Bike touring – Page 4 – Less Car, More Life

Winging it through Brittany (and Normandy) by bicycle.

The fearless leader of our tour of Brittany. In Normandy.

Rich and I joke that he is a tour leader with one client: me. He plans routes and navigates, books hotels, fixes mechanical issues on the bikes, and here in France, is also our translator. I provide restaurant and museum research, maintain a positive attitude in the group, and look for cats.

Off the ferry and on the bikes. Parc du Château des Ravalet. Hello France.

The long stone farm buildings are so captivating.

Our tour started later than we normally get riding, the ferry docked at 2pm at Cherbourg, Normandy, and we had a hotel reservation in Port-Bail-sur-Mer, about 42km/26m south. That was our only reservation and destination. The first day riding in a new area means getting used to the traffic and temperament of the drivers, shifting to riding on the right hand side of the road, being charmed by the buildings and gardens, and bonjour-ing everyone I see.

The restaurant across the street from our hotel.

Our first look at the tidal flats of Normandy.

Sunset casts a golden light on the Church of Our Lady.

I get a bit stressed by eating out in France at first. My French is minimal at best, and I can find the handwritten chalk board menus difficult to read.

Oh yes, I’m reminded that I have entered the land of chalk board menus and delicious food.

Moules marinières with frites. An easy choice in the land of seafood.

The tide rushes in so quickly, and the water is so clear.

Switching to bike touring mode again after a lovely summer of long stays at house sits and with friends is a little tough. We tend to stay only one night in places until we need a rest day, but after a long day riding, the checking in, lugging bags, unpacking, doing shower or sink laundry, have dinner, sleep, breakfast and repeat, seems overwhelming the first few days. “Did we get bad at this?” I asked Rich. He was wondering the same thing, but, it only took a few days for what felt like too much, to become normal again.

Ready to roll from Port-Bail-sur-Mer. Panniers are perfect on the bike, but awkward off the bike.

On to a multi use trail. Very relaxing riding.

…you have baked goods strapped to your rack.

The almost daily bakery stop, today in Lessay.

Which is followed by the daily search for a bench in the shade upon which to enjoy the pastries at about the 20k mark. This one was in a cemetery.

And an hour or two later, the search for a lunch spot. A picnic table is a welcome sight.

It’s not all about food, although food is important and delicious here, we also have a lot of stops to read history markers. Our first few days followed the path of General Patton’s Third Army as they broke through Normandy. We had a lot of history to ride though. Towns have streets named 28 of July, and further on 29 of July, to mark the day General Patton and the troops marched through, and bridges have plaques commemorating the march. It’s always spine tingling to read of what the French went through, and how much destruction was caused.

Pont de la Roque, bombed by the Allies to try to prevent the German troops from escaping.

Welcome bike and pedestrian improvements in towns and villages. This road into Granville looked very new.

Over the last few years we’ve noticed France becoming more and more bicycle friendly. Towns have more car free space, speed limits have been lowered nationwide in town limits and signs put up showing that people on foot and bike have priority. Wider sidewalks with bollards, separated bike lanes, and rules for car drivers to give 1.5 meter passing space to bicyclists (1 m in town) have all made quite a difference. We love pedaling into a town and seeing the completed work, or the work underway, as France has pledged a billion euro more to make streets safer for bikes and pedestrians.

We had previously only seen this street treatment in Denmark. Bike lanes and a car lane shared by both directions of car traffic.

In Denmark the bike lanes are red, here in France just marked by a dashed white line.

Outdoor dining in Granville. That’s a bottle of cider.

An extension of summer. Outdoor space still up and running.

Sunrise, Port de Hérel. The view is from our room at the Ibis hotel.

Heading out of Granville, another nice wide bike lane.

How many times will I call a town charming? Bacilly was charming.

Our third night would be spent near Mont Saint-Michel, and it would be our final night in Normandy. We would cross into Brittany just west of Mont Saint-Michel.

Riding the coast of Normandy means skirting a lot of river estuaries, at Le Val-Saint-Père.

Do not let your dog chase the Agneau de pré-salé (salt marsh lamb). A specialty of the area.

Now this way. The coast route is squiggly.

There it is. We’d been catching glimpses of it all day as we rode, but this view – it’s otherworldly.

Rich booked the hotel near Le Mont just the day before. Off season means much more availability, even on a Saturday night. We debated riding right out to Le Mont before checking in at our hotel but we decided to check in, shower, leave the bags and ride back out the 5 kilometers so we could lock our bikes and walk around. The causeway leading out to Le Mont is only open to shuttle buses, bikes, and pedestrians.

But even better, we had a cabin with resident friendly cat whom we promptly named Deuce, for our cabin, number 12.

Denied! The causeway was closed to bikes for a light show extravaganza that evening.

We retreated to the dam which was built to settle the sand from the incoming tide and avoid the river silting up.

Watched some adorable tourists all get their Instagram shots.

And back to our hotel for a bottle of wine and an Afgani dinner from the food truck run by the hotel owner’s sister and her husband.

Do not think we gave up. Even though the mosquitoes were feasting on us as we watched the wave from the incoming tide travel up the river to the dam, no staying for the extravaganza for us, we decided to get up with the sunrise and ride back out to Le Mont.

The next morning, rain was headed our way but we were not deterred. This is pre caffeine.

Success. At the island with a dramatic sky.

Yikes! Let’s get this island viewing under way!

Early Sunday morning and rain rolling in means very few other tourists.

One other small group was walking around when we first arrived but we only saw them once.

Although the shops cater to the tourists, the bones of the town remain visible.

It was well worth getting up early and braving the threat of rain to see the Mont with so few other tourists.

And back to our hotel for breakfast and much needed coffee and tea.

With the history of WW2 still so close, and much documented by historical markers and plaques, I had to look up what happened to Le Mont during that time. As you can guess it was held and occupied for four years and two months and – to our delight – we read it was liberated by one American, Private Freeman Brougher. You read that correctly, one Private in a jeep with two British reporters. Read the entire story here for a jolt of emotion and a few fantastic photos: https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/freeing-mont-saint-michel/

Photo from the article. More photos in the link to the website.

Although the rain held off for our visit to the island we were eventually caught after checking out of the hotel and heading out. We had to shelter to let the hardest rain pass by.

Barely on the road and already stopping to put our rain gear.

The weather cleared as we continued along the coast, past windmills.

They are used to harvest mussels. They can drive along the road, across the beach, and into the sea where the mussels are growing on pilings.

Picnic spots of the world. We had managed to get to a small shop just before it closed for Sunday afternoon

There is a lovely feeling of familiarity, going from Wales to Brittany. Both are Celtic lands and we find similarities that catch us by surprise. The style of the old buildings, the way the doors and windows are framed by brick, certain words, and, arriving in Saint Malo, reading that Saint Malo arrived in Brittany from Wales. He was one of the seven founding saints of Brittany.

We had to look up this city emblem, it’s a dog.

Saint Malo is the setting for the book All the Light We Cannot See, which we both read, and we were reminded of that fact by our friend Bob (Hi Bob! Thanks!).

Another super bike friendly French city.

Walking along the old ramparts. The city has a history of pirates!

We stayed out in a neighborhood called Saint-Servan-sur-Mer.

We rode our bikes down to a lovely harbor for high tide swims both mornings.

You can see how the tide and ramp makes for a great swimming spot.

The happy travelers, just before a swim.

So far, some pretty fierce headwinds aside, we’re really enjoying Britanny. The history, the food (the butter and the salted caramel made from the butter!), and friendly people. Especially once we’ve pedaled away from the tourist areas – then we really enjoy the opportunities to chat with locals who don’t often get Americans pedaling through town. On we go!

The star is where we landed, the hearts are where we slept. The blue dot was me when I snapped this pic from google maps. (For you Ruth!)

Wales to Brittany by bike. With a Stena Lines ferry boost.

The approach to the Fishguard Ferry terminal.

One of the only riddles I can always remember is “How do you get two whales in a Mini?” Answer: Over the Severn Bridge. Doesn’t work written down (to Wales in a Mini), and rarely works for an American audience- the Severn Bridge? Wales? What?

Our riddle was how to get us and two bikes quickly and efficiently from Wales to France. Big touring bikes that do not fit easily in the bike closets provided on many UK trains. We could have ridden all the way to Portsmouth or another southern England port, but to be honest bike touring in a lot of the UK is not fantastic. And we wanted to get back to France to tour while the weather was still good, not spend more time crossing Britain. The answer to our riddle? Stena Lines Ferry.

For the first leg of our trip our friends in Tenby generously drove us and our bikes to Fishguard, Wales, for our 24 hour fun journey to France.

Rich waiting with our ferry behind him. This ferry will take us to Ireland.

Let’s get this show on the road! Lunch and snacks in the bag.

I love traveling by ferry. It’s a fantastic way to get between the continent and the UK or Ireland without flying. Flying not only has a bigger carbon footprint than the ferry, but it’s also a pain with bicycles. Ferries and bikes are quite easy. At Fishguard the bikes wait with foot passengers, who are driven onto the ferry by a bus, but we bikes get to wheel on with our own escort.

Rich in the bike nook, cars loading on behind him.

The bikes are secured with a rope, provided by the helpful staff person you see securing a motorcycle behind Rich. The motos are strapped down to recessed hooks in the floor.

Secure and ready to go. For this 3 hour journey we leave the bags on the bikes.

I always snap a photo of our deck number and stairwell color. Just in case we both forget.

Then it’s a cup of tea, a coconut macaroon from Loafly Bakery in Tenby, and a sheltered spot on the sun deck.

We were the only two people with bikes on this ferry trip, but there were quite a few motorcycles. We all wait to unload together.

I’m still fascinated by the huge car and truck decks on these ferries. It’s a bit intimidating to be a little cyclist surrounded by trucks and cars as you exit.

I don’t take pictures while disembarking, I’m too busy trying to keep up with the flow and not skid on the steel plates of the ramp. It looks more dodgy than it is, but I prefer both hands on my handlebars for this part of the trip.

Our next ferry, from Rosslare Harbour, County Wexford, would take us to Cherbourg, France. This was a long ferry ride, 16 hours. You have to purchase a cabin, no sleeping in the chairs. While in line for this ferry we chatted with a nice Irish cyclist named David, headed to France for a Rugby World Cup game and to meet up with his brother. Also traveling by bike.

Motorcycles and bikes loading from lane 12.

The bikes on this ferry were stashed next to a conveyor belt, and lashed to it by a staff person.

We were a bit mystified and annoyed by the fact that this ferry seemed to allow only four bikes on. When Rich was making reservations the website told him at first that there was only 1 bike space left. He was able to get both bikes on the next day, it seems that when his initial attempt to reserve and pay hung up in the payment phase, it locked down the 2 bike spots and they needed some time to reset and release. David agreed with us that it was ridiculous to allow only four bikes on a massive ferry loaded with cars and trucks, he said he would probably just show up and talk his way on, if he had been denied a bike reservation. We’re not that confident in our gift of gab, not being Irish, but we all agreed to send sternly worded emails to the Stena Line Ferry company. (We otherwise really like this ferry company.)

Behind this door, Premium Class Cabins. That was us! We went Premium Class.

A very comfortable cabin. You can see one of the upper bunks above Rich, this cabin could sleep four.

The cabin had a kettle, tea and coffee, some snacks, outlets with continental plugs – two pin – and a very decent sized bathroom. More later on morning amenities. First, off to the bar!

White wine and Guinness. Rich couldn’t be in Ireland, however briefly, without having a Guinness. Dance floor available, pop music blaring from the sound system.

The view from the Metropolitan Bar. We imagine that during busy summer holidays the dance floor gets some use.

We decided on this trip to just eat from the restaurant instead of bringing on our own dinner or breakfast. You could certainly save money by taking on your own picnic meals, but the food got pretty good reviews so we made our lives easier and went to the buffet restaurant for dinner and breakfast.

The buffet and a guy who gets his money’s worth from a buffet.

My first plate, noodle salad, Greek salad, and veggies. All quite good.

Dinner at the buffet was a success. There was a bar in the restaurant, drinks not included except water and tea/coffee, we opted for water.

We went for an after dinner walk on deck and then it was off to bed in our comfortable cabin.

Another benefit of Premium Class was the morning coffee and milk from the coffee machine in the hallway, and croissants and raisin rolls, and oddly, magazines. Good Housekeeping and Men’s Health, and the duty free magazine.

Coffee, pastries, and water in the fridge.

Yes, I was out in the hallway in my jammies, this was just outside our door.

And then I was tucked up back in bed with tea made with the room kettle, with fresh
milk from the machine, a croissant, and a magazine.

Since we had a ride planned from when the ferry docked at 2pm to our first night in Normandy at Port-Bail-sur-Mer, we went and enjoyed the breakfast buffet to make sure we were fueled for our 46 km hilly ride.

Breakfast buffet was served from 8 to 10 am.

Another walk on the deck, watching for land.

The flag has the silhouette of Cyprus, where this boat is registered.

Lifeboats. Which you hope no one ever has to use. They hold 114 people each.

Finally allowed back to our bikes, we found the trucks were parked right next to our bikes and the floor had puddles of sea water. David, Rich, and a nice nomadic French cyclist whose name I didn’t get. Chatting with other cyclists is a fun bonus of ferry travel.

Ten years nomadic cycling. He said he’s off to the US next. Nice guy.

Traveling with bikes on the Stena Line or Brittany Ferries is becoming our regular way of getting to and from the UK from the continent or Ireland. This was our 12th ferry trip, seventh with bikes, since going nomadic just over two years ago. Eight have been long crossings, and four were shorter hops, Germany to Sweden, Denmark, etc. On this trip our Stena lines reward number got a work out as we bought so many meals – not inexpensive – but now we have points for future discounts. As I mentioned above, you could certainly make this journey less expensive by getting a standard cabin, and either bringing your own picnic meals or opting for a non buffet dinner and breakfast. The premium cabins vary ship to ship, on one from Hook of Holland to Harwich we had a full sized bed in the cabin and no upper bunks. Both were very comfortable and we slept well.

The happy travelers headed from Wales to Ireland.

We’re now in France, cycle touring in Normandy and Brittany. And guess what? That heat wave in Wales may have been our last summer heat, the weather has taken a decidedly autumnal turn.

Treorchy to Tenby – Steaming in the Welsh Sunshine

We had a wonderful 12 days in Treorchy, not only visiting the two national museums Cheryl detailed in the last post, but hiking around the Rhondda Valley and the Brecon Beacons. But alas, it was time to move on to a new adventure from our cozy house sit and lap cat.

We loved hiking in Wales. Looking towards the verdant hills of Mid Wales from **Bannau Brycheiniog**, also known by their English name, the Brecon Beacons.

We picked this less crowded part of the park for a Sunday hike and it was perfect.

Coming down the backside of Fan Dringarth.

A subtle beauty to these boggy highlands.

The nine mile loop varied, had great views and kept us away from the hoards climbing Pen y Fan, the highest point in the park.

When we planned our various house sits this summer, we had to consider how we would get between then with loaded bikes. Most connections were a day or two, so we had to take two long trips on LNER and Great Western Railway trains. Both were stressful with our touring bikes due to the (ridiculous) storage closet bike hooks in a space too tight for my bike. (And many other bikes larger than average.) Anytime you take 50 pounds in 4 bags off the bikes, it becomes awkward. Add a 1-minute crowded station platform, bike closets, and a mid line stop and it becomes a frantic fire drill.

Last night sunset from our terrace in the Rhondda Fawr Valley.

Our sweet cat Tibbs was determined to block our exit from Treorchy.

So we decided that if the weather looked better than a monsoon, we’d cycle our next leg, so I started planning a route considering the following;

1. How do we get out of the Rhondda Valley? Its a 1000+ foot climb straight up out of Treorchy to the North or West, both on A Roads, unless we wanted to go back down the Rhondda towards Cardiff, which would break our cycle touring motto of “never go backwards” (even when we make a wrong turn).

Heading up the switchbacks of the A4061 west of Treorchy

Free roaming sheep kept the car speeds under control and they sure were friendly.

Couldn’t resist an Ussie with our new pal.

2. What is the nicest route.? Heading to a UK national route or Eurovelo was a logical choice and the western route out of Treorchy landed us in the Afan valley, which looked to have a beautiful rail trail along the Afan river. It was also the pass we looked at for 12 days from the deck of our house sit, so it beckoned.

After a descent with some nice sweeping switchbacks on the A4061, you reach the start of National Cycle Route 887 and the Afan Valley Trail.

This Afan Valley had its heyday at the turn of the last Century but has reinvented itself as a recreational hub, especially mountain biking.

The historic Bethel Chapel in Pontrhydfen.

More legacies of the coal and steel days in the valley.

3. Where can we stay and break up the trip comfortably? As our bikes are fully loaded beasts, we wanted to keep mileage in the 50-75k daily range, especially as there are a number of challenges in this region of Wales, primarily steep hills, strong winds, and frequent rains. We also were in no rush and wanted to enjoy the ride.

A relatively short 62k from Treorchy to Mumbles meant we had energy for some exploring.

Hanging with the locals at The Pilot in Mumbles.

And the heatwave meant magical evenings along Swansea Bay.

Day 2 on National Cycle Route 4 was nice, despite this warning for motorbikes.

Well, the steep hills were there, and we lucked out with virtually no wind. However, instead of rain, we had the unexpected challenge of a mild heat wave. It was shocking to us how hot you can feel and get in 82F humidity, but some of the afternoon climbs in full sun felt brutal.

The route from Mumbles to Gowerton follows an old rail corridor that last ran in the 1960s. The Swansea to Mumbles seaside railway was dismantled in 1960 but was the first horse driven passenger tramway in the world.

So we set out from Treorchy and headed up the beautiful pass. Perfect pavement, mild 7-8% grades, and great views. The descent down the back side was great and we finally hit the bottom of the steep portion and found our way down to the head of National route 887, the Afan Valley to Port Talbot.

Cheryl cooling down AND picking up trash from the Afan River.

We were excited to cycle this region as we had traversed it many times by car and train, but never cycled.

Homemade savory pies and a double espresso. aka “Brunch”.

Finally reaching the Aberavon beach promenade in Port Talbot.

Along Carmarthen Bay. Cheryl took most of the photos these days (I was on a heat strike), so she needed a selfie to prove she was there.

My Tilley for shelter on the hot backroads as we turned inland again along Carmarthen Bay.

Cars were very considerate for the most part. In fact, so many waited for us along small lanes at pull outs, even when we were climbing up hills at a snails pace, we often felt we needed to tell them in was fine to pass us slowly. The slower pace is a refreshing differentiator between lower density Wales and much of high density England.

What are the odds of meeting up with a local we know in Wales? Pretty good apararently, as our friend Alex drove by us on this county road. So we all met down the road for a pub lunch in the lovely and rare warmth.

Bragging about our 3 1/2 months without a flat finally caught up with me after our pub lunch in Amroth. (Still love our Schwable Evolution /Almotion tires though.)

There is some nice new bike infrastructure along NR4 in Wales and it was definitely better than the segments west of London.

We did have some poor youngsters in the Swansea area try spook us by yelling out their car windows and screaming as they passed us, but to no avail, as one skill we have learned in 30+ years of urban cycling is the art of road zen and “zero response”. We both equally ignored them (we were riding apart) so perhaps they won’t even bother next time they see two lone cycle tourists on the cross country cycle path.

Getting close, the path from Amroth to Saundersfoot escapes a few climbs by passing through three short tunnels.

So hot, but time for a refreshing blackberry break.

Heading out of Day 2 B&B in Llangynog. A little steamy morning rain-mist set in on the hill, but the jacket still came off in 5 minutes.

A physical threat with a vehicle is another matter, but this was just cheeky youths yelling to try to impress their mates. Cheryl even takes a more positive spin by saying that she was sure they were yelling positive words of encouragement! (Not an indecipherable Welsh-English slur.) And that’s why she is such an amazing travel companion; always keeping on the sunny side and assuming the best in people -:).

The final ridge before Tenby. Pembrokeshire coast cycling is not for the leisurely as the ups and down are constant!

Overall, it was a wonderful three days minus the hot afternoons. Cycling in Wales and on much of the National Cycle Network feels adventurous as the conditions can vary so wildly, and you encounter few others on the way, except around some city areas and popular stretches of rail-trail, river, or coastal paths.

Our new favorite snack, Welsh Tea Cakes smothered in local butter.

The medieval and stunning Laugharne Castle.

The reward was six great days with our most generous and dear friends in Tenby.

Our friends took us out for a great afternoon on the water and swimming at a secluded beach.

So we decided that we definitely want to come back and cycle more in central Wales, where smaller green hills, and small lanes are coupled with the Welsh friendliness. Apparently a new route is being developed there, so we look forward to exploring it…maybe in 2024.

Happy Autumn!

What makes you happy when traveling? Wales edition.

Rich at the Big Pit Coal Museum in Pontypool, Wales.

What makes us happy? Returning a rental car! Although we were so grateful to have the opportunity to explore the valleys of South Wales, driving is never our favorite form of transportation. Really I should clarify that Rich drives and I try to be helpful and supportive. As he noted today after we returned the car in Cardiff, we’re not the first couple to get into a fight in a rental car. But, for the moments of stress and breathless passing of other cars on narrow streets (knowing that a damaged wing mirror was £200 per the rental agency, and we saw plenty of cars with damaged mirrors.), there was so much excitement and happiness as we got to visit places that would have been impossible on public transit or as day trips by bike from our house sit.

Wales is beautiful. The coal valleys of south Wales have such a rich and heart wrenching history. The Big Pit Coal Museum is so packed with history and details and artifacts and machinery it’s overwhelming. But, the history of Wales is everywhere in this region. Our introduction to Welsh coal mining history started with our bike ride from Cardiff to Treorchy, where we had a lovely house sit for 12 days.

Rolling out of central Cardiff to the Taff River trail.

A very quick transition from city streets to the river trail.

Helmets off to all the agencies who coordinated the trail and history information boards.

I wonder how many rail-trails we’ve ridden?

Lunch in Pontypridd. A lovely surprise of a town.

Riding into a town where you hope to have lunch and finding not a high street cowering in the face of car traffic, but instead a pedestrianized charming core really made us happy. We usually have to search for a spot where we can keep an eye on our bikes while we eat, maybe through a window or from an outside table hopefully with some shade and not to close to car traffic, but Pontypridd made our day with its car free and wonderfully lively shopping streets.

Not one little pedestrian section, but an actual network.

Window shopping by bike while rolling slowly through town.

Pontypridd is the beginning of the Rhondda Fawr Valley, named for the Rhondda River. As we would learn, coal mining changed the valley from a sparsely populated rural area to a teeming coal based economy.

Always stop for the information boards. Those in the Rhondda Valley and along the Taff Trail are particularly compelling.

The transition to coal came with a very high price. As the above photo states “ In Britain between 1868 and 1914 a miner was killed on average every six hours and seriously injured every two.”

The Rhondda River. The geology makes for such a dramatic river course.

Rich riding into Porth, and one of our first views of the terrace houses that were built to house the colliers and their families.

At the high point of our climb from the Rhondda Fach valley before we dropped down into Rhondda Fawr.

We settled in to our lovely house sit with the wonderful cat Tibbs, for whom we quickly came up with a variety of nicknames, as we charmed and fed our way into her heart, and she into ours.

We had arranged a get together with another nomad couple who were in their campervan not far from us. We met up for a walk and a pub lunch and hours of chatting. When you live a nomad lifestyle like ours it’s nice to chat with others with the same kind of life. We always learn so much from other nomads and come away with great recommendations for places to visit and how to overcome challenges.

Hi Steve and Linda! Hope to meet up again somewhere in the world.

The cage. Don’t call it a lift or an elevator!

The first question you get about your visit to the Big Pit National Coal Museum is “Did you go down?” Down into the mine in the cage. At 300 feet below ground this isn’t one of the deepest mines in Wales, but the hour long tour, led by a miner, is so unique and educational. No phones or cameras are allowed down since although this isn’t a working mine, it is still considered an active site and anything that could possibly trigger a spark or has a battery is not allowed. It’s a good thing to be forced to leave your phone behind occasionally, you do focus more, and images are etched into your memory instead of saved in your camera. As we stood in the stall area where the pit ponies had been stabled, our guide, Peter, had us all switch off our headlamps to experience the complete darkness of the mine.

Big Pit, big Rich, and the moors of Blaenafon.

We were told by locals how they remember riding buses with men just off shift at mines, and how dirty and dusty they were. The baths helped change that.

Utilitarian and much welcome shower facilities.

We learned so much about the life of the miners, and although the grit, strength,and pride of the miners is clear, it was a grueling job done under some inhumane conditions.

Biographical information on some of the lockers was intense. Yes, miners started as young as 12, even younger before the 1842 regulations passed.

Happily examining all the mining items – so much information.

Our tour guide called them pit ponies, and the stalls where they lived when not working were 300 feet underground. Although that was awful, and hard to imagine, it was pointed out that the ponies were assets for which the company had spent money, and so they had a vested interest in keeping the ponies healthy. The same couldn’t be said for the miners.

We went away with a much fuller understanding of what coal meant to Wales, and why the coal mined in South Wales was so valuable. As with many extraction based economies, the profits went to the owners and investors, and when the mines were nationalized and ultimately shut down, entire areas were plunged into poverty. I felt the Big Pit did a good job of telling the story of coal, and its impacts on Wales, negative and positive. The museum hasn’t been updated to include the impacts of fossil fuels on our planet, that would be a good challenge for new curation. I can imagine a team of museum scientists adding a fascinating section on climate change and the impact of coal. Although the story of the mines is about the folks working and living in Wales, the reach is global.

Our next visit was to St. Fagans National Museum of History.

Visiting museums can add up for families, taking the kids for a day out and paying per person can get expensive. I really like that the National Museums in Wales charge for parking, but entry is free. There are ample opportunities to donate either in cash or with tap cards, and we always do. This was my second visit to St. Fagans, I visited decades ago with my friend Hannah who grew up in Wales. We couldn’t remember exactly when it was that we visited, but we think about 30 years ago.

Do you see the smoke from the cottage beyond the sheep field?

If you are imagining a large building full of glass cases with artifacts, stop right now! This is an open air museum, with buildings relocated from all across Wales, rebuilt on site and furnished according to the time period being featured. That noise you just heard was me squealing with delight- this is my favorite kind of museum. You get to walk around lovely grounds and go into buildings that look as if the inhabitants have just stepped out. Since it was a chilly rainy day most of the buildings had fires burning which upped the level of atmosphere.

A pigsty. Why is it round? Because pigs dig, and the lack of corners helped prevent them from digging out.

I love water wheels as much as I love open air museums.

A tannery. We visited an active tannery in Morocco and it looked so similar. This one smells a bit better, and is now occupied by newts, which we sadly did not see.

After a stop for tea and Bara Brith, a traditional Welsh tea bread, it was off to the Stone Age huts! Rich is trying to look cranky but he was as excited as me. Ok, maybe not quite.

It’s smoke. From the fire built on the floor. No chimney meant the smoke just seeped out.

In case you are wondering, yes, it was very smoky inside. The very knowledgeable staff member inside was wisely seated on a log, staying low and mostly out of the smoke.

Information signs in Welsh and English gave good background and showed where the building originated.

A museum guide told me that since I had last visited, approximately ten buildings had been added to the site. The decision to include a building depends on quite a few factors, including a compelling back story or history about the structure.

Just walking around the 100 acre parkland was pleasant.

Possibly my favorite buildings at St. Fagans are the terrace row houses. The six are displayed as they would have been in 1805, 1855, 1895, 1925 1955 and 1985. Originally there would have been a community oven at the end of the row in which the women would bake bread. Terrace houses are all over Welsh coal country, so ubiquitous you can almost stop noticing them.

A street in Treorchy. We were told by a local there were 16 mines near town. I was pleased to get a photo with not many cars blocking the view of the houses.

Looking down on Cwm-parc terrace houses as we climbed the hill out of Treorchy. There once was a colliery in the valley to the left of the photo.

Looking towards the terrace houses from the gardens. When you entered the houses you started to see the modernization through the decades.

Rich warming up in front of the fire, while managing to not hit his head on the decor.

A cock fighting pit inside a purpose built building.

Stryd Lydan Barn. From the museum description: A cruck and timber-framed barn, the walls are wattled using flat chestnut laths woven vertically through horizontal staves. The building is thatched with wheat straw.

The grounds at St. Fagans are absolutely worth a visit even if you don’t care about old buildings and history. Which would be impossible, I think, once you start walking and reading the signs and imagining how life was for folks who lived in these houses. Happy to have gotten to visit both these National Museums, we returned the rental car and got ready to pedal out of Treorchy and on to visit good friends in Tenby over a few days of Welsh heat wave.

The happy travelers in Pontypridd (The name *Pontypridd* is from “Pont-y-tŷ-pridd” the Welsh for “bridge by the earthen house”) Thank you Wikipedia.

Gettin Around on a Crowded Island

We’ve been in the UK for a month now exploring the sites, museums, footpaths, parks, and a lot of pubs! Our first house sit in the Windsor area was for new friends that we met in Istanbul last year.

The Grand Union Canal…most canal paths are open to cyclists

The Slough branch of the Grand Union passes over a number of small rivers and streams. Water bridges (aqueducts) are cool!

It was a great chance to catch up with them, as well as settle in, explore the area, and recoup a bit from our hectic 2023 to date*. We also got to meet up with a handful of other friends in the greater London area, as well as some fellow nomads through the GoWithLess Facebook group.

(*2023 Seattle, SF, Tapei, Bangkok, India, Sri Lanka, Japan, Korea, Colorado, SF, France, Switzerland, Germany, Czechia, Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands….whew!)

Cheryl and Queen Elizabeth in the Windsor Great Park. The Long Walk is a a nearly 3 mile tree lined avenue established by Charles II.

Our summer blackberry refill near the Thames in Datchet.

Windsor is of course dominated by the Windsor castle which seems to be in view no matter where you go. There it is again! Windsor itself gets a lot of tourists, but most are just there to tour the castle and grounds, so it’s easy to find peace and tranquility nearby, especially in the Windsor Great Park and the Thames path. We actually passed on the Castle tour in peak August, as it’s hefty admission price tag (almost $40!) seemed best reserved for a quieter off-season time.

Great beer and atmosphere at Windsor & Eton Brewery, one of our favorite spots away from the tourist hubbub.

It’s also been great to have our new touring bikes here to explore some of the local bike routes and countryside. Their sturdiness and 40mm tires are perfect for the rough roads and varied off-road surfaces of UK cycling.

Cycling through Great Windsor Park to meet friends for a great pub lunch.

This paved section of the Virgina Water in WGP was recently closed to bicycles eliminating a nice loop option. There are two giant car parks at each end of this area.

The restriction on walking your bike through seems silly and just discourages families from getting there by bike.

So after our happy 3+weeks in the London area, we said goodbye to our friends and their lovable cat, and loaded up to ride 25 miles to catch a train in London. Our LNER train took us north to our next house sitting adventure in a small village on the river Tees near Darlington.

Saying goodbye to Peter, Sue, and Bruno, the sweetest cat in the world

Cycling into London via Bath and Great West Roads. The route was not the greatest cycle route ever, but it did get us past Heathrow to Central London mostly separated from traffic.

A few cycle routes in London mean sharing a lane with buses and taxis. Not too bad for experienced cyclists

And finally the great separated infrastructure of a Cycle Superhighway (CS9)

Waiting outside King’s Cross Station. Our discount “Advance Single” tickets were only good on a specific train and time, as well as our two reserved bike hook spots.

We met the very nice family briefly before they set off for a proper sun holiday with their kids in Spain. It’s a lovely house and garden, and they have two cats, a bunch of chickens, Guinea pigs, and some fish. It’s been fun to collect (and eat!) farm fresh eggs daily, and the village has a nice pub down the street, as did our previous house sit, and the sit before that… ok, so there is always a pub down the street in the UK!

The UK public footpath system is awesome.

Canals and pubs in pleasant Ripon at the foot of the Yorkshire Dales.

As in all our transitions this summer, we built in an extra day to get from Windsor to Darlington, and spent the first night nearby at a nice and surprisingly good value historic hotel. Unfortunately, the constant strikes, partial shutdowns, and other uncertainties in the UK rail system can make certain travel days impossible, especially with the complication of transporting bikes on the trains, which always requires a precious bike reservation for long distances.

History is everywhere. We especially love the small village churches.

Christ Church College at Oxford in beautiful sunshine.

There were 5 strike days in July and another 3 in August, as well as an extended ban and dispute on OT work on 15 of 17 operating companies limiting schedule. Good fun for passengers who have little say in improving the workers wages and funding except through occasional voting. Oh, and yup, there are 17 major train operating companies, often overlapping in service along corridors. Sometimes your ticket can work on any carrier, sometimes it doesn’t.

A semi-private bridge in Hurworth, Yorkshire.

Cycling joy to see this on a 40-mile loop.

Ingenious dairy automat in Yorkshire. The chocolate shake was amazing!

The good news is that the system is pretty extensive, and a lot of upgrades have been made to stations, rolling stock and infrastructure recently. Much of the system is great and when there are not network or labor issue, it carries a ton of people at a very low carbon load. Raíl travel here is not cheap, but advance discounts are available, as well as rail cards. We generally travel off-peak and use a “Two together” railcard to knock 30% off most fares when we are indeed “two together” (which is almost always-:).

Windsor Great Park is indeed pretty great with magnificent heritage trees.

The mighty Thames Estuary from the Blackfriars Bridge in London.

We loved our reliable Southwestern Railway service to London which took us from Datchet on a one seat ride to Waterloo Station for about $15 r/t each. The recently opened Elizabeth line (aka CrossRail) has also improved east-west connectivity across London and even allows bikes at most hours and stations!

A 14 mile loop from Henley-on-Thames Station was a good challenge in a bit of heat, sun, and the always lingering mud in the low valleys.

An ominous forrest portal in the late afternoon. We could catch the train from Windsor/Slough to many lovely destinations.

But traveling to the less populated North has reminded us how darn crowded the greater London area is. In fact, Southeast England has about a third of the UK population, including the 10 Million in Metro London.

Ok, walking and cycling may not always be the best, but a Sunday roast complete
with Yorkshire pudding at our local pub is great. (Cheryl had a veggie Wellington.)

So trains are essential, and excessive car travel unsustainable. However, outside the London core, most infrastructure has been heavily engineered to move vehicles, at the great expense to those who want to walk or cycle to a destination. Or just want a peaceful town to walk about and exist.

This sign sums up the national cycling psyche.

Cycling conditions outside of the reimagined London cycle superhighways and traffic limited cores are dismal. Spending so much time on the continent the past 2 years, has made us realize that it could all be different with some strong leadership, pricing, and a common vision. It’s a stark contrast and feels like a overwhelming lift to change the status quo that has developed over the past 50-75 years.

An overnight visit to a friend allowed an early morning stroll in historic and lively Oxford

The mind blowing Pitt Rivers Museum in the Oxford Natural History Museum. You could populate 10 museums with all the artifacts.

Cars have the right of way almost everywhere except the somewhat rare zebra crossings. There are curb cuts and islands many places, but no right of way associated with them. And crossing a side street while walking along a Main Street still imparts limited rights. So car drivers often come flying out around corners with no expectation a pedestrian would dare cross (and most don’t) and are solely concerned with whether they can merge with other vehicles on the new road. So crossing the street is often a long wait, a dash, or a hopeful glance to a car for a pity stop along with a slight intent to cross. We do this a lot, and it often works, but most locals defer to cars and jut wait. And wait.

Oxford is a bright spot in transportation cycling in the UK. Great facilities, limited car traffic, and lots of bikes. Yay!

Broad Street in Oxford is another example of reclaiming space for people to enjoy the magnificent architecture and ambience .

Oxford does need to improve the pedestrian access from the train station.

It makes us extremely sad to see walking reduced to a last priority, especially in a dense, compact place that was developed at its core to be walkable. People used to walk everywhere. Now people feel they need to drive short distances (to car parks) just to get a few groceries or take a walk with their kids or dogs in a safe place. Parents clutch their kids for dear life on narrow sidewalks next to high speed traffic often inches away. It’s a downward spiral.

The sad High Street of Yarm in North Yorkshire The entire street is a parking lot on both sides. It is geographically constrained but this is a horrible condition for a village.

Putting out the cutest guinea pigs for the day will always cheer you up.

We’ve also noticed the pedestrian conditions vary widely by area and city, but for the most part, the cars-first attitude permeates all public space behavior. So we do our best to assert our rights (some new from Feb 2022 law) and lead by example, and we have noticed strong resistance to some of the traffic sewer streets by protest notices in a few towns.

An ok cycle lane, but they are often overgrown and 99% have bumpy pavement. The intersections are tedious and tough to negotiate. The B Road adjacent has nice smooth pavement. Maybe I should drive?

Hilarious design stupidity with narrow chicanes at the top of a bike/pedestrian bridge in addition to two at each end just to ensure that cycling is not too great an option.

It’s not an easy fix, but if you start with making more pedestrian and bike routes and crossings, then people will have more options and a virtuous cycle can begin. No pain, no gain. I realize I made some similar observations in our 2022 summer stay here, but that’s because as avid walkers and former activists, it’s always a shock how discouraging the traffic system truly is.

More ridiculousness…the supposed safety devices are unique to British cycling…other parts of Europe seem to want cyclists to be able to ride places.

This bike bridge should be 100% ridable, so why this again!? Cheryl wished she had a hack saw and blow torch -;)

We barely saw a scooter motorcycle in 3 weeks, yet these squeeze chutes were common.

This clever setup ensures that you will smash a pedal, pannier, or shin. Or all three.

And what does Cheryl think of this set up?

Yup, these cycling deterrent devices are on the National Cycle Network. We may have had 20 dismounts on a 25 mile loop ride….

Luckily, some obstacles can be overcome as this path was blocked by a pub…so we went through and had lunch there!

Riding the Thames path near Bourne End. There is great joy cycling here despite the frequent challenges.

But we love our housesitting adventures as each one is so different. New pets, new sights to see, and new pathways to explore. We can focus a bit more on history and background reading without the constant logistics of more mobile travel. Not to mention it gives me ample time to plan our next cycle touring adventures and fall travels.

A stained glass homage to James Alfred Wright (aka James Herriot) at the wonderful museum dedicated to his life and “All Creatures Great and Small” in Thirsk.

We stumbled upon the unique Kingsgate Pedestrian Bridge over the river Wear in Durham, designed by Sir Ove Arup.

Ove Arup was visionary and the bridge stands the test of time, although it’s a bold design with very thin concrete cantilever supports. I hope they are checking for rebar corrosion.

But as we plan trips through the fall and back to the US, it also makes us miss our family and friends even more; despite frequent electronic contact. For me, this nomadic adventure is not just about travel, but about adjusting to a new reality of early retirement. I have somewhat adjusted, but we do both wonder what it will be like when we settle down again. Serious hobbies will need to be reactivated as well as local civic engagement. New friends and old. And of course, travel planning -;)

The awe inspiring Durham Cathedral with an impressive reminder of our earth’s peril.

The beautiful North York Moors are close enough to explore by bike.

But the UK has been a perfect place to spend the summer as it’s been cool, a bit rainy, but generally just perfect for active walking and cycling. And so green and lush! We had our fill of heat this year in South Asia and cycle touring during a very warm June on the continent. (It was warmer here too in June.) However, after a month, I do understand why many British feel a strong need to get a sun holiday, even in August!

And yes, exploring the North York Moors means mandatory pub lunch.

Bright paint to contrast with the gray summer

Warm with my sweetheart at Saltburn by the Sea.

We have a few more days left in the North and then load up our bikes again to head south and west to another house sit in the former coal country of Wales. We’re always excited to explore a new area and we know the Welsh are so friendly, so it should be great. And so far the trains look to be on time.

Happy Travels!

Twisting along the Thames – from London to Windsor by bike.

Headed out from Syon Park on a bright and mild morning.

Arriving in the UK after seven weeks bike touring in Germany, Czechia, Belgium and the Netherlands is a mixture of delight- we can talk to people and have in-depth conversations and understand all the signs and announcements!, and disappointment – the cycling infrastructure in this area of the UK is like most of the US, pretty sad. Not well connected, and nothing that is going to move people away from car trips to bicycle trips. Except, just like in some US cities, in some UK cities where cycling has become a preferred mode, like London, the cycling can be great.

Riding from the Harwich ferry to the Manningtree train station was fine. Quiet morning roads, considerate drivers, but no real bike infrastructure.

Adjusting to staying left is always a challenge at first.

Staying out of the way at a crowded Liverpool Station in London. The next day was to be a scheduled train strike so the trains seemed extra busy.

That is not just a bike lane, that’s a cycle superhighway.

Finding a gap in the tourist flow to snap an usie. Us and Big Ben.

London is a great example of what good infrastructure can do for cycling in a city. This is the second time we’ve come from Holland on a ferry to Harwich, and then a train to London. The first time we were a bit nervous about crossing London on loaded touring bikes, but it was a snap, so this time we were looking forward to it. And London on a busy mid July morning, loaded with tourists, did not disappoint.

St. James’s Park. Blending in with the other cyclists.

Want to feel like part of the attraction of the changing of the Guard?

Hop on your bike and follow them up Birdcage Walk and Spur Road. As long as you stay behind them the busy Constables will not yell at you.

Our route took us past Buckingham Palace, which always gives me a thrill to see, and on to Hyde Park. From Hyde park we rode towards Hammersmith and joined the Thames River. First stop: pub lunch at the Blue Anchor. When we have our loaded touring bikes we make sure to sit outside somewhere we can keep on eye on the bikes. Our new bikes have spoke locks which are super easy to simply click into place, and we joke that it would take an unusual thief to be able to jump on Rich’s huge loaded bike and ride away without immediately crashing, but we are happier when we have the bikes in sight.

Ah, the first British pint in about ten months.

This set up is a bike touring dream. The Blue Anchor on the Thames River.

Always read the info plaque. I appreciate that someone went to the effort to give me a little historical context with my half pint of cider.

We decided to ride along the Thames to our hotel for the night, the Hilton at Syon Park. It would be a perfectly timed bumble to get us there at check in time. Is it the easiest or most efficient way to ride? No. But winding along the Thames Path takes you through some very scenic areas.

So many cute pubs, but we must be moving on.

After our night in Syon Park, which would be worth exploring on a future visit, we decided to ride the Thames Path all the way to our destination just outside Windsor. Again, not a direct route, but certainly a scenic ride. It’s fun to have no idea what to expect from a route. The surprises around bends in the river, the views across the river, the varying surfaces of the Thames Path – everything was new to us.

Isleworth, still in the tidal reach section of the Thames.

Richmond Bridge. Still in the tidal reaches of the Thames. Teddington, just a bit along the river from Richmond, is known as the end of the tidal Thames.

It was surprising to us to find such stretches of nature so close to London.

Signage along the path is quite good in places.

Rich in front of Ham House. The challenge of loaded bikes is actually going inside attractions. We did not.

Crossing the river again at Kingston upon Thames. The Kingston Bridge.

And another attraction, Hampton Court Palace, viewed from the outside.

The river and path really stitches together life. Walkers, folks painting, so many families, it’s a huge attraction, but dispersed crowds.

West Molesy, and me being nosy about boat life. I love seeing the occupied boats and imagining life afloat.

The surface of the Thames Path varies a lot. This stretch was quite wide and fairly smooth. Some parts were choppy old asphalt or quite lumpy with tree roots.

Dismount and walk through the lock area. Stop and watch the lock filling or draining as long as your patient husband can stand.

Did we need to take a little foot and bike ferry across the river?

No, we could have skipped the Shepperton Ferry, but how cute is this little ferry dock?

A one minute ferry ride! Well worth the 6£ for two folks and two bikes. Was it?, says Rich’s expression.

The ferry ride did get us blackberry adjacent though!

Speed picks up as we approach our lunchtime pub stop. Heading into Staines-Upon-Thames.

Another day, another riverside pub. Last Hop in Staines. Beer and cider, waiting for our pizza.

Obligatory pint of cider and river photo.

After lunch we left the flat river route and went through Runnymede.

Our first experience cycling along the Thames River Path left us wanting more river experiences. Thankfully our temporary home for three weeks is allowing us to spend quite a bit of time appreciating the river path by bike and on foot. I would highly recommend exploring the Thames River Path to anyone spending time in or around London. After the crowds of central London it was a peaceful and eye opening experience. Why was I so surprised to see how busy the river was with small boats, narrow boats and stand up paddle boarders? The look and feel of the Thames as it runs though London, with such strong tidal flows, doesn’t prepare you for how bucolic the river quickly becomes.

We’re enjoying being in one place for a while, and have been walking and biking and appreciating our temporary home and kitty cat. Happy summer all, and more on our summer of the Thames River soon.

More about our new Koga World Traveler S bikes, and the logistics of bike touring.

We’d been touring on our old bikes for about 18 years. And, like the frog which allegedly doesn’t feel the water heating up, we didn’t really realize how different bike touring could feel. I was finding my old bike to be more and more uncomfortable, with my hands hurting and going numb on long days, or my knees being quite unhappy. Each change to new handlebars or pedals helped a bit, but after test riding a Koga touring bike in Groningen last year I knew it was time.

My old touring bike. A Gunnar Crosshairs, the frame is a cyclocross steel frame. Photo from 2022.

Rich’s old bike, a Paul Taylor frame with drop handlebars. Also a steel frame. Photo from 2022.

We had toured and bike camped on our old bikes all over the place. Canada, Italy, France, Germany, the US, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, and the UK and Ireland. The upsides were that the frames were pretty lightweight and they were unique looking in Europe. It was always fun to have the bikes worked on at a bike shop on the continent and have the mechanic share how much they loved working on old steel frame bikes. Or to have another steel frame aficionado approach us outside a grocery store or bakery to admire the bikes.

In England, riding from London to Hove. 2022.

After I test rode that Koga in 2022 however, I put my foot down. That’s it, I said. I’m getting a new touring bike. Something more upright, something more comfortable. A bike built for touring. And oh wow, was that a good idea. And Rich’s Paul Taylor was already rebuilt once as he cracked the original frame from heavy touring loads on a bike designed for cyclocross.

New bikes, new panniers, same wonderful travel companion.

We decided that the new touring bikes would be our 25th wedding anniversary present to each other. If you’ve ever looked at the that funny old list of “traditional” gifts for wedding anniversaries, 25 is silver. What do we need with silver? So, to mark 25 years, which was last year, and to keep us rolling for as many more years as we have, new touring bikes it was. Sitting in a guest house room in Sri Lanka we ordered two new Koga World Traveler S bikes. Koga estimated 12 weeks to deliver our bikes to the shop we had chosen in Freiburg, Germany.

Super comfortable grips from Ergon. The wide part supports your hand during a long touring day.

Rich’s grips, iPhone mount, and cycle computer.

My well broken in Brooks B17S. This saddle has been on three of my bikes, my city bike, moved to my old touring bike, and now my new touring bike.

When we took trains to Freiburg to pick up the bikes, we also took with us my saddle, bike bell, and pedals from my old touring bike, and Rich took his pump. The saddle that came with his new Koga was not working for him so he bought a new saddle before we left Freiburg. A comfortable saddle is key. Of course, our first week bike touring, about day three and hour 6 of the day – neither of us could find a comfortable position on our saddles. It takes a while for your rear end to adjust to hours and hours on the bike.

The racks which came with the bikes are from Tubis, not a brand we were familiar with, and these models are custom to Koga

The front rack. Very different from what we were used to.

Although we both were a bit surprised by the front racks from Tubis, with a very low profile for your bags which keeps your center of gravity low, and no rack over the front tire at all – which is where Rich would usually have his rain jacket, we are very pleased with how sturdy they are. I like the rear set up which has two levels of tubing. The very top allows you put things under a bungie cord, and the slightly lower level is for your pannier.

My front panniers, loaded and ready to roll.

These bikes have features we didn’t have on our old bikes, such as the built in Shimano dynamo hub front and rear lights. So far we’ve only been touring in the summer so we haven’t needed the lights to actually illuminate our way, but they are excellent for being seen. The steering column has an internal steering limiter which prevents the wheel from flopping sharply to one side or the other. The frame is stout and designed for over 140kg (310 lbs) total load. It all makes for a very stable ride. We chose the Deore XT 30-speed(3×10) drivetrain over the 14 speed Rolf internal hub belt drive for ease of repairs and replacement parts globally. It’s a classic set up that we’re familiar with, and so are most/all bike mechanics you will encounter.

The front wheel of Rich’s bike. Disc brake, front light, low profile rack.

On our previous bikes I only had rear panniers, while Rich had front and rear. We traveled around to Freiburg from France, where our old touring bikes live, with all our panniers and a couple of extra bags. I bought new front panniers, and Rich was convinced, by me, to get a full set of new panniers. His old rear panniers had certainly seen better days and the style was not as easy to load and go. We were a little sad to let go of our mis-matched old school style look, but it felt nice to be fully kitted out in new gear on our new bikes. Rich left the old panniers for re-use at the bike shop.

Farm cat helping Rich on day one with a pannier adjustment.

It takes a bit of work to adjust the panniers and set the clips – which hold the panniers on the rack – and the hooks – which keep the panniers from bouncing out from the racks and thereby reduces stress on the clips – correctly. Each pannier must also be adjusted as a right or left pannier. And then you have to be able to tell them apart.

My solution is to mark the right panniers. The rear with a series of dots in permanent ink.

And the front with a small evil eye charm from Türkiye.

Rich just eyeballs his clips and hooks and knows which is left and which is right. It makes loading the panniers onto the bikes faster if you can easily recognize your left versus right. For starting out in the morning, for train rides, and for adorable little foot passenger ferry rides where you might have to lift your bike down into the boat, which is easier with the bags removed, and then try to quickly reload the bags at the other side.

Your panniers are identified and loaded, now what’s in those things? We got that question quite a bit in Germany and Holland, where most cyclists were day trippers with just one pannier, or out for a weekend or week with two panniers. No, we’re not camping, but we are out cycle touring for four months, we’d explain. So, rain gear and colder weather gear, which takes up space. Comfort items like my travel yoga mat and our little down pillows, and our two camping chairs. Picnic gear, lunch food and snacks. Boxes of contact lenses, tools, etc…

Two Chair Zeros from Helonix expand our lunchtime stop options.

Do we try and keep everything organized? Yes. We have reminders for ourselves of where items are. Rain gear right. Leisure left (chairs). Picnic supplies port. Does it work? Sort of. We know what’s in front instead of back, but the rule of bike touring seems to be that the item you’re looking for is in the other pannier. Hat? Oh left, definitely. Not. Open up right pannier too. It’s somewhere.

Extra water. Rich has anywhere from 1 to 4 liters of water in one of his front panniers.

It’s easier to have water and avoid searching for a source. This Mountain Safety Research bag is just the trick.

We’ve learned over the years that it’s not as easy to fill water bottles during the day as you would think. Especially if you’re off the popular routes and not stopping at restaurants for lunch. Coming from California we are a bit spoiled when it comes to parks and playgrounds having a water tap. We expected more taps to be available but they are not. Water is heavy to carry, but being well hydrated is important. We always pre-game in the morning by drinking water, it’s easy to get a bit dehydrated if you’re not careful. My bike currently has only one bottle cage, and I carry an extra water bag with one more bottle worth of water. Rich has two bike bottle cages and the larger water bag. Both our frames have additional mounts that would allow an additional water bottle below the down tube. We may use this in the future.

New to us this trip, two Fozzil Snap Fold bowl/plates. Love these.

They work as a plate to help serve up pastries for elevensies.

And they snap up to form bowls. Here they are part of a slightly messy picnic table. Two tea towels/napkins, bamboo cutlery, and one sharp Opinel knife.

And opened they store nice and flat. Apple slice, peanut butter and spicy crisp? Why, yes please.

Another new comfort item. Tiered spice containers by Humangear. From the top: salt, cracked black pepper, olive oil, and Mexican seasoning mix.

If we’re staying in an apartment with cooking facilities that little bit of olive oil comes in handy. It’s enough to get you through one or two dinners. And when we have the opportunity to boil eggs to take them with us for lunch or snacks, the salt and pepper are key.

When we first starting riding our new bikes, loaded up with panniers and front bags, we both felt as if we were on e-bikes. The feel of the strong aluminum frames and the way your pedal strokes are converted to power, not lost in the flexing of the frame, was pretty stunning. On our old bikes I could climb out of the saddle only very carefully, the sway would get out of control easily. Rich couldn’t climb out of the saddle with his full front and back pannier load. Now, we can both stand up and dance on those pedals up the hills.

Another happy bike tourist at a high point of EuroVelo 13 in Czechia.

Koga World Traveler S frame size 63 centimeters. Rich is six foot five, the upper limit for this frame size. Koga’s adjustable stem allows for perfect handlebar settings.

Koga World Traveler S, step through frame, 53 centimeter. Cheryl is five foot six.

So after more than 2000km of bumpy, hilly, and cobbled roads and trails, both our bikes have delivered touring joy. Just a bit of expected regular maintenance and adjustments to the disc breaks and derailleurs. All our wheels are still perfectly true, thanks to stout rims and a 36-spoke configuration. The 700c x 39mm Schwable Evolution tires are perfect for our riding style, and handle well both on-road and on rocks, roots, and mud.

The wide frame clearance allows for much wider tires (50mm+) for more off-road performance or serious terrain. And given our confidence and love of these bikes, we might just put on some serious fat tires and take them on the first trip to Mars.

The happy travelers. Now with bikes that make us even happier.

Three Borders and an Infection…the Low Countries

Sometimes you are really in the groove of bike touring. The daily physical challenge, the rhythm of plotting our route, checking the weather, procuring food and lodging, and working in some fun and history along the way.

Trois Bornes: where Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands meet. It also happens to be the highest point in the Netherlands at 322m.

Morning saddle-up at our little garden apartment in Miltenberg; a long travel day ahead.

You also tend to get a few bumps and bruises along the way; maybe bang your leg on a pedal or kickstand, maybe some chain ring grease, and always a few achy spots.

Our second train from Mainz to Bonn was a long local run and crowded from the get go, but we were able to wrangle our bikes against the wall…but way too late for proper seats.

Then even more bikes, including these two friendly German bikepackers heading out for a month ride to Nord Cap, Norway. Impressive!

You assume any minor nicks, scrapes, or pains will be eventually go away. And summer bike touring in the forests and fields always means nettles, bugs, and bug bites. So, as we headed out of our two day stay in Miltenberg, I still thought the growing red spot on my right leg would probably just go away…

Off the Train and headed towards Eifel NP.

Oh sure I was feeling a bit funky, but again, your body goes through ups and downs bike touring, so thought maybe this too would pass like an off day in the Tour de France. Plus we had an ambitious agenda to get us across Germany to a point where we could ride into unexplored regions of Belgium and Holland.

Cooling our feet in the Roer River near Heimbach, Germany

The 40k ride up the Main river to Aschaffensburg was fine and we had plenty of time to pre-board a local train to Mainz with our bikes. I had planned our route using local (RB/RE) trains that were covered by our €49 monthly tickets, and only boarding at the beginning of routes to ensure there was a spot for us and our bikes.

Bug bite infection now bandaged and first antibiotics in my system…still feeling apprehensive about a hot tough ride out of Eifel NP, but the doctor said it was ok to ride.

Wind turbines all over the Three Border Area as it’s ridges are windy!

Peanut butter and apples were our Sunday savior in Germany, when most everything is closed.

The Ravel bike route has great rest areas.

The rotating 24 hour pharmacy schedule in the Aachen area allowed us to fill our prescriptions on the weekend after a second visit to an urgent care and second opinion on antibiotics.

A rare and new bright urban bike lane in Germany. Happy to be heading out of Aachen…now doped up on two antibiotics!

After crossing into Belgium on Eurovelo 3, we appreciated the smooth pavement and well marked bikeway crossings and transitions.

The rail-trail Ravel route straddles the Flemish-Wallone border and is like sailing through the sky…highly recommended.

A small defensive bunker from WWII. This almost classifies as a “pillbox”, which are smaller square or cylindrical defensive structures still found in the area.

A memorial to the soldiers who died defending the Vaals region from the Nazis in 1940.

The fragility of borders and freedom haunts us again in this region.

Feeling confident after our first easy train transfer to Mainz, we waited strategically on the platform for our next key leg to Bonn. As the platform got more crowded, we knew this might be a challenge, and unfortunately the empty train rolled in further up the platform than expected. Doh! As mobs converged, we quickly passed the first car marked with some bike space to find a better car. Big mistake.

Heading into Liege, a city in transition with new streetcar and brownfield development construction engulfing it for a few tough years. Visit in 2025!

However, it turned out to only have two bike cars; and by the time we got in the door of the second car way down the platform, it was crowded. People were already on the pop down seats in the bike area with large luggage. So after some fairly aggressive negotiating, we managed to squeeze in with our bikes and 8 panniers scattered about above and below seats and on top of our bikes. Poor Cheryl was standing almost the whole 3 hour endurance test of 22 stops; while I managed to find a seat for some of the ride in the main area, after asking two young men to move over and move their bags off the seats.

Heading down the Mass (Meuse) River. Goodbye to Liege and Wallonia.

So here is the thing about the €49 tickets; many trains are busier, but the long distance local runs covered by the tickets are especially popular. Next time we’d spring for the €100 intercity train with bike reservation on a trip this long…and you probably should too.

A water tap! Welcome to the Netherlands, there are almost no public water sources in Belgium or Germany.

Delightful Maastricht, Netherlands…we dipped into the Netherlands just for a night.

Mount Saint Peter just south of Maastricht is perched on a limestone hill; a quarry on one side and views of the Maas on the other.

Bikes everywhere around Maastricht University, home to more than 22,000 students.

But the upside of these adventures is that I ended up chatting to the two young men for an hour or so, after they offered me some cookies. It turns out they were both relatively recent refuges to Germany from Iraq and Syria and had fascinating (and somewhat heartbreaking) stories of their families’ trips via Greece and Turkey, where some of their family was still “stuck”. Again, they both said that they would love to go to the U.S. someday, but were ok in Germany, but not thriving. Germany has been overly generous in accepting refuges and should rightly be proud, but it’s a fairly rigid culture to assimilate into or even find your own community within the traditional Anglo-Saxon framework. Heck, we even find Germany a bit hard to assimilate into, so we can only imagine.

Even more toast chocolate sprinkles at the Coop to peruse…amazing how breakfast customs vary just a few miles over the border.

Survived the end of a heat wave with just a fan at the lovely and historic Hotel au Quartier in central Maastricht. Still cool compared to India and Sri Lanka!

So after a difficult exit in Bonn with less than helpful commuters plowing into the train before we could get off completely and refusing to move, we headed out to ride 25k up the plateau to a little B&B room at the edge of Rheinbach. We were mentally and physically shattered, but managed to buy some groceries for an easy dinner at our room and our hosts helped us out by cooking the frozen pizza for us in their big oven.

More familiar flags and some pride and appreciation for the sacrifice the US made in the mutual defense and liberation of Europe.

Great bike infrastructure continued as we
crossed back into Flanders.

Howdy train riders…this new Flemish bikeway is amazing!

So we headed out the next morning and I did sort of notice that the spot on my leg had continued to grow and was now over 4” x3”…hmmm? We made it to our next Guesthouse in Hasenfeld and decided, despite the heat; we’d walk down to try to see the lake. As we returned, we both realized my leg was brighter, redder, and the spot had a bullseye center. Yup, I needed to get this looked at ASAP, so asked the innkeeper about a taxi to a hospital about 30 minutes away. When I pointed to the red spot on my leg; she exclaimed in horror “Scheiste!” or some hybrid of shock in her German-Polish vernacular.

Reward for an 85k day goal reached; a short walk to a neighborhood brasserie for wine and a luscious Belgian beer near Mols, Belgium.

The next day, a 75k meander to Antwerp primarily along the rural Kempenroute in Northern Flanders.

Her panic did not help. It was now Friday evening, but she was as able to get us a taxi to the urgent care clinic of the local hospital, and I was seen in less than an hour. The doctor spoke English and was pretty sure it was an infected bug bite (but not a tick) and prescribed an antibiotic course and ibuprofen. He recommended I get it looked at again in the bigger city of Aachen; where we planned to cycle the next day.

Feeling mentally better with the antibiotics, we headed to Aachen on a scenic route along the Rursee, one of the largest reservoirs in Germany, and then up and over the next ridge, and finally a blissful coast down the Ravel rail route to Aachen. In Aachen, we visited another (more crowded) urgent care on Saturday evening and the Doctor seemed to have a different opinion on which antibiotic was best, so started me on another course, as well as some prednisone, to quell a possible allergic reaction to the bite. Given our (rushed/efficient?) 7 minute visit and her lack of spoken English (and super fast German), we are still not entirely sure of her opinion, but I did have a new prescription and was able to start on her advice the next morning. The amazing thing about antibiotics is how fast they work as I was already feeling better by day 2, and by day 3 the redness had dulled, and dissipated completely within the week. Not sure which antibiotic did the trick, but have been re-boosting on yogurt and other pro-biotic foods ever since.

Streets are for people in central Antwerp. It was bustling in the center…just not in this morning photo -;)

So thank you again German health care system for your kindness to foreigners. And by the way, the TOTAL walk in costs, €70 (two urgent care visits), €40 (4 prescriptions), and €140 for taxis. No insurance needed. Yes, the taxis were more expensive than two urgent care visits and drugs.

The recently renovated and highly recommend Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp puts the Dutch Masters in context with modern works and a great audio guide App.

The port area of Antwerp… with two ships on the horizon? Nope, on the right is the stunning Port House designed by the late Zaha Hadid. On our list to visit next time!

So after a Sunday rest day in Aachen, we headed out on our journey towards the Belgium border and had a great ride to Liege, in the Wallonia region of Belgium. Liege has a lot of potential and we didn’t get to explore much in one night, as the whole city is pretty much torn up for a massive streetcar and streetscape redo well into 2024. From there we had an easy ramble down the Maas river to Maastricht, dipping into the dogleg of the Netherlands for a night.

This “bikeways first” rural road layout makes car drivers work it out in the center while bikes get two wide lanes.

And bridges AND tunnels designed with separate bikeways.

Crossing the Oude Maas River near Dordrecht.

Maastricht is a lively Dutch city dominated by a young (est. 1976) but highly respected state university. The vibe is very international, especially as over half the students are foreign. Feeling 100% now, I next plotted a 160k two day route to Antwerp across northern Flanders. We noticed that the bike infrastructure in Flanders is nearly equal to that of the Netherlands, as there has been a huge push to catch up to that high standard the past 20 years. Belgium also felt a bit more sophisticated and gourmet than many of the smaller places of Germany and Czechia we had spent the last month.

Enjoying the culinary diversity of Rotterdam at Restaurant De Smaak van Afrika.

And more traditional, but delicious fare at Cafe Pierre; Dutch bitterballen, mushroom risotto, and a goat cheese and fennel tarte tartin (frites and bier a given…)

Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe, so bridges, tunnels, ferries, and these typical water taxis provide key links.

I think Antwerp is one of the underrated and overlooked gems of Europe. It’s bustling, has amazing architecture, great international food, pleasant neighborhoods, and fantastic museums, such as the KMSKA and Red Line. From there, we rode two days to Rotterdam, another interesting city, although more focussed on the future and modern architecture as it was completely rebuilt after the devastation of WWII. Yes, we love the “B cities” of Europe, especially in peak tourist season. You get a more genuine experience with fewer crowds. And you can you usually get a seat, even at the most popular cafes.

Time for a quick sightseeing ride around Delft on the way to our night ferry.

Our rest day in Rotterdam was well timed as heavy rain came through, perfect for exploring the Harbour areas and fantastic Dutch Photography Museum. The next day, we finally set out for our last destination on the continent, the Hook of Holland, for our overnight ferry to the UK.

Water on all sides; about a quarter of the Netherlands is below sea level, yet somehow seems closer to the sky.

This is our favorite crossing to the UK as the Stena line is well run and bike friendly. You check in with the cars and ride onto the main car deck to park your bike, and then plenty of time to enjoy a drink in the bar, have dinner, and catch sunset as the ship sets out about 10pm. Then up to your cozy cabin to sleep. And then cycling off the ferry to our next adventures. Stay cool and note our next post will be soon!

Enjoying the late sunset with my favorite traveler as we pull out of Hoek Van Holland.

Leaving Czechia for Germany.

Sunflowers starting to bloom in the Moravian region of Czechia. They are raised as an oil crop. And are lovely to look at.

Bicycle touring is tiring. Our rest breaks in Český Krumlov and Znojmo were so lovely we decided, after a few more days riding, to take another break in Brno. As with Česky Krumlov we were just amazed at how beautiful these towns are. Although the country has a tumultuous history, most Czechia towns and cities were relatively unscathed from bombing during WW2.

Rich riding by Vranov nad Dyjí Chateau. So many stunning historical buildings.

Rich relieved to have found a gap in the fence and hedge to complete our detour away from a busy road. We were too busy trying to avoid the farmer and his haying machine to get photos of us crawling and pushing the bikes through the hedge.

Hmm…sounds like a lot of rest days, you may be thinking. Well, once we left the relatively quiet and empty region of Bohemia the roads started to get busier, and the car drivers faster and less careful around cyclists. Our day into Brno was pretty awful, a busy rural road with many trucks and no shoulder, long stretches with no towns or trees, but thankfully no head wind.

I usually have this Bluetooth speaker on my handlebars to listen to music or podcasts, the flowers I gather to amuse myself.

A tiny bee appreciating my tiny bouquet.

Once we got to the true outskirts of Brno we were on a cycle path again. Czechia has a lot of recreational bike riders, a lot of folks in road riding gear (mostly men), who ride fast. As we know from our bike activism in the US, women on bikes are an indicator of how safe and accessible places’ bike infrastructure is. And families. Parents with children in a cargo bike or on their own little bikes is a good sign too. We saw a few families coming into Brno along the Svratka River, but our hopes of a cycle friendly city center were not to be.

“Common path Be careful” Well, it’s something.

Another lovely Czech old town square in Brno. The deck chairs were a nice touch, folks were enjoying the evening.

We both know firsthand from years of activism and professional work the many challenges that face a city trying to become more bike and pedestrian friendly. Our own city, San Francisco, has come a long way but still struggles to make changes to the streets, fighting against the conventional beliefs that cars must have unfettered access. So we understand how hard it can be to create safe welcoming spaces for people on foot and on bikes. In many cities we joke that we should stick around create a bike and pedestrian advocacy group, Walk Bike Brno (Procházka Kolo Brno) has a nice ring to it. But there is the language challenge, and the irony of two Americans lecturing any place about sustainable transportation.

Špilberk Castle, a lovely view spot and a good cross challenge for our leg muscles that are too focused on cycling.

Ouch. We’ve learned the hard way to make sure we hike on our days off the bikes. Špilberk Castle was a good hill climb.

Brno is a perfect candidate for a Copenhagen style makeover, or even a San Francisco style makeover. It’s pretty flat in the core of the city, loads of Universities, trams and buses, not a great pedestrian environment due to long traffic signals and missing connections, and really no bike infrastructure. But despite that there is a bike culture. And lots of folks walking. They could harness what they have and create a more walkable and bikeable city. Sure, the first thought is about the cost, but as Copenhagen has proved, cities get a better return on their investment from bike and pedestrian projects than car projects.

FBB Klub Na Dráze (Club On The Track) proof that bicycle culture is alive and well, and very cool, in Brno.

When we get to small cities like Brno, population 380k, we appreciate how quirky culture and experimental businesses can survive in a place which has not suffered the homogenization of wealth. We look back to San Francisco, which we love dearly, but which has changed due to loads of monied folks. And the subsequent pushing out of less monied folks. Many of our favorite places and favorite people have been priced out of SF, or they left to have a more complete life elsewhere. Sometimes while traveling and enjoying a bar or restaurant we say to each other: this business could never exist in SF (or name another A list city with space and money constraints). Or if it did, it would be so expensive we wouldn’t go to it.

After the bicycle bar it was off to Bar, který neexistuje (A Bar That Doesn’t Exist).

The cocktail menu was lovely. My rum based drink.

And Rich’s whiskey based drink. To save you from having to do the math, $23.70 for two cocktails.

A bartender using a rolling ladder to get to the top shelf liquor.

Not our usual kind of evening, but the joy of travel is sampling different things.

With the sad realization that we didn’t feel very safe cycling in the south Moravian region of Czechia, we bid a fond farewell to Brno and headed to the train station.

Hello train dance with loaded touring bikes! High boarding trains means removing the bike panniers. Those steps are not easy with a bike.

Rich does so much good work figuring out our cycling routes and train hops. If we can we get on a train at the start of its route, that allows us to get to the station early and load the bikes on the train before most folks show up. This is especially important if there is limited bike space. The Czech train did have on line booking of bike spaces and seats right near the bike space. Rich also booked the two bike slots far left, closest to the train wall, less chance of our bikes getting banged around by other bikes and train movements. These are the details that make our train travel days a bit better.

Rich getting the bikes onto the hanging hooks. Could I get my bike up there myself? Maybe.

Settling in with a fully charged Kindle for our six hour train day. Oh yes, I got a haircut in Brno too. My first since Bangkok in January.

A must have for train days is food, charging cables, and an extra power source in case the outlets don’t work – which these didn’t for several hours – which also meant the AC didn’t work, and the windows don’t open. Made for a slightly clammy journey. And I don’t think we or the other three cyclists were at our freshest to start with. The one empty unreserved seat in our bay of six seats was eyed by a few people, but something kept folks from choosing it… It was all of us! We were stinky cyclists.

One night in Plzeň. Enough time to walk around, admire another beautiful historic square, and have dinner.

Plzeň is the home of the famous Pilsner Urquell Brewery, but we were happy just walking around and skipped the brewery tour.

It’s a tough time for a Tour de France fan to be traveling. Rich isn’t always able to stream le Tour, but if he can’t, we watch the wrap up show.

Our next hard date is July 18th on a ferry from Hook of Holland to Harwich, so another train hop was necessary to get us closer to the German border. So enough musing about bike infrastructure and affordability, let’s get off that train and ride.

Off the train at Cheb, Chezchia, and back on the bikes. One more lovely Chezchian church and off we go.

And look at that. New bike paths. And newly planted trees. Yay Chezia! I joked to Rich – maybe they’re starting at the German border and working in.

Look at that signage. So many bike routes. A sign like this makes us both very happy.

We’ve been amusing ourselves by noticing the license plate country registration as drivers pass us, and we can reliably predict when a driver is German vs. Chezch. The German laws have been updated to mandate a 1.5 meter passing of cyclists, and bless those German drivers, they do leave that passing distance even when driving in Czechia. So, we were happy to cross to Germany and feel safer on the roads. Love you so much Czechia, but you’re not a fully realized cycling destination yet.

Back in Germany. After a long climb up to Fichtelsee we were so happy to have a lovely dinner at the hotel, Hotel am Fichtelsee. It’s a relief after a tough ride to have dinner right at your hotel.

Such a tranquil alpine lake. The ducks were cruising over hopefully. Sorry guys, no treats for you.

It stays light quite late, so we always have enough daylight and energy for an after dinner stroll.

Even though the distances we cycle in a day seem quite short compared to driving a car, we feel so immersed in nature, thanks to the good bike path network in Germany. The routes keep you away from major roads as much as possible, and when you do need to spend time on a road the speed limit is frequently lowered and drivers do exercise caution. A hill or ridge that you might not notice while driving a car, we feel with every pedal stroke up, and every gleeful down hill coasting moment.

A perfect morning start, coasting downhill in the Neubauer Forst-Nord.

We both love the green forest scenery. So different from Coastal California.

A nice bench for a break near Bad Berneck im Fichtelgebirge.

Our bikes are powered by muscles (and pastries) but I do appreciate the thought that goes in to providing charging stations for the many e-assist bikes in Germany. In Goldkronach.

Back on the train! Taking full advantage of our German 49€ monthly ticket.

Bike Lodge Spessart, outside Lohr am Main, had everything we needed after a long day of trains and pedaling into a headwind.

Ready to roll. 80 km day coming. Quite flat along the Main River but that headwind would not leave us alone.

Riding down the river you get glimpses of history, and it’s easy to pull over and enjoy the scene.

Bicycle touring strips you down to basics. You need food and lodging. Unless we have a rest day we don’t really do any cultural activities. But we see so much. The hours on the bikes looking at the river, or winding along vineyards, or searching for a place to stop and have a picnic lunch, are very elemental. Once we get to our destination we want a shower, some food and drinks, maybe watch a Netflix show on the iPad, and then we sleep as if we’ve been dropped to bed from a high height.

Riding down the Main River towards Miltenberg.

We’re entering a wine region where one of my favorite German white wines is grown, Silvaner.

Our goal in getting to Miltenberg was to get close enough to meet up with Beatte and Alex. Mission accomplished- thank you both very much for a much welcomed social break.

We have just a few more nights in Germany before we reach Belgium, and then the Netherlands. We need to get our new touring bikes to a Koga dealer for a tuneup. We’ve already ridden about 1,100 kms/800 miles on these bikes, and that’s tuneup territory. So off we go! More from the road later.

The happy and tired travelers, enjoying an after dinner walk after a long climb up to Fichtelsee.

Borders Are Still Borders – Cycling along Eurovelo 13.

The scruffy charm of the South Bohemian border town of Vyšší Brod.

After 10 days of breaking in our bikes, too much headwind, and a busier Danube bike touring scene, it was time for something hillier and wilder. So it was with double excitement we approached the hills and mountains separating Bavaria and Czechia. First of all, I love to cross land borders versus flying into a place. And, we both prefer the challenge of some hills in our bike tours. Well, maybe not this many hills…

A German farm road ends and the trail heads into the woods.

“Over the river and through the woods to Czechia we go”.

When you cross on foot or bike, you really appreciate the significance of a border. So, as we joined Eurovelo 13, the Iron Curtain Trail, and approached the former border with the Warsaw Pact nations of our childhoods, there was still an excitement.

Suddenly a border marker where a barbed wire fence use to stand.

Lush wooded highlands of the Plezn region of Sumava National Park.

We both fondly recalled a light snow falling on us 17 years ago while crossing a pass on foot with our backpacks into the younger Czech Republic outside Jelenia Góra, Poland. We got dropped by a bus on the Polish side and then walked down into Harrachov on a wooded fire road. It felt magical and adventurous.

Cheryl celebrates a high point after a very steep climb….we were ramping up fast to the relentless climbs of the region.

Many of the border crossings are now quite ordinary as developed roads have been upgraded and offer seamless connections in the EU. However, the old edges of forest, mountains, and remote villages on each side of the old divide still show scars from the divide of nearly 45 years. Isolated and cut off from either side, with strict controls on who could be near the border on the Czechia side. Many small villages have come back to life after abandonment or use only by military personnel. Many are ghost ruins and have never come back.

A promised tea break at the mythical Černé Jezero (Black Lake).

The signature National Park in SW Czechia.

The reward of Day 3 in Southern Sumava; beutiful river views, gentle grades, and buttery new pavement.

Consequently, this region also makes it a great place to see wildlife and unspoiled nature. Parts of the German Elbe River we cycled in 2019 had a similar dynamic, and the Elbe is still one of the wildest rivers in Central Europe

Finally some downhill and a morning start gliding down through the trees.

Another change since we travelled through Eastern Europe in 2006, is the expanded dominance of English as a second language. Back then, anyone over 30 likely spoke some Russian, maybe a bit of German, but with limited English except for the young and educated. Now that age divide is about 50. Ages 30 to 50 often have some English, and many under 25 have excellent English. The schools all now have some English language classes. And when we dive deeper in conversation with the more fluent people, the reasons are varried, but all focus on a desire to be connected to the world, and to appreciate western, and more specifically American culture.

Chair Zeros for the win and a shady river view break.

Ready to head out for our third day in the mountains from the idyllic Penzione Ida.

We soon learned that Czechs have a good sense of humor…even the sign vandals.

The first English speaker we met was a young waiter at a small resort hotel in the mountains. He was in Czechia on a limited Visa from Moldova and hoped to make enough money to advance his opportunities beyond his home country, which is still one of the poorest in Europe. (Moldova is aspiring to join the EU, but they still have some hurdles to that goal.)

Yes, the beer in Czechia is great and scientifically proven recovery beverage-:).

But a brunch beer break on the Vltava River? Sort of. A refreshing Birrel Pomelo alcohol free beer on tap.

Labor shortages and global imbalances mean that people are in constant motion towards opportunity, and this only ceases if a country or region limits travel and migration. The extreme of this imbalance is the ongoing (and likely getting worse) migration wave from much of Africa into Europe. Desperation and tragedy go hand and hand as the recent and ongoing deaths in the Mediterranean exemplify. There are no easy answers, except to strongly support aid and development in struggling countries combined with humane refuge assimilation and admittance policies.

Typical of many small border areas, a new pedestrian bridge now connects Leopoldschlag, Austria to Czechia.

A restored church just across the border from Hammern, Austria, but no more Czech village here. People in towns near the Iron Curtain border were displaced and the areas were either abandoned or used for security purposes.

Germany is a different country since the post 2015 Syrian refuge crisis and many would argue that it’s for the better. However, it’s easy to see how immigrants from such a vastly different culture struggle in a very rigid German culture. America does seem a bit easier on that front. But I digress.

Beautiful river towns, castles, and churches surprised us around every corner in South Bohemia. Picnicking is easy with our snap fold bowls/plates.

Cheryl smiling despite knowing that a ride down to the beautiful river town always means a climb out the other side!

The second person that fascinated us was the niece of an innkeeper at a family Pension in the Sumarva National Park. She translated for her Aunt and Mom as we all chatted at the end of dinner in the rural bar/dining room that felt more like someones cosy house. As it turned out, she was just entering Junior High, and told us that she got straight As in English and Cs in Czech! She was desperate to travel to the US, and obsessed with Manga and Japanese culture as well. Her mom just listened to her in a bit of awe.

On a very local “cycle route” between Lake Lipno and Český. Panniers crossed first.

Another small pension on the massive Lake Lipno was run by a father and son, and the son, Lucas, was fluent in English based on the fact that his parents put him in an intensive English class in Kindergarten. He’s never looked back and added months in the UK to hone his English skills. He exclusively watches online content in English, including YouTube and online gaming. Apparently online gaming is done all in English and of course, is borderless.

Český Krumlov was a great choice for a multi day heat wave break off the bikes. Touristy for sure, but lots of charm and quiet nearby.

The recommended Josef Seidel Museum in Český Krumlov, a beautifully restored 1905 house and photography studio.

Josef Seidel, despite being German, managed to survive post WWII resettlement. His son took over the photography business and survived until the early 2000’s.

Josef was the de facto historian of the regions and captured, preserved, and shared thousands of photos on glass slides from life in early 1900s South Bohemia.

Very effective building traffic protection in the old town.

We love the expanded hours and small markets of Czechia (versus rigid hours of Germany!) but this 24/7 off-hours staff free market was a step further. Upload your verified ID to an app and scan QR to enter and shop.

Historic graphite mines near Český Krumlov.

Leaving the peaceful gardens of The Orangerie in Český Krumlov.

That said, as we travelled further on along the border between Austria and Czechia, we found ourselves really off the beaten track in small valleys isolated by the former Cold War border. Our 10 words of Czech and Cheryl’s German skills have helped, but we have started to feel isolated after awhile without deep English conversations.

The local dunkel at Gasthoff Pammer in Leopoldschlag, Austria.

Lunch along the EV13, rarely were we competing for a spot.

The cycling in Czechia (and a bit of Austria) has been mostly fantastic, but really challenging our first week. The terrain of Sumava NP and the Vltava River valley is rugged and steep. Although the main roads meander around the geography more gently, the cycle routes follow little travelled forest and back roads, and are often steep (10-15%+) rough in places, and relentless. But many stretches are also magical smooth pavement with little or no traffic.

“Tunak!”Little tins of tuna spread has become a staple for lunches with bread, cheese, pepper and cucumber.

A more gourmet meal in Gmünd, Austria. Fresh Spargle (Asparagus) Risotto topped by lightly crusted catfish.

And the local Austrian Beer to complement.

As we approached Moravia, the steepness gave way to more gentle and long undulations.The small city we are in now, Znojmo, has a pleasant old town and prominent position above the river Thaya. It’s quite busy with local tourists and a few German speaking tour groups, but otherwise seems off the international tourist radar. It’s also the heart of the Moravian wine country, so lots of wine tasting options and a great historic brewery complex.

Another unexpected surprise along our route was Glashütte Andreas Apfelthaler in little Nagelberg, Austria.

These painted (somewhat creepy) gnomes are popular in the region.

You can sense this border city has rejuvenated significantly in recent years with a pretty tidy old town and lots of new housing, although it still has a decidedly Eastern European feel around the edges, with a bit of scruff and wear.

Outside Vyšší Brod …conditions really vary on Eurovelo 13 and sometime pushing 80lbs of bike load is the only option!

The Austrian-Czechia border. Cheryl’s happy too since much of the border is also the high point ridgeline (or a river).

Tomorrow, we ride again towards Brno across the Znojemská wine district. We are excited to spend three days in Brno and experience some of the energy and sights of Czechia’s second largest city.

My happy face means we’re on our bikes and off the beaten path in peak tourist season.

Our Koga touring bikes are still fantastic and a joy to ride, even fully loaded. The heat, wind, and being out in the sun for 8 hours still takes it toll though, not to mention moving into and out of a pension, hotel, apartment or guesthouse every night. But now our bodies are in week four of this tour and getting stronger every day. More on the details of our bike tour in our next post. Happy pedaling!