Sorry for the anti-climax

I have to admit that I got a little caught up in all the friend-and-family visiting at the end of my journey and failed miserably to update the blog and explain how everything panned out in the end. While this probably comes as no surprise to anyone who read my sporadic posts over the last year, I feel compelled to document the last few weeks of my trip (at least as much as my hazy, faded memory will allow me to). If this doesn't interest you and you'd rather read about my difficulties re-adjusting to a life where I'm a contributing (and stationary) member of society, bear with me a week or two.
The last entry had me arriving in Akron, Ohio. Most of my extended family on my mother's side calls Akron home so needless to say I was well accommodated and catered to. Ohio in July is not the most pleasant riding weather but I was fortunate enough to find a route which lead me into town along an old canal; though the temperature was unpleasant the scenery was at least verdant and enjoyable. I rolled up to Grandma Paulette's house and after a quick shower was whisked off for some drinks and food with my aunts and their friends at a swanky restaurant called Ken Stewart's. Both of my aunts work for Clinique cosmetics and most of their friends are involved in beauty/retail; obviously I felt a bit funny (or awesome) crashing a "girls' night out" of attractive retail ladies. After a few appetizers at Ken Stewart's I walked across the street to meet up with Gamma P and my two young cousins for some delicious Chinese food. At this point I was feeling pretty stuffed and was grateful when we finally retired to the Kapper's house.
Upon arriving at the Kapper household Uncle Chris (or half-uncle ?...more on that later) gave me a warm welcome and told me he had stocked the fridge in preparation. I reluctantly (not really) got a cold beer and we all sat about on the porch catching up and talking about all sorts of things. Cousin Charles was present with plenty of witty insights as well. The next few days were filled with similar back-porch music (Chris has the most astounding music collection I have ever seen) and conversation sessions interspersed with watching Charles play Halo and making some great meatballs with Grandma. Cousin Francis and I made an attempt at going to the pool one day but gray skies and drizzle made the outing a pretty dull affair and we gave up after only about an hour. At one point as the Kapper family and I were driving back from downtown Akron (after having just seen a totally rockin' Moody Blues cover band) we got into the aforementioned discussion of half-relatives. I'm still pretty sure I'm correct on this one, but feel free to inform me otherwise. If you get married, what is your relation to your spouse's sibling's spouse? I'm pretty sure its absolutely nothing, not even technically an in-law. Upon my decreeing this Uncle Chris concluded that he could not possibly be more than my half-Uncle. It's all a bit too confusing.
After one more entertaining evening with the family I hit the road on a muggy gray morning and pedaled towards Pennsylvania, rain threatening at my back.

Chi-town to A-squared

I left Chicago by the pleasant Lakeshore Trail which continued on through South Chicago and into Indiana. The heat and humidity was as bad as in Laos; so much for any cooling lake breeze! I arrived to the town of Michigan City as dusk fell and found a small plot of trees between a bank and supermarket. Being completely soaked in sweat and having no idea what would be farther up the shore I opted to stay put. Changing clothes was a moot point due to the temperatures being in the 90s even after the sun had set. Instead I stripped down, set up the hammock and laid down to try and stop sweating. This proved to be a faulty plan for two reasons. For one, I was so dirty and sweaty that I was never going to be able to get comfortable. Secondly, without any clothes on (and being right next to some sort of irrigation pond) the mosquitoes were absolutely devouring me. Slathering on bug spray and laying in the stifling hammock just exacerbated the heat and mugginess. At one point the bank's sprinkler system went off and I took the opportunity to have a hobo-shower. I figured if I rinsed clean I could finally cool down. Instead I just resumed sweating and had to break out the bug juice again.
The next day I awoke to more unrelenting heat and parted ways with the shore as I headed inland into Michigan. That evening I was rolling into Three Rivers as some particularly nasty looking storm clouds gathered on the horizon. For whatever reason I had assumed I was in for nothing but blazing heat and had stopped checking weather reports. I bought a Big Gulp at a gas station and pedaled over to a nearby park to wait the storm out under a picnic shelter. It was only about 6 PM so I had hoped to put in another 20 or 30 miles before finding a spot for the night. As the first drops started coming down and peals of thunder rumbled out my phone rang. Sarah, my Ann Arbor hostess, was on the other end. She seemed concerned (and rightly so) that I would be brash enough to try and ride through this storm. Unlike myself, she had looked at the weather radar and saw what I was in for. Having known me for a few years now she wasn't surprised by my bravery (although I think she referred to it as "stupidity") but she volunteered to make the 2 hour car trip and pick me up. Like two heaven sent guardians, her and Meg arrived during a lull in the storm and whisked myself and my trusty steel steed to Ann Arbor. Thank goodness they did because the front of storms rolling through all evening were much more violent than I had expected. It certainly would have been some miserable riding, if not downright unsafe. Back at Sarah's place I washed the day away, donned some clean clothes and promptly passed out.
Saturday morning Sarah went to work at a nearby farm but was sent home early because of more threatening storms. We spent the morning walking through the Art Festival that was setup downtown and met up with Meg to peruse the farmer's market. We found some nice eggplants which gave me the irresistible temptation to craft some eggplant parmesan. That culinary feat had to wait as Meg headed off to Detroit for a Tigers game while Sarah and I opted to go to an excellent draft house nearby, Ashley's. Extensive polling of the bar patrons led to the conclusion that although my beard was epic and impressed all the dudes, the fairer sex insisted that it was in my best interest to shave it. I was thoroughly persuaded but still had strong doubts about placing my beloved beard under the clippers. We agreed to postpone the beard trimming and called it a night.
I awoke to be greeted by considerably sunnier weather. We took the opportunity to hike along the Huron River up to a dammed section. As we laid back on a dock to soak up the sunshine some comic relief was provided by a group of young people attempting to portage. Afterwards we gathered a few key ingredients and I meticulously labored on the aforementioned eggplant. I'm getting pretty good at this recipe so if you house this hobo you may want to request it! After dinner the girls and I mustered our courage and made battle with the beard. I have to admit, I had forgotten just how damn handsome (damnsome?) I am.
One last Ann Arbor activity that I got a big kick out of was playing "Balderdash" at a dinner party a night or two before I left. The game is very simple, pretty challenging and extremely fun. One person picks a word from the dictionary and writes the definition on a slip of paper. After all the other players write down their "definitions" all the slips are read out loud and each person votes for the definition they believe is true. Hilarity ensues and points are awarded for correct guesses and/or number of people hoodwinked. Do you know what "pip" or "variola" means? Get your mind out of the gutter...
Finally I tore myself off of Sarah's couch and out of Ann Arbor. Once again rails-to-trails projects helped make a boring ride a little more bearable. Within two days I had covered 180 miles and wound up in my grandmother's backyard in Akron, Ohio. Coming soon: Akron, Johnstown and the luxurious Custer Ranch!

(Hot) Dog Days of Summer

Goodness, my jokes are great. I was recently speaking with a friend on the phone and upon hearing that I was in Pennsylvania she had the same reaction as many folks. She thought I was still in Colorado (or more outrageous, California). I informed her that it had been more than a month since we spoke and at that point I was indeed in Colorado. I'll cut Stacy a break on this; I'm sure time passes more quickly for all you folks with real-world responsibilities. In addition, getting from Colorado to Pennsylvania by bicycle in a mere month would be quite the feat. Herein lies my dirty little secret: catching one big lift and a few shorter ones.
Before anyone screams blasphemy allow me to explain. Riding the bike from Denver to Chicago would have been about 1200 miles. With a conservative estimate of about 70 miles per day this would take me about two and a half weeks. Now, as much as the scenery of eastern Colorado, Nebraska and Iowa tantalizes the senses, I felt it would be kind of silly to blow my budget and arrive back east without enough money to visit all my friends and family. So how did I close the distance?
The magic of Craigslist! With an ad out on Denver Craigslist I was soon contacted by a young lady, Jayme, headed to eastern Iowa. A grueling overnight non-stop drive delivered us to Sabula, Iowa where Jayme's father owns a really neat art-gallery/wood-fired pizza shop. If you're ever in Sabula be sure to stop in Bombfire Pizza for one of the best pies on the Mississipi. After Jayme's father treated me to some culinary samples (and a hefeweizen or two to match) I headed off to hunt a swimming hole. I eventually gave up and opted for a snooze on a shady bank. Although I hadn't actually done any driving (my license expired while abroad), I was awake the whole night to entertain Jayme and our other passenger/driver. No sleep + pizza + beer + outrageous heat = complete zonk-out. I finally awoke around 2 or 3 PM and rode my bicycle over the mighty Mississipi for the second time ever. Forty five miles later I arrived in Mount Morris, Illinois. The sight of my loaded bike drew some attention. After a little conversation and some trail magic I found myself being whisked away to spend the night with a young couple who were big fans of RAGBRAI, the annual mass party/bicycle ride across Iowa. Time and time again I'm amazed by the hospitality of strangers and this instance was certainly no exception. A huge bacon and egg breakfast fueled me up and I set out into the already blazing, muggy weather. The dull scenery (who wants more cornfields? Yay!) and oppressive heat made for a rather tedious ride but I found some nice rails-to-trails paths to cruise nearly into the heart of Chicago.
I pushed myself to finish the 97 mile ride and arrive in Chi-town around 9:30 at night. Riding through unknown neighborhoods of Chicago at 9 PM on a Friday is a novel experience but I don't think I'd repeat it anytime soon. I'm thinking my gigantic, bushy beard (or wonderful natural musk) prevented any criminals from even looking at me twice. As one might imagine, I was pretty exhausted when I arrived at Rob and Jenelle's apartment. My frustration and disappointment was off the charts when I found out Jenelle was at a bachelorette party and Rob was still at the Pitchfork Music Festival. I sat down outside their fence and twiddled my thumbs for about an hour, sending text messages back and forth until Jenelle finally asked "Well, where are you in Chicago?". I thought that I had made it clear I was directly in front of her house.
"Oh, why don't you just go in? My friends are there...sorry, the door bell is broken." Goodness gracious. If I didn't love the girl so much I could have strangled her right through the phone. I took a shower, put on some fresh duds (although at this point everything I own would make a homeless person blush) and upon Rob's return we headed out to sample the nightlife. The great thing about my arrival in Chicago coinciding with Pitchfork was that my good buddies Mike and Cary were also in town. The next few days were spent catching up with old friends and visiting a list of Chicago's fine establishments (courtesy of Matt Kelly over at pedalpanam). The highlights, for any curious or Chicago-bound readers, were Hot Doug's, Kuma's Corner, Oasis Grill, Map Room and Aliveone. Hot Doug's is a famous hot dog joint with inventive specialties such as a duck sausage topped with foie gras or a goat chorizo smothered in an artisnal soft cheese. Of course one can't leave Hot Doug's without also ordering the classic "Chicago style" dog which is quite a bargain at about 2 or 3 bucks. Kuma's Corner is another Chicago landmark and gastronomic delight which often has a (justifiably) long wait. Kuma's crafts some of the most creative burgers in the US named after heavy metal bands and accompanied by the appropriate ear-splitting music. I visited Kuma's along with Chapel Hill chums Liz and Richard. It was a real treat to catch Richard while he was in town since I had not seen him much since he was kicked out of his Peace Corps position in Madagascar due to a coup. Being an avid cyclist himself we paired up the following day to cruise the city's sights by bike. I also poked my head into the obscure Oasis Grill. Tucked away into the back of a downtown jeweler's mall, Oasis is the type of place I could never find without the insider advice provided by Mr. Kelly. They serve some of the tastiest (and budget!) Mediterranean cuisine I've ever had. The last two places worthy of a Hobo-recommendation were the two bars Map Room and Aliveone. Map Room is just my sort of place; low key music, shelves stuffed with books, maps and encyclopedias and an astounding selection of beers. Aliveone also earned a special place in my heart with a mind-blowing all-drafts $2 special which is particularly hard to believe in a city with prices like Chicago.
With my belly nearly dragging on the ground from all the tasty treats and frosty brews I finally hit the Lakeshore Trail and headed out of the Windy City. Up next, the (not so) exciting ride to Ann Arbor including my rescue by a pair of guardian angels and onwards to Akron!

Introduction to my last month

I'm sure all of you loyal Hobo-readers out there are very concerned after I seem to have dropped off the face of this fine planet the last month or so. Fear not, for the Hobo is alive and thriving; a little behind on his blogging but doing well nonetheless. The truth is the riding (when it actually occurs) has been pretty uneventful and dull (see photos for evidence) and although I've had a blast in the cities I've visited, I felt that reading about my over-indulgences and gluttony would be a little tedious for you folks. In any case, my grandfather pointed out just how long it had been since an update. This observation coupled with my overwhelming guilt has inspired me to attempt a summary of the last month. Due to the volume of undiscussed goings-on I'll be breaking this into three entries: Denver to Chicago, onwards to Ann Arbor and then from leaving Ann Arbor to the arrival in Johnstown (including the blast from the past known as Akron). If you are bored and uninterested in one section feel free to wait (and most likely wait you will!) for the next installation. I'll let this introductory entry marinate on here for a day or so before the first section, just to tease my adoring audience and build your appetites for the juicy stories to come. Also I need more time to write! Hang in there and tune in tomorrow or so.

Out of the climbs, into the heat!

A huge thanks has to go out to Jesse of Fraser for putting me up for a night and showing me the route for one of the most enjoyable days of riding I had in a looooong time. Jesse is a long-time friend of my buddy TK so I stopped in to meet the man and assess as to whether he was "good people" as Tyler had claimed. Jesse and his family were indeed good people. In fact I dare venture to call them great, even fabulous, people. The pass that Jesse showed me was a gravel road in great condition with virtually no traffic and beautiful views. It dropped me right above Silverthorne where I promptly called my next acquaintance, Mr. Matthew Buglione.
Matt and I had been pals way back when. Really far back. Like 17 years or something, when I was but a wee lad in upstate New York and my world travels consisted of the creek in the woods down back. Matt was living in Vail for the summer and although a recent mountain biking injury had put him out of commission a bit, he swung down to Dillon Lake Marina. We shared a couple beers and began the massive task of catching up on eachothers' lives. Before too long we decided to load my bike in his car and head back to Vail. The combination of his injury and having drank a few beers allowed Matt to convince his friend Danny to chauffeur us. Back in Vail we attempted to go see a live concert but I basically decided sitting on the river bank was more pleasant than any further movement that evening.
The next day Matt and I caught up a bit more and awaited the arrival of Besselman. Once the Bess had landed we enjoyed some pizza and World Cup before once again loading the bike onto another vehicle. Erik and I parted ways with Matt and headed south over the mountains towards Salida. We passed through Leadville and started descend alongside the Arkansas River. As the somber clouds above tore open and unleashed torrents of rain and bolts of lightning I thanked my lucky stars; I was dry and moving along at 60 MPH instead of soaked and going 15! Bess and I arrived at his trailer (seriously, he lives in a doublewide...he wanted all of our mutual friends to take note). We grilled up quite the feast with his roommate Mike and watched a couple of interesting films from the library. If you've never seen the Iranian (?) movie "The Cyclist"...well, don't bother probably, hahaha. "His name is Nasim, or the Breeze. But today he is more like a typhoon". We all soon slipped into a food coma but awoke rested and ready to attack the river. After a few strategical mistakes we finally launched onto the river at about 330 PM...just in time for the afternoon thunderstorms. The dismal weather cast a strange pall on the river, lending it a very remote, northwestern feel. I guess it doesn't matter whether its raining or not when you're whitewater rafting; it only changes the direction from which you're getting wet at any given moment. Mike, Erik and I had a good time running the limited rapids that were present in Brown's Canyon (pretty low flow had changed things quite a bit from what the guys told me). We feasted for the second night in a row and watched another strange foreign film, albeit a much better one- "Persepolis".
Friday Erik frustrated me by waking me up far far too early (8am). He gathered the river gear while I gathered my head and we struck out to meet his friend Michelle further up the river. The rapids we ran on Friday were much more exciting (and dangerous!) but with the Bess's expert guidance I knew we would have no problems conquering the mighty Arkansas. Michelle was kind enough to lend us one of her boats; a nifty 10-footer just big enough for 2 paddlers but super agile and fun. Meanwhile she plied the waters on her high-and-somewhat-dry catamaran. After we ran "The Numbers" (a series of 7 rapids with varying difficulties and strategies) we all indulged in the delicious burgers, fries and shakes of Kay's (I think...) in Buena Vista. Michelle told me if I came over and helped her with a painting project the next day she could help me with some funds for the trip.
I spent most of Saturday painting linseed oil onto a fence at Michelle's house. Much to my chagrin I was missing the Colorado Brewer's Rendezvous in the main Salida river front park. However, on second thought, without the opportunity to make some money there was no way I would have paid the 10 bucks to get into the brewfest anyways. As is often the case in my adventures, fortune smiled upon me. Michelle more than justly compensated me for my work and with a big grin I wandered around downtown waiting for Erik to get off of his river patrol shift. As I wandered about a young man approached me for directions to a nearby store. I gave him a lift on the bicycle and in return he invited me to the brewers' after-celebration. He just happened to be representing one of the breweries! I had a couple of cold ones until Erik got off work at which point we moseyed over to some of his friends' house for a little BBQ chicken. All-in-all a solid day for the hobo!
Sunday I began the 150 mile trek to Denver. That first day found me very hungry and a little chilled in the high-altitude town of Fairplay. Fairplay is semi-famous for being the original "South Park" Colorado. Had a good evening chatting with George, a cyclist from Denver out for a 8 day loop. The next ride was nearly 90 miles through lots of hills and increasing heat as I dropped down towards Denver. On my second pass of the day I met two off-road tourists from Denver who told me a crucial route update. Instead of following 285 into Denver I was to take a back way through Deer Creek Canyon. It was absolutely amazing. A small bit of work climbing led to a huge payoff as I spent nearly an hour descending the canyon.
I arrived in Denver all smiles only to be worn down by the realization that I was merely on the outskirts and had 20 miles of suburban sprawl to navigate. Cities are always a big challenge- both getting in and out. The sun nearly melted me as I fought my way up the greenway. Eventually I persevered and found my way to Sarah's house considerably more centered in the city.
For the past two days I've been pretty useless. Mainly catching up on the Tour de France and trying to do some planning/budgeting. Tomorrow evening I am catching a car ride (I know, I'm such a cheater) that will put me within 3 days easy ride to Chicago where I plan to spend at least two or three days checking out the Windy City. I'll drop you a line from there hopefully. Try not to melt in the meantime!

Happy Birthday America!

234 fabulous years! Wow...it was a good run while it lasted. Hopefully we can keep it up a bit longer. Anyways I hope all my readers out there had a great celebration (assuming you are American or a big fan); I know I sure did. Allow me to fill you in.
As I last left you I was leaving Burley, Idaho and heading south towards Salt Lake City. My route options were limited to taking the old highway 30 or the new interstate 84. In the interest hitching a ride and being able to spend more time with my friends I opted to stick to the more heavily trafficked interstate (even though I hate riding on such busy roads). I was just about to give up and take my next (and only) exit to get back on 30 when my saving grace appeared in the form of a Washingtonian named David. He was headed down to Telluride to try his hand at the mountain-bum lifestyle for the summer. We had a great time talking about college, travel, expectations and hopes. David dropped me off in Sandy and continued buzzing on down to camp in Moab that night. Last I checked he's loving life in Telluride.
From Sandy I just had a short jaunt over to my good buddy Adrian's house. Him and his girlfriend Cecile gave me a warm welcome and we quickly made our way up Little Cottonwood Canyon to check out the beer festival at Snowbird. By the time we arrived the beer supplies were running low but the high country scenery more than made up for it. The next couple days were followed by similar scenes of revelry and merry making including some delicious dinners prepared at my friend Chris's house and one high altitude dinner at Ted and Renata's place in Alta.
When it came time to depart SLC Chris gave me a lift up a good majority of Big Cottonwood Canyon and I finished the climb to Guardsmen's Pass on a beautiful Thursday. This let me arrive into the booming metropolis of Heber City just in time to join my pseudo-cousin Ryan for wings. Not quite on par with the famed 'Em R Wings of Apex but tasty nonetheless. I spent Friday lounging around and sorting my gear. That night Ryan treated me to one of the best damn tortas I've had (in no small part due to the amazing salsa bar with something like 25 salsas). I can't remember the name of the place for the life of me, so that is Ryan's little secret for now.
Saturday I pushed onwards over Daniels' Pass and braced myself for more "wonderful" (wink wink) desert riding. Don't get me wrong....the area does have its beautiful and breathtaking moments, but after 4 or 5 days of riding your bike in it, you're ready for a change. Anyways, I moved on through the interesting (and somewhat hilarious) towns of Vernal and Dinosaur. These are places whose biggest draw is probably tacky dinosaur statues inspired by the nearby fossil beds. I kept moving along through the scorching terrain and cranked hard to arrive in Steamboat Springs in the midst of a gusting thunderstorm. Besselman's former roommate Scott agreed to put me up for the night and after I washed 4 or 5 days' worth of road grime off we headed out in search of burritos. Unfortunately, the prime burrito joint was closed so we settled for free chips and salsa instead.
The next day Scott and I drove south and met up with Bess near Mount Evans. Mount Evans is a nice big 14er mountain which also happens to have the nation's highest road on it. We all camped out and awoke at 430 in the morning to attack the mountain. Bess and Scott dropped bicycles off at the top of the mountain then parked the car a bit lower and began a climbing ascent. I started even further down the mountain and chipped away at a 14 mile climb to the peak. After we had all completed our respective climbs we buzzed down the mountain on bicycles. The other two guys stopped about halfway down while I continued all the way down to Idaho Springs- a total of 28 miles and 7000 or so feet in altitude.
After our little side adventure I was dropped off in Kremmling (a.k.a. Krem-tucky) while Bess and Scott headed back north to Steamboat for a friend's wedding. Although I had planned to just sleep in Kremtucky I decided the park did not look all that enticing and rode onwards only to be thwarted by the most voracious mosquitoes of my whole trip and also one of the gnarliest-looking thunderstorms. I took shelter under a general store's awning in Parshall before backtracking to a river access area and ninja-camping. The rain had subdued the mozzies a bit but I was still terrified with how fast and thick they swarmed.
Yet another high-and-dry night in the hammock and I awoke refreshed to ride up to Grand Lake to meet up with my buddy Gray. Lots of shenanigans and debauchery ensued as we celebrated the nation's birthday. As I parted with Gray and my new friends I can't say I felt rested but I can say that I had one heck of a 4th.
Tonight finds me writing to y'all from Fraser. TK, architect of rock-solid wheels and friend of cyclists the world over (well, at least Carrboro right now) told me I MUST visit his old-school buddy here. I've never had any qualms with "visiting" (aka mooching) mutual friends so I stopped in to say hello to Jesse and his family. Tomorrow I'll be attacking a slightly dubious sounding mountain shortcut that Jesse recommends. I'll do my best to tune in from the other side and let you all know how it turns out.
Phew! For now I'm exhausted and going to hit the hay so I can meet Gray for a farewell cup of coffee tomorrow morn. Take care folks!

The Kindness of Strangers

As the adventure last stood I was in the middle of the eastern Oregon desert, just outside of Burns. I spent the an interesting night camping along a ridge, wind buffeting my hammock as I watched a lightning storm slide across the valley below. The next day I found myself in Vale, Oregon. As I stopped at a supermarket to charge my phone and munch snacks I started talking with some younger folks who were trying to cash in at the recycling machines. Before parting ways they offered me two icy cold gatorades...a welcome treat after the high desert sun!
While trying to scout out a place to sleep in the park two reassuring things happen. One was that I met and spoke with the mayor (he happened to be coaching a little league team). Although he couldn't give me "permission" to stay in the park, he said that he didn't think that it would be a problem and he would let the proper authorities know. After speaking with the mayor I wandered over to the pool and asked if I could use the showers. The girl at the front desk said I was free to use the showers but warned me they had no doors. She said my best chance was to be quick before the pool closed and all the kids swarmed the bathroom. After a brisk and invigorating shower I decided that all that desert riding deserved a bite to eat at the Mexican restaurant I saw on the way into town.
Sticking to the budget is important so I don't take decisions like this lightly but often (as in this case) it works out to save me in the long run. As I munched on my taco salad (with lengua, mmmmmm!) the owner of the restaurant struck up conversation with me. After hearing about my crazy trip Edgar called out to his god-son Carlos. The two quizzed me with the usual questions including the "where do you sleep". When I answered that I was planning to sleep in the park, Edgar quickly offered me the empty apartment above the restaurant! If you ever find yourself in Vale, be sure to drop into Chabelita's for some tasty grub and friendly people!
The next day I struck out for Boise. After a late start (had to get more salsa at Chabelita's!) I rode the short and relatively easy 60 miles to arrive in Boise about 6 or 7 PM. Luckily I had been able to arrange a couchsurfer; big thanks go to Dan for hosting me on such short notice! Dan had an amazing project going on in his backyard following the principles of permaculture. This is something I've become more and more interested in as I first encountered it in Croatia and on other farms. It basically takes the idea of sustainable agriculture even further. Had a great salad from Dan's garden and after he retired (darn 9-5 jobs) I had a nice evening hanging out with his roommate Becki and and her visiting friend Chris. Chris made a super cool sketch of me, I'll try to upload it.
Moving on from Boise I found myself in the small town of Buhl, Idaho. I stopped by a restaurant to relieve myself and fill water bottles before finding a camping spot but was tempted by cheese tots. Once again this purchase proved wise. A young man sitting in the next booth over became interested in my strange story and by the end of our respective meals extended an offer to sleep on his couch. I pretty much always prefer a couch over the unknown perils of a small town park (bored teens are the most dangerous wildlife of all). Travis had to work early in the morning but we had a hearty bacon and eggs breakfast together and he loaded me down with lots of goodies for the road.
Working my way east from Buhl to Burley was slow going with a headwind....REAL slow going. About 15 miles from Burley I got tired of crawling along while truck after truck buzzed by with empty beds. I started the technique of thumbing while riding with hopes of getting to Burley. From there my direction would head south and the torturous wind coming from the northeast would be eased. Around 8 or 9 miles out someone FINALLY pulled over and offered me a lift. I crammed my bike into the back of the SUV and had an entertaining chat with a fine family from Kimberly. Jim, Diane and their daughter Laura dropped me off at the high school and gave me even more treats for the road!
I started my journey onward feeling somewhat apprehensive about finding somewhere to sleep in such empty desert with no size able towns for at least 50 miles. Just as I was about to leave Burley a car full of raucous teenagers gave me some cheerful shouts. I circled back and asked them what was going on. They were inviting me to come over and have a bite to eat! I followed them back to one of their houses. The Handy family was no stranger to having loads of crazy kids around and they gave me a warm welcome. A restful sleep on the trampoline and the next day I was working my way south to SLC.
In summary, this leg of the trip was characterized by amazing kindness and hospitality by people who didn't even know me. I suppose what I do is a rarity and people get a kick out of it, but I think the unending kindness I'm constantly shown is much more stunning. Maybe I had lost faith in people (especially in the US) but bit by bit, pedal stroke by pedal stroke my confidence in kindness and love is restored.
Coming in the next installment: the final leg to Salt Lake, a little R&R and the road onward to Colorado!

The Trouble with Transience

As if my glorious rest with Bentley and Andi in Corvallis wasn't enough I extended my laziness for another 4 days or so. Cate, a friend from UNC who had been living in Portland, happened to be moving down to Eugene for law school. After dropping a Uhaul of her belongings she whisked my bicycle and me northwards to Portland. A couple of fine days were spent visiting old friends, making new ones and soaking in the vibes of Stumptown. I hadn't ridden from Portland to Ontario (the border with Idaho) but I had done the route from Eugene and loved it. Knowing this, I again hitched a ride with Cate down to Eugene. It felt rather funny to arrive back to the same town I had ridden through a week earlier!
That puts us on last Wednesday morning I believe. The forecast called for rain and wasn't going to change anytime soon but alas I forced myself back onto the road. After such fine companionship for the last week it was a very dreary ride into the storm-soaked hills, taxing me mentally perhaps more than physically. This is the "trouble with transience" I'm referring to; the desire to stop and hang out with good folks in a town or city you like but the conflicting urge to keep moving and stick to your "plan". I could easily have given up and lived happily ever after in the Bay Area, norCal, Eugene, Corvallis, Portland or Bend not to mention about one hundred other places I've been. Oh well...at least I know I have friends to go visit as soon as the call of the road hits!
So after leaving Cate and her awesome pup Sawyer behind in the dismal gloom of Eugene's weather (don't feel bad for her, she's on vacation in Hawaii now) I climbed into the mountains to reach Bend. Two wet, long, miserable days later I rolled into the sunny pleasant high desert town of Bend. The final leg from Sisters to Bend is a straight shot of about 21 miles on the highway but I got a bit audacious with my GPS and turned that 21 miles into God-knows-what of horrible, loose gravel forest service roads. A one and a half hour ride became 4 and a half hours. Finally rolling into Bend at around 10:30 PM, I was graciously hosted by fellow cyclist Brett on the first night. He had traveled a bit through Eastern Europe and we recounted our favorite moments until way past bedtime. Brett had to head to Portland to coach a youth lacrosse team he is involved with but I decided to stay on in Bend for one more day at least and catch the USA-England match.
Met some top-notch folks (tip o' the hat to Kai, Zach, Sean, et. al) throughout the weekend and once again was totally shattered to have to leave it all behind. Got a late start Sunday (had to visit a hardware store and grocery store for fuel and food) but the Desert Gods were with me and a tailwind pushed me about 95 miles towards Burns. Woke up this morning and cranked another pleasant, albeit warmer, 40 miles into Burns. I'd like to do another 60 or so and be halfway to Idaho but for now I'm letting the sun go a bit lower. Because the sun is up until about 830, you can ride super late into the evening here. Two more reasons to do so are that the GIGANTIC mosquitos come out at dusk (better to be moving!) and you can't sleep when its that light anyways.
I don't really know what to expect as I continue through Idaho and south into Utah. I've done sections of Idaho before, but those were farther north in the Sawtooth mountains. As much as I'd like to revisit those towns and sights its too far out of the way to Salt Lake.
From SLC the plan is to head loosely towards Denver where I hope to get a train to Chicago. The train will save me roughly 1200 miles thus extending my budget to allow more destinations back east. My apologies to all of my fans in Nebraska and Iowa. After Chicago its onwards through Ohio and PA up to NYC before dropping down the eastern seaboard to DC. This would technically conclude my trip, but I hope to also ride the Blueridge Parkway down to Asheville and then finish in true fashion with a ride through the Ole North State (brings tears to the eyes folks!).

That's about all I've got for you now folks. Hope you all are enjoying this spectacle as much as I am!

On the move again

So it has been quite awhile since I've updated this here blog, and for that I apologize. I would say this is the result of a complex mixture of elements, namely laziness and spotty internet access. In any case I'll do my best to relate the last month or so to you folks without much ado.
I would say the larger part of my time here in the US so far was spent just generally bumming around the Bay area. I spent time crashing on various friends' couches and floors in Berkeley and San Francisco. A big thanks to all the folks who made that possible. I managed to find some cash flow (multiple streams of income as Benji would say) by doing a promotional gig for Comcast and a language study, both at Berkeley. The Comcast promotion was just handing out moving boxes to students in exchange for them texting in a survey. The language study was pretty interesting. I had to learn an imaginary language called Sillyspeak and then was tested on it. Good thing I was already an advanced Sillyspeaker, as anyone whose met me after 11pm would probably attest to.
The final coup de grace of my stay in the area was the sheer insanity of the Bay-to-Breakers "race" in San Francisco. Hung out with my gracious hosts of Hayes Street and watched the hilarious antics of all the wierdos, drunks and drunk wierdos. In case you aren't familiar (I wasn't) B2B is a race in its 99th year where folks run from the bay side of the city down through Golden Gate park to the ocean. Somewhere in the last 100 years its morphed into a BurningMan/Lovefest-esque self-expression celebration. If you want to walk around San Francisco buck-naked, this is the day for it. Cross your fingers though...there is talk about canceling the event because it has become such a ruckus. ING, the sponsor, pulled out after this year!
Anyways, I departed the Bay area and pointed the bicycle north. I spent the first 6 days riding up Highway 1 along the coast. The scenery was a bit austere but beautiful nonetheless. Quite a rough re-introduction to bike touring however! Continuous climbs and downhills along the coast coupled up with some pretty strong headwinds and a month of (mostly) sedantary living to make for a rough couple days. The final deathblow to my willpower came in the form of 2 days of rain-riding in the Redwoods followed by a forecast for 4 more days. However, right when things looked their bleakest, serendipity found me a ride through the rain. I was remarking (okay, okay....complaining) on the weather to the kind lady at a coffeeshop in Redway, CA and she pointed out that her son was driving to Ashland, Oregon the next day. My new friend Evyn and I cruised right on up through the weather, saving me at least 3 or 4 days of rainy, cold riding. From Ashland I had a mostly pleasant cruise on backroads northwards. One great night was spent in the Threehorn campsite of the Umpqua National Forest. Kind neighbors there treated me to chilidogs...a welcome warm meal after a long day of climbing. As I neared my destination in Eugene on the third day out the clouds moved in once again. Visited my favorite bar in Eugene (called Max's...supposedly "Moe's" in the Simpsons is modeled after it) and then shuffled off into the drizzle to setup camp for the night. The next day I awoke with a less than optimistic outlook for the remaining 45 miles to Corvallis. Packed up all my wet gear and climbed onto the bike, squinting as I rode through more of the interminable Pacific NW scuzz. Things started to look up as I had the "Champion's Breakfast" (2 corndogs and 20oz of coffee at 7-11). The skies dried up but never quite cleared. Nevertheless, the ride was calm, almost no traffic and a relative straight-shot to Corvallis.
I arrived in Corvallis and struggled to find my hosts' place due to some "transcription errors" in getting their address. I found the street easily enough but the house number I had didn't exist! After wandering around town and campus for 2 hours without any luck in contacting them, I decided to tour the street once more. I knew they had moved recently so I hoped to spot an out of state plate. Sure enough my Dick Tracy skillz paid the billz and I found the house. I apprehensively rang the door bell (looking the way I do I was really worried I would give some old lady a heart attack). Andi (Bentley's Lady Friend) answered the door and after about 10 seconds of dumbfoundedness on my part, recognition clicked and I said "Uh....hey" or something equally impressive.
I took a shower for the first time in 5 days, ate 2 giant homemade pretzels and then we were off to a wine tasting Bentley was working at! What a welcome (take notes, folks in my path!). By this time the sun had broken through the clouds and mingled with a little jazz, some Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir, and a gorgeous view of the vineyard and valley. In other words, the perfect way to top off a pretty solid day. Then to really put things over the top, we had dinner at a nearby brewpub. I hadn't had a huge appetite at first but as plates of hearty pubfood were put down I couldn't help myself.
So now its raining again. And the forecast is calling for more through the whole week. I'm trying to decide whether to face the facts and get wet or to hope that the elusive summer shows up soon. I've got some rough plans for whats next on the tour and when but I'll save that post for a few days. Until then, happy reading and riding!

Getting traction

The wheels have been spinning a bit here in Berkeley (both literally and figuratively). Sorry to leave all of you dedicated readers hanging for the last week or so. I arrived in San Francisco and promptly made my way across the Bay to visit my friend Daniel. The next week was spent exploring various neighborhoods,parks, restaurants (i.e. Taco Bell), and bars both in the city and around Berkeley. Pretty pleasant weather and lots of good company made for enjoyable days filled with the bliss of not having to go anywhere or accomplish anything.
But alas, all good things must come to an end and thus I've been dropping resumes at every restaurant, bar and retail store that I deem worthy of having me. With any luck I can find some work and make money for about 2 or 3 weeks until my next riding partner is supposed to join me. From there I believe we are planning on heading north towards Seattle and then cutting diagonally down to SLC. But who really knows. I'd like to see Yosemite and Redwoods but I also want to see the Grand Canyon. Yikes.
Anyways, this is just a short blurb to let you all know I'm alive and well. As plans come together better and I have some interesting news to report I'll drop you another update. Also I'll try to put some thoughts together about what the return to the US feels like after 8 months because either the US is stranger than before or I am. Or both.

One night in Bangkok...

and the world's your oyster! Okay. Three nights in Bangkok. Pretty cool city and Songkhran is absolutely insane. Songkhran is the Thai New Year and is celebrated by a week long waterfight throughout the city. You pretty much can't go anywhere or do anything without getting soaked by waterguns, hoses or just buckets of ice water. When you are trying to accomplish things it is extremely frustrating but you can't stay angry very long when the people are all smiles. When you AREN'T trying to accomplish things it is probably just about the most fun holiday ever. You just run around splashing strangers and smearing flour/talcum all over them. I fully intend to ring in all of my future birthdays with a Songkhran party the week before.
Bangkok is a much nicer city than I had imagined or the travel books had led me to believe. It is not as filthy, smoggy or congested as I thought it would be. Sure, it is nowhere near the level of Singapore when it comes to glossy finish and greenery, but its not so bad in its own right. Certainly beats Athens!
Yesterday I arrived early in the morning and spent the good part of the day searching out a bicycle box. Finally got a nice one from Cannanasia, an absolutely awesome Cannondale exclusive dealer with a stunning amount of bikes on the floor (the Factory Scalpel was looking pretty nice to me...). I made use of a fancy enclosed taxi to safely deposit the box back at Peak's house (my gracious couchsurfing host) and then I headed down towards the notorious Patpong area for the largest waterfight I had ever seen. A wet, floury mass of thousands of Thais (and a few farangs) writhed and squirmed their ways through the streets and alleys to the thumping beat of Thai pop and electronic. An absolutely amazing experience. I wish I had photos to share with you but alas I have no waterproof camera!
Today I may repeat the experience or I may just take it easy, not quite sure. Tomorrow I have to get everything packed up and find a big enough taxi to take me to the airport because I'm doubtful my stuff will fit in a normal sedan type. I'm also far to lazy to deal with dragging the bike box and near-50 pound bag of gear onto and off of various trains and buses required to reach the airport.
After all this goes down (and a nice 9 hour layover in Beijing) I will arrive in San Francisco. I will travel for 23 hours or something, but arrive only 11 hours after I leave. The jet lag is going to be monstrous. Thank goodness San Francisco is a hobo's haven and I have no less than 3 couches offered to me already! Brace yourself States, the hobo cometh!

Feelin' Kinda Laos-y

HAHAHAHAH. Another solid pun. I wasn't actually feeling lousy at all until a few days ago I was the victim of some debit card fraud. The series of events is probably the most frustrating and discouraging thing to happen on this trip (which I guess shows how fortunate I've been). Hopefully I can pull things together this weekend and make it to Bangkok in time to box the bicycle and get my flight to San Francisco.
But sour topics aside, I do have some entertaining tidbits for you.
Let's start with Luang Namtha, over a week ago, high in the mountains. There I had the pleasure of meeting and riding with one of the craziest guys I have ever ridden with (and I've ridden with some pretty crazy dudes!). His name is Pablo and he comes from Argentina, although he's been riding the bike on and off (mostly on) for about 8 years. You can read about his adventures from the link on my front page.
Anyways, Pablo and I decide to ride the next leg together and set out upon the 107km ride from Luang Namtha to Oudamxai (which included something like 1200meters of climbing). I had originally planned to break it into two rides but upon arriving at the base of the big climb around 4pm, Pablo convinced me we should just go ahead and knock it out. Bad choice. The climb ended up taking us until just about dusk. At this point, the prudent thing to do would be to stop in a village and ask if we could camp nearby. Of course, Pablo, being insane, said we should continue down. After all, its all downhill so how long could it take? Poor choice. The worst 25 km of my life. Dark, sketchy deteriorating road the whole way. Probably the worst road conditions I have seen. Anyways, we did survive and it made a good story, so my thanks go to Pablo for pushing the envelope.
So Pablo decided to go towards Vietnam while my path lay southwards towards Louang Prabhang. Another series of challenging climbs. At one point I finished one ascent and was greeted by a guy selling ice cream out of a cooler on the back of his motorcycle. This was probably up around 1200meters. On the way down to 600 meters we must have passed each other 15 times as he would stop, sell some ice cream, then come past me. It was pretty funny and we were both having a good laugh by the bottom. Another fun aspect of riding that day was my discovery of a little game I like to call "Tag-a-Falang" whereby all the village kids run out screaming, giggling and shouting "FALLAAANNNNGG!!!" (which attracts more kids). Whichever children can wrest the prize of a high-five from me as I fly past is ensured the envy of his or her mates. It is rather entertaining, for me probably even more so than them!
On that uplifting note, I must head out into the city. I've crafted up another hobo sign looking for some money, so hopefully I can get something going for lunch. I'll drop you an update as soon as possible letting you know how the outlook for making my flight next week looks. Wish me luck, I'll need boatloads of it!

Introduction to Laos: Mountains and Mishaps

Well, I came to this internet place with full intentions of unloading some glorious pictures on you but apparently their connection craps out everytime I go to upload. So instead I present to you a verbal assemblage of the last 3 days.

Wednesday, March 25 (? okay, Ill be honest, I dont even know for sure what today is)- I awoke in Houxyai and despite my best efforts to have an early start, my comfortable hotel bed and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button distracted me until the late hour of 10am. Feeling that I was getting such a pathetically late beginning to a long day of riding I opted to get food down the road. Incredibly stupid decision. I was assuming that Laos was like Thailand (some kind of restaurant, food stand or at the least convenience store every 50m). Laos is NOT like Thailand. I didnt find food until about 30km of the hardest riding Ive done in SE Asia yet. And even then all I could find was some peanuts and some sort of chocolate-powder covered corn snack. Imagine a cheeto but more disgusting. At this point (probably about 2 or 3 pm) I was completely drained of all energy, not to mention every bit of salt in my body. I finally found a town where somebody could prepare me some real food and sat down to some fried rice. I could barely hold the fork properly because my body had been pushed so hard. I've never had hand cramps until now! This being the situation and my destination being over 50km through more unknown terrain (should have bought a map...mistake #2) I asked if I could stay there. Luckily there was a rudimentary (I mean RUDIMENTARY folks) guesthouse there because an ecopreserve was nearby. Spent a wonderful sleepless night in Don Chai due to the generator fumes drifting through the slats of my wall and roosters deciding they crow whenever they want, not at dawn.

Thursday (Okay, okay...we'll just call it Day 2)- I wake up, actually manage to get an early start this time and enjoy some cool mountain riding. That is, until I hit THE CLIMB. Probably the most brutal climb I've had since Montenegro's climb to Lovcen. One of these long, steep, neverending, demoralizing climbs. Through a construction zone. Man, I must have heard 20,000 excited cries of "Farang!" (foreigner) from construction workers that day. Finally drop into the town of Vieng Phokot and sit down for lunch around 1pm. This is where I had intended to be the night before. Oh well....find a restaurant packed to the gills with Laos businessmen from the nearby coal company (always a good sign). Had some fabulous chicken pho (noodles, broth, veggies) and a lovely lap (buffalo mixed with mint, cilantro, lime juice, chilies and toasted rice). As I was sitting there another "FARANG!!" came up and sat at a nearby table. We eventually fall into conversation and somehow end up deciding to go about 10 or 15km down the road and campout for the night. He had been hoping to camp in a bamboo farmer's crashpad he had found, but didn't quite have the nerve alone. Bolstered by strength in numbers we went down a crazy dirt footpath, he on motorscooter, me on bicycle. Beautiful riverside campsite for me while he hiked just a bit further and spent the night in the hut he had found.

Day 3- Woke up this morning, got a wonderful early start and enjoyed some of the most pleasurable riding weather in SE Asia. Cool, overcast, clearer than usually. The one drawback was the "pleasant breeze" from the morning had turned into a "soul-rending headwind". Regardless I pushed on and after one brutal 10% climb had a great downhill cruise all the way to Luang Namthon. Had a bargain lunch of fried noodles for 10000 kip(that's right, 10000 kip is a bargain) and then in a noodle, bike and beer induced buzz made the mistake of checking into the first guesthouse I saw. Mistake only in the sense that it cost me 6 dollars when I could have gone 2 streets back and found something slightly grungier for 3 dollars. That's right...at the point I am in my budget, a 3 dollar mistake is worth kicking yourself over for days.

Anyways, Im happy to be here in town...rounding up supplies and trying to figure out a few things wrong with the bicycle. I had a chain break on me the day I left Thailand (due to a hasty install way back in Ranong most likely) and due to some clunky shifting and some strange noises I'm suspecting something was a bit too hasty about the second installation. I've also got a mystery noise coming from the front wheel. It's one of those things where as soon as you pay attention to it and try to solve it, the noise disappears. Scoundrel! And then the last thing, the most important thing for the mountains to come, is that I cannot consistantly drop into my highest gear. This is THE most frustrating thing in the world as you lose all momentum attacking the hills. Many Laotian hills have suffered a string of expletives about my bicycle due to this. I hope I've at least got it temporarily working.

Okay, this has gone on long enough. If you've read this far, congratulations....your boss should probably be looking over your shoulder more! As for me, I'm off to hunt down some supplies for the mountains ahead, meet up with some newfound friends for dinner and perhaps treat myself (at the ghastly sum of 3 dollars per hour) to a massage. On second thought...I already wasted 3 dollars today....

Lovely Laos

Well, I finally managed to pull myself out of the wonderful Thai border town of Chiang Khong. Made it all the way across the river and into the equivalent border town in Laos before getting distracted again. Tomorrow I will ride north and hope to find myself in Luang Prabang in about 4 days time. I've got all the time in the world but the budget is pretty dismal at this point. Might have to swim back home. I would like to recount some stories or write you all a nice entry but the internet cafe Im at seems to be shutting down. Not sure how easily Ill find more web access as I head further into the countryside but Ill be sure to check in once I reach Luang Prabang.

Failure to takeoff

Ahhh, the glorious Chiang Mai. I didn't really like the city at first, on account of all the tourists, but it has grown on me. If you go a little outside of the old town there are some real neat cafes and bars. There is also a cool little bike shop and bicycle scene with a few regular fixie cruises and lots of street/BMX riding. I could see myself living here for a little while, getting to know the city better, doing some mountainbiking in the surrounding hills. Alas, I have more road to cover, countries to see and people to ride bikes with.
So its onwards to Laos. We were supposed to depart about 3 days ago, but our buddy Paul (whom we met in Ayuttahaya) convinced us to stay a bit longer. So tomorrow its up early and heading for Chiang Rai before moving on towards Laos and finding out about the boat situation.
With that being said, I'd like to take a moment to express some feelings. Lately I am beginning to feel a bit exhausted. I love life on the bike but at some point you just get tired of constantly moving, constantly being out of place. Change becomes the norm and you really desire to turn it all off for a second. Oh well, Im sure before long I will be sitting on a couch in the US complaining about how boring life is when nothing changes day to day. Just wanted to rant a little bit and let you all know that yes, i'm not a total lunatic and would like to sit still every once in awhile. Anyways, maybe Im just feeling this way because Im tired and a bit cranky about having to move on from this city when all Id like to do is rent an apartment for a month and do absolutely nothing. So I'm going to go to bed and then tomorrow get up early and ride my bicycle far away. Cheers to that!

Just our luck

Well, the doc says that most likely I just had a bad virus that my body is purging out although the whole-body rash thing seemed a mystery to him. The funny thing is that while I was checking in and having my vitals taken I was describing the rash to the nurse. I speculated to her that it may be alcohol-triggered since the first time I had a few brews the night before and last night when I had one about an hour later I had some mild rash re-occurances. Anyways, I said this all to the nurse and the old lady being checked in beside me (how did she speak such good english by the way...) interjected "oh no, thats not alcohol, just singha" (a thai beer). "My husband has that problem...everytime he drinks Singha he gets a rash". What this lady said was actually coinciding with the facts but I have yet to test the theory. Not sure I want to!
Anyways, the doc saying that I don't have some crazy bug-borne illness was a relief. However, there is rarely any respite for me lately for as soon as I cleared that hurdle another one arose. Our plan was to ride from here (Chaing Mai) to Chaing Khong and cross into Laos. On the border crossing we were going to get a riverboat to take us down to Luang Prabang because there is no direct road there. Unfortunately, the largest drought in 20 years has caused the Mekong to dry up and apparently the cargo boats are not running. So now we've got to reformulate our plans. I really haven't the slightest clue what to do, so I'll just have to tell you all about it later.
On the upside, I got my bicycle cleaned to the highest level since I left for only 400 baht and I signed up for a cooking class. Tomorrow I'll be learning how to make 6 different Thai dishes! You can check it out at thaicookeryschool.com. I'm taking course #3.
Okay, I'm off to go lounge around the pool while its hot and check out some temples once the sun dips a bit. Be back soon with the updated route I hope!

Adventures in the Plains

Pao (pronounced Poo) is the Mick Jagger of Thailand and now a dear friend of the hobo crew. We met Pao while riding into Singburi (which has a strangely disproportionate amount of cyclists for a town in the middle of nowhere) and he invited us over to his “house” for a drink. His “house” was actually a giant bar, in the style of a Western Saloon. How awesome…the wild west of Thailand! Anyways, he fuelled us up and rode with us over to show us a nearby hotel. After the usual process of showering and making the hotel room smell like a herd of sweaty buffaloes we headed out for some grub and then stopped back by the Gypsy Bar for live music. This is where the whole Mick Jagger bit comes in. Pao’s band is apparently one of the longest-running and most popular rock bands in Thailand. They started in the Phillipines about 25 years ago with heavy counterculture messages in their music and have kept it going strong. Pretty wild.
The next day was equally outlandish. We woke up rather woefully and headed out of the hotel with our sights set on Noi’s house, about 30km north. Noi and her friends had met us the night before and invited us out to their small village to do some fishing. No fishing ended up ever taking place. However, we were escorted to a croc farm, fed delicious Thai seafood on the lakefront and the ladies made sure our beer glasses were never anything but full! I’m pretty sure life couldn’t get any easier than the expat with a Thai wife deal. Alas, that is not my fortune or fate (yet).
Not a whole lot to mention from the day after the Noi Episode (honestly, the rest of the trip will pale in comparison to that). Found something slightly out of place in the small city of Uthai Thani. A fixed gear specialist shop! What in the world it is doing there I don’t have the slightest clue. Maybe there is a big market for strange, super-heavy poorly made steel frame fixies in the plains of Thailand. Beats me.
From Uthai Thani it was onwards to another rather quiet town called Phitlok. Not really a destination so much as a necessary stopover to help us reach the famous (?) ruins of Sukothai. I'm not much of a ruins fan and while these were certainly impressive, I enjoyed the ones I had seen further south in Ayuttahaya much more. We did have a great time riding around the park (in which all the ruins are standing) with some German girls and two great guys from England. Big cheers go out to Nora, Sina, Sam and Rufus!

From Sukothai we headed north towards Chang Mai and begin to encounter our first real consistant hills and the first challenging climb since I left Greece. Great riding due to the change of scenery but unfortunately just as the riding was getting good I seem to have caught something. I woke up yesterday morning with a full-body rash which was absolutely brutal by last night (after riding a necessary, and hilly, 100km in the heat) when it coupled up with a fever. Decided to play it safe and get the train for the last 100km to Chang Mai this morning and will be going to the hospital in the AM. The rash and fever seem to have subsided but were replaced with the most crippling stomach problems yet. I'm hoping it is just a bout of my ol' friend food poisoning but only time (well, and a doctor) will tell.

That pretty much brings you up to speed. For brevity's sake I had to leave out a couple interesting episodes but perhaps I will recant those in a future installment of Bobo's Tales of Adventure and Mischief. Until then keep all the spinny parts spinning.

I am alive...just a bit spaced out

I will give you folks some updates tomorrow when I get to Chang Mai and have some time to sort out all my thoughts. Sorry for the lack of interesting stories, they are accruing, trust me!

Check out the new pics though.

Some questions answered

So the last post I asked what you all would like to hear and you gave me some pretty good suggestions. I'll do my best to gather more funny anecdotes, particularly ones involving people we've met or as my mother put it "flora and fauna". Not so sure about the poetry, haikus and limericks...might be overextending my literary range there. Also per Jenelle's request there should be some more videos up later this week...have to find time to upload them since that takes a bit longer than photos. My grandparents sent along a few more specific inquiries which are pretty easy to address and others might find interesting (like, say...Ecuadorian newspaper reporters..).

Planning, schedules and budgets: To be honest, I didn't plan much. I just sort of got to Ireland then my riding partner(s) and I took it one step at a time. I generally try to have a pretty solid plan of action in place for 1-2 days out and a slightly more vague plan for the next month or so at a time. Having this loose structure means that I'm not really "ahead" or "behind" schedule...just sort of floating along.
As of right now the rough plan is to be up in Chiang Mai around the 9th or 10th. Dan's Thai visa expires then so he will be doing a run across the Burmese border to renew it. Then we hope to be into Laos around a week later. We are intending to take a boat down the Mekong to Luang Prabang and then ride on to Vientiane. From there we have to figure out how to get to Cambodia. If things work out correctly I will be able to get to Bangkok around the end of April. Should have enough money to get a flight to the west coast of the US and then meet up with my friend Jon to ride across the US. I may have to find some work once I hit the US shores sicne the flight will eat up the last of my savings. Then again, I've hobo'd the US once and am confident I can do it extremely cheap this time.

Eating, sleeping, communicating: Once again most of this is last minute stuff. Eating enough food is nearly impossible. I could spend all day and all of my daily budget on food and still not get enough calories probably. I haven't gone to a hospital and weighed myself but the few scales I have come across seem to indicate I've dropped about 20 pounds. I will probably lose more by the end of the trip. I have been trying to incorporate some resistance exercises in my daily routine to keep my muscles from being cannibalized.
Sleeping in Europe and the solo stretch of Asia was a very last minute thing. I would generally ride until dark, find a spot for my hammock and just crash out. A few times if I was in an area where camping looked difficult or the weather was threatening I would find a cheap hotel or guesthouse (Albania...parts of Malaysia). Now that I'm with Dan its easier to split the costs of a room for the night so we've been doing that. He also isn't carrying much in the way of camping gear. I plan to return to a more camping-mode style in the US.
Communications with the locals is quite the task but enough pointing and gesturing usually gets the job done. We almost never know what we are ordering at restaurants. I must admit I feel somewhat guilty about my lack of effort to learn much local language. I was pretty discouraged that just as I was learning some basic Malay I crossed into Thailand and had to start all over.

Okay...so factual things aside, tomorrow I'll keep a keen eye out (and memory) for some of the smaller, funny things that happen that I usually just disregard. Hopefully I can bring you all a little more in-depth to what its like to do this day in and day out. Cheers!

Dog Days of ...winter?

"...what makes the experience thrilling is the juxtaposition of the present and the past, Medford dreamed in Mandalay."-- Paul Theroux

I think that sentence is awesome. Mr. Theroux is a travel writer from Medford, MA who has been an expat most of his life. I love his work because he strikes so many common threads of my travel logic. Like he says in this passage, one of the things I find so interesting in my travels is how much more appealing home gets with every passing kilometer. I'll be lounging around on a tropical island in Thailand yet all I can dream about is a frosty night mountain bike ride followed up with some delicious IP3s pizza and a pitcher of Yuengling. The comforting thing is knowing that in all likelyhood IP3s, yuengling and Chapel Hill High trails will all still be there when I return but I may never get the opportunity to waste a day away swimming and lounging on Ko Chang again.

To bring you up to speed, Anders parted ways from Dan and I last Sunday. He headed on to Ko Tao to do his diving certification while we headed to Ko Chang for some island solitude. After a restful day out there Dan and I returned to the mainland and covered some ground to arrive up here in Hua Hin. Dan broke a spoke yesterday (after 1 week...I'm a bit skeptical his bike will make it through 3 more countries) so he was forced to take the bus here to Hua Hin, the closest city with a REAL bike shop. I would have preferred to skip Hua Hin, especially since their claims of having a microbrewery were all lies, but fate dictated otherwise. We will probably be moving on tomorrow at a slow enough pace to allow Anders to catch up. Dan has been a real trooper on the distances and surprised me last Wednesday with a 120km ride. Now we just have to get him to the level of doing 100km day in and day out. All in good time.
Next up on the agenda is Kanchanaburi (the Bridge over the River Kwai) and then on to Ayuttahaya for some temple viewing. We hope to be up in Chang Mai around the 8th or 9th of March so Dan can do a visa run to Burma and get 15 more days. Then its on to Laos!
Or so I hope. I think I can stretch the budget and stay in Asia until mid-April or beginning of May but then getting across the US should be a real interesting episode!
I feel like I am supposed to keep more vivid descriptions on the blog, mainly for my own sake and future reference. Something tells me that you guys don't really care about how excruciating riding on the brink of heat stroke is for 6 hours a day. Something also tells me that I won't forget that, whether I write it down or not. This is the problem I encounter with my writing...both here and in my personal journal. I have no mechanism for sorting the material. I can't tell the rubbish from the interesting tidbits (mainly because most of it seems to become rather mundane if I do it enough!). Perhaps you, my faithful readers, can tell me what you'd like to hear about. What questions do you have? What kind of stories would you like me to make up...err....recount? Please give me some direction here. Once again I find myself drifting aimlessly...
Yours in befuddlement, Bobo

Chang and Ko Chang

My sincere apologies for the distinct lack of updates since (pretty much) arriving into Thailand. The first 4 days I was concerning myself with not becoming involved in any terrorism. The next week or so my main focus was the gastorintestinal terrorism that I was battling and for the last 4 or 5 days I've been busy terrorising people with my new partner in crime, Anders. Yesterday was the first day riding with Mr. Dan Riegler who will be my associate for Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Even though he had only arrived at midnight before and must have had terrible jet lag he seems to be tackling everything with an encouraging and infectious enthusiasm (not that I've been lacking enthusiasm; how can you not be enthusiastic when your biggest challenge of the day is whether to opt for a Chang or a Singha and which beach to do so on).
Today we have about 30 or 40 more km until we reach the town of Takua Pa...or perhaps its Takuapa...or Taquapa. The signs can't seem to agree. In any case, we will most likely stop there so as not to punish poor Dan too much and then tomorrow we must decide whether to head inland and visit the jungle-clad karsts of Khao Sak national park or head north along the coast to the laid-back (i.e. no electricity) islands of Ko Chang and Ko Phayang.
About two more weeks in Thailand should see us visiting Chumpon before riding up the east coast and then northwards towards Chang Mai before crossing into Laos and then turning back south to work our way (relatively speaking) down the Mekong.
A couple things have me a bit worried about the longevity of the trip at this point. For one thing the time on the road seems to finally be taking tis toll on my gear. The bicycle is mostly holding up really well (knock on wood). Brake hoods are starting to disintegrate but still function and the drivetrain seems to be working well. Plus I still have a whole extra drivetrain! The moths appear to be enjoying the flavor of my wool shirt and riding shorts so I'll soon be riding in tatters, which honestly only befits a man who looks like I do in every other regard. In addition to that one of the clips on my Ortlieb pannier has cracked. I don't really blame the company or their worksmanship as much as I blame Belgian beer and slippery, dark roads (a couple impacts on ANY brand pannier can't be good for its mounting hardware).
Aside from my keeping my fingers crossed that my gear can hold out for another 4 or 5 months of abuse there is the issue of my dental care. I really wanted to get my wisdom teeth removed before coming on the trip but UNC's dental school turned me down (claiming it wasn't a big enough thing for them to bother teaching their students!?) and I didn't quite want to fork over 500 bucks or whatever to my dentist. Now my back left molar is "erupted" (I think thats the term, but I'm no dentist). It has been this way for most the trip but didn't bother me until now. We'll see how that develops.
The last thing I am keeping a careful eye on is the financial situation. Since I still haven't bothered to stop and try to make some money (aside from the Croatian fiasco which was never going to provide income anyways) I am starting to get down to the bottom of the honey pot, so to speak. Here in SE Asia things are cheap enough that I should be able to do Thailand, Laos and Cambodia and still have enough money to fly back to the US. This is also dependent on what old Uncle Sam demands I pay him come April and whether the airline wants to charge for my bicycle this time across. I feel confident that if I can just get back to the US I will be able to make a little side cash and get myself back across. The trick is getting back to the US.
In any case, these are all things that I have little to no control over so I try not to worry about them all that much. Mostly I just focus on where that next cold drink and shady spot on the beach is!

Feeling rather Krabi

HAHAHHAHAHA. Almost as good as the Split pun. Hanging out in Krabi with my new friend Anders. Stomach has settled somewhat and I'm getting excited about meeting up with Dan in two more days. Tomorrow Anders and I are planning on riding the short distance over to Railay and seeing abotu doing some rock climbing.
Spent the last couple days on Ko Bulon Lae. A beautiful little relaxed island just offshore from Pak Bara. I loved it. Slept in the trees on the beach everynight, relaxed listening to reggae and chilling all day long.
Okay, sorry...my brain is just not functioning all that well right now and that translates into no good stories or such for you folks. I'll try again tomorrow night along with some new photos.

PS. Check out Anders blog for an idea of how a trip such as this should be properly documented. One day....when I have money and cameras and such....

Island Hobo

Just a quick note so nobody is worried I died from food poisoning. I'm out on Ko Lanta hanging out and enjoying the beach. Tomorrow I will probably get a ferry over to Krabi and then begin riding over to Phuket. Internet is kind of pricey here (relatively speaking) and I want to go grab some breakfast but I'll try to do a more thorough update soon!

Food poisoning or Dengue?

Well, I was warned about the Southeast of Thailand being somewhat "unstable" and therefore unsafe to ride my bicycle through. Spent three days in the area and didn't feel uncomfortable at all. There a many many military all carrying automatic rifles (there is something comical about two guys in military camo, bulletproof vests with automatic rifles...on a scooter). But as they say, everything always seems calm until a bomb goes off. Anyways I have arrived in the "safe" province of Satun but not without incident.
Last night I found a wonderful campsite by a waterfall in the jungle. Got to take a dip in a surprisingly cool jungle stream and wash some clothes. Watching the full moon rise over the jungle was a nice way to spend the evening. The jungle was much quieter than I expected and would have made for a good night's rest except for one thing. I settled into the hammock for some reading about 9 and before long started to feel nauseous. The famaliar feelings of food poisoning had settled in by 10. I was feverish, sore all over, stomach churning. I don't know what happened because I didn't recall eating or drinking anything sketchy. Who knows...maybe my water filter missed something or I had some bad ice or I accidentally ingested some bug repellent...the list goes on and on in my head. I struggled to get in about 40km today and found a good guesthouse. Spent the rest of the afternoon laying in bed trying to keep my stomach in control until about 6 when I felt like it was cool enough that I could tolerate walking to get some food. Things seems to be improving but I still feel pretty wrecked. I just hope the symptoms clear up soon (they are almost the same symptoms as Dengue...but I'm pretty sure I'd know if that was hitting me).
Tomorrow I'm going to see if I can orchestrate boat rides to some islands rather than riding up the coast. It will cost me a bit more but I can see Ko Bulon Lae, Ko Lanta, Krabi and Ko Phi Phi before meeting Dan over in Phuket next week. I hate breaking my budget but I really don't want to miss out on these amazing islands because I was unwilling to be a bit flexible. Just means more peanut butter and ramen in the future...
New pics are up in the Thailand gallery. Will try to give you folks another update relatively soon but not sure about the internet situation on these islands. Until then, enjoy the snow (if you're joining me from NC)...I'll be thinking of it as I roast on the white sand!

Slight delays to departure

Well...I thought I would leave on Monday. Then Sunday evening Khaos (my savior saint of music-providing) introduced me to his friend Louis. Louis was off work on Monday so offered to show me around some of the nearby temples. We were joined by his girlfriend and sister. What a great time we had! Saw 3 different kinds of Buddha (sleeping, sitting, standing) and the Dragon Boat Temple. All very impressive. Along with that we also sampled some different local dishes. On top of all this they invited me out and treated me to an amazing dinner. I think I've been ruined for Asian food forever...nothing stateside can hold a flame to this. Especially enjoyed the fried bees.
Woke up this morning to torrential downpour but felt compelled to make my exit nonetheless. Packed up all my belongings and hit the road in a (relative) lull in the rain. By the time I got a couple hundred meters down the road the onslaught continued and I ducked into my preferred internet hideout, a neat combination of salon and internet cafe run by Betty and Cham. I've been posted up here for the last 2 hours looking for a gap in the rain but it just won't stop. It seems to finally have paused so I must make my decision now. I can ride on and almost certainly catch a dousing or I can wait one more day and see if the odds look any better tomorrow. Rain is in the forecast again but only 40% instead of the guaranteed thunderstorm of today. Its about 30km to the Thai border and another 40 or so beyond that to the town I hoped to be near tonight. That is probably 3 or 4 hours of riding.
Geesh, life is hard when faced with such grandiose decisions...

Whilin' away the days

So I finally (after consulting other travelers, locals and the police) decided to avoid riding through the mountains and jungles (fear not, I will get plenty of that in northern Thailand and Laos) and instead head directly into Thailand at this border. The major problem with this plan is that reaching Phuket, where Dan and I are tentatively meeting, will probably only take me about 10 days. He doesn't arrive for about 14 days. That leaves me with a little too much time on my hands.
In order to dispose of some of these spare days I will be searching out a nice camping spot on the beach. The only spots I've found near Kota Bharu are in a coconut grove behind a soccer pitch and some kind of weird miniature town place which has been abandoned north of town. Its like Mr. Rogers neighborhood or something, with little mini roads and gas station and buildings. But there are some trees in there, so I could camp there. In any case I much prefer to find something actually on the beach with the breeze and all. I know...its a rough life, having to tough it out on a tropical beach for 4 days, but somebody has got to do it folks. And thus your humble hobo steps forward!
Let's see....other than that, not much to report. Just eating, reading, sleeping. Going to do some laundry and tweak the bike a bit today. Found some copies of my favorite bike magazine in a local store so Im considering splurging and buying those. Maybe go back to the bookstore and get the fattest novel I can find. Saw something from the "Eragon" series which was really thick. Don't know how much I want to read fantasy about dwarves and elves at this point but at least it would occupy me. I plan to leave here tomorrow morning but who knows. If things change I'll drop in and post another note. Otherwise I would expect the next time you hear from me to be in Thailand!

White Guy on a Bicycle

There must be something seriously awesome about a white guy on a bicycle because the Malaysians seem to love it. The little kids are absolutely adorable when they yell "HELLO!" at the top of their lungs then giggle and squeal when I yell back with a big wave. School kids get a similar thrill although something makes me suspect the laughs may be at my expense (not a whole lot of spandex in Muslim Malaysia). Older folks seem eager to practice English but I've learned the extent is usually "Hello, Where are you going?". If I stop to answer their question they usually end up not being able to say much more. Sometimes they know much more and I've had some interesting conversations over the last few nights (but its admittedly very hard to keep focus when the mosquitoes are eating me alive).
So tonight I'm in Kota Bahru which is the capitol of the state of Kelantan. I opted to pass on going out to the Perhentian Islands even though they are supposedly some of the best in Malaysia. A mix of not wanting to spend 2 days' worth of budget on the ferry and being apprehensive about putting the ol' bike through another saltwater ordeal. I figure there will be plenty more island opportunities down the road and any diving would probably be more enjoyable if I can do it with a friend.
That leaves me wondering what to do next. I basically have two options. I can ride the 35km over the border tomorrow and enter Thailand. Or I can do a pretty grueling 200+km jungle mountain road to arrive on the western Malaysian coast and then ride a bit north and enter Thailand there. An incredibly difficult decision for a number of factors:

• Going into Thailand tomorrow means that I start whittling away on my 60-day tourist visa. I have a 90-day Malaysian visa, of which I've used roughly 2 weeks.
• Going into Thailand tomorrow also means I arrive in an area that travel books and advisory warnings say is unstable. Every traveller or local I've spoken to say this is all hype and the area is fine.
• Going across Malaysia means I subject myself to punishing heat, humidity and all-day climbs. Stack on lack of services, loads of mosquitoes and the possibilty of an elephant or tiger trumbling through my camp at night. Compare this to the nice flat, green fields of Thailand.

I have roughly 20 days until I'm supposed to meet Dan around Phuket. The Thai route takes about 9 and the Malaysian route about 11. Also, if I go the Thai way, I have a chance at making one of the infamous "Full Moon" parties on Ko Phi Phi. Decisions, decisions.
I guess I will go mull this over while I peruse the tasty treats on offer at the night market. Once I decide I'll drop another post. Meanwhile I added a few photos, so you can check those out!

Malaysian Burgers

I'm not sure I should have just eaten that. It tasted good enough, and was so cheap I couldn't resist finding out but the color was quite unsettling. Guess we'll see in a couple hours. Im absolutely starving even though I've eaten 2 meals in the last hour so I might go get something else, but then I dont have much of a control to tell what it is that will finally make me sick. A risk I'm willing to take. Good news is the supermarkets here in Malaysia are not shy on the peanut butter, so I always have that as a backup.
Managed to get a fairly early start today, hitting the road by 730am. Even so the sun still tortured me. It was mostly overcast but this equatorial sun doesn't care one bit. I was literally watching my skin blister as sweat tried to escape from under the scorched bits. No amount of sunscreen seems to be able to stay put in this hot, humid sweatfest either. The REI stuff I have works but Ill be running out of that soon. Maybe I should write to Coppertone and offer my test subject services.
Anyways, I HAD to get the early start since I had such a distance to cover. What I thought would be 140 km turned out to be 160. A couple gentle hills in the morn followed by flat coastal jungle cruising the rest of the day. Finally arrived in Pekan and searched out a hotel. It is one of the most frightening places I've ever stayed but I absolutely could not fathom sleeping out in the woods without a shower after sweating so much today. The shower was the oh-so-wonderful Malaysian bucket and scoop variety.
One thing Ive noticed lately is that Im starting to run out of brain fodder for all this alone time. I basically rehash the same topics over and over in my head. How much I can't wait to build a new bicycle when I get home. What kind of employment I should seek out. Where I want to live. Who/what I miss the most. How long I can afford to keep riding. But beyond these things, I can't seem to come up with anything creative. Shouldn't I be able to solve some of life's deep mysteries? Maybe gain some telekinesis or Professor X powers? Im a bit frustrated at this point.
Well, tomorrow is another long day...maybe I'll discover something up in the old noggin. Going to ride the *98* or so km to Cherating which is touted to be some sort of traveller's/backpacker's hangout village on the beach. From what I've seen of the mainland beaches so far I doubt much swimming will be happening. Regardless I'm looking forward to seeing how accurate Rough Guide's claims are (so far their map is not impressive). Let's just home I can cram enough food in my piehole to recharge the legs...they feel like two sacks of lead at the moment. Can't upload to this stupid computer, so the pics will come next time. Cheers!

Island Living

Just arrived back in Mersing after spending 4 days on Pulau Tioman. Very nice island with amazing water and a laid back atmosphere (especially this time of the year). Met some excellent company while over there and wasted the days away snorkeling, catching some rays and swapping stories. Very tempted to just move in but since I've already told Dan I will meet him in Thailand, I'd better stick to my plan. Tomorrow will be a really long day because I'd like to make it all the way to Pekan, 140km away. Not sure that there would be any places to stay before that. After Pekan its up to the traveller's hangout town of Cherating. If I like it there, I will hang out for a couple of days before continuing my northward trek. Pretty drained right now, so don't think I will write much more. Sorry! Check out the pics though.

The Malaysian Rollercoaster

Rolled out of Singapore by about 9am on Friday (I suck at early morning starts). It was kind of overcast so I had no idea that I was getting burned to a crisp as I headed towards Kota Tinggi. Finally arrived at the "waterfall" on my map to find that it had been surrounded by a tourist waterpark. It was still pretty cool...for 20 Malaysian ringgit I got a campsite and use of the facilities. The waterfall itself was still relatively untouched and emptied out into a nice big sandy pool. Cooled my furiously hot shoulders for awhile before riding back to the next small village for some mee goreng (big noodles with mystery meat and sauce). Get a huge plate and a soda for less than 2 dollars US!! I like Malaysia already, hahaha.
Today I woke up in the jungle campsite, packed up and rolled on down the road. Pretty stifling hot ride about 100km to Mersing where I found out I was too late to catch the ferry for the day. Rollercoaster hills the whole way. I really didn't know if I would survive it, I think I drank about 4 or 5 liters of water and maybe 5 sodas. Get another chance for the ferry tomorrow at 1:30. It will take me to an island called Palau Tioman for 35 ringgit (about 10 bucks). Once there I can stay indefinately, but I'm planning on maybe 3 days or so. Might splash out and get some lodging, might try to rough it if I can find a remote beach. There should be some good snorkeling and scuba diving to be had, as well as unloading the bike and doing some extreme island biking.
I've got a whole month to cover the 1500 km between me and Phuket where I plan to meet Daniel. The only trick is sticking to my budget (which shouldn't be too hard).
When I get back onto the mainland I'll let you know how its going and should have some purty pics for you. Wonder how I can get some underwater ones...

Off to Malaysia

Wowsers. Singapore is a crazy city. Had a really ummm, interesting night last night with Gabriel, Bryant and Mikiko. I feel like I've had the full Singapore experience now. Which is good, because its about time I get back in the saddle.
Tomorrow I will head over the causeway into Malaysia. My plan is to work up the east coast, which supposedly has nicer islands. If the monsoon is keeping me from visiting those islands I will attempt to ride through the interior over to the west coast. Assuming the weather is nice and I arrive at the top of the east coast I plan to ride across on highway 4 to enter Thailand on its southwest border since the southeast is rumored to be a little unsafe. Dan is planning on meeting me in Phuket around Feb. 10 so I have about 1 month to ride about 1500 km. Its hotter than hell out there and Im fully expecting to lose about 1000 pounds. Should be interesting!
Going to go ahead and hit the hay and try to get an early start to avoid the midday heat. Hopefully Ill update soon with some cool pics of Malaysia. Until then, keep the cranks spinning!

Settle in...long one here

Let's see....the last time I gave you folks a decent update I was in Patra planning to tour the Peloponesse for its historic sites. Well, I made it about 120 km up into the mountains that day and around 4 PM found myself in the mountain ski village of Kalavryta. It was only 4 PM, but I could already see my breath hanging in the air, which was alarming. I stopped for a coffee and asked the waiter if he knew where I could camp. He told me there was a place just outside of town which had campers and such, so I could ask there. I headed down there and arrived only to find it was closed for the season (I pretty much expected this). Finally getting back into town about 630 I had the choice of looking for a hobo-camping spot in the dark and cold or just getting a hotel. I opted for the latter, even though it set me back a pretty penny. The next morning I began my climb further into the mountains but as I got into the first couple kilometers I was thinking "Do I really want to deal with this cold weather every night for the next week so I can see some ruins?". I'm not a very historic guy, so I had to admit that I wasnt willing to do it. I found a new heading and after a long climb finally could see the coast about 20km ahead of me. Epic downhill and then smooth coastal riding and I arrived in Korinthos about 6PM. I knew it would be rather unsafe to try and get into Athens in the dark, but didn't like the prospects for camping around Korinthos and certainly couldn't afford another hotel. What I COULD afford was the 6 euro train into Athens, so I did that and called my savior, Chris the Couchsurfer. He met me at the station and we walked the bike back to his apartment.
I spent the next week hanging around Athens- exploring, bothering Chris, being a general lout. I have mixed feelings about Athens. Sure...the food is excellent, the girls are gorgeous, the nightlife is kickin' and if you are a classics person, the gravity of the Acropolis cannot be denied. For me though the city was generally an eyesore and the prices were too high (7 euros for a heineken!). Overall Im glad I visited, but I certainly don't believe the place is nearly as noteworthy as Paris, Florence, Amsterdam or Dubrovnik (or many other cities...my list is long!). In any case, Athens was a great recuperation opportunity for me. We spent Christmas in a beer garden of sorts (good, but feeble in comparison to what lined the Rhine) and I was graced with the good company of Chris and the Alex brothers from Russia.
Athens also gave me time to plan my next steps. After some discussion with Richard of shiftingears.net we came to the conclusion that riding together southwards wasn't really in the cards. He had to be at work in Beirut too soon and the weather wasn't looking like it would be worth it. Sure, cold and rainy riding would be a challenge and I'm confident I would have tolerated/survived it, but what's the point of that? I also calculated that if I rode on to Beirut or Egypt I would possibly be sacrificing my financial ability to visit Southeast Asia, which is one area I was not willing to miss on this trip.
So I booked a flight to Singapore...which is where Im writing to you from now! The flight went smooth....which is to say long and exhausting and far pricier than expected (thanks to stupid baggage rules and fees). But I am here in one piece and bike appears to be in all the pieces I left it in, so I'm happy. Jenelle's awesome mother Kathy picked me up to the airport and I'm comfortably setup here in the heart of the city.
So how does it feel to be in Singapore? Pretty crazy...I am 13 hours ahead of anyone reading on the East coast US. Ive had friends over here before and knew they were that far ahead of me in timezones, but its a really strange thing to wrap my mind around. Im here writing a blog entry at 10 at night and most of you haven't even eaten lunch yet (or gotten out of bed if you're like me). I really really like Singapore though. It is pricey like everyone says. And there are lots of strange rules like everyone says. But you can't deny that its working. The city is spotless, the crime is low, the metro system is impeccable and the food- OH MY GOODNESS- the food is so awesome. It's like I've died and gone to culinary heaven. The hawker stands are delicious and cheap. If you don't want that, name your American fastfood poison and its here too. And alongside this are plenty of French, Italian and other Western cuisine options. On top of this, if I feel like I'd rather go back to my bikehobo ways and cook rather than buy my food, the supermarket is topnotch. It has ramen galore, all kinds of neat asian quick sauce and soup packets and REAL BIG JARS of peanut butter! PEANUT BUTTER! Hell yes. This is bike touring heaven. The weather will take some adjustment, since I went from about 10-15 degrees and all-day drizzle to 25-30 and thundershowers. I think I may need to send some cold weather gear home...but Im hesitant to do so until I figure out a few more things.
So what is next? Well, Im in no rush to leave Singapore but, not wanting to wear out my welcome with Bill and Kathy, Im planning on clearing out of here in the next 3 or 4 days. I will probably head for the Malaysian peninsula, but Im toying with the idea of a quick loop through Borneo and Indonesia. The only goal in sight is to meet up with my new riding partner, Daniel, in Thailand at the beginning of Feburary. I will be thinking it all over, reading and planning the next couple days and let you know before I head out.
Big thanks go out to all the folks with encouragment and gifts over the holidays. Special thanks go to Wes and Jen, Uncle Rick and Aunt D, Nana and Pap, Mom and Dad. These kind folks are a big reason for how I was able to pay the airline to get my bicycle over here and thanks to them the stories should keep coming for a bit longer. I fully expect some really exciting tales and photos to be coming soon, so stay tuned! Okay....enough rambling for now. I wandered around the city last night in a sleep-deprived New Year's Eve dreamworld, so Im considering a bit more indepth exploration tonight. Or maybe some Zzzz's are in order and tomorrow night Ill explore. Either way I will check back in soon, hopefully with some neat pics of the city. Hobo over and out.

P.S. Athens photos are up now!