorts.  At least I had
a free bus ride back to the hotel.  If the bikes aren't here I can get back to
the arcade tomorrow.

If tomorrow is an unscheduled layover day because the bikes haven't arrived I
want to see some temples and shrines.  The vermillion-lacquered entry arch or
torii gate of the Heian Temple is number one on my list.

~ ~ ~ ~ 
At dinner we learned that the bikes are still in Malaysia.  They could be
brought here tonight but there's no guarantee that we would be able to get them
out of Japan next week.  They'll stay in Malaysia until we go to Hong Kong.
We'll have a bus tour of part of Japan.  Travel will be quicker but we'll miss
the closeness to the land and the people.  I guess we'll be able to get the
daily ice cream bar, though, except for the ones I'll skip to make up for
buying tee shirts.  By the way, one tee shirt has the calligraphy symbol for
"number one"; the other "happiness and long life".  The symbols are black on
red.  The third shirt has the outline of the map of Japan.

The place where we were scheduled to camp on Sunday was near the epicenter of
today's earthquake.  We'll bypass that spot.

We'll load gear and board buses tomorrow morning, leaving this hotel for
individual cloth rooms in a campground.  We'll be camping for the rest of our
stay in Japan, then not camp again until we get to New Zealand.

Msg: 137
Date: 2000-10-07
Subject: Kyoto to Amanohashidate (Miyazu), Japan

After breakfast I packed my duffel then walked about five kilometers to the
shopping arcade and back.  The shop where I had seen the quick-dry shorts
yesterday wasn't open yet so I still have only one pair of walking shorts.

When I returned to the hotel it was time to load the duffel and tent onto the
truck.  About an hour later the buses were there.  We are on our bus tour of
Japan, which is a disappointment we must tolerate.

We followed an expressway for a long time.  That would not have been our
cycling route.  I read a book or dozed most of the way but did look out the
window to see how intensely the land was used.  There were many large gardens
and small farms.  A major effort is being made to control falling rock along
the highway.

We stopped about halfway through the trip to stretch our legs, visit the
restroom and get lunch.  Every type of food imaginable was available at the
arcade style market.  My choices were dried fruits and green tea soft ice
cream.  I had a package of cookies that I had bought at Lawson's in Kyoto this
morning.  I also had a lot of raw peanuts, which taste like raw lentils.  I
didn't eat any of the peanuts today.

The bus drivers went past the campground, thinking we were going to another
one.  It took a while to get four buses and three trucks turned around and into
a small campground.

The topsoil in the campground is probably one quarter inch deep.  It's
difficult to get tent stakes through the rocky layer under that.  Lesson
learned:  buy a self-supporting tent, not one that requires stakes to form its
shape.

There are no flush toilets in the campground.  Three permanent squat potties
and five porta-squats plus the Odyssey showers constitute our sanitary
facilities.  There is some question about the potability of the water.  My
feeling is that, because skin is the body's largest organ, washing hands,
showering and brushing teeth require potable water just as much as drinking
does.

The hotel restaurant where we had dinner is about fourteen minutes away on
foot.  Dinner was tasty.  Even though they had chopsticks as well as silverware
the meat was American-style Salisbury steak (hamburger).  White rice and a
small salad accompanied the meat.  It was adequate for the inactivity of the
day.  I didn't use chopsticks.

Tomorrow is a layover day, replacing a bus ride which would have taken us near
the epicenter of yesterday's earthquake.  This was originally planned as a
bicycle tour, not a bus tour, so we may be going to places we would not visit
on a trip that was planned as a bus tour.

Daylight ends at about six p.m.  The moon's apparent position is the same as in
USA.  What is seen as the right side of the moon in USA is the bottom in
Australia.  It looked like a shallow bowl earlier this week.

Msg: 138
Date: 2000-10-08
Subject: Amanohashidate, Japan, ayover day

Amanohashidate is a "special scenic spot", one of the top three in Japan.  The
"Bridge of Heaven" is a narrow sand bar that extends three and six-tenths
kilometers across Miazu Bay in the north part of Kyoto Prefecture.

Its many temples attract tourists.  The shops all seem to sell food.  I didn't
see any postcards.

I walked across the sand bar, joining hundreds of people.  Undoubtedly there
were more than usual on an October day because this is national fitness and
exercise weekend.  Walkers who participated in the official walks of fifteen,
thirty and forty kilometers stopped at checkpoints to have their cards stamped.

Tomorrow is a national fitness and exercise holiday.  The objective is to keep
people healthy and fit as the number of people over sixty-five years of age
increases.

There are a funicular railway and a chairlift that go up a mountain at the
north end of the sand bar.  I didn't go up.  People who go up there to
Kasamatsu Park bend at the waist and look between their legs at the sand bar,
making it look like a bridge to heaven.

Tomorrow we have a six-hour bus ride to our next campground at Mountain Sambe.
With darkness coming at about five thirty there won't be much time for mountain
climbing.

We got an updated schedule for Japan and travel to Hong Kong.

A few raindrops hit me on the way back from dinner.  Rain started in earnest
soon after I reached the tent.

Msg: 139
Date: 2000-10-09
Subject: Amanohashidate to Mountain Sanbe, Japan

The rain stopped long enough for us to strike our wet tents.  It started again
after we were on the buses and didn't stop until afternoon after we had boarded
the buses after a rest stop.

The market at the rest stop had fresh vegetables, fresh and dried fruits,
vending machines for drinks and ice cream, Japanese delicacies and a line of over
two hundred people waiting to pay at the single cash register.

The first part of our route took us through valleys between mountains.  Until
the rain stopped the mountains were partially hidden by fog.

Small areas had houses crammed closely together.  Outside of those settlements
the land was farmed intensely, with lots of terracing.  Houses all seem to have
tile roofs.

Saturday I think I failed to mention that Japanese children go to school on
Saturday.  They are uniformly dressed in white shirts and blouses and navy blue
trousers and skirts.  Teenage boys on a field trip to a palace wore uniform
jackets with high collars similar to the uniforms at military schools.  They
may have been from a military school.

I expected to see more autumn leaf color than I have seen.  One brochure
mentioned fall color.  There is hardly a hint of change.

We got to the campground after dark and pitched tents in a drizzle.  Dinner was
brought to the campground in boxes.  We will be eating box breakfasts and box
dinners for a while.

A shower costs two hundred yen or about two dollars, paid for by TK&A.  That
gives seven minutes with a pause button to stop the flow and the timer.

Msg: 140
Date: 2000-10-10
Subject: Mt. Sanbe to Miyajima, Japan

Last night's campground had an obstacle course for the children who camp
there.  Last night and this morning it was used by some of us.  The campground
had plenty of space, as does tonight's.

Our bus ride to Hiroshima took most of the day.  We made one rest and food
stop.  At Hiroshima we had two hours to explore the peace park and museum.

In addition to the information about the first atomic bomb that was used in war
there was background information about Hiroshima and the Japanese wars prior to
World War II.  Many Korean slaves were in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki when the
atomic bombs were exploded.

The theme at the parks in both cities is that there should be no more war and
no more atomic bombs.

A ferry took us to the island where today's campground is.  It's roomy but has
one minor problem.  The deer in the campground go into tents where there is
food.  Some of them know how to open zippers.

This is our last night of camping until we get to New Zealand.  Campgrounds
aren't available along our routes in China, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia or
Singapore.

The meals in Japan have been adequate for a bus trip but would not have
satisfied this group if we had been cycling.

Msg: 141
Date: 2000-10-11
Subject: Miyajima to Osaka, Japan

Breakfast consisted of two rolls, one floret of broccoli, a cup of soup, a few
french fries and a hard-boiled egg.  Salt was on the outside of the egg but I
didn't see anybody eating the shell.  Some of the salt stuck to my fingers when
I peeled the shell off and was transferred to the egg.  That was the first time
I've had soup for breakfast.  It was good.

I saw a deer take a piece of paper from a tent and eat it (the paper, not the
tent).  It's good that it wasn't a DRG (daily route guide).

While we waited for everybody to get to the port to catch the ferry back to the
mainland I was talking with a man who had been a trainer for a Japanese
subsidiary of Texaco.  He had gone to school in New York about ten years ago.
Someody took a picture with my camera of the two of us flanking a deer.  After
his retirement after thirty years of working Thomas took a job as a hotel
janitor so he would stay healthy.  He uses pine cones as golf balls.  He
augments his fitness program with lots of cigarettes.  Japanese men seem to
smoke as much as Europeans do.

It was a day of waiting.  We waited for breakfast.  We waited for the sun to
dry our tents.  We waited for everybody to get to the ferry terminal.  We
waited on the mainland for the last truck to come across.  We waited for relief
bus drivers.  I don't know why a bus company would send drivers who would have
more hours on the road than regulations allow.

One cyclist, Jim, rode into camp late last night, having ridden the entire
original route on a single-speed bike that he had bought.  It took him four
days to ride the distance that we rode in buses in three days.

We'll arrive this evening at a hotel at the Osaka airport.  I was hoping to
wash clothes, but it's unlikely that there will be a chance to do that.

We stopped at a Japanese restaurant for dinner.  Some people said it was among
the best ten meals of the trip.  I found it difficult to eat with chopsticks
and didn't like the raw seafood.  I ate a little of each item except soy sauce
and things that people said were hot and ate all of some things.  The soup was
good but the noodles were too long for me to handle with chopsticks.  The food
was edible and most of it was tasty but I'm glad we didn't eat traditional
Japanese dinner every day.

We got to the hotel after nine thirty.  By the time I got my duffle to the room
on the thirty-first floor it was after ten.

Ana Gate Tower Hotel is a luxury hotel.  It will be a good memory to save for
what I expect not to resemble it in China, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia.
Probably Hong Kong and Singapore will be the only places that will have the
high quality we have here.

Elbert and I share a room designed for handicapped people.  The bathroom has
handrails and two showers:  one in the tub, which has grab bars and a floor
that is about two inches lower than the room floor, and one on the wall outside
the tub, with a bench that would be easy to transfer to from a wheelchair.

Msg: 142
Date: 2000-10-12
Subject: Osaka, Japan, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Last night's shower was so good that I started the day with another shower.
The pressure can be adjusted from a fine spray to power that stings.

Breakfast was a buffet which included croissants, sweet rolls, bread or toast,
jams, grapefruit juice, orange juice, tomato juice, apple juice, bran cereal,
corn flakes, milk, hard boiled eggs, poached eggs, scrambled eggs, home fries,
potato cakes, small sausages, ham, bacon, miso soup, white rice, seaweed, tofu,
soy sauce, vegetables of some kind, fruit cocktail, yogurt, and some things I
couldn't identify.  I didn't take everything or I would still be there.  I did
take some soft round things which looked good but turned out to be more sour
than vinegar. I made a decision to take only one of anything new, although I
did force all three down and chased them with other foods quickly.

About half of us are flying once more on Malaysian Airlines to Kuala Lumpur
(KL).  We'll stay overnight then go northward to Hong Kong tomorrow.  The other
half are on a Cathay Air plane and will arrive in KL before we do.  Our bikes
are still in Malaysia and are to join us on tomorrow's flight.  It will be good
to get back on the bike in China.

It's an hour earlier here than it is in Japan.

Tonight's hotel is at the airport.  Dinner had so many foods that it's hard to
name them.  I ate small portions of several Malaysian dishes, turkey ham,
french fries, edible pod peas, green beans, carrots, fruits, desserts and ice
cream.  I took one spoonful from the bowl of soup but it felt like my throat
was on fire and that smoke was coming out of my ears, so I gave it to somebody
who likes peppery foods.

Msg: 143
Date: 2000-10-13
Subject: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Hong Kong

A big, early breakfast was prelude to gathering of bags and walk to the
airport.  We waited while our tickets were printed, then proceeded through
passport control and customs and by train to the waiting area near our gate.

Our big bags were tagged and loaded by others.  We didn't have to take them
through customs.  We probably will have to take care of them ourselves in Hong
Kong.  After we clear passport control in Hong Kong we have to turn our
passports over to the Chinese consulate to have visas attached.  A small group
will need special treatment for their off-route excursion to Beijing.

My seat on the airplane is the first one I've had by a window.  It's not much
better than a seat elsewhere because I look out onto the wing.  At least I'll
be one of the first who can report if the left wing falls off.  This is the
same seven-four-seven we've flown in before.  I think we'll see it again for
the flight from New Zealand to Hawaii.

We landed in Hong Kong and went through passport control.  We were waved
through customs and are waiting for transportation to the hotel.  Only forty
people go on a bus.

Msg: 144
Date: 2000-10-14
Subject: Hong Kong layover day

After breakfast I went to the hotel's self-service laundry on the
twenty-seventh floor and learned that the washer takes a long time and the
dryer takes longer.  There are two washers and two dryers, but one dryer is
small.  A Chinese woman put a big load of dripping clothes in the small dryer,
so that will be tied up all day.  An American told me that his co-worker put a
load in yesterday and waited four hours for it to be dried, and it wasn't
dripping wet.  I put my name on the waiting lists for washer and dryer, then
washed by hand and hung things in the bathroom.  I scratched my name off the
washer list but would like to dry the clothes when my name is next on the dryer
list.

While I was washing my clothes another cyclist, who shall be nameless to
preserve his privacy, somehow managed to open the door on a washer during what
was probably a rinse cycle.  A blue waterfall poured out of the front-loading
washer and kept coming after the water's color cleared.  I shut off the power
switch and he shut off the water valve but water kept coming.  After it stopped
a housekeeper mopped up the water with a towel.  It usually isn't possible to
open a washing machine door when it's working.  That was a surprise event.

I walked out into the drizzle to mail a parcel containing things that I won't
need.  I need to reduce weight and increase space in my duffel.  I had intended
to mail tee shirts but they are still wet so they'll have to stay with me.  I
think we have to pay four US dollars for every kilogram over twenty kilograms
when we catch the ferry tomorrow.

As you can tell by its name, Kowloon Panda Hotel is in the Kowloon section of
Hong Kong, on the peninsula rather than on Hong Kong Island.  The former
British Crown Colony of Hong Kong consisted of a peninsula and hundreds of
islands.  On my trip here many years ago I was only on Hong Kong Island.

"High rise" has a different meaning here.  It seems to mean "normal height".
When I look out the window I see nothing but high rise buldings.  With so many
high rise apartments I guess people no longer sleep in shifts as they did
forty-four years ago.

I'm surprised at the high cost of some things here.  To make it worse the
exchange rate has to be calculated.  If you buy an ice cream cone for
twenty-two dollars you divide by seven to find that you've just spent more than
three US dollars.  A Sprite or Coke in a vending machine costs ten dollars,
equal to one dollar, forty-two cents US.  I didn't check the prices at
McDonald's to see how much a hamburger costs.  I'll be right back after I do
that.  It's only a block away.  I've decided to stay in Kowloon rather than get
a few hundred more Hong Kong dollars to go to Hong Kong Island.

A hamburger at McD is five dollars, equal to a little over seventy cents US.  A
chicken fillet meal is nineteen Hong Kong dollars, or about two dollars and
seventy cents US.

It's two p.m. and we haven't been told when or where we'll connect with our
bikes.  We leave Hong Kong early tomorrow morning.

Elbert came back from the laundry and said that one washer and one dryer have
"out of order" signs on them.  The dryer is the one that the Chinese woman
loaded with wet clothes; the washer, the one that was forced open this morning.
I'm number three on the dryer list.

By five thirty my clothes are dry.  Just about then we got word that we are to
take our camping gear downstairs for storage somewhere until we get to either
Singapore or New Zealand.  We will not use our tents until we get to New
Zealand.

Before dinner we got our passports back.  The China visa has been stamped in
the passport.

Tomorrow's activities will start early.  We get on buses at six thirty.  We
will ride to a ferry terminal, a ferry for four hours, then buses for four
hours.

Msg: 145
Date: 2000-10-15
Subject: Hong Kong to Wuzhou, China

We are on the China ferry after a bus ride from the hotel.  We had to retrieve
our luggage and clear customs to leave Hong Kong.  As a "Special Administrative
Region" of China, Hong Kong has separate passport and customs regulations.
I'll have the bags of a cyclist who went to Beijing.  Danny helped at the ferry
terminal by lashing two bags together with straps so I had to pull only two
instead of three.

Seeing a crane lift a bunch of our bikes and swing them onto the ferry was
cause for thought.  I wonder what condition the bikes will be in when we get
them.

The skyline of Hong Kong Island is much more interesting than the hundreds of
high rise apartment buildings of Kowloon.  Many of the buildings house
headquarters of corporations.  The ferry passed the anchorage from which I saw
Hong Kong when I was in the Navy.

The river the ferry traveled was muddy and often had a levee to protect the
floodplain from floodwaters.  Sometimes the mountains came down to the river's
edge.  The river is wide and the bridges over it are long and high.  Traffic
was stopped on one bridge but almost non-existent on most.

The ease of going through passport control and customs was suprising.  Our bags
and bikes were taken off the ferry and put just outside the terminal without
being inspected.  We each claimed our own baggage and took it to the trucks.
After the bags were loaded we went back to roll bikes out.  By chance mine was
next in line when I went back for a bike.  The chain is rusty and the bell
doesn't ring the way it did in Australia.

Dinner at the hotel took a long time.  Finally we were able to get to the bikes
to prepare them for tomorrow.  I aired the tires, installed seat and pedals,
turned the handlebar and lubricated the chain.  I didn't ride it but noticed
that the front brake was rubbing the rim and there was a grabbing feeling when
the wheel was aimed forward.  The brake problem was easily corrected but the
other problem means that the bike needs a new headset.  I'll be careful until
there's time to take care of that.

Separate bike and pedestrian paths are along the street in the city where the
ferry landed, Zhaoqing.  Hardly any litter is visible.  Driving is on the
right.  That adjustment should be easy because we haven't ridden for a couple
of weeks.

We have a four-hour bus ride to Wuzhou.  Buses each hold forty-one passengers.

We ride one hundred forty kilometers tomorrow instead of ninety-five because of
road construction.

Msg: 146
Date: 2000-10-16
Subject: Wuzhou to Xindu, China

Temperature was perfect for riding this morning.  I got twelve hundred meters
from the hotel when a pin on the rear derailleur broke and the bike suddenly
stopped because the chain was thrown off the cogs.  A cog scratched my leg but
drew no blood.  I coasted back down the hill then thought it would be OK to
pedal.  It wasn't.  The derailleur jammed against a cog and stopped me again.
I tried unsuccessfully to call the cell phones.  The van going to midday
checkpoint came along to give me and my bike a ride.

We heard a bang.  Jason thought it was my tire blowing out because of the heat
from the van's exhaust.  Smoke coming up from behind the driver was cause for
reassessment.  The van was on fire.  We held a Chinese fire drill.  The radio
had been connected directly to the battery and a short circuit caused the fire.

Some twenty kilometers past checkpoint there was a large crowd of children
surrounding a couple of yellowheads.  The driver stopped the van and we all got
out to join the Kodak moment.  What a time for a camera battery to die. At
least that's what I thought happened.  It turned out that the camera rewound
the film after only two exposures instead of thirty-six.

A little more than fifteen kilometers before we would have reached Xindu we
turned around to check the route to see if anybody had a problem.  That's why I
don't like to be in the lead sag vehicle.

There's a new rear derailleur on my bike.  That's good because it was five
hundred meters from the checkpoint hotel to the hotel where I'm billeted.  I
rode that three times this evening because dinner was in the checkpoint hotel.
Breakfast will be there tomorrow.  Altogether I rode a little over three kilometers
(two miles) tody, an impressive distance after two weeks without riding.

One rider said he thinks that the poorer people are the friendlier they are.
Today was the first time children have run out to see and talk to riders since
South Africa.  The smiling faces of children who can't understand what we say
are wonderful to see.  Many know the word "hello".

There was some climbing today that took the road to the ridge overlooking deep
valleys.  The DRG said that the road is being straightened and widened for a
long way.  That long way ended sixty-six kilometers later.  Several riders fell
into the mud or muddy water when their bikes slipped in the mud.  They looked
like the young water buffalo that rolled around in a puddle on purpose.

Much of the road construction is done by manual labor.  Some machinery sits
around unused.  They build stone walls, bridge piers, culverts, curbs by hand.
Trucks are used to haul aggregate and pile it high, then men load carts to wheel
it to where it's needed.  There are so many people that they must think of
people to do work instead of machinery.  When yellowheads come by some of the
workers stop working and gather around to smile and stare.  It was remarked that
there isn't much incentive to work in a communist country.  I expected to see
uniformed people standing around to make sure that workers work but they
haven't been there.

One of the beds in our room has a quarter-inch pad for a mattress.  Mine has a
mattress; a sheet that looks like many people have slept on it since it was last
washed, if ever; a quilt that looks the same; and a hard pillow that's covered
with a piece of cloth about the size of a dish towel.   I guess this is the
beginning of the downhill slide in Asia.  That will make us appreciate New
Zealand, Hawaii and California.  I hope I don't complain too much in the next
couple of months.

Our bathroom has a lavatory with a non-functioning hot water faucet and a
functioning cold one; a shower above the squat toilet; and a water heater that
heats water for the shower.  The hallway smells like propane because people
have been trying to get hot water.

Msg: 147
Date: 2000-10-17
Subject: Xindu to Zhonghan, China

I haven't seen any pay phones in China.  I haven't seen any coins, either.  Paper
money is used even for one yen.  Exchange rate is more than eight yen to the
dollar.  You may not get this until we reach Thailand or Malaysia.

Although the sky darkened for a while to the north we didn't run into rain today.
We passed lots of school children.  They may not have learned much today because
they were lining the porch rails and the streets to wave and yell "Hello".  One
group had yellow flowers for us to grab.

There was a big traffic jam when a truck and bus collided.  From a distance I saw
the bus being returned to the highway by a crane.  There was no vantage point for
taking pictures because of the traffic.  I was able to weave through and get quite
a few kilometers ahead before vehicles began to overtake me.

There were vegetable farms as well as rice paddies today.  There weren't many
villages or towns.  No signs for ice cream showed.  The Chinese take that term too
literally.  Their ice cream is half a glass of chopped ice topped with whipped
cream.  My wish was for a Magnum bar.

Sharing the road are pedestrians with and without burdens, bicycles with and
without burdens, tricycles with burdens, mopeds with as many as four people
riding, motorcycles, trucks with small front wheels spaced closely together and
rear wheels spaced further apart, automobiles, station wagons, vans, pickup
trucks, buses and large trucks.  The small trucks sometimes are steered with
handlebars or tillers.  Most of them sound like they have two cylinders.  Drivers
of buses and large trucks make the most noise with their horns.  When two large
ones are passing in opposite directions it's often necessary to dodge through
broken glass to avoid being hit.

Speaking of being hit, a dog ran in front of me then did a to-the-rear movement
and stuck one leg under my front wheel.  It didn't yelp or limp and the bystanders
just laughed.  I felt lucky that I didn't lose control of the bike.

We got into carst country.  Until I saw them I had no idea what a carst is.  The
DRG mentioned them.  They are strange shapes of limestone that have been pushed up
where two tectonic plates meet.  Most are still intact but there is quarrying of
some.

Sawmills saw stone into slabs.  Most of the stone was limestone but some looked
like marble.

The DRG said that the distance would be just under ninety-six kilometers.  My
distance was one hundred two + kilometers (sixty-three + miles).  Only five
hundred meters of that was from the hotel to breakfast.

After dinner I went out to see what shops were still open.  The street that was
jammed with people had closed down but the street closest to the hotel had open
shops.  The hotel courtyard was full of children asking for autographs.  This
small town seldom has tourists and almost never has westerners.

Except for a leaking trap on the lavatory drain this is a first class hotel.  The
dinner was excellent.  The only free beverage was tea.  A bottle of water cost
three yuan or almost forty cents.  I may have called the money "yen" sometime.
"Yen" is Japanese.

Msg: 148
Date: 2000-10-18
Subject: Zhongshan to Yangshuo, China

We had two things all day:  karsts and children.  The children said "hello" on
their way to school, at school, on their way home from school and after they got
home.  We still seemed to be the most exciting part of their day.

Yangshuo is a big change for us.  It's a tourist town and we saw no children.
Many of the tourists speak English.  I chatted with a couple from Holland who are
staying here for three days.  They had rented mountain bikes.  One of our riders
said she found Snickers, Pringles and Magnum bars.  Tomorrow I expect to find a
Magnum bar.  It has been difficult to ride without an ice cream stop.

Our staff members are not allowed to drive the trucks and vans in China.  We have
Chinese drivers.  One lives in Yangshuo.  He brought his wife to the hotel this
evening.  She brought hand-embroidered cases that will hold a passport and money.
Each has two zippered pockets and two other pockets plus a Velcro fastener.  She
sells them for ten yuan. "Yuan" is pronouned the same as Japanese "yen".

Once today I saw two people with water buffaloes that they were leading in circles
in a heap of clay, manure and straw.  They were mixing the ingredients for
hand-made, sun-dried bricks.  There have been quite a few stacks of bricks drying
in the sun.  There have also been quite a few places where concrete blocks were
being made by hand.

I was glad the tunnel through a karst was only about one hundred meters long.  It
was dark and had no shoulder.  No motor vhicles were behind me so I rode in the
middle of the right lane.  The shoulder ended before the tunnel and resumed after
the tunnel.

I don't know how to rate the Xi Lang Hotel.  It gets less than one star because
the bathroom looks like it was designed and built by someone whose usual job is
converting garden tillers into trucks.  The bolt on the door may have been an
afterthought because it doesn't go into a hole.  A cold water pipe that goes to the
toilet sits on the faucet handles for the lav.  The flush valve for the toilet has
to be held as long as it's needed.  The hot and cold water faucets are the reverse
of what we're used to.  The lav drainpipe used to go into a hole in the floor but
the lav has moved and the pipe misses the hole and spills the water onto the
floor.  The shower gets warm water, which is a plus, but that plus is offset by the
slope of the tub away from the drain and the lack of a shower curtain or door.
The only towels are small hand towels.  Two nights here may not be a wonderful
experience, so I'd better enjoy tomorrow's layover day.

Distance today was almost one hundred seventeen kilometers (seventy-two + miles).

Msg: 149
Date: 2000-10-19
Subject: Yangshuo, China, layover day

When the rain stopped this afternoon Elbert and I started out for the post office
so he could mail a parcel.  He needed to replenish his supply of Yuan so he
learned that the place to exchange money was Bank of China.  A motorcycle cab
driver said it was a twenty-minute walk to the bank.  He rode her cab then decided
to walk back in order to see the interesting shops.

Meanwhile I looked at shops and found something I wanted to buy.  I didn't have
enough Chinese money and walked to Bank of China to get enough to last at least a
few days.

We found Magnum ice cream bars before Elbert got into the cab.  They were worth
the walk.

Much of the afternoon was spent walking around town looking at shops.  Almost
everything is sold in them, from television sets to candy.  One restaurant had two
dressed dogs ready to cook.  I prefer Magnum bars.

The opening ceremonies of the Sydney Olympics have just made it to Chinese
television.

Tomorrow we leave this tourist town and head northwest, I think, still in the
carst region.

Msg: 150
Date: 2000-10-20
Subject: Yangshuo to Guilin, China

It's raining this morning just as it did yesterday.  Assuming that the rain will
last into the afternoon I joined a group who are hiring two buses and a truck to
go to Guilin.  Each bus will carry twenty people; the truck will carry the bikes.

The hazards of riding in the rain today include, in addition to wet roads, two
very rough railroad crossings, construction and the ever-present manure.

A bus-bus collision looked pretty bad.  There were lots of injured people.  I'm
glad our buses weren't involved.

It's hours later and is still raining. The hotel is a three-star one and we have
no complaints.  Everything works but there is a small leak at the inlet valve for
the toilet.

People who rode are filthy and wet.  A hotel worker sprayed their bikes and rain
jackets for five yuan each.  They said that except for the rain it was a good
ride.  The road was concrete with a wide shoulder.  I had expected it to be
slippery blacktop.

The hotel isn't near the main part of town.  I walked to the nearest post office,
which was about two kilometers away, and still wasn't near the center of town.

Rain came down all day.  Some puddles are more than six inches deep and half the
street wide.

A few children leaving schools said the "hello" that we have been getting when
we're on bikes even though I was walking.  Two practiced English for several
blocks, showing their knowledge of colors.

Dinner was about the best traditional Chinese we've had.  I'm not good with
chopsticks and find that the thick porcelain soup spoon often is a better tool.

Tomorrow is a layover day.  The town's claim to fame is mostly the limestone
karsts that we've been seeing for the past couple of days.  There are some other
scenic things in the area which would be better to see without paying the fees
that tour guides charge.  I see no sense in going to any of them if it's still
raining.  I don't like to take pictures on dreary days.

Msg: 151
Date: 2000-10-20
Subject: Guilin, China, layover

Rain continues.  I don't know whether I'd rather do nothing on a rainy day or get
soaked riding.

The rain quit for a while.  I walked to the post office to mail some rolls of film
then decided to explore a side street.  It became an alley after it turned the
corner.  It was lined with rather ugly residences with tiny, litter-strewn
courtyards stuck between them.  Eventually it came onto a broad avenue with four
lanes for cars and trucks, a separate lane on each side for bikes and mopeds and
an outside lane on each side for pedestrians.  The pedestrian lanes had the most
people.  On the other side of the street the railroad was beyond the pedestrian
lane.  I turned right and after walking a block recognized the street that went
through an underpass.  Instead of returning to that street I stayed up and walked
past some new buildings to the second street to the right.  Several blocks later
the sidewalks on both sides became a mass of people slowly walking between
makeshift stands.  It was like a department store that was squeezed onto the
sidewalk.  All kinds of brand name goods were available.  I assume that it was all
bogus and that the music was pirated.  There were suits, slacks, sport coats,
shirts, blouses, skirts, socks, shoes, jackets, coats, pens, umbrellas, watches,
shavers, music CDs and just about anything else you can imagine.  The problen was
to walk through the thousands of shoppers.

The drizzle resumed before I got back to the hotel.

After dinner we were told that the area where we're supposed to go in Vietnam
isn't flooded.

Msg: 152
Date: 2000-10-22
Subject: Guilin to Longsheng, China

The two jerseys, two cycling shorts and one of two pair of socks I washed by hand
two days ago are still damp.  They'll have to be packed into the duffel.

It started to rain again shortly after I left the hotel.  The road had lots of
potholes.  Going through a puddle is dangerous on that type of road because a
puddle may surround a hole.  The airport road was a big improvement. It was
concrete and had a separate wide lane for bikes, mopeds and pedestrians.  The next
road was rougher but not as rough as the first one.

Several of us stopped at a chopsticks factory.  There was one machine turning out
chopsticks.  It sat in a big room and was tended by one person.

With raindrops on my glasses and rearview mirror it was hard to see the scenery.
After a while my eyes started to burn.  I thought it was from the rainwater running
through the helmet pads, so I soaked them and squeezed them.  The rain quit for a
while, then resumed.  The burning sensation kept getting worse.  I realized that
it was not the helmet, but the burning feeling was caused by the rain.  When it
reached the point that I couldn't see and had to shut my eyes Karen-Ann came along
and picked me up.  She had eyedrops which made my eyes feel better.  They were red
from whatever pollutant was being washed from the air.

My distance was almost sixty-four kilometers (almost forty miles).  The DRG showed
the total as ninety-four kilometers modified to eighty-one kilometers because bus
transportation was provided for the last thirteen kilometers, where the road was
under construction.  It would have been a beautiful ride on a sunny day.

Msg: 153
Date: 2000-10-24
Subject: Longsheng to Rong

The day started with mist in the air that could be felt on the skin. It didn't
take long for the drizzle to start, but it didn't last long.

The route followed a river for a long while.  Rice terraces and paddies were part
of the scenery almost all day.  Fairly level roads followed the river and a creek
but there was a long, steep climb just before midday checkpoint.  I had to stop
twice on that climb when my heart rate was too high.  I resumed pedaling both
times after my pulse rate dropped to about 90.  That climb tired me.  Later climbs
were not severe but I had to walk parts of three of them and accepted a sag ride
after one hundred three kilometers (sixty-four miles).

There were several wood inspection checkpoints today.  Each had a red and white
pole across the road.  An inspector raised the pole for each vehicle that wasn't
carrying wood.

This is rice farming country,  Much of it was being harvested today.  Cutting is
done with a long-handled knife.  On some paddies the plants were tied in shocks.
On many paddies a small thresher was used to remove the grain from the stems.  The
operator pumped a treadle to turn a drum which had spikes on it.  Grains were
spread to dry on large pieces of canvas.

Children continue to line the roads and wave and shout "hello".  I guess that will
happen throughout China.

The dried fruit I bought yesterday was apricots with the stones left in.  One kind
was sulfured (Chinese style); the other kind was unsulfured (Hong Kong Style).
The Chinese style may also have been soaked in sugar water.  The sandwich cookies
were individually wrapped and were so soft that they crumbled when the wrapper was
removed.  I expected something like Fig Newton.  The peanuts were roasted in the
shell.  The shell had been coated with red clay. I expected shelled peanuts coated
with something edible.

There is no hotel big enough in Rong'an to hold all of us.  We are renting rooms
in four hotels.  The shower is over the squat toilet.  I washed and rinsed my head
so I could keep my eyes open to avoid stepping into the toilet by mistake.

Many riders fell on wet roads today.  One was hit by a motorcycle before he could
get up.  He said he wasn't seriously hurt but had some rib pain that didn't feel
like a rib was broken.

Msg: 154
Date: 2000-10-25
Subject: Chang'an to Liuzhou, China

The first fifty-three kilometers today were by bus through a construction zone.

We passed the few riders who chose to cycle instead of riding the bus.  There was
so much mud that I wonder if they regretted their decision.  The dry sections had
traffic which stirred up the dust and uneven surfaces that jarred us.  With so
much hand labor involved I wonder when such a long stretch of road will be
finished.  The traffic is always in the way because there probably is no alternate
route.

New crops appeared today:  sugar cane, lotus, squash and other vegetables.  Of
course there was rice.

From the place we were dropped off from the bus to our hotel was sixty kilometers
(thirty-seven miles) of level to rolling road.  The temperature was in the 80's
Fahrenheit which was OK while we rode.  It was too warm in the sun when we
stopped.

For lunch I found some pastries and Mandarin oranges.  I bought two large
oranges and saved one for tomorrow.  Four pastries and the oranges cost five yuan,
which is worth about fifty-eight US cents.  I also bought a can of energy drink
for three and a half yuan but didn't notice any increase in energy.

It was a good ride today with views of lots of karsts and rice harvesting.

Jingdu Hotel was a surprise.  We had been told that the first hotel we had in
China would be our last good one.  This one is at least as good.  It has American
Standard plumbing fixtures and everything works.  CNN is received by satellite.

Dinner was Western style and breakfast tomorrow is supposed to be Western style.

Msg: 155
Date: 2000-10-26
Subject: Liuzhou to Binyang, China

Liuzhou is a medium-sized industrial city.  Leaving was an experience that you
won't find in the United States.  Hardly anybody pays attention to traffic lights.
Mopeds, motorcycles and bicycles came from all sides.  It was a relief to get
onto a rural road.

The ride was mostly level, with some long but not steep climbs.  There were karsts
and ricefields as before but we also got to sugar cane country.  One town was near
a coal mine.  Vegetables also appeared in quantity.

The coal is in both lumps and stoker size.  Loading of trucks and trailers is done
by hand.

Cane harvesting is another hand operation.  Pieces of cane stalks are put into
sacks and carried by cyclists on their backs.

At lunch break I bought a bowl of noodle soup.  The noodles are the types we've
been seeing on drying racks along the road.  I made sure that the packet of hot
spices didn't get into my bowl.

By the time I had cycled one hundred forty kilometers I knew that there would not
be enough daylight to get to Binyang so I rode a sag to the finish.  We raise a
fist to let the sag driver know we're ready to be picked up.

At Binyang I learned that one hotel had not saved enough rooms and we were going
to be bused to Nanning.  That was good because all hotels in Binyang have no more
than a one star rating because of their squat toilets.  Guangxi Nanning
International Hotel is a five star hotel.

We were offered the option of riding a bus back to Binyang tomorrow morning to
ride our bikes instead of having them moved by truck.  I've accepted the option
because it's a shorter ride than today's and because bikes sometimes don't fare
too well on the trucks.  The problem will be getting out of Binyang in one piece.
Navigating through Nanning's traffic will also be challenging.

Msg: 156
Date: 2000-10-27
Subject: Binyang to Nanning, China

The bus to Binyang didn't leave on time, making the start of the ride half an hour
late.

In general it was a good ride.  There was a lot of fairly level and gently
rolling road.  There were also some climbs and descents, as evidenced by my top
speed of fifty kilometers per hour.  Most of the villages were muddy or dusty or
both.  The first village we reached had little trucks parked three wide on a
two-lane sea of mud.  I followed another Yellowhead into an alley and we worked
our way through other dry dirt alleys to a point beyond the traffic jam.

Round watermelon and what looked like small pineapples were lined up along the
road in one village.  Most villages have small stores or stands offering food for
sale but I seldom find things that I want to buy.  I bought two pastries, two
packages of cookies and two Mandarin oranges today.

Distance, including a tour into a lot of dead-end alleys in an apartment complex
which I entered by mistake, was a little over ninety-five kilometers (fifty-nine
miles).

Our passports won't be back until tomorrow afternoon so we won't be able to leave
China to go to Vietnam until Sunday morning.  That gives us an extra day in
Nanning (accent is on the last syllable).

Msg: 157
Date: 2000-10-28
Subject: Nanning, China, layover

Looking out the window I see hardly any traffic.  It's a big contrast from
yesterday.  Saturday must be a day off here.

When I tried to dial the toll-free number for MCI to send email this morning I got
a sound which indicated that the number couldn't be reached.  In other parts of
China I had no problem reaching MCI when I found a phone.  The number for ATT
could be reached but ATT would not accept Master card, Visa or Discover so I had
to go through the Chinese phone company and charge ninety-two yuan (about eleven
US dollars) to a credit card at the hotel reception desk.

I may not be sending email again until we get to Malaysia in about three weeks
unless there's a good reason to send from Vietnam.  Cost in Vietnam is four times
as much as from China and there are no pay phones in Thailand.  It may be possible
to use a hotel phone in Thailand, where a call may cost less than it does in
China.

This morning I washed clothes for the third day in a row.  I'm glad I haven't been
wearing cotton, which takes a long time to dry.  Polypropylene is the fabric of
choice for this kind of travel.

With sixteen yuan in my wallet that won't be worth much anywhere else I decided to
ride my bike around Nanning looking for McDonald's. There's one here and it's
supposed to be easy to find.  I rode twenty-five kilometers without finding it.  I
thought a McFlurry might hit the spot and should sell for the small sum I have
(under two US dollars).

When I returned I removed the pedals and seat for loading onto a truck tomorrow
morning.  It may be necessary to turn the handlebars but I can do that in the
morning.

Our passports, with Vietnam visas stamped in them, came back today.  We had to
wait this extra day in Nanning because the passports were delayed.  I hope the
three days of cycling in Vietnam are worth the eight days we don't cycle.  If it's
as good as China I'll be happy.

After dinner I walked to a store which had ice cream bars but it was closed.  On
the way I passed a line of about one hundred line dancers in the middle of the
wide sidewalk on a bridge over the river.

Msg: 158
Date: 2000-11-10
Subject: Big gap

All of the messages I wrote in Vietnam were lost when I left my 
PocketMail device on the bus.  It was impossible to send 
messages until we got to Saigon and the device was left on the 
bus that took me there.

We rode for three days in Vietnam.  Each time I rode the distance 
to the buses that were waiting to take us to the next overnight 
town.  In many ways Vietnam reminded me of China.  There were 
still rice paddies and terraces.  There were more vegetable crops 
than in China and many more mopeds and motorcycles.  Most of 
the time motor-driven cycles outnumbered bicycles about ten to 
one.  One exception was when middle school and high school 
students hit the streets during the noon hour.  The ratio seemed 
to reverse for a short time then.  It's amazing that there aren't 
more accidents.  Vietnamese drive primarily with the horn.  They 
are very skillful drivers and have quick reflexes.  For that I was 
thankful.

Most of the time the presence of Big Brother wasn't easily seen.  
He was there, of course.  A listing of abbreviations in the phone 
book showed many that pertained to the Communist Party.  The 
elementary students acted the same as those in China, 
shouting "Hello" as soon as they saw an Odyssey bike coming.  
Once in a while "Good morning" or "Good afternoon" could be 
heard.  

I was adopted as a riding partner three times.  The first man rode 
a bike that leaned to the left because of the heavy weight of junk 
on that side; he was a junk collector who probably would have 
been calling, "Rags!  Old iron!" if he had been in Pittsburgh in the 
1930s.  He could speak no English.  The second one was a high 
school student who spoke understandable English and practised 
his language skills for several kilometers before we got to his 
school.  The third one rode at least 30 kilometers with me.  His 
only word in English was "Goodbye".  All three of those cyclists 
rode well, moving ahead, dropping back or moving over as the 
situation required.

A  major difference between China and Vietnam is the method 
used to build roads.  In China the number one piece of 
construction machinery is the human body with hand tools.  In 
Vietnam much more machinery is used.

Much of our distance in Vietnam was covered by train and bus.  
>From the trains we could see lots of wetlands even though we 
weren't in much of the part of the country that was hit by floods.  
The trains are uncomfortable.

Msg: 159
Date: 2000-11-11
Subject: Phuket Island, Thailand

The dateline on this message shows that it is Friday 10 November 
but it is Saturday 11 November on this side of the world.  We are 
15 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time.

When I was walking around today I saw KFC, Baskin-Robbins, 
Starbucks, McDonald's  and Hagen Dazs.  Of course there were 
Kodak stores and Coke and Pepsi signs.  Hundreds of shops that 
are sandwiched between bars sell clothing, souvenirs and food.  I 
finally was able to find a store that had a note pad so I can write 
notes about what I see now that I don't have a PocketMail device 
to use at the end of each day.

This morning I braved the heat to ride a little over 15 kilometers.  
After zooming down a short hill at 60 kilometers an hour I decided 
that the climb wasn't going to be mine today.  I overheated on the 
climb and turned around.  Tomorrow I won't be able to do that.  
We'll go up that same hill.  My large water bottles hold 750 
milliliters each.  That was the right amount for 15 kilometers.  I'll 
need eleven bottles of water if I ride the entire distance 
tomorrow.  Originally we were supposed to take a ferry and ride 
only a short distance but the ferry is undergoing maintenance so 
we have to ride over 100 miles.  It's unlikely that I'll be able to
do that, and I won't be the only one who needs a sag.

This tourist area has a sandy beach with a sign that says it is a 
clean zone.  Lots of people are overexposing themselves to the 
sun.

Out of the crowds I could pick out English, French, German, 
Italian and Spanish phrases.  There were other languages but I 
don't know what they were.

When we had cleared customs at the Phuket International Airport 
a few days ago the first sign that greeted us was a three-
language listing of indications that a person is a hippy and is not 
wanted in Thailand.  I guess our cycling shorts are OK.  I hope 
the list is legible in the photo I took.

Msg: 160
Date: 2000-11-11
Subject: Status of Odyssey 2000 (R)

One of the messages that was still in the PocketMail device talked 
about a change in the Odyssey 2000 (R) world bicycle tour.  The 
tour operator, Tim Kneeland & Associates, Inc. (TK&A), has 
indicated that because of increased fuel and transportation costs 
it would be necessary for each cyclist to pay an additional $3,000 
to continue to the end.  The original information distributed about 
the trip mentioned that possibility.  TK&A gave us figures to 
support the necessity of an increase.

Some members balked at that requirement and decided that they 
would leave the tour.  Meetings were held to talk about options.  
TK&A eventually offered several options including paying $3,000 
to continue with the schedule to Burbank, leaving in Singapore 
and being paid for air transportation to California or Seattle, 
rejoining in Hawaii for a fee, returning in San Diego for a fee and 
returning in Burbank.  The hotel rooms and party room in Burbank 
are paid for, so no fee is needed for that final option.

Because I  missed the first 4-1/2 months of the trip  I opted to 
continue to the end even though it means increasing my debt.  I 
probably will never get to this part of the world again so I might as 
well see New Zealand and Hawaii.  You might not be able to tell 
from my messages that I am enjoying the tour.  I've had problems 
in getting around to see things on layover days because my body 
rebels when I try to push it too far.  I'm walking better now than I 
was in May and have walked as long as three hours.  Sitting 
without pedaling, as in riding sags, trains, planes and buses, 
gives me a stiff knee.  That may be a residual effect of 
December's fracture.  For that reason my dispatches from Japan 
probably didn't show much enthusiasm.  We didn't have our bikes 
there and were bused from place to place.  We also did a lot of 
busing in Vietnam but at least we had our bikes there and rode on 
three days.

I should get a new PocketMail device in New Zealand.  Until then 
I'll have to write notes every day so that when I get to an Internet 
cafe I'll be able to send messages.

Msg: 161
Date: 2000-11-12
Subject: Phuket to Krabi, Thailand

The hill that I reached yesterday was the one that I walked part way up today.  I
knew that would happen so it was no surprise.

Some of the mountains today resemble China's karsts but there weren't as many.
There were also longer mountains.

Fruit and rubber seem to be the main crops.  In Vietnam there were often nuts,
seeds and grains drying on the shoulders.  Sometimes they were on mats but
sometimes they were spread on the paving.  It's unlikely that the surface had been
scrubbed.

In Vietnam the garden tiller trucks were limited.  I saw only three in three days
of riding.  Today I saw one in Thailand.

The heat was almost unbearable.  About nine kilometers before the bailout point I
stopped in the shade to recover.  I had been drinking plenty of water all day but
still bonked.

I saw only one big Wat (temple).

Distance to the bailout point, where we were bused to the hotel, was 138
kilometers (85.7 miles).  The bus had to stop and hold a fire drill.  A piece of
cardboard had blown under it and caught fire on the exhaust system.

Everything works in the hotel.

At dinner I mistakenly bit into a pepper.  It burned me from the throat all the
way up to the ears.  I hadn't spotted it.

Msg: 162
Date: 2000-11-13
Subject: Krabi to Trang, Thailand

Except for one long hill today's ride was mostly almost level.  On that one hill I
walked 500 meters after my body temperature climbed too high in the high outdoor
temperature.

Rubber trees, palms and forests made the views green.

An Australian couple on motorcycles wondered if they were crazier than we.  They
had headed northward from Singapore, stopping at B&Bs even though they were
carrying tents.  They had stopped for tea.  They plan to go to Europe if their
money holds out.

Two middle school boys stopped me to practise their English.  Their knowledge was
limited to asking where I'm from, what's my name and giving me their names.  They
shook hands with me when they were done with that conversation.

Today's ride was 130.42 kilometers (81 miles), putting me over 6,000 miles for
this tour.

The hotel welcomed us with leis and the best Thai dinner so far.

Msg: 163
Date: 2000-11-14
Subject: Trang to Hat Yai, Thailand

A little over 30 kilometers out I had a flat tire.  When I removed the wheel I saw
right away that I also had a broken spoke.  A sag came along just then, so I rode
to checkpoint, where Jason installed a new spoke.  I patched the tube and started
off again, only to have another flat within 15 meters.  (That's meters, not
kilometers.)  I patched the tube again but it wouldn't hold air.  This time there
were two holes, so I gave up on that tube.  New tube had a hole in it.  Next tube
was good.

The countryside seems to be greener every day.  There was lots of rice growing
today.

My total distance today was 62.38 kilometers (38.74 miles).  In addition to the
repair stops I stopped during a thunderstorm.  I didn't see any lightning but
heard several peals of thunder.  The heavy downpour felt cold at first but became
comfortable.  I reached a sag van and sat it out, then started to ride again.
Another sag stopped to pick me up.

Tonight's dinner was every bit as good as last night's.

Msg: 164
Date: 2000-11-15
Subject: Hat Yat to Yala, Thailand

It rained all day.  That was OK, except for the dirt that comes up from the roads.

My first stop was when Shirl had her fourth flat tire of the day.  I pumped up her
tube to find the hole so she could patch it.  Somebody else was helping her put in
another tube.

Next stop was at Larry's position where he had removed a tire to fix a flat.
Somehow the bead turned inside out and he couldn't get the tire on.  I carry a
fold-up spare tire, so I lent him that so he could get back on the road.  I hope I
don't need a tire until I get a replacement.

Next stop was at the place where Shirl had just had her sixth flat tire of the
day.  I found the hole, she patched the tube and put foil on the spot where
something had gone through the tire, and I put the tire and tube back on.

Those stops made me so late at checkpoint that I decided to sag after only 91.36
kilometers (56.73 miles).

Shower water at the hotel was lukewarm, but that didn't matter.  The main job was
to remove the road dirt, and lukewarm water did that.

The local mountain bike club provided local fruits for our dinner.  Mangoes,
pineapples, bananas, coconut and something whose name I didn't understand made a
good dessert.  The club has one member who collects bikes and has one that is over
one hundred years old.  Club members swapped jerseys with some tour members.

We had welcome speeches from the deputy mayor and other dignitaries, followed by
dancing schoolgirls.

Msg: 165
Date: 2000-11-16
Subject: Yala to Narathiwat, Thailand

The day started with rain but eventually the sun came out.  I had my rainjacket on
at first but it got too hot so I removed it.  The rain stopped then, contrary to
the usual scheme of things.  It used to be that when I took the jacket off the
rain would resume.  It never did today.

Today I could see how the rubber tree trunks were slashed to gather latex.  I also
saw rice being planted by hand.  A giant Buddha was the other major sight.

I don't think I mentioned that in Thailand we are back to driving on the left side
of the road.  It was easy to get used to that again.

The shower water was good today and everything in the room seems to work.  The
lights are about as skimpy as yesterday's but are better placed.

Msg: 166
Date: 2000-11-17
Subject: Narathiwat, Thailand, to Kota Bharu, Malaysia

Roads were level today as we stayed near the coast of the South China 
Sea.  I rode a couple of kilometers off the route to go to the king's 
summer palace but didn't get to see it because I was too early.  There 
was a closed gate before I got all the way there.

At the border it took about two hours to get out of Thailand and 
another hour to get into Malaysia.  There was a river ferry between 
the two countries.  I have no idea why it was taking so long because I 
spent no more than one minute with the passport control official of 
each country.

Both countries had rice, palms and lots of children waving and 
shouting.  I learned that in Malaysia summer vacation began on 11 
November.  School buses are visible but seem to be empty.

Distance today was 74 kilometers or about 47 miles.

Msg: 167
Date: 2000-11-18
Subject: Kota Bharu to Merang (Terengganu), Malaysia

Crops today were rice, watermelon, coconuts and corn.  We had a police 
escort to get out of town.  Motorcycles relayed to block side streets. 
The police car behind me had lights flashing but waved motorists 
past.  The officer stayed with me for 19 kilometers then asked how old 
I am.  When I told him my age he asked if I wanted to ride with him.  
Then he asked me if it was OK for him to go ahead.  The distance 
between the next to last rider and me had widened and he was anxious 
to catch up to the main group.  We talked again when I got to the 
refreshment stand at about 42 kilometers.  The local people had 
provided fruit juice and large tents, knowing that it would be 
raining.  It's the monsoon season and we can expect rain every day.

On one bridge there were soldiers with machine guns.  They were at 
only one end of the bridge.

Twice I found small ice cream bars but no Magnum bars.  I also found 
Coca Cola's 100 Plus, a carbonated drink that contains sodium chloride 
and potassium chloride.  It comes in cans and plastic bottles.  The 
plastic bottles are a better buy.

Prayer time is 7:00 to 7:30 p.m. so our dinner was delayed a bit.  
Most of the people are Muslim.  Population is about 90% Malay, 10% 
Chinese in this area.

The resort hotel has ocean frontage.  Waves come onto a sandy beach.  
The offshore islands are in a haze.  Boats don't make daily trips to 
the islands in the monsoon season.

Msg: 168
Date: 2000-11-19
Subject: Merang, Malaysia, layover

It rained during the night and was hot and humid this morning.  It was 
a good day to do nothing much after a ride of 139 kilometers (86+ 
miles) yesterday.

From my window I could watch the waves coming onto the beach.  They 
aren't very high.  Walking on the sand and letting the waves make me 
sink in when I stood still was my main occupation today.

We were asked to wear a batik to dinner.  It's like a skirt and is 
worn by men and women.  We had musicians and dancers to entertain us 
at dinnertime.

Msg: 169
Date: 2000-11-20
Subject: Merang to Kijal (Southern Terengganu), Malaysia

The ride started out under a cloudy sky.  It didn't take long for the 
rain to reach us.  We are still close to the ocean, often having the 
coast in sight.  Palms and villages are about all we see besides sand, 
ocean and roads.  Villages bring the "hello" shouts, of course.

After a ride of 101.5 kilometers (63+ miles) we stayed at a plush golf 
resort.  In addition to an 18-hole golf course it had a fitness room, 
tennis courts, racquetball, swimming pool, beach frontage and the 
usual great Malaysian food.

Msg: 170
Date: 2000-11-21
Subject: Kijal to Kuantan, Malaysia

The rain this morning was so heavy that I waited until 9:20 to hit the 
road.  It was still raining but had tapered off quite a bit.  It 
continued to rain until 11:00 a.m. and didn't start again until after 
4:00 p.m.

We had to detour around an area where the road was under water and had 
many puddles to go around or through.

Checkpoint was at a good spot because I found a Magnum ice cream bar 
and a bottle of 100 Plus in the Shell Store there.

I got my first massage since July when I checked in at the end of the 
ride.  I massage my leg muscles after each ride but today I don't have 
to do that because Rachelle did it.  I think we are entitled to a 
massage every five weeks but I just haven't taken time to sign up.

At dinner we had musicians and dancers.  We also each got a baseball 
cap from the state of Pahang.  Kuantan is the capital of Pahang, the 
largest state on peninsular Malaysia.  We had a welcome speech.  This 
friendly treatment is becoming a habit in Malaysia.  If you ever come 
to Malaysia the state to visit is Pahang because it has everything:  
seacoast, resorts, mountains, rivers, islands, temperate zones for 
growing vegetables, tropical rainforest.

Msg: 171
Date: 2000-11-22
Subject: Kuantan to Kuala Rompin, Malaysia

On the way back from the Internet cafe last night I got soaked 
walking in a thunderstorm.  Cars going by splashed water over my 
head.  There was no sidewalk for about 3/4 of the distance so I was 
walking at the edge of the road (call it river).

Today's rains started at 11:00 a.m. and 11:45 a.am.  They were 
drenching downpours but felt good in the heat.  My rain jacket is in 
the duffel because it's too hot to wear it.  The closer we get to the 
equator the hotter it is.

Except for bridges the roads were level today.  We stayed close to 
the shore.

Cattle, goats, palm tree plantations and deciduous forests made up 
most of the scenery.

A man was standing by a coconut palm holding a yellow rope.  I had no 
idea why he was doing that.  Later somebody told me that when he went 
by that tree he saw a monkey climbing the tree.  He was tethered to 
the yellow rope and had been trained to knock down coconuts.

Distance was 138 kilometers (about 85.7 miles).

The hotel where we are staying tonight will be opened for business on 
Friday.  We are its first residents.  There are a few minor bugs to 
be worked out but it's very nice and the food is great.  The door to 
our room doesn't fit well and requires an extra push to open it and 
an extra pull to close it.

Msg: 172
Date: 2000-11-23
Subject: Kuala Rompin to Desaru, Malaysia

After a misty start this morning there were only two light showers 
while I was on the road.

Huge palms with ferns growing on them are the source of palm oil.  I 
don't know how it's extracted.  Other crops today were dates, 
coconuts, a red fruit (maybe that's where the oil comes from, because 
bundles of the fruit are stacked along the road and truckloads go by), 
bananas, yams and corn.

I saw one large monkey and lots of small ones in today's 134 
kilometers.  The hotel, which we reached by bus, had a warning about 
leaving clothes or food on the balconies.  Monkeys will take anything 
that is left where they can reach it.  That includes anywhere because 
they can climb and swing to get to any place on the outside of the 
hotel.  They live in the jungle that surrounds us.

Msg: 173
Date: 2000-11-24
Subject: Desaru, Malaysia, to Singapore, Singapore, via bike and ferry

The climbing to get to the ferry surprised me because I hadn't looked 
at the map to see how we would go.  I had pictured a level ride with 
the ocean in view.  The coastal road deadends at a bay making it 
necessary to go north and west to get to the ferry terminal.  The 
climbing wasn't steep but I've been spoiled by the level riding along 
the west coast of Malaysia.

There was only a minor sprinkle.  It felt good but didn't last long 
enough to cool me off.

It was necessary to clear passport control and customs before and 
after the ferry ride. It didn't take nearly as long as it took 
between Thailand and Malaysia.  The ferry runs every three hours and 
I was on the second trip of the day.  A good sized group had made it 
to the first ferry.  We spoiled their "on time" record because it was 
necessary to wait for official documents concerning the bicycles and 
gear.

It was a level ride to the hotel in Singapore.  We are located about 
17 kilometers from the center of the city but have all the services 
we need.

After dinner we had a fashion show where cyclists were able to 
display some of their purchases from all over the world.  Some skits 
were worked into the show, letting us see how zany some riders are. 
It was fun even though it would be the last time we see lots of the 
riders.  Singapore is the breaking-up point for Odyssey 2000 as we 
know it.  Only 71 will go on.  The others will divide into those who 
go directly back home and those who do their own things in Asia 
before going home.

The Odyssey Choir gave its final perfomance, singing some original 
songs and some standards.  We have always enjoyed their concerts.

The evening was ended with a showing of Odyssey Video #3.  That 
brought back lots of memories.

Msg: 174
Date: 2000-11-25
Subject: Singapore

Population of the island is mostly Chinese.  English is one of the 
official languages so it's easy to live here.  A language which is 
being discouraged because it hinders business transactions is Singlish 
which is a mixture of English, Malaysian, Chinese and Indian.

There were too many chores for me to do to allow time to get to the 
center city.  I sent a parcel to USA to make room in my duffel for my 
tent, which was expected to be delivered from Hong Kong today.  We 
were able to travel without tents in Asia because there are no 
campgrounds.  Second chore was cleaning the bike because dirt is not 
allowed to be taken to New Zealand.  We had to do that in Europe 
before going to Australia.  The monsoon season in Thailand and 
Malaysia and the muddy roads in China and Vietnam coated the bikes 
with dirt.  For shipment we removed pedals and turned handlebars.  I 
also removed my seat because seats sometimes are vulnerable when 
bikes are shipped.

A "B" movie on television occupied some time in the afternoon.  There 
wasn't enough time to go to town.

Dinner was one of my least favorites.  It was at the Chinese fish 
restaurant next door to the hotel.  It was necessary to supplement it 
with a Magnum or Mega ice cream bar.  I prefer Malaysian cooking to 
Chinese.

Msg: 175
Date: 2000-11-26
Subject: Singapore, Singapore to Christchurch, New Zealand

We were issued two large heavy duty plastic bags for wrapping bikes.  
The bike has to be carried once it's in the bags because the wheels 
won't turn.  Fortunately the bike is light when panniers aren't on it.

We had to clear passport control and customs, loading duffels and 
bikes for through checking.  I was glad of that because I didn't want 
to have to make trips with duffel and bike at the stopover in Sydney, 
Australia.

We flew on Emirates flight number 66 to Sydney and had a layover of 
over ten hours before it was time to check in for Air New Zealand 
flight numer 184.  The Emirates plane was a Boeing 777, which has 
movie screens in front of all the seats.  There are many channels to 
select from and radio programs also.  My screen didn't show 
the "INT" which allows playing of games so I watched part of "Mary 
Poppins".  I know that I slept through about half an hour of the 
movie and that that was all the sleep I got last night.  I slept for 
about 45 minutes in the airport terminal in Sydney before I found the 
Samsung free Internet facility.

I'm staying inside the terminal so I don't have to go through 
passport control twice.  I have no Australian currency and don't want 
to go to the ATM because it's usually not possible to get just a 
little.  We had breakfast on the plane and I have a package of 
cookies that will tide me over in lieu of lunch.

We're due to leave Sydney at 7:05 p.m. and arrive in Christchurch 
shortly after midnight.  We had a 3-hour time change between 
Singapore and Sydney and will have another 2-hour change tonight.  We 
had been 13 hours ahead of Eastern time in Malaysia but will have 
narrowed that gap to 8 hours tonight.

I hope to have a replacement PocketMail device waiting for me in 
Christchurch tomorrow so I can compose my message each day instead of 
writing notes and waiting to get to an Internet facility to send 
messages.

Msg: 176
Date: 2000-11-27
Subject: Sydney, Australia, to Christchurch and Queenstown, New Zealand

Three days seem to have been blended into one.  At the Sydney airport Samsung had
Internet kiosks with free access, so I was able to use my Hotmail account to get
up-to-date information posted and to clear a bunch of extraneous messages from the
eGroups.com postings.  When I set up that community I had one address wrong, which
caused a loop of messages about undeliverable mail.  I cleared out close to 60 of
the 250 messages on that website.

Our flight with Air New Zealand got us to Christchurch a little after midnight.
Time change was plus two hours, putting us 16 hours ahead of Eastern Standard
Time.  Going through quarantine inspection took a long time because our tents had
to be inspected to be sure we weren't bringing soil, grass or other organic matter
into the country.  We escaped that inspection in Australia, which has the same
restrictions as New Zealand.

Timing for our first overnight in New Zealand was good, except for the late hour.
University of Canterbury students are on summer vacation, so we had the
dormitories to ourselves.  Each of us had a single room with shared bathrooms.
Breakfast was up to our standards and chopsticks and noodles were prohibited in
the dining hall.

The night was much too short.  I think it was almost 3:00 a.m. when I got to bed.
A new PocketMail device was waiting for me so I took time to make sure that
everything was there and that it was programmed with my address.  I also had a
letter from George, who had been injured in Mexico and had rejoined Odyssey in
Greece, only to find that he wasn't ready to continue.  I had been in touch with
George when I had been planning to join the tour in Greece, but I was unable to
leave California at that time.

After breakast I missed the bus to Queenstown because I was engrossed in entering
a few email addresses in the PocketMail device and didn't realize that it was time
to go.  Trucks and vans hadn't left, so I rode in a van.  We will resume camping
and will have a layover day tomorrow, giving us a chance to get bikes ready to
ride on Thursday and probably see what's in Queenstown.

Temperature in Christchurch is moderate.  There was a light drizzle at breakfast
time.  By 11:30 a.m. there was about 95% cloud cover but no rain.  By noon it was
raining.

Some rivers don't contain much water but the riverbeds and floodplains are wide.

So far I have seen only three pieces of litter along quite a few miles of highway.
Two pieces of paper were all I saw on the streets of Singapore.  Litter is a
problem in all of the other countries we have visited.

Most of the mountains we have seen on both sides of the road have not been high,
but two just before we got to a lake had snow-covered peaks.  Later a lot more had
snow at the top.

Most of the land in the valley seems to be used for pasture for cattle and sheep.
Sheep predominate.  One field had rows of vegetables.  Purple, pink and white
lupins are on both sides of the road, with an occasional shrub with a flower that
looks like forsythia appearing.  Most of the trees are pines.  Some fields have
bee boxes, and round hay bales appear once in a while.  Wildlife visible from the
van have been rabbits and deer.

It's spring here.  We're travelling south toward cooler places and will be cycling
northward.  I hope that means that it will get warmer each day.  Cold and rain
will be a drastic change from our hot, rainy days in Malaysia.

As we drive southward I wonder if we will return on the same road.  Some views are
worth photographing but a van is not the proper place for that.  There are
mountains, canyons, mountain streams, and a historic gold mining site.

There have been orchards (apple, pear, peach, plum) and vineyards (grapes and kiwi
fruit).  One fruit store sells fresh fruit ice cream, which would be better than a
Magnum bar.

Msg: 177
Date: 2000-11-29
Subject: Queenstown, New Zealand, layover

It's a long pants and long-sleeved shirt day to start.  Maybe it will get warm
enough later for shorts.  I had a jacket on when I walked to town for breakfast
but took it off before I got the bike ready for riding.

I hand-washed the few clothes that needed washing after I turned the handlebars,
pumped up the tires and installed the pedals and seat.  A test ride showed that
everything is ready for tomorrow, when we start northward toward warmer
temperatures.

There's snow on the higher mountains visible from the campground.

Lunch was at Burger King.  Lunch dessert was at an ice cream store - two scoops on
a cone.

There's a business between the campground and the restaurant where we eat
breakfast and dinner that advertises secondhand goods, new and used.  I wonder
what new secondhand things are like.

It was light this morning before 6:00 and is still light at 9:00 this evening.  We
may be on daylight savings time.  New Zealand is one of the first places in the
world to see each day's sunrise because of the location of the international date
line.

Things I could see today were speeding boats, chairs going up a cable to a lookout
and restaurant, backpackers, cyclists, paragliding pairs of people soaring on
thermals and helicopters taking people to areas in the mountains from which they
could view the city and its surroundings.

Breakfast starts tomorrow at 6:30.  I'll take down my tent and pack the duffel
before I go so I don't have to climb the hill to the campground after breakfast.

Msg: 178
Date: 2000-12-02
Subject: Haast to Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand

A rainy day in New Zealand is not like a rainy day in Malaysia.  Except for wet
shoes, I liked rain in Malaysia.  There the rain forest was tropical.  Here the
rain forest is in a temperate zone.  December here is equivalent to June at home
but feels more like April.

This morning I quit after 25 kilometers because my brake cables had stretched and
I was unable to slow down on the descents.  Dave, the mechanic, took care of that
problem at Checkpoint and I rode on after getting a chickenburger in the temporary
restaurant there.  A travel trailer had been converted into a restaurant.

We had headwinds almost all the way this morning, except for a tailwind for a
short time while I was walking up a steep climb.  A sign at the start of the climb
showed that there would be eight kilometers of winding road.  I assumed that the
first half of that would be a climb.  I was right.  I had to get off the bike
when the wind stopped me and I almost toppled over.  Going down the other side of
the false top I had to pedal to make any headway.  It felt like I was standing
still.  On the next part of the climb there was a time when I couldn't move
forward when I was walking.

Interpretive signs at the lookout at the top told about the trails that used to be
used for cattle drives, the construction of Route 6 in the 1960's and the seals
that spend the winter basking on the rocks that are visible from the lookout.
About 30 seals stay for the summer but not one was visible today.

The New Zealand o'possum is brown and looks furrier than the ones at home.  It is
the most common road kill.  Like the gray possums at home it is nocturnal and an
easy unintentional target as it slowly crosses the highway.

It was pouring so hard when we got to camp that there was a big scramble for beds.
The only ones available when Elbert and I checked were top bunks and neither of us
handles them well.  We went next door to a bed-and-breakfast (B&B) and got a room
with twin beds for two nights.  Tomorrow is a layover day.  This is the first time
on the tour that I've slept anywhere but in my tent or the bed provided by TK&A.
Our wet clothes are in the washing machine and will be dry by morning.

Dinner at a restaurant about one mile from here was salad and a huge chunk of
lasagna.  Vans shuttled us so we didn't have to walk in the rain.

The rain is supposed to end tomorrow rather than in January.  December and January
are the wet months here.  If you want to see what that's like go to Seattle in
June or Pittsburgh in April.

Even in the rain today it was good to hear birds singing.  I missed that in China
and Vietnam.  They must trap and eat all the birds there.  Thailand, Malaysia and
Singapore had birds but not as many as I hear here.

The shrub with yellow flowers that I thought looked like forsythia from the van
turned out to be quite different from a bicycle.  It's Scotch broom.

I hope there's enough time after the rain stops tomorrow to see the glacier.  I
don't know how far it is from here.

Msg: 179
Date: 2000-12-03
Subject: Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand

The rain has stopped and the 100% cloud cover has given way to fluffy white clouds
with patches of blue.  It looks like a soggy world.

There were only a few sprinkles when I went to the glacier.  It was comfortably
cool walking through the rainforest.  The glacier is awesome.  Exploring it
without an experienced guide is not an option.  I climbed a steep trail with many
switchbacks so I could see the glacier from a good vantage point, then hiked back
another trail to get a view from a different angle.  The information center has
exhibits about the glacier and the flora and fauna of the region.  One mentioned
that the opossum, which was introduced from Australia to make its fur available,
has become a menace to some endangered plants and animals.  A control program is
underway.  There are pelts for sale in the visitor center.  The tail isn't smooth.

The glacier has been advancing after a period when it receded.  Franz Josef
Glacier receives almost five meters of precipitation a year, all in the form of
snow.  The measurement is in the amount of water in melted snow, so it may be
about 50 feet of snow.  No wonder there are a couple of hundred glaciers in the
national park here.  Franz Josef is one of the largest.  

I looked up the robin in a bird book and confirmed that the bird that hops and
acts like a robin is a New Zealand robin.  It doesn't have a red breast and looks
almost black.

Dinner was good roast beef, baked potato, salad vegetables, cooked carrots and
cauliflower, ginger cake and vanilla ice cream.

My cycling on this off day was about ten miles, less than half of which was on a
paved road.  The road to the glacier was fine limestone with lots of potholes.

Msg: 180
Date: 2000-12-04
Subject: Franz Josef Glacier to Hokitika, New Zealand

Breakfast at the B&B was more convenient than going to town for the tour
breakfast.  We had scrambled eggs, Canadian bacon (or maybe it's called New
Zealand bacon here), hash browns and toast.  I didn't have room for toast so I
made a peanut butter and kiwi preserves sandwich for lunch.  The toast was
homemade whole grain bread with seeds in it.

We were still in the temperate rainforest on the west coast of South Island.  We
didn't really reach the coast until the end of the day but sometimes could hear the
ocean.

I had to walk about 700 meters of the longest, steepest climb. I was able to cycle
up to the false summit, where the road descended for a while, and partway up the
final portion.

Some streams have no water in them.  Some are obviously coming from glaciers.
Glacial melt water has a greenish tint because of the suspended finely ground rock
in them.

I saw no crops today other than pasture.  Dairy and beef cattle, sheep and
road-killed possums were the only mammals I saw.  I saw a few birds and heard many
more.

Shining Star Log Chalets and Campervan Park has the best soil I've ever seen for
pitching a tent.  A stake can be pushed all the way with hardly any pressure.  The
campground is next to the sea.  It has a Best Western sign for its motel.

Dinner was superb and included a baked meringue with blueberries for dessert.

Temperature today was ideal for cycling.  I started out wearing a jacket but shed
it long before midday checkpoint.  I was tempted to put it back on at about 4:30
but was glad I hadn't when the temperature rose a bit.  I was about the last rider
in.  I say "about" because three others were still out but not expected to arrive
until later.  They make lots of stops.  They are faster and stronger riders than I.
Distance was 134.7 kilometers.

Msg: 181
Date: 2000-12-05
Subject: Hokitika to Westport, New Zealand

It was a day of climbing and descending despite the fact that we were on the
coastal road.

I was able to climb some hills that I didn't expect to climb but also walked parts
of four climbs.  I tried one on which I cycled for 15 minutes, walked for 6 minutes
to a false summit, then cycled another 18 minutes before reaching the real summit.
The descents didn't seem to be as long as the climbs.  We had a lot of level or
nearly level road too.

In Paparoa National Park there are rocks which have weathered to show layers.
They are called Pancake Rocks.  I spent at least an hour there viewing the
formations.  Alternating layers are limestone, and a softer layer between every
other limestone layer erodes faster, giving the appearance of stacked pancakes.

Two of the one way bridges had railroad tracks on them.  They were a bit hazardous
to ride because only a narrow strip of road was available beside the tracks.

The climbing tired me enough that I was glad to see Pat beside the road with a
van.  Including the ride to and from breakfast I rode 103 kilometers (63.96 miles)
today.

Msg: 182
Date: 2000-12-06
Subject: Westport to Saint Arnaud, New Zealand

The day started out cool enough to wear a jacket but warmed up as soon as the sky
cleared enough that the sun got to the road.  We started in a valley and had nearly
level riding for much of the day.  That does not mean that there were no hills to
climb.  I didn't have to walk any of them.

The Lower Buller Gorge reminded me of Pine Creek Gorge, Pennsylvania.  Rainforest
has disappeared.  Trees are a mixture of deciduous and evergreen, and not as many
ferns are present.  Birds still are heard almost all the time.

We saw the longest swingbridge in New Zealand.  Above the swaying walkway was a
Flying Fox, a cable car.  I didn't see the Flying Fox operate so I'm not sure just
how it works.

I was picked up at the point where a view can be had of an earthquake slide that
occurred in 1968.  The scar is being repaired naturally by mosses, lichens, other
plants and some trees but will probably remain for many years before it is
covered.  Within a short time after I was picked up I wished I had toughed it out
to the top of that climb.  There was a descent of almost 14 kilometers to midday
checkpoint.

When I had ridden 91.3 kilometers I was slowing down because my rear tire was
going flat.  That was good timing.  If I had been going fast I probably would have
fallen when the rear derailleur broke apart and hit the spokes.  The threads are
stripped so tomorrow I have to get to a machine shop in Wellington to get a
helicoil and have it tapped for a derailleur.  While that is done I can fix the
flat tire.

Until the derailleur flew apart I was having a good ride.  Scenery included
mountains, waterfalls, rivers, dairy and beef cattle and sheep.  Many of the trees
on the mountains are replacement plantations as evidenced by the spacing.  They
are well managed for timber production.

Msg: 183
Date: 2000-12-07
Subject: Saint Arnaud to Wellington, New Zealand, via Picton ferry

Remember Pearl Harbor.

I was sagged the whole distance to Picton, missing the ride of the century, as
many described it.  For the first 104 kilometers there was a tailwind on mostly
downhill with short rises.  One rider averaged 50 or more kilometers per hour for
that portion.  At the left turn from Highway 6 onto Highway 1 the wind's relative
direction ended that long tailwind.  Mountains turned it into a headwind.

At Picton while I was waiting for the ferry to Wellington I walked for half an
hour to a machine shop to see if they could put a helicore in the hole for the
derailleur pin.  They couldn't but referred me to another shop.  The second shop
didn't have the helicore or fine metric taps.

A big bunch of us rode the 1:30 ferry to Wellington.  By the time we had taken an
injured cyclist to the hospital only one bike shop was open.  It didn't have the
helicore and wouldn't be able to get it in time to finish the work by tomorrow
evening.  Andrew at Pins Cycles gave me names, addresses and phone numbers of
three shops which may have the helicore so I can call them tomorrow.

From a van I can't see what I see from the bike.  I could see pastures, cattle,
sheep and wrinkled mountains while we were going through the countryside.  After
the ferry ride it was typical rush hour city traffic.

At the ferry terminal I tried to send PocketMail from two phones.  Results have
been the same for days.  I don't know how many messages have piled up.

Msg: 184
Date: 2000-12-08
Subject: Wellington, New Zealand, layover

At 6:30 this morning I called Penny Farthing Cycles to see if they have a helicoil
and could install it today.  The bike is in their shop and should be ready by the
time the dryer finishes with my clothes.

I tried two phones this morning and was unable to send and receive PocketMail.
Telecom phones don't work well with data.  I hope I can find one that works in the
next couple of days.  This is the tenth message waiting to be sent.  I can't
access PocketMail from a cybercafe because I don't know my password, which is in a
message that I have been unable to retrieve.

We're staying in a university dorm.  Each pod has four single rooms and a
bathroom.  Laundry on the ground floor costs NZ$1 for the washer and NZ$1 for 50
minutes for the dryer.  NZ$1 is worth US#0.42, so it costs 84 cents to wash and
dry a load of clothes if the dryer isn't overloaded.  There are nine washers and
six dryers, which means that there is a wait for the dryer.

The temperature outside isn't as high as I expected.  Summer vacation for schools
has started.  Today should be equivalent to 6 June at home.

This afternoon I want to take the cable car to Mount Victoria Lookout to get a
view of the city.  I'll take a lock for my bike and hope that there are no thieves
with bolt cutters as there were in Ottawa.  Both cities are capitals.

I decided to return the bike to the storage room and walk to the cable car.  The
entrance has no sign protruding into the street so I walked quite a distance past
it.  When I thought I had gone too far I asked for directions and started to
retrace my steps.  Because the man I asked suddenly ran to catch a bus before
finishing the directions I asked in a store and got definite directions.  Access
is in a lane that has signs high on building walls saying that it is Cable Car
Lane.

Two cars share one set of tracks with a passing place of two sets of tracks at
midpoint.  Stations are spaced so that both cars are at stations at the same time.
In Pittsburgh and Johnstown, PA, it's called an incline; in Naples, a funicular
railway.

There's a good view of the city from the platform at the top.  There's not much of
a view in transit because much of the time the tracks are in tunnels.

Msg: 185
Date: 2000-12-09
Subject: Wellington to Palmerston North, New Zealand

Another beautiful day was ours today.  Roads to center city of Upper Hutt were
flat.  At 36.7 kilometers the DRG said, "BEAR LEFT onto Akatarawa Rd towards
Waikanae as Hwy 2 continues straight.  Some climbing ahead.  No services for many
miles."  That was my signal to stop at a BP Shop for an ice cream bar.

Shortly after the turn a sign warned of curves for the next 30 kilometers.  To me
that meant that we would have 15 KM of climbing and 15 KM of descending.  That was
a close guess.  What I didn't guess was that the road would narrow to about one
and one-half lanes and that some motorists would consider it to be one lane.  Only
one had his wheels on the edge line on my side of the road and he quickly moved
over as he came around the blind curve.  Bridges were narrower than the road and
had signs to give the right-of-way to one direction or the other.  This has been
the case throughout New Zealand's mountainous areas.

Only on the flat sections with shoulders was it wise to look around at the
scenery.  One field had vegetables growing but it was too far away for me to know
what they were.  The field was being irrigated.  As on other days most fields
were pastures full of sheep or cows.

Strawberries are in season.  I bought some for lunch.  I also bought nectarines
which had been picked a day too soon.

At the summit of the long climb I dismounted to go to the edge to see how far down
it would be.  It was a long distance.  Logging had been done in the area.  Six
automobiles had been driven or pushed over the hill and were rusting away.  One
had been torched.

Halfway down the mountain I stopped to check the temperature of the wheel rims.
There was a car there with no front wheels, no battery and all windows broken.
Glass on the driver's side of the windshield had impact shattering where the
driver's head had hit.

After 120 kilometers (75 miles) of riding I held up my fist to signal Pat that I
was ready to ride in the van.  It was still 33 kilometers to camp and I thought the
time was getting late.  If I had looked at the bottom of the DRG I would have
known that I had time to finish the ride.  Usually dinner is at 6:00 but it was
listed for 7:00.

Dinner was at a restaurant adjacent to New Zealand's largest rose garden.

Msg: 186
Date: 2000-12-10
Subject: Palmerston North to Waiouru, New Zealand

It was a tough 85.69 kilometers today.  There was still climbing ahead when Paula
came along and picked me up.

The top of one hill had a lookout platform.  A sign explained how the river had
cut the gorge in many levels and gave the approximate age of each level.  It had
been a long, hard climb.  Sheep looked like tiny rocks on the hillsides.

Sheep usually run away from the fence by the road when they see a cyclist.  Cows
usually come to the fence when I stop and just look at me when I don't stop.
There were plenty of sheep and cows today.  Sometimes sheep and cows shared a
pasture.

Instead of an ice cream bar this morning I had a two-scoop cone for less money
than a Magnum Almond costs.

The DRG said that we were being allowed to camp on the Army's Hamilton Field at
Waiourn Army Camp, but when we got here we learned that we have beds in barracks.
I've spread my tent in the room to let the condensate evaporate.  I don't know how
well that will work.

Scenery today was much the same as yesterday's.  The roads were wider today and
the climbing was harder.  One descent was scary with lots of hairpin turns. On
part of that descent it looked like it had rained.  I liked the descent that
followed a gentle but long climb because it had no switchbacks and had two lanes
in each direction.  On that one I didn't use brakes and went faster than 60
kilometers per hour.  I wouldn't have wanted to reach the speed limit of 100
kilometers per hour.

Msg: 187
Date: 2000-12-11
Subject: Waiouru to Taupo, New Zealand

The sky was overcast when we left the Army barracks.  Soon the air was misty and
the wind hitting faces was strong.

In the first hour I was able to go 7.6 kilometers!  My second hour was a bit
better:  8.4 kilometers. When my riding speed got down to 3 kilometers per hour I
walked 1.1 kilometers.  My walking speed was 3 to 4 kilometers per hour uphill and
it was easier than pedaling.

A double trailer going the other way sucked me off the shoulder onto the traffic
lane.  It's a good thing that nobody was overtaking me.

A sign said that there would be ice for the next 50 kilometers in winter.  Winter
is six months away but it felt like it was almost cold enough for ice and like I
wouldn't finish those 50 kilometers before winter arrives in June.

Mist became drizzle and a rainbow appeared to the west.  Just as the drizzle
became serious rain a van rescued me and took me to Checkpoint.  Checkpoint was a
Shell station and Burger King.  Meal #7, Big Fish, cost NZ$5.45.  Multiply by
0.42 to get the price in US$.

It was still raining when I finished the meal so I decided to join nine other
passengers in a van.

The ride started in a desert which was the wettest desert I've ever seen.  The
Army uses it for training.  Signs warn of the use of live ammunition.

I didn't see the tall volcano to the west because it was shrouded in fog and
clouds.  I did see the huge lake, Lake Taupo.

It was drizzling when I pitched my tent.  Tomorrow is a layover day which usually
includes doing laundry.  My backlog of dirty clothes is small and can easily be
washed by hand.

As I write this the rain comes and goes.  Mostly it comes.  People who rode the
whole distance today said that once the wind stopped it was almost pleasant to
climb in the rain.

At last I was successful sending email.  You probably got a big bunch of messages
that had accumulated for a while.

Walking to and from dinner took about 12 minutes each way.  Rain started again
just as I got back to the tent.  I hope it doesn't rain on tomorrow's layover so I
can get around the town and stay dry.

Tim Kneeland brought us up to speed on some things.  We will have a full day in
Honolulu, allowing time to get to Pearl Harbor to see the USS ARIZONA memorial.
I've never had more than four hours at a time in Hawaii and couldn't leave Hickam
Air Force Base.  We will not be camping in California.  We will be in the
Tournament of Roses Parade.  We will have a black tee shirt with a colorful design
on the front and a list of places on the back.  We also have the option to buy a
cycling jersey with the design on the front but without the list of places.
He also talked about the time restrictions in the national park section of
Halelakala, but that option didn't interest me because the 20-mile climb before
reaching the national park is not on my agenda, let alone the ten miles of
climbing in the park and the thirty miles of fast switchbacks to get back.  Steep
climbs and fast hairpin descents are not my kind of cycling.

Msg: 188
Date: 2000-12-12
Subject: Taupo, New Zealand, layover day

The rain quit early this morning and my tent is drying.  I was lucky enough to
pitch it just out of the puddle zone.

After I dried my hand-washed clothes in a dryer I saw the sign saying that
hand-washed clothes are not allowed to be dried in the dryer.  The sign was on the
wall over the washing machines and the dryers were on the opposite wall.

That done, I walked to the shopping district to watch tourists buying stuff and
stopped in two bike shops to look for Ortlieb waterproof panniers.  In Wellington
I had stopped in a shop just after the last set had been sold.  I bought the last
box of PowerBar Protein Bar, which was on sale.  If I ration them to one per
cycling day that will be enough to finish Odyssey 2000 and to ride in the
Tournament of Roses Parade and on to San Bernardino.

Every time I was ready to go for a bike cruise it started to rain.  There was a
downpour while I was walking in town, causing me to browse in an outdoor store and
a bookstore.  I saw one lightning flash.  A rainy layover day isn't fun.

Each time I was ready to go on a bike ride it started to rain so I gave up on that
idea.  I'm walking to dinner.

Msg: 189
Date: 2000-12-13
Subject: Taupo to Rotorua, New Zealand

It didn't take long for me to stop to remove the jacket.  Summer weather is here.
I hope that means the rains have ended.  We had no rain today.

Many jets of steam and a steaming lake were signs of geothermal activity.  In a
place I didn't go into somebody saw a geyser in action.  An electric generating
station seemed to be using the underground heat.  At our camping place jets of
steam are visible all around.  One steamy spring empties into the lake.  There is
a faint smell of sulfur in the air.

We were welcomed to Rotorua by a group of elders from the Te Arawa Maori Tribe.
The final part of the welcome was a handshake and touching of nose-to-nose and
forehead-to-forehead with each of the elders.  Our meals are cooked and served by
members of the tribe and we are using their toilets and showers.  The last few who
arrived after the welcoming ceremony were allowed to pitch their tents in the
sacred area.  Most tents are on their land across the road.  Some riders are
"camped" on mattresses in the lodge.

Today's climbs were not too severe.  The climbs and descents included no
switchbacks.  The weather was good all day.  Traffic was fairly heavy, including
logging trucks.  We had eight kilometers of quiet road through logging country.
Despite a sign on that road warning of logging trucks I saw none on the road.  I
saw one at a scale.

By the end of my second hour of riding I had clocked 38 kilometers.  Total was
88.61 kilometers or 55.03 miles.  Three cyclists were still not in when I checked
in.

Msg: 190
Date: 2000-12-14
Subject: Rotorua to Waihi, New Zealand

The warmth in the tent, which I thought was from the air heated by the sun, was
from the ground.  The tent stayed warm all night.  The only condensation this
morning was on the floor and on the Thermarest and bottom of the duffel.

Today was a succession of climbs and descents.  Only two were steep enough to
cause me to walk.

We are still in logging country with sheep and cattle alongside the roads.  Some
side roads led to geothermal sites but there was no steam close to the road.

A gas station had a sign with big letters advertising fast food and small letters
above them saying "FAIRLY".  It was at the bottom of a hill so I didn't stop to
snap a picture.

The major crop in some places is kiwi fruit, which grows on vines.  They are
supported in the same way grapes are supported in vineyards.

Highway 2 is designated Pacific Coast Highway but I didn't see the sea.

A letter carrier riding a New Zealand Post bicycle said that she thinks she rides
about ten kilometers per day.  The amount of mail is rising for the Christmas
season.  It's strange to see people transporting Christmas trees when it's so
warm.

Summer school is in session.  A few school buses were on the road today carrying
either elementary or secondary students.  Buses look like city buses except for
the signs on front and back that have the word "SCHOOL" in black letters on a
fluorescent green background.

Each of the towns we've stayed in lately has had lots of activities for tourists.
Some have been oriented toward viewing volcanoes, geysers and hot springs.  Others
have featured tandem parachuting, bungy jumping and jet boating.

Distance today was 102.95 kilometers (63.36 miles).  I walked parts of two steep
hills and was sagged twice.

Msg: 191
Date: 2000-12-15
Subject: Waihi to Mangere (Auckland), New Zealand

It was a tough day of riding.  I had to walk parts of two hills.  The first part
of the ride was level and I rode that pretty fast.  It followed Highway 2, the
Pacific Coast Highway and the East Coast Road.  Twenty-two kilometers of the East
Coast Road went through Miranda Wildlife Preserve which was established for the
protection of sea birds.

Checkpoint was at the Mooloo Cafe.  That's a strange name for a cafe.  "Loo" is
the kiwi word for toilet.  There were no cows in there, though.  There was
hand-dipped ice cream, which costs less than an ice cream bar.

I stopped to chat with a rural letter carrier just before Kaiaua.  She drives on
the wrong side of the road and has no roof light on her full-sized van.

Between Kaiaua and Kawakawa Bay the road climbs because a mountain comes down to
the sea.  After a long climb and a short descent a sign indicated that there would
be four kilometers of curving road.  It was about three kilometers up and one
kilometer down on the curves, then several more kilometers down with no sharp
curves.

The only farming I saw today was a cornfield.  The corn wasn't nearly as tall as
other corn I've seen.  Of course there were sheep, cattle and round bales of hay.

The last climb was on a narrow road with no shoulder and heavy, speeding traffic
in both directions.  It was one of the hills that was so steep that I walked part
of it.

In 7.1 kilometers we made 12 turns.  Some of the street signs were only on the
other side of the wide streets, making it difficult to find the turns.  I got them
all right and made it all the way to the hotel without getting lost.  Distance was
164.45 kilometers, my first 100-mile ride this year.  That brought my total
mileage for the year, including riding in North Carolina before I caught up with
Odyssey 2000 (r) and mileage on layover days, above 8,000.  Mileage on the tour,
including only distances shown on daily route guides, is 7,350.

Tomorrow's ride to the airport has been canceled.  We will be shuttled.  That
saves having to remove pedals and turn handlebars at the airport.

Rather than try again to send PocketMail from New Zealand I'll wait until we get
to Hawaii.  There's a toll-free number to use in USA and hopefully the phones will
work better there.

Msg: 192
Date: 2000-12-16
Subject: Auckland, New Zealand, to Honolulu, Hawaii

Time goes backward when the International Dateline is crossed from west to east.
I've set my watch to Honolulu time because the last time I changed it I chose the
wrong time to make the adjustment and ended with the wrong date and day of the
week.  Crossing the line tonight will correct that.

The early morning hours were spent repacking bags and wrapping the bike in plastic
bags.

At the airport we had to take bags and bikes to the two check-in places, go
through security screen and passport control, then wait a couple of hours for
boarding time to arrive.  I had put my heavy things, like tools and tire pump into
a carry-on bag to keep my checked baggage weight down.  That bag was set aside so
I could be questioned.  We had a special section so it was easy to explain that
much metal in a bag.

This is the first time I've had a window seat on an O2K flight.  Watching the
loading of bikes is an experience that I've been denied on other flights.  The
freight handler grabs a bike, turns it upside down and bounces it onto a conveyor.
Now I know why dents and gouges appear on bikes after each flight.

It's 9:15 p.m. Friday in Hawaii and we have crossed both the International Date
Line and the Equator by now.  We should be on the ground about 15 minutes after
tomorrow begins again.

It's time to think about the answer to questions I'll be getting about which
countries I liked and why,

  * I didn't like Canada because my bike was stolen in Ottawa.

  * I didn't like Japan because we had to ride buses when the aviation authorities
wouldn't give a landing permit for the airline that was to take our bikes there
and the other airlines wouldn't handle our bikes properly.  I did like the people
and the scenery, and I enjoyed visits to Japanese ports in 1956.  My body still
isn't ready to sit for hours without pedaling a bike.

  * Scenery in Norway, Sweden and parts of Australia and New Zealand pushed those
countries to the top of the list.  The glass at edges of roads and the
discourteous motorists in Australia's Capital Territory and New South Wales would
keep me from returning to those two areas.

  * Scotland was special because it was the only place where I could get in touch
with my roots.  There are roots in other countries (Germany, Holland, Switzerland
and England) but I don't know how to find them.  Both Scotland and Germany had
places that looked a lot like Western Pennsylvania.

  * China, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia had friendly people.  People in general
everywhere were friendly but those four countries had people who acted like we
were riding the Tour de France.  They lined the streets and yelled "Hello" long
before we reached them.  School children were our biggest fans.  China and to a
lesser extent Vietnam had a lot of mud and dirt to ride through.  Food in
Southeast Asia did not please my palate, but that could be because I don't like
spicy or hot food, including Mexican.  You won't usually find me in a Taco Bell.

  * In every country we visited there were beautiful sights and plenty of things
to see and do.  My limited mobility kept me from seeing things that I could have
seen had I not fractured my pelvis last December, and the extra money I spent
because of that injury meant that I couldn't spend as much as I would have liked
for museum admittance and sightseeing tours.

Today is almost over and we will soon be on US soil.  We'll be back where we have
toll-free telephone service to send and receive PocketMail.  Please remember not
to send to the list if you want to write to me but to mailto:n3vhj@pocketmail.com
(with a computer connected to the Internet you should be able to click on that
link).  I can't receive attachments.

I'm hoping that it doesn't take long to clear customs and passport control in
Hawaii to let us get to the hotel for some sleep.

Msg: 193
Date: 2000-12-16
Subject: Honolulu, HI, layover day

This was a sightseeing day.  A walk to the bus stop, a ride to Pearl Harbor and a
walk to the USS ARIZONA Memorial put at least a dozen cyclists in the auditorium
where a National Park Service volunteer prepared us for a short film.  The
volunteer who talked to group 10 was a man who had been an 18-yearold seaman
aboard USS PENNSYLVANIA, the Pacific Fleet flagship, on 7 December 1941 during the
attack by Japanese aircraft and submarines.  My timing was good because group 11's
volunteer had not been present on that day.

A Navy launch takes visitors out to the memorial.  The ship can be seen just below
the surface.  Knowing that more than 1100 sailors' bodies are still in the ship
made it easy to respect the request that we be respectfully quiet.

A walk to the shuttle bus station got us on the way to the USS MISSOURI, the
battleship on which the surrender of the Japanese was finalized in August 1945.
Mighty Mo was the last battleship to be in commission.  Its last combat duty was
during Operation Desert Storm.

That finishes our World War II review.  On this tour we have seen a prison camp
where the Nazis murdered thousands of Jews, a US battleship that was sunk on the
day US was attacked, the beach in France where the Allies gained a foothold in
Nazi-occupied Europe, the site in Bastogne and The Ardennes that marked the
turning point in the conquest of Germany (Battle of the Bulge), the city where the
first atomic bomb was detonated and the ship on which the final surrender of that
war occurred.

Elbert and I walked to the Navy Commissary, which is the Navy's version of a
supermarket, then to the Navy Exchange, which is the Navy's version of a discount
mart.  Another couple of walks got us to the bus and from the bus to the hotel.
By then it was time for dinner.

We got another revision of our schedule from here to the Los Angeles area.  The
final item is still Tournament of Roses Parade.  We have eight more cycling days
including the parade and eight more non-cycling days.  Not including the parade we
are scheduled to ride 398.1 more miles.

Msg: 194
Date: 2000-12-17
Subject: Honolulu to Kalua Kona, Hawaii

This morning was another day of squeezing things into the duffel for a flight from
Oahu to Hawaii, the Big Island.  It didn't all fit because of yesterday's
purchases at the Navy Exchange.  At the Honolulu airport I mailed a parcel
containing the things that wouldn't fit.

When we lined up to board the plane I was at the end of the line when it started
to move.  A man from Aloha Airlines came to the end of the line and asked if we
were going to Kona.  There were empty seats on the earlier flight so I got at the
end of that line.  For once it was good to be at the end of a line.

My bike is ready to ride.  I took off the plastic bags, installed the pedals,
turned the handlebars, installed the seatpost and seat and checked the height of
the seat.

An afternoon nap may have allowed me to catch up with jetlag.  Our time change
this time was three hours if you don't consider the crossing of the International
Date Line.

The sun set while we were eating dinner.  There were no clouds to make it
spectacular.  It was a round orange ball visible through a sort of haze.  The
evening star looked like Venus.

Msg: 195
Date: 2000-12-18
Subject: Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Today is the anniversary of my multiple fractures of the acetabulum when I flipped
the rubber side up on Orange Street, Redlands, California.  That split-second fall
cost me the first four and one-half months of Odyssey 2000 (r).  I'm glad I have
been able to participate for the past seven months of seeing the world from two
wheels.

Today I got lots of weight-bearing exercise walking around town for hours.  It's a
tourist's town with stores selling tee shirts, Hawaiian shirts, shorts, swim
suits, macadamia nuts, coffee, jewelry, food, and almost anything else a tourist
wants.  Familiar names included McDonald's, KFC, Dairy Queen, Burger King,
Wendy's, Baskin-Robbins and Starbucks.  The post office had two lines with about
50 people in each.  I wanted stamps for a couple of postcards but didn't want to
stand in those lines.  Fortunately there was a stamp machine on the wall that
offered 20-cent stamps.  Three-quarters of an hour was spent at an Internet shop
checking Hotmail, deleting most messages without reading them.

I didn't ride my bike as I had planned to do.  By the time I got back to the hotel
it was almost time for dinner.

We'll be back to a more familiar routine tomorrow:  two days of riding and
camping, one rest day, two days of riding and camping, two rest days that will
include Christmas.  For our "Christmas vacation" we'll return to this hotel.  Our
tour of the perimeter of The Big Island will go in the counterclockwise direction.

Yesterday I wasn't looking at the sun setting at the split second when the green
flash occured.  It's visible in the tropics when the horizon is smooth and there
is no cloud at the horizon.  I hadn't heard about it so I didn't know to look.
Today there were clouds at the horizon.  Tomorrow we won't have the ocean to our
west.  I'll have to watch on days when the ocean is to the west.

Msg: 196
Date: 2000-12-20
Subject: Punalu

After we had climbed from just above sea level to the sign which said we were 500
feet above sea level the DRG said, "Begin climb."  That told me that the climbing
would be serious.  Other entries indicated markers for 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500,
3000, 3500 and 4024 feet above sea level.

When I realized that I would not get to the visitor center at Hawaii Volcanoes
National Park until about 2:00 p.m. I asked Amanda to boost me ahead about five
miles so I could ride the eleven-mile Crater Rim Drive.  That was a wise decision
because going through the park on the highway without making that loop would have
been comparable to riding around the Washington Beltway and not going into the
city.  I have done enough things like that on this tour.

Instead of paying the $5 fee to enter the fee area of the park I chose to buy a
Golden Age Passport.  Available to people who are at least 62 years old, the
passport gives, for $10, lifetime free admittance to National Park Service fee
areas.

Words can't describe the views in the park.  Craters within the large crater
(caldera) of Kilauea made me think of what the moon might look like.  It might be
the landscape of Mars or a place where you might call for Scotty to beam you up.
It was another world that was like a movie set from Star Wars or Star Trek.  Steam
vents, fissures, a rift, craters, wrinkled lava, huge lava rocks, black sand,
sulphurous steam and deposits of sulphur were some of the things that could be
seen from the overlooks.

The descent from the park to Hilo was a great ride.  Of course the signs were like
the ones on the climb but it was good to see them in reverse.  The highway is
excellent for cycling, with a shoulder on each side.  It's necessary to keep on the
lookout for rough sections but most is smooth.  It's also necessary to watch for
clear, green and amber glass from bottles tossed out of cars.  The only advantage
that broken glass gave me was that it allows me to pass people fixing flat tires.
Usually I don't pass other Odyssey riders.

Despite the rain that is standard on the lee side of the mountains it was a
wonderful day.  I rode about 62.1 miles, which I had to calculate from the DRG
because the rain made the bike's computer change its display to a flashing 8321,
which means nothing to me. I deducted the five-mile boost and added the
eleven-mile loop.  I hope that the computer tells me more when it dries out or if
it dries out.  Hilo is probably the wettest city in USA.  I think it rains 365 or
366 days each year.  Annual rainfall averages 133 inches.

Tomorrow is a layover day.  I don't want to spend it in my little tent so I'll get
wet.

Msg: 197
Date: 2000-12-21
Subject: Hilo, Hawaii, layover day

Some of last night's rain was just a mist but some made loud noises on the tent
fly.  We're camped on the grounds of Boys and Girls Club of Hilo Hawaii.  It's an
active place with lots for the boys and girls to do.  The swimming pool sprang a
leak some time ago so that's no longer usable.  Showers have only cold water.
Rather than go five blocks to the warm showers at Spencer Health and Fitness
Center I used what the DRG calls "tepid showers."  By my definition they are cold,
but I've taken cold showers before.

I just killed the first mosquito I've seen since we left Europe.  It must have
gotten to the tent when I did.  In all of Asia not one mosquito approached me.
Maybe Lariam, the prescription medicine that is taken to prevent malaria, keeps
mosquitoes away.

Today I rode only six miles to two bike shops.  I wanted to pick up a couple of
things that have eluded me for months.  People who have sandals with SPD cleats say
how great they are on a rainy day.  Every time I've asked for them in a bike shop
the last pair has just been sold.  If somebody goes in the shop where I found them
this afternoon the owner can say he just sold the last pair.  He can give the same
answer about Ortlieb waterproof panniers.  It's late in the trip for both items
but the sandals can be worn at home in summers and the panniers can be used for
shopping when I don't plan to buy a lot.

When I got to dinner I learned that I had missed a good experience.  Meals were at
the canoe club's shelter.  Their canoes are mostly for racing.  One is the fastest
canoe in Hawaii and is rented by other clubs when the Hilo club doesn't enter a
race.  It was made of a koa log but had to be lengthened to make it the regulation
forty feet long.  Weight has to be at least 400 pounds and it weighs 401 pounds.
The club has a catamaran canoe as well as outriggers for the single ones.

Msg: 198
Date: 2000-12-22
Subject: Hilo to Hawi, Hawaii

This was another climbing day.  I wasn't able to finish the day's distance.

There was a side trip off the main highway so we could see surfers.  Most of the
time they were waiting for waves but I saw some of them ride waves, always being
spilled into the water before reaching shore.

One road, Mamalahoa Highway, was listed as "a little rough but easy to ride.  Last
unique, super quiet side road we have been able to locate."  It was quiet only
when the bike wasn't moving because it was so rough that the bike chattered.  It
shook me so badly because of the patches and fissures that I ached all over.  It
took me one and three-quarters hours to travel that ten mile section.  About the
first four miles were a steep climb.

Earlier a long climb was through the tropical rain forest. Waterfalls could be
heard and barely seen below all the bridges.  It was beautiful.

Because it would be dark long before I could finish the next 6.2-mile climb I held
up my fist to signal Paula that I was ready to sag.  I had ridden a hard 58 miles.

Msg: 199
Date: 2000-12-23
Subject: Hawi to Kona, Hi

I'm glad that we have reached the dry sde of the island.  Even though it rained at
about 1:00 a.m. my tent was practically dry in the morning.  Only the floor had
moisture which came up from the ground.  The fly was totally dry.

Yesterday I failed to mention the crops.  I saw a big vegetable and fruit garden
that could be called a farm.  Other farms were growing coffee, nuts and fruits.
Today the only farms I saw had beef and dairy cattle.

From mile 1.9 to mile 54.2 today was part of the Hawaii Ironman triathlon route.
It could be called "rolling" because there were climbs and descents.  No descent
was good enough to give momentum for half of the following climb, so it doesn't
meet my definition of "rolling".  The monotony of the scenery is probably a
challenge to the triathlon riders.  Hopefully the course is swept thoroughly to
remove the broken glass.  That was the biggest problem today.  The shoulder
changes width often enough to make it necessary to watch the pavement.  Once today
I was looking out to sea because some riders had seen whales.  The shoulder width
changed, putting me off the pavement and onto cinder-like lava.  Take that "onto"
literally.  All I suffered was minor road rash.

Hawaii clams to be the only coffee-producing state in the US.  The coffee is
strong and thought by some to be the best coffee in the world.

Dinner tonight was a luau but not the type usually given for tourists.  All the
foods were foods that Hawaiians eat rather than things they serve ordinary
mainland tourists.  Our hosts were the members of the canoe club at Hilo, who had
catered our meals in their city.

Mileage according to the DRG was 56.3.  Because my computer wasn't working I'll
record that as my distance.

Msg: 200
Date: 2000-12-24
Subject: Kona, HI, layover day

First job after breakfast was to put clothes into a washing machine.  While the
clothes washed I got the bike ready for shipment to Maui.  They're going today so
they'll be sure to be there when we fly over on Tuesday.  We'll ride from the
airport to our overnight place.

Even though I set the dryer on low temperature the clothes felt very hot when I
took them out in half the allotted time.

Next project was to look for a battery for the bike computer.  On the last ride it
showed that I was cruising at 21 miles an hour uphill, downhill, on the level and
while stopped.  On climbs it felt like I was going about six to eight miles per
hour.  The display said all day that the time was 10:15, and I could't show any
other function.  The third store where I stopped, not including the ice cream
shop, was Longs Drugs.  (There's no apostrophe on the sign.)  They had a battery
which let me get the computer back in operation.  Riding from Pasadena to San
Bernardino unsupported would be difficult without knowing the distance to the next
turn.  Bobbi Fisher got directions from the Los Angeles Wheelmen Bicycle Club.
There are nineteen turns, spaced anywhere from 0.1 mile to several miles apart.

We had a gift exchange after dinner. Each person bought a gift and put it on a
table.  A draw gave the order for selecting a present.  When it was time to draw
there was an option of taking something somebody had already selected or choosing a
wrapped gift from the table.  Something that had been chosen could be stolen only
twice.  Nobody took away the journal that I had unwrapped.  It's pretty neat, with
black pages and a pen that writes silver.  Some things changed hands twice, notably
tee shirts, shirt, animal toys, Barbie doll and macadamia nuts.

For the second year in a row I'll have a Christmas which promises no snow.

Msg: 201
Date: 2000-12-25
Subject: Kona, HI, Christmas Day layover

In yesterday's journal entry I forgot to mention that, along with many others, I saw
the green flash at sunset.  There were no clouds near the horizon so we waited
until sunset to move into the dinner line.

It's clear and sunny outside the hotel.  There will be little to do today between
breakfast and dinner because the shops all seem to have signs that say they're
closed.  The ice cream store will be open from 11:00 to 4:00.  I haven't been to
Wal-Mart but I assume that walking the long distance to that store would not be a
good idea.

The ice cream store closed a bit early so I didn't get hand-dipped ice cream.  I
was squeezing things into the bags much of the day and didn't get out in time.

The green flash didn't appear at sunset tonight.  We had salad, fillet mignon,
fish, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables and chocolate mousse for dinner.  We'll
have only six more dinners together.

Tomorrow morning we load gear into the truck at 7:00 and leave for the airport at
8:00.  A short flight will take us to Maui, the next island, where we will get our
bikes and ride to a YMCA about 30 miles away.  The road appears on the map to be
very twisty and a description says it has dozens of one way bridges.  That means
there is a lot of climbing.  I hope there is a town which has some streets that
are easy to ride.

Msg: 202
Date: 2000-12-26
Subject: Kona to Maui, HI

We rode in vans to the airport after loading baggage onto a truck.  Baggage has
been checked and we're waiting for boarding time in an hour at 10:10 a.m.

The flight was short, with just enough time to get a cup of fruit juice before we
were over Maui.  It took longer to retrieve baggage and reassemble bikes than it
took from airport to airport.

We had the option of waiting while vehicles were rented and riding in cars to the
YMCA Camp Keanae, a 90-minute trip, or riding our bikes.  I chose to ride.

There was a hot dog stand at the airport but it had no hot dogs, so I started
riding.  At the first traffic light, after the left turn, there was a Big K-Mart
which had a Little Caesar's pizza shop just inside the door.  A quarter of a
nine-inch pizza was enough energy to get me to camp.  The sign saying that refills
were free was covered by a holiday bow so I mistakenly ordered a large Sprite.

The 34-mile ride took me a couple of minutes less than four hours.  Speed limits
posted were five to fifteen miles per hour.  I didn't count the turns and one-lane
bridges.  I read the other day that there are 617 turns and 56 one-way bridges on
the road to Hana.  We rode all but about fifteen miles of that highway.  It was
sometimes necessary to wait for opposing traffic.  Some bridges were wide enogh
for a car and a bike.

Many of the bridges were over dry ravines filled with volcanic boulders.  Some had
waterfalls.  Some had streams.  Some were close enough to the shore that the ocean
could be seen.

The road ahead was often across a valley.  It could be seen climbing the
mountainside.  The climbs were gentle enough that I never had to walk except on
one horseshoe curve where I was practically stopped and had to get off the bike.

The ocean is visible from the camp and the waves hitting the rocks and beach can
be heard all the time.  Most of us slept in barracks style dormitories.  A few
pitched their tents.

The optional ride to Haleakala volcano is not on my list of things to do tomorrow.
It retraces part of today's ride then adds a climb to the top if a 10,000-foot
mountain and a ride back.  Total distance is listed as 109 miles.  The ride down
the mountain requires more braking than I like.  In addition there are two hours
when no cycling is allowed in the national park, which includes the top ten miles
of the volcano.

Msg: 203
Date: 2000-12-27
Subject: Maui, HI, layover day

This morning I had to take almost everything out of my duffel to get what I needed
to put new tape on my handlebars.  The last tape I had put on looked like rats had
been chewing on it.  That may have been caused by my death grip going down
mountains with hairpin and horseshoe curves.  The new tape is black.  We'll be
wearing black socks, cycling shorts and tee shirts or jerseys in the Tournament of
Roses Parade.  The tee shirts and jerseys are colorful enough for visibility but
have an overall black color.

Next job will be to repack panniers and duffel.  Maybe this time I will put on top
the things I'll need in Honolulu and San Diego and load the panniers so they have
what I need from San Diego to San Bernardino.

I went for a 7.5-mile ride.  After about a mile of climbing I turned around.
Later I learned that that was a three-mile climb.  I rode to a small village on
the coast before returning to the camp.  Until I got out my camera the waves were
crashing mightily against the black rocks.  I don't think I got the real effect of
the scene when I snapped a few pictures.  The sight of the rocks at close range was
worth the climb back to the highway.

I've visited 29 countries this year and have cycled in all but two of them.  People
who have done the whole tour have been in 45 countries.

The ride back to the airport tomorrow has been canceled.  We'll turn handlebars
and remove pedals this evening and send the bikes to Los Angeles. Our next ride
will start in San Diego.

If last parade is a predictor of the 2001 Tournament of Roses Parade we won't be
seen on the major networks.  The TV shows started at 8:00 a.m. but the bikes had
left at 7:50 with the first row of police.  Home and Garden Channel picked them up
but ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC didn't show them.

Bikes are almost all on the truck.  A few people are still returning from the
volcano ride.

Msg: 204
Date: 2000-12-29
Subject: Honolulu, HI, to San Diego, CA

People who are on the first flight had already left when I first peeked out into
the outside world.  Second group leaves at 11:00.

Bags are on the truck at 10:00.  At the airport we each had to get our own and
check them in.  Our plane is delayed 20 minutes.  The 1:50 time was changed to
2:10.

We got off the ground at 3:29.  There was a problem with the rear galley.  Finally
it was decided to use the front galley and serve us in economy class after people
in the front part of the plane are served.  That's better than waiting for hours
to install a new galley.

We're supposed to be at the gate in Los Angeles at 10:07.  We have a tailwind and
we're using extra fuel to help make up lost time.  Our original time was to be
9:30.  It usually takes between half an hour and an hour to retrieve baggage and
get out of the airport.  The bus trip to San Diego takes about two and a half
hours.  That may mean I'll get four hours' sleep tonight to prepare me for a
60-mile bike ride.  I want to watch the movie, "Frequency," so I won't get much
sleep on the plane.

Arrival time was within minutes of the predicted time but it took a long time to
get luggage.  The plane was a Boeing 777, which holds a lot of people.  Luggage
was at least half a mile away.  The wait for the bus also took a long time.  We
got to the hotel at about 1:30, which is why this is dated for two days.

We saw two in-flight movies.  After "Frequency" they showed "Dave".  I probably
would not have slept even if they hadn't shown movies.

Msg: 205
Date: 2000-12-30
Subject: San Diego to San Juan Capistrano, CA

Today could be classified as ideal.  It was cool enough for a jacket at the start
of the ride but quickly warmed.  I removed the jacket after about ten miles.

Much of the ride was along historic US 101, which has been replaced by I-5, an
8-lane freeway.  A few miles were on the shoulder of I-5.  Bicycles are required
to loop through the rest stop and to leave the freeway at the first exit because
driving through an on-ramp area would be dangerous.  I felt safe on the shoulder
even though cars were traveling at least four times as fast as I was.  It was a
big change to go from that environment to a bike trail that had no cars.  From the
trail the Interstate could be seen and heard.

The only crops I could see were unknown vegetables being picked by migrant workers.

Mountains were off to the east and the Pacific coast was often visible to the
west.

Because I had so little sleep last night I was glad that today's ride was no
longer than 65 miles.  Tomorrow's is longer.

Msg: 206
Date: 2000-12-31
Subject: San Juan Capistrano to Burbank, CA

Today marks the end of Odyssey 2000 (r) and the Twentieth Century.  It's hard to
believe that this fabulous look at the world from the seat of a bicycle is drawing
to a close.  It's the separation of a family and will make a lot of tight throats
and teary eyes.  A new millenium will dawn with that family in the cool or cold
California air waiting to cycle in the Tournament of Roses Parade (r).

We started the day by returning to Pacific Coast Highway, reversing five of
yesterday's miles.  Coast highways are not always on the coast.  We had some
climbing and descending.

At Seal Beach, after our last midday checkpoint, we turned northward onto the San
Gabriel River bike path.

Just at dusk I finished the ride of the century with a flat tire about ten miles
from the Burbank Airport Hilton, our hotel for the night.

Distance today was 78.8 miles, bringing my total Odyssey 2000 (r) miles, not
including rides on layover days, to 7,891.67.  My total mileage for the year was
8,600.03.  That's not so bad for a 75-year-old who fractured the left acetabulum
two weeks before the tour began and wasn't able to join the group for the first
four and one-half months.

Msg: 207
Date: 2001-01-01
Subject: Burbank to San Bernardino, CA, via Tournament of Roses Parade (r)

Morning came much too early.  I'm glad I didn't stay up to welcome the new year
and new century because breakfast started at 4:00 a.m.  We were on Laidlaw school
buses at 5:15, ready for shuttling to the parade staging area.

It was cool but I didn't freeze.  Our uniform was black shorts, black long sleeved
designer tee shirt, optional finisher's jersey on top of the tee shirt, black
socks, any color of shoes and Odyssey 2000 (r) yellow helmet.  During the long
waiting period many wore tights, arm and leg warmers, jackets or a combination of
those things.  I wore my rain jacket.  Those extra garments were shed for the
parade, except for some of the black items which a few people kept on.

We lined up six abreast with the celebrities in front.  Elbert Pence, our oldest
member, was in front along with members who had ridden every mile.  Some of them
had ridden enough extra miles to take their totals above 20,000 miles for the
year.  I rode beside Spot (Jim Macdonald), the cyclist who crossed the line and
hit a car in Italy.

Last December after I flipped my bike and fractured my acetabulum I wrote to the
effect that the tour was over for me before it had started, and today I was
wearing a finisher's jersey and riding in the Tournament of Roses Parade (r)
beside another casualty who had the determination to finish.  That thought entered
my mind as I was riding.

Another thought I had while we were riding along in formation at about five or six
miles per hour was about how similar passing the crowd was to riding in China,
Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia, where children waved and shouted as if we were
riding the Tour de France.  The big difference was that in those countries I was
often alone.  Today I could keep up with the family.  I have never seen so many
people watching a parade.  Once in a while there would be a large family group who
were waiting to cheer their relatives in our group.

I think we had only one casualty in the parade and one mechanical problem on the
ride from the bus drop-off to the staging area.  Danny's chain broke while he was
climbing.  He was able to coast back and get a chain before the parade began.
Chuck was wearing booties to keep his feet warm.  He flipped his bike when the
right booty got caught on the pedal.  Fortunately nobody ran over him.

It was hard to say goodbye after the parade.  We posed for a group picture, which
didn't get into my camera because the camera was on my bike.  I had packed for the
ride to San Bernardino.

A parade official told me how to get to one of the streets on the directions that
Bobbi had gotten for me from Los Angeles Wheelmen and I was soon on my way.
Unfortunately my computer didn't work so I'll have to calculate the mileage from
the directions.

When I stopped for my daily ice cream fix a man commented that I must be on a long
trip because I was carrying panniers.  He wanted me to talk about the tour because
he had never before met a celebrity.  We must have chatted for half an hour.

Except for a long stretch of road in Fontana, where I was fighting a stiff
headwind on a two-lane road with no shoulder, I had a good ride.  It gets dark
much earlier in San Bernardino then in Burbank.  By 5:00 o'clock it was too dark
for me to read directions, but I knew where I was by then.  Because I wanted to
get away from the trffic on Highland Avenue I turned left onto a street that took
me to 30th Street, which runs straight into the street I wanted.

From here I'll be taking a sinuous course that will let me visit people and stop
off to see things that I didn't take time for on the way to California.  It
probably will be late January when I get home.

Happy New Year and welcome to the Twenty-first Century.

Msg: 208
Date: 2001-01-01
Subject: Part 1 of Acknowledgments

My participation in Odyssey 2000 was made possible by many people.  When I
first saw an advertisement of the trip in Adventure Cycling magazine I was
curious and called for a brochure.  It was just a wild dream then.

Thanks go to these people and animals who helped to make it happen for me:

* Tim Kneeland and Karen-Ann Sutter followed their dream and overcame the
many logistical problems to take over 260 staff members and cyclists with
enough gear to last a year on a supported tour around the world.

* Valerie Olson established the O2K community at onelist.com to enable
members to exchange ideas for years before the tour began.

* O2K community members shared their knowledge and experience by email to
eliminate problems before they happened.

* Judy Kercovich helped with the fund-raiser for Habitat for Humanity, South West
Butler County.  I didn't raise nearly the $100,000 that I had set as a goal.  A
percentage of what I did raise went toward the trip fee.

* Scores of people responded to my request for support of Habitat for Humanity.

* Ruth McCandless of Skybank processed my mortgage application so I could make
the final payment.

* Richard Butler, my nephew, monitored the repairs to my house while I was
gone and kept me informed of the progress.

* Herb and Yoshiko Sampson agreed to let me stay at their home for two weeks
before the tour was to begin so I could get some cycling days in California.
They didn't know that those two weeks wouldn't end until late March.
They also kept my Jeep in a safe place for the year.

* Three unknown physicians stopped when my wheels slipped on sand and I fractured
my acetabulum after I had ridden only 10.75 miles on my first training ride in
California.  One of them called 9-1-1 to summon police and an ambulance, and all
three blocked me with their cars so nobody could hit me.

* Timothy A. Peppers, MD, orthopaedic surgeon, saw me in the emergency ward
and felt that the best treatment would be to apply traction and let my body heal
itself.  He discussed that possibility with the other members of the orthopaedic
team at Loma Linda University Medical Center and they agreed that his
recommendation was the right one.  He told me when I could bear partial weight and
full weight on my left leg.

* Members of the O2K community sent email messages of encouragement and regret.
Fred Sheppard asked his friends in many countries to send email messages.

* John Scott Porterfield, my nephew, provided me with telephone service to keep me
in touch with the world while I was convalescing.

* The staff and physical therapy team at Linda Valley Care Center took good
care of me and worked to get me on my feet.

* The sports medicine therapists at RTW (Rehabilitation Technology Works)
showed me exercises and worked with me on equipment that helped to get me on
the road to recovery.

* People who visited me in California included my son Link; my nieces Jill
and Becky; Missy Smith of Redlands; Jim and Mike, Odyssey 2000 (O2K) riders
who brought my tee shirts and other O2K clothing; and other O2K riders whose
names I am sorry to have forgotten.

* My son Sean put me up and put up with me from late March until mid-May then
drove me to Washington, DC, to join the tour.  Sean also took care of my
mail and finances.

* Maynard, Sean's dog, took me on daily walks for about six weeks to give me
weight-bearing exercise.

* Goldsboro Physical Therapy staff continued in North Carolina what RTW had
started in California.

* About a dozen people responded to a plea for financial help when medical
bills had risen because my Medicare HMO had stopped when I left Pennsylvania and
regular Medicare Parts A and B didn't have the same coverage.

* All of the O2K staff and cyclists welcomed me into the group and made life
easier.  An important part of that was letting me have a bottom bunk because I
couldn't get into an upper bunk easily and assignng a first floor room when there
was no elevator.

* Two cyclists, Dick and Dennis, let me ride their bikes for four days after mine
was stolen in Ottawa.

* Because Neil Porterfield, Dean of Arts and Architecture, Pennsylvania State
University, sent me information I was able to detour through Renfrewshire and
Kilmacolm, Scotland, to see Porterfield history and meet Lord and Lady McClay,
present owners of what was once the Porterfield manor house at Duchal.  Scotland
was worth putting a sticker on the top tube of my bike.

* My son Link got me a card for MCI World.com so I could more easily connect with
the PocketMail computer.

* A moose crashed out of the woods in Sweden and landed spread-eagled on the
highway, stopping traffic in both directions.  It recovered too quickly for me to
document the incident with my camera.  That incident was worth a moose sticker on
the top tube.

* Denise Gilbert administered a fund to provide grants and no-interest loans to
members who had difficulty raising the $3,000 transportation and fuel surcharge to
finish the tour.

* Anonymous donors contributed to that fund.

* Janet Andrews, an independent dealer of PocketMail, quickly got my lost
PocketMail device disabled and a new one programmed to put me back in contact with
the world.  When full Internet connection at a cybercafe isn't needed PocketMail
is the traveler's best way to keep in touch by email.

* Andrew at Pins Cycles in Wellington, New Zealand, gave me names, addresses and
phone numbers of other bike shops who might have a part that he didn't have that
was needed to install a rear derailleur that had stripped threads.

* Richard Epsom of Penny Farthing Cycles, Wellington, New Zealand, did the
unscheduled repair to get me back on the road.

* Staff mechanic Dave worked overtime to replace my bike's headset.  While I'm
thinking of the staff, I want to thank all of them for their
above-and-beyond-the-call-of-duty attitudes and actions.  I could always count on
Pierre to be near the 15-20 mile or 25 kilometer position to move a slow rider
ahead and for Amanda to be about the same distance from the end to help distressed
riders.  It was almost like having a big set of parents with those two and Paula,
Shirley and Pat on the road.  Brit-Simone went ahead to smooth the transition from
cyclist to camper.  Rachelle, Marie and Renee were there to massage tired bodies.
In addition to Dave, Jason and Merlin kept our bikes in running condition.  Dennis
was a workhorse, taking care of moving our gear.  Mark and Michael were on the
road recording television footage which they edited into great shows.   Almost all
of these wonderful staff people were unpaid volunteers who sacrificed a year of
their lives to make the trip run smoothly

* Bobbi Fisher contacted Los Angeles Wheelmen to get routing for me to ride from
Pasadena to San Bernardino, where my Jeep is parked.

* Glenn Flenniker, former crewmember of the scrapped USS MELLETTE (APA-156), sent
my duffel from San Diego to San Bernardino because I was unable to do that at Los
Angeles International Airport.

* Elbert Pence, cyclist extraordinaire, at age 80 is on the road every riding day
to cycle his 50 miles or more and inspire the rest of us, all of whom are younger
than he.

If I have omitted anybody I apologize.  I remembered Maynard and the moose, but
may have missed some humans.

Msg: 209
Date: 2001-01-02
Subject: San Bernardino, CA

Except for non-receipt of a parcel I mailed from New Zealand to make room in my
duffel I'm ready to start driving toward home, with several stops planned.  I'm
anxious to move on but need to take the things that are in that parcel.  The
duffel, mailed by Glenn from San Diego, came on Tuesday.

Tuesday I rode to Loma Linda to visit Patty, one of the sports medicine therapists
at Rehabilitation Technology Works,  who worked with me after my fracture, and to
see staff members and a couple of residents at Linda Valley Care Center, where I
had recuperated until I was allowed 50% weight bearing on the left leg. That was a
24.5-mile round trip, which I finished in the dark.

Wednesday I had an interview with a free-lance writer, G. W. Abersold, Ph.D., for
the Highland Community News.   He is a world traveler who writes columns about his
areas of interest and expertise.  I enjoyed listening to his stories as much as he
did to mine.

Next stop was A. K. Smiley Public Library in Redlands.  My reason for stopping
there was to look up water heaters in Consumers Digest to see which model I should
buy to replace the one that died.  The library had a bank of computers.  A
librarian told me that a non-resident would have to buy a lifetime membership card
for one dollar and would then be able to use a computer for an hour a day seven
days a week.  I bought that bargain because an hour in a cybernet cafe costs more
than that.

Next stop was along a curb, where I removed an upholstery tack from the front
tire.  Next stop was on a sidewalk, where I removed the tube and replaced it.  It
was almost dark by the time I returned.  Distance today was about 25 miles.
Distances for all days this year have been estimated because the computer no
longer works, even with a new battery.  I'll be estimating distances until I get
home.

Now that PocketMail calls are toll-free feel free to ask questions about the tour
or anything else.  Unless you want your questions and comments read by a lot of
strangers address your email only to me: mailto:n3vhj@pocketmail.com rather than
to the list.

Msg: 210
Date: 2001-01-06
Subject: Traveling in USA

On the way to Ukiah, CA, I saw the biggest array of electric-generating wind
machines I've ever seen.  I thought some of the installations in Europe were big,
but mountaintop after mountaintop of spinning blades made the European clusters
look like toys.

The mountains and foothills in California are covered with brown vegetation.
Jill, my niece, said that they turn green after the winter rains start.  The first
rain made some green patches appear.  There was one stretch that was a series of
huge bare rocks that looked better than the brown vegetation.  I couldn't stop in
the fast freeway traffic to take a picture.

At a viewing place I saw what looked like brown steam rising from the earth.  I
thought it might be sulphurous gas.  Later when I was approaching a dust storm,
with strong winds blowing tumbleweed and fine particles of earth across the
highway I realized that it was the same type of phenomenon that I had seen from
high on the mountain.

In northern California I detoured to Dorris to seek the Porterfield Ranch.  There
was an article about it in a newspaper.  I found it several miles east of Dorris.
I talked briefly with a Porterfield who seemed to be in a hurry as he left the
ranch, then drove back the long lane to the two houses.  Nobody answered the door
at either house.  Only one cow was present; the others must have been in another
area.  The ranch is large.  There were horses and a mule beside the lane.

I visited with my son, Link, in Kent, WA, for a couple of days.  It makes sense to
visit relatives and see places I've never seen while I'm this far west.  I'll have
to limit the stops if I plan to get home this month.

East of Pendleton, OR, there was a wall of fog that slowed traffic on I-84.  Signs
mandated chains for vehicles with gross weight of over 10,000 pounds and vehicles
towing trailers.  The fog hid the snow-covered road ahead.  For many miles of
climbing and descending 35 miles per hour on the rough surface which resulted from
chains was much faster than the heavy vehicles were traveling and felt like it was
as fast as I wanted to travel.  It was a relief to see concrete again.

When my Jeep started to slow down on a level stretch of road I remembered that I
had felt a hesitation once.  That hesitation was a precursor of the total stoppage
that made me pull off the paved shoulder.  The battery level was at nine volts, in
the red zone of the gauge.  The operator of a snow plow took me to a gas station
where I could wait in warmth until somebody arrived at a station that has
mechanics.  I hope my auto insurance covers towing because I don't belong to an
auto club.  It took a while to discover that the problem was a bolt that had
disapeared a long time ago, allowing a sensor to move to a position where it was
worn to the point where it no longer made contact and the circuit was interrupted.
Seventy years ago a needed part for almost any repair would have been available;
now it has to come from the factory.  Maybe I won't see as many national parks as
I had expected to see.

The part came in from Toledo by overnight UPS so I'll be on my way toward Salt
Lake City within an hour.

As a retired Naval Reservist I qualify for temporary military lodging when space is
available.  Because the Jeep wasn't ready until afternoon I made a toll-free call
to reserve a room at Hill Air Force Base near Ogden, UT, instead of continuing to
Salt Lake City.  That also got me to a commissary where I could get a jar of
natural peanut butter and to the base gas station.  The room cost $17.

A photo of the mountains near the base would look like white-on-white so I didn't
take a picture.

Msg: 211
Date: 2001-01-24
Subject: Traveling in USA

Wednesday 24 January I headed south when I reached Oklahoma City.  I left I-35
at the Purcell exit because I wanted to see how much it had changed since I was
stationed near there in the Navy in 1945.  Nothing was the same as far as I
could tell.  Castle Rock Cafe, about a mile north of the center of town, where
we used to get a huge steak for one dollar, seems to have disappeared.  Fast
food places have sprouted on Main Street.  What used to be a quaint Western Main
Street has become a divided highway lined with all the trappings of a strip
mall.

Denton, TX, is another town that has changed a lot in 56 years.  It was a small
town where a couple of us stayed at a bread-and-breakfast in a house where
actress Ann Sheridan had lived.  Now it's impossible to tell when you leave
Denton and enter Dallas.  I topped a small rise on I-35 and was greeted by five
lanes of highway best described as a parking lot.  Eventually it moved fitfully
at five to ten miles per hour.  I'm surprised that I was able to get into the
right lane when I had to change lanes.

I reached Shreveport, LA, before I got too tired to continue.

Microsoft Network was out of commission for 24 hours or I wouldn't have gone to
Dallas and Shreveport.  When I got to Shreveport I got an email message that
gave me the address in Little Rock, AR, of a retired Army officer who had been
on the same hill in Korea (known as Jackson Heights) as my brother who was
killed.  Thursday I reversed direction to visit him and his wife.  Earlier I had
made the decision to go south from Oklahoma City because I didn't have his
address or phone number.

On Friday when I got into a traffic jam south of Memphis where four lines were
slowly becoming one lane because of bridge construction my Jeep's temperature
gauge quickly got into the red zone.  I got off at the first exit to get the
water pump replaced.  This is my third repair on this trip.  It was almost 6:00
p.m. when the work was finished.  I drove for five hours then stopped at a
motel.

By 1:00 p.m. Saturday I reached Pensacola, FL.  Sam Gerlinger, my nephew, lives
here.  I see him so seldom that I was compelled to go a little further south so
I could spend a day to reminisce with him.  Sunday is a layover day to go to the
beach and to see the fort where Geronimo was held captive.

We also went to the Navy's air museum at the Naval Air Station.  They have
planes dating back to before World War I.  One, the NC4, was the first plane to
fly across the Atlantic.

Monday I drove all day and reached Pikeville, NC sometime after 2:00 a.m.
Tuesday.  I'll stay here with my son Sean for a while before going home the first
or second week of February.  Link, my other son, sent Sean a new motherboard for
my computer so I'll wait until Sean has my computer ready.

This is the last message for the tour.  The messages have become dull now that I
am not riding my bike.  Al the messages are archived on the Internet.  Some
photographs are available at www.lifetrek.net and others will be added.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my bicycle tour of the world as much as I
enjoyed riding it.

Dave