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