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Entries made in 2010

Climbing to New Year's Eve

Friday, December 31st, 2010

Figuring out what the problem is, and making a plan to do something about it helps a lot, but at the moment, there's not much we can do to execute our solution. For the time being, we'll just muscle on, grinning and bearing it, even as we're passe...

What's Wrong

Friday, December 31st, 2010

If we were toddlers, we would be dragging our feet, whining "I don't WANNA!" this morning. Since we're all grown up, we seethe quietly instead, and force ourselves out for another ride. As the day progresses, our inner toddlers win out just a lit...

On Noise & Nature

Thursday, December 30th, 2010

Being on the road today felt more like a chore than a grand adventure. Keeping my sour mood in check was a grim mental battle, and it was a fight which I found myself losing for the majority of our ride. I feel like a broken record complaining ab...

Armpits & Brothels

Wednesday, December 29th, 2010

Visa extensions in hand, we're finally ready to leave Ho Chi Minh City. After nine days of waiting, we're feeling fresh and ready to explore once more. Unfortunately, very little about this day turns out to be enjoyable, as Vietnam boasts the mos...

Day One Without Coffee

Tuesday, December 28th, 2010

Before this trip, neither of us liked coffee all that much. Actually, we had a mild disdain for the stuff, mostly centered around the fear of becoming dependent on a substance for something as basic as waking up in the morning. In spite of oursel...

Going to the Movies

Monday, December 27th, 2010

This evening, with the help of our friends who are both highly motivated to see the new Harry Potter film, we mobilize to go to the movies. Catching a taxi, we arrive at the nearby movie theater / shopping mall with plenty of time to spare. On th...

Vietnamese Funeral

Sunday, December 26th, 2010

It sounds like a brass band is playing inside our room. The horn section is so eye-poppingly loud that the musicians could very well be hiding in our mini fridge, or playing from the shower stall. A flick of the curtains reveals a band on the all...

Ho Chi Minh City's Taste of the World Festival

Sunday, December 26th, 2010

Exhausted from our Củ Chi tunnel adventure (mostly tired out from the ride there and back), we're enjoying some peace and quiet in our hotel room. By the time night falls, the noise of a party outside is clearly audible in our room. We're not ...

Củ Chi Tunnels: Part Two

Sunday, December 26th, 2010

Safely above ground, our guide takes us on a walk around the grounds, teaching us more about the tunnels. As he shows us tricks of the guerrilla's trade, we are in awe, totally and utterly impressed by the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the Củ C...

Củ Chi Tunnels: Part One

Sunday, December 26th, 2010

Our first introduction to the Củ Chi tunnels is a stroll through the lovely, innocuous woods above them. As we make our way to the first exhibit, leaves flutter on to the path, falling gently from the trees overhead. It's quiet and restful h...

Riding a Motorbike in Ho Chi Minh City

Sunday, December 26th, 2010

Our destination for today is the Củ Chi tunnels, an elaborate network of underground Vietcong hideouts, used heavily in the War of American Aggression. There are two sites open to visitors: the first is about 50km north of the city, easily accessi...

A Skype Christmas

Saturday, December 25th, 2010

Pleasantly full from dinner, and feeling joyful about our unexpected visitors, we come home to our hotel room with a renewed sense of peace. At last, it's late enough for our families to be awake (we're twelve hours apart). Now we can call them o...

A Christmas Dinner Surprise

Saturday, December 25th, 2010

Back in our quiet, sterile hotel room, we're feeling positively alone and bleak about the state of the world. As we're busy entertaining comforting fantasies of flying home to be with family, imagining ourselves knocking at our parents' doors, sho...

And So This is Christmas

Saturday, December 25th, 2010

Here in hot, sunny, loud, crowded Vietnam, Christmas is a day like any other. To pass the time until our families will be awake and on Skype, we decide to visit one of those educational-but-depressing sites we feel it is important to see. Heading...

On Family: The Cost of Adventure

Saturday, December 25th, 2010

There is a price to be paid for following our dreams. This morning, while our loved ones halfway around the world are tucked into their beds, sleeping on the night before Christmas, a quiet melancholy has swept over our little hotel room. Righ...

Our Process: Google Maps & GPS Tracks

Friday, December 24th, 2010

This entry is part of an ongoing series about how we've documented our adventure. Throughout our trip, I have saved our GPS tracks nightly. My plan to maintain one unbroken line, showing every road we've ridden for the entirety of our adve...

Our Process: Automation & the GSDB

Thursday, December 23rd, 2010

This entry is part of an ongoing series about how we've documented our adventure. When we left on this trip, neither of us had an inkling that we'd be documenting our adventure in such exhaustive detail. The original idea was simple: a fli...

Hein and Luang

Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010

We've been loving the variety of Western food available in the city. Our favorite for the last few days has been a red-and-white decorated pizza and salad bar buffet, called Pepperonis. There is bad pop music pumping into the bright and cheery es...

Slowing Down

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

Early in our adventure, a break for more than a day or two gave us cabin fever. We traveled slowly but consistently, with a momentum to "get there" to keep us going. But these days, we're feeling like we "got there", we've arrived, and if we like...

Saigon's Alleys

Monday, December 20th, 2010

There is a second city hidden inside District 1 of Saigon; it is an extensive network of back alleys, twisting narrowly behind and between the borough's buildings. This sprawling microcosm is home to hundreds of people, businesses, and restaurants...

Into Ho Chi Minh City

Sunday, December 19th, 2010

Today, we'll be cycling into the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, and this morning, we'll have to face the grating music: it's highway time. The traffic-free rice paddy paths we've enjoyed for the last two days can't get us there. Procrastinating the i...

Riding in Rice Paddies

Saturday, December 18th, 2010

Tyler: Along the highways in the Mekong Delta, often less than a hundred meters from the road, there are peaceful dirt and gravel paths carving through the quiet villages of Southern Vietnam. Winding through tranquil palm forests, striking rice ...

Language Lessons & Boiled Chicken

Friday, December 17th, 2010

Finding food at the late hour of 9PM is proving to be difficult in this small, Mekong Delta town (of which we don't even know the name). After a thrilling day of engaging cycling, we are overtired and very hungry, trudging around town, searching f...

Mekong Delta Bike Paths

Friday, December 17th, 2010

Bolstered by a colorful market experience, and a steady succession of friendly smiles from local cyclists, we're having a spectacular morning. But, after less than twenty kilometers on the road, the excruciating off-key symphony of Vietnam's horn-...

Vietnamese Market Morning

Friday, December 17th, 2010

Tyler: This morning, determined to keep a positive attitude, we take to the teeming roads of Vietnam once more. Now mentally prepared to let the chaos wash over us, the constant dance of dodging people and oncoming traffic is actually pretty fun...

Our Process: Shitty First Drafts

Thursday, December 16th, 2010

This entry is part of an ongoing series about how we've documented our adventure. When we sit down to inspect our notes and bloobs, ready to shape the mass of discombobulated sentences into a journal entry, the words sometimes flow from our...

Working in Sa Dec

Wednesday, December 15th, 2010

We wake up this morning with zero desire to travel. A peek outside reveals a grey sky with 100% chance of heavy showers. On a more positive note, we really like our hotel room, and the great restraunt across the street. Since we're having such a...

Culture Shock

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010

Tyler: It is 8AM. We are in the middle of packing our panniers and ferrying them to the lobby, when two women march through the door of our room. One of them, carrying a cleaning bucket and looking annoyed, waves a hand in Tara's face, fanning ...

Far From Home: Part Two

Monday, December 13th, 2010

Tara: I'm standing in the bathroom of our hotel room, trusty yellow scissors at the ready. With one hand, I grab handfuls of coarse, sun-bleached hair, and with the other, I snip. As brown fluff falls away from my head, looking like some furry ...

Far From Home: Part One

Monday, December 13th, 2010

Tyler: The day begins with an early morning departure from our beachside bungalow, and a speedy ride across the island to the port. The ferry back is mercifully smoother and faster than the one in, and we are grateful to avoid another bout of se...

The Food Game: Fruits of Southeast Asia

Sunday, December 12th, 2010

Yesterday evening, after our squid fishing excursion, we walked home by way of the night market. On display were the heaps and heaps of colorful fresh fruit that we've come to know and expect in Southeast Asia. I realized, as I bought a red ...

Squid Fishing

Saturday, December 11th, 2010

Fishing boats are a ubiquitous sight on the beaches of Phú Quốc. During the day, they're either anchored just off shore, or packed in the harbor. The rag-tag fleet of colorful, hand-built vessels take to the water almost every night. In the proc...

Dinner at Le Deauville

Friday, December 10th, 2010

Hours after our island ride comes to an end, after several journals are written, we're beginning to feel the pangs of hunger. So, in a totally cliché romantic move, we go for a long walk on the beach which ends at Le Deauville restaurant. We'...

Peaceful Ride on Phú Quốc

Friday, December 10th, 2010

Tyler: The sound of waves lapping against the shore rings in another sleepy morning at our beach side bungalow. As the sun rises, we slowly rouse ourselves from a deep slumber, gently awakened by the warm light filtering in through the bamboo sl...

Phú Quốc Fish Sauce

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

We've heard that Phú Quốc island produces the highest quality fish sauce in the world, so we've decided to pay a visit to the nearby Hung Thinh fermentation plant. Our maps of the surrounding area are very poor, and we're not sure exactly where it...

Postcards from Paradise

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

This is the first entry in a series of e-postcards for our friends and family. Hovering on the cards makes them flip over, showing the picture on the other side. It'll work, but it won't look cool in Internet Explorer (the worst browser ever), so...

Morning Light

Wednesday, December 8th, 2010

As if the quiet, empty beaches, and crystal blue water of Phú Quốc aren't captivating enough, we awaken to find that our simple bungalow and the mosquito net around our bed have been transformed into this: Good morning, magical fairy land! ...

Ferry to Phú Quốc

Tuesday, December 7th, 2010

"Your passports, your passports!" the man shouts, speeding over to us on his scooter. We're loading our bikes on the ferry to Phú Quốc, heaving them over a railing at the front of the boat, but I turn around to see him approach, lifting his helmet...

Our Process: How We Write, Notes & Bloobs

Monday, December 6th, 2010

This entry is part of an ongoing series about how we've documented our adventure. A couple months ago, we decided to start recording the ever-evolving process by which we've been wrestling a page or more of writing from every day of our liv...

Vietnamese Food

Sunday, December 5th, 2010

I had inkings that Vietnam might deliver some stellar eating, especially after we spent a few days with my friend Tony's Vietnamese grandmother in Berlin. Last night, Tara's barbecued pork was easily the most flavorful dish either of us could reca...

Hello Vietnam

Saturday, December 4th, 2010

According to my GPS, we've arrived at the road leading to Vietnam: it is a dusty red track with no signage whatsoever. Feeling dubious about this intersection leading to an international border, we ask a nearby food seller for directions. I'm exp...

Farewell Cambodia

Saturday, December 4th, 2010

This morning, as we leave to embark on our final ride in Cambodia, a fierce wind is gusting in from the east. Exchanging grimaces, we fight to build momentum on the colonial-house-lined coastal road leading to the border. Thanks to the strongest ...

Pepper & Crab

Friday, December 3rd, 2010

Kep, a quiet fishing town on the southern coast of Cambodia, sprawls out lazily along the shore over a few kilometers, nestled in the low places between steep green hills. The town's seawater is a little murky, and the beach isn't terribly invitin...

Pete & Natasha's First Ride

Thursday, December 2nd, 2010

Natasha: Every time we take a long bus ride to get to a new tourist destination, we gaze longingly out of our tinted windows as we pass the things we really want to see – stuff like small villages bustling with activity, and roadsides full of Cam...

Kampot Cruising

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010

Yesterday, we cycled over one hundred kilometers on less than four hours of sleep. As a result, we were so exhausted by the time we made it to Kampot that we fell fast asleep at the early hour of 7PM, practically nodding off in our dinner of fried...

The Long Ride to Kampot

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

Tara: Having been on the road for so long, it's easy to lose perspective about why we travel the way we do. Or maybe it's just a string of really long cycling days that has me a little less than enthusiastic about pedaling lately. In any case, ...

Molly

Monday, November 29th, 2010

The salespeople in Cambodia are generally cute and sweet, and they use it to their advantage. They are often so friendly and warm that it's a pleasure to buy from them, even when you're not looking for anything. Somehow, I find myself saying yes ...

Day at the Beach

Sunday, November 28th, 2010

Though we've spent several relaxing days in Sihanoukville, we haven't really done it's famous sandy shores justice. We usually get bored at the beach, losing interest soon after our swim in the ocean is over. Today, Pete, Natasha, Maggie and Trav...

Meeting Friends

Saturday, November 27th, 2010

Tara: Back in college, I had the best roommate in the whole world: Jess. It was nearing the end of my freshman year when we decided on a whim to room together during the upcoming fall term. At the time, we didn't really know one another that we...

A Tourist Town

Friday, November 26th, 2010

Tara: One of the disappointing things about Sihanoukville is how touristy it is. The place is jam-packed with young, partying backpackers. On the other hand, one of the great things about Sihanoukville is how tourist-friendly it is. The two go...

Threaded

Thursday, November 25th, 2010

Tyler is busy working at the hotel, when I don my bathing suit cycling gear and head out for a short, two-minute walk to the beach. I've barely set foot on the sand when I feel a skinny arm wrapping around my shoulder, guiding me over to a reclini...

Pinkie Swear

Wednesday, November 24th, 2010

2:30 PM We arrive in Sihanoukville at last, and find ourselves not in a secluded beach town as I was somehow imagining, but in a hippy backpacker paradise with bars and music and tanning tourists. Passing sign after sign advertising "happy" this...

Hilly Day to Sihanoukville

Wednesday, November 24th, 2010

6:00 AM Mist is hanging, draped over our bungalow-studded hill like a spider web. The early-morning cool beckons us out of bed, and gets us moving. We have yet another near-100 kilometer day ahead of us, and we want to most of the riding before...

Picnic Resort

Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010

After ninety five kilometers, we stop at what looks to be the only place halfway between Kampong Spoe and Sihanoukville: a tattered array of rustic bungalows on a hillside, entitled Picnic Resort. We're exhausted, in the middle of nowhere, and it'...

Riding in the Cambodian Countryside

Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010

The skies are overcast this morning; the refreshingly brisk weather is a welcome respite from the likes of yesterday's steamy ride. As we cycle into the countryside, further from the dust clouds of Phnomn Penh's dirty sprawl, the roadsides are tee...

Heat & Tragedy

Monday, November 22nd, 2010

A fur-lined hoodie. Seriously? A freaking fur-lined HOODIE?! As I shout to Tyler, my voice barely audible over the noise of the traffic, I can barely reconcile what I'm seeing with reality. Here I am, cycling out of Phnom Penh, sweating my sw...

Street Food in Phnom Penh

Sunday, November 21st, 2010

The evening after our visit at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, we hit the streets, on the hunt for some good food. We settle on this place: I love how sanitary and hygienic the whole operation is! I wonder what a food safety inspection from...

Cambodia's Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

Sunday, November 21st, 2010

This afternoon, we are going to learn about Cambodian history – specifically the horrific genocide led by Pol Pot in the late seventies. As we roll up to the entrance of Tuol Sleng (Strychnine Hill or Hill of the Poisonous Tree), the Khmer Rouge's...

Cambodia's Bon Om Thook... (Or Not)

Saturday, November 20th, 2010

We're feeling quiet, ready for an evening inside, when we see fireworks light up the night sky from our hotel window. It's the opening night of Phnom Penh's Bon Om Thook, Cambodia's annual Water Festival, celebrating the end of the rainy season. ...

Making Calendars

Friday, November 19th, 2010

I've been busy making our 2011 Photo Calendars this afternoon. In the process of looking at the thousands of photographs we've taken, I find myself pleasantly side-tracked, suddenly steeped in our stories, awash in the rich memories evoked by each...

Chafed into Phnom Penh

Thursday, November 18th, 2010

I'm not concerned about the onslaught of chaotic traffic as we approach Phnom Penh. I'm not bothered by the dust clouds swirling around the unpaved road construction projects we're riding through, or how the green fields and Cambodian countryside ...

Buying Food in Cambodia

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

I have one mission for the afternoon: find food. Preferably, a meal which isn't comprised of rice, noodles, or mystery meat. While Tyler is hard at work in our hotel, I ride off in search of a market. On the way, I stop at each intersection to p...

Cambodia's Bamboo Railway: Part Three

Tuesday, November 16th, 2010

We slow to a stop in a small village; everyone but us has departed already. As the conductor helps us safely lower our bikes from the platform, we're a bit confused. We're certainly not in Kompong Chnang, and our GPS shows that we have a long, lo...

Cambodia's Bamboo Railway: Part Two

Tuesday, November 16th, 2010

Tyler is standing behind me, next to the conductor, holding our bikes upright – I'm scrunched on the platform in front of them, trying to maneuver myself off the broken slats and onto some of the strong-looking wooden beams beside me. With so litt...

Cambodia's Bamboo Railway: Part One

Tuesday, November 16th, 2010

Our captain is a bronzed, lithe, shirtless Khmer man in a loosely fitting baseball cap. We are crammed together on his dilapidated locomotive, with dozens of other passengers, our huge bikes, and a heavy crate of frozen fish. Sporting a proud, ra...

Electricity in Rural Cambodia

Monday, November 15th, 2010

Less than 20% of rural households have access to grid-quality electricity services. Almost all people in rural areas use firewood for cooking, kerosene for lighting, and lead-acid rechargable batteries for household appliances. Energy use is in...

The Water Buffalo Song

Sunday, November 14th, 2010

Dear children of Cambodia, You are all so frigging cute! Thank you for your smiles and ceaseless hellos, they make our long riding days so much better. As we bike by you, and your families' water buffalo… We can't help but think o...

Riding in Cambodia: A Day in Pictures

Saturday, November 13th, 2010

While we are really enjoying our time in Cambodia, there is one thing we would change: the long distances between accomodation. With no tent, we're regularly cycling much further than we'd like (100-120km) in a single day. This morning, we have a...

Cave Hunting Again

Friday, November 12th, 2010

We've been to several caves on this trip, and we're still in search of that elusive, hard-to-get-to, natural wonder to explore. I'm thinking maybe we need to take up spelunking if we really want a remote cave experience. Even the "out of the way"...

Slow Boat to Battambang: Part Three

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

Tyler: I am digging through our backpack for some food, when our friend Genevieve stops by. She's excited to inform me that there is an enormous praying mantis on the railing at the back of the boat. As if I didn't think Genevieve was cool enou...

Slow Boat to Battambang: Part Two

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

Tara: After a nail-biting ride through the streets of Siem Reap, we make it twelve kilometers to the ferry port, bikes fully intact. As soon as I emerge from the truck, it's show time – women carrying baskets full of food and water descend upon ...

Slow Boat to Battambang: Part One

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

Tyler: It's another 5AM morning, but we're not cycling to the temples for a change. Instead, we're sitting on the front step of our hotel, waiting. We could have easily ridden to our destination, the boat dock for our sailing to Battambang, but...

Aki Ra's Cambodia Landmine Museum

Wednesday, November 10th, 2010

On our ride home from Banteay Srei a few days ago, we took a break from our idyllic pastoral surroundings, and paid a visit to the Cambodian Landmine Museum, founded by a former Khmer Rouge child solider, Aki Ra. An estimated four to six milli...

Temples of Angkor: Stall Number Seven

Tuesday, November 9th, 2010

Off we go, past Bayon, and then Chao Say Devoda and then Ta Keo, until we reach our favorite temple, Ta Prohm. It's fairly busy at the moment, but we're happy to cycle by all the people, and breeze past all of the hawkers wanting to sell us things...

Temples of Angkor: Angkor Wat

Tuesday, November 9th, 2010

Today is the last of our three-day entry ticket to the Temples of Angkor. We're biking in later than normal, hoping to see Angkor Wat without the crowds. Since most tourists come here for sunrise or sunset, we're told it should be quiet under the...

Temples of Angkor: Sleepy Afternoon

Monday, November 8th, 2010

Back on the trails, we find this tiny little out of the way temple that isn't even on our map! There, we succumb to the inevitable and take a nap. It becomes apparent a bit later that we weren't the only ones dozing off! The rest ...

Temples of Angkor: Ta Prohm

Monday, November 8th, 2010

Khmer architecture is, in a word, epic! This morning we drag ourselves out of bed at 5AM and race to Ta Prohm, passing up food stalls and another sunrise at Angkor Wat. Hoping to get there before the crowds, we pedal hard. By the time we arri...

Apsara & Shadow Puppets

Sunday, November 7th, 2010

For as long as I can remember, I've been fascinated by puppetry. I even worked for a short time making massive props and puppets in London at Emergency Exit Arts when I was in college. So, when we were first planning our adventure, I was naturall...

Temples of Angkor: The Road to Banteay Srei

Saturday, November 6th, 2010

Tyler: After exploring Bayon temple, we cycle northwards in the Angkor Thom city complex, passing the enigmatic Prasat Suor Prat towers. There are twelve of them, mostly identical, and nobody knows what they are used for. As well, they don't sh...

Temples of Angkor: Sunrise at Bayon

Saturday, November 6th, 2010

It's 4:45 AM as we cycle away from our hotel into the darkness and the invigoratingly cool pre-dawn air. Though we're still groggy, fighting to keep our eyes open and our legs spinning, the rest of the world is remarkably active. Many Cambodia...

Crossing Paths

Friday, November 5th, 2010

For as much time as we choose to spend out in the world interacting with people, and as public as we make our lives, we've both found ourselves steadily growing more and more introverted as the weeks and months of this adventure fly by. As a resul...

Artisans d'Angkor Silk Farm

Friday, November 5th, 2010

Saving the temples of Angkor for tomorrow, we backtrack sixteen kilometers out of town in order to see the free Artisans d'Angkor silk farm and workshop. I love most anything that involves crafts and textiles, especially when it's a behind-the-sce...

Hello, Sir

Thursday, November 4th, 2010

We're taking a day off, letting our aching muscles recover from a long day yesterday. Tomorrow, we start our three day tour at the temples of Angkor. In the meantime, we're checking out the city on our unloaded bikes. I can already tell ...

Collecting Cambodia

Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010

The first few days in a new country, we grab every English speaking native we meet and beg them to teach us some basic phrases in their language. Though we have a phrasebook, there is no substitute for hearing a word first-hand. Then, we experien...

Crossing to Cambodia: Part Three

Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010

When we're not completely blown away, our hearts bursting from our overwhelming welcome into Cambodia, we're doing more mundane things, like getting our internet situation sorted. When we pass a mobile store, I run inside for a game of charades wh...

Crossing to Cambodia: Part Two

Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010

A sculpted stone archway overhead bids us welcome to the Kingdom of Cambodia. As we pass under its imposing grey carvings, we are keenly aware that we've entered a very different place. Poipet feels old and scruffy, worn down and rough around the...

Crossing to Cambodia: Part One

Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010

We enjoy border crossings – the crowds of people, the incomprehensible mix of languages we barely understand, the resulting confusion, and even, the waiting in line. All tied up in the excited chaos is the knowledge that after the crossing, someho...

Our Process: Why We Write

Monday, November 1st, 2010

This entry is part of an ongoing series about how we've documented our adventure. Why do we write? We write to capture our lives, to record our adventures, to share with our family and friends, and maybe, to leave a legacy for our children...

Making for Cambodia

Sunday, October 31st, 2010

We're heading east, making our way towards Cambodia this afternoon. Before we take to the highway, we stop at the local market so I can satisfy my budding smoothie obsession. Today, it is a neon-green, melon-flavored concoction, with orange and y...

Four Part Harmony

Saturday, October 30th, 2010

Any time we go out to eat in Thailand, whether at a street vendor or somewhere a bit fancier, we can count on there being four containers at our table, each with their own little spoons. When we paid a visit to my Thai Uncle, this was one of the f...

Slowly Going

Friday, October 29th, 2010

Thailand is lulling us into a comfortable laziness. Our desire to see the world has somewhat been put on hold, not because we don't want to explore, but simply because life is so great right here. Yes, of course we could leave, but why would we w...

Our Process: Photography Workflow

Thursday, October 28th, 2010

This entry is part of an ongoing series about how we've documented our adventure. One of our favorite places to be while traveling is behind the lens of our camera, capturing the people we meet and the colorful landscapes we ride through. ...

Working in Dong Khi Lek

Wednesday, October 27th, 2010

Stopped for a few days, we're enjoying the peace and quiet around the palm-lined property of our hotel. There's a temple nearby whose meditative music drifts in on the breeze, giving us a pleasant soundtrack as we work on our various projects. ...

Our Process: The Evolution of Our Journal

Tuesday, October 26th, 2010

This essay is the first in a series of "behind the scenes" entries in which we will detail the daily processes involved in producing our journal. In addition to being a record of our gradual progression as documentarians, we hope these entries may...

Rainy Ride & Comfort Again

Monday, October 25th, 2010

This morning, I inspect the door of our rented camo tent for the final time, scanning for any awful bloodthirsty creatures that might be lying in wait. Deeming the exit safe, I jump out of our musty accommodations and immediately begin a check to ...

Chasing Waterfalls

Sunday, October 24th, 2010

Tara: It is with immense relief that we cycle away from our second dingy bungalow, heading towards the Park's exit. First, we're going to see some waterfalls, and then, we're outta here. However, when we arrive at "Orchid campsite" where the tr...

A Little Worse for Wear

Saturday, October 23rd, 2010

Tyler: Tara's first order of business this morning is running down to the visitor's center to buy breakfast, iced coffee, and most importantly, muslin leech booties. With new protective armor, we're going on our first-ever hike in the jungle tod...

Into the Jungle: Part Three

Friday, October 22nd, 2010

Arriving at an intersection, at what we hope is the top, we're unsure of which way to go. Just then, a man in a truck pulls up to see if we are lost. We ask him about accommodation, and he tells us there's a campsite about four kilometers up the...

Into the Jungle: Part Two

Friday, October 22nd, 2010

Tyler: At the entrance of Khao Yai Park, we fork over a whopping 400 baht ($13 US) each. Normally, there is fee for bicycles too, but the guards waive it for us with a wink, a friendly smile, and a bemused look about our choice of transport. It...

Into the Jungle: Part One

Friday, October 22nd, 2010

Tara: Under the ugly flickering fluorescent lights of our dingy National Park barracks, I gingerly take a seat on the questionably clean bedsheets, and survey our home for the night. These overpriced accommodations are a complete dump, but I am ...

Relaxing at our Bungalow

Thursday, October 21st, 2010

We spent a quiet day in Nakhon Nayok checking out the markets, drinking iced coffees, and eating tasty street food. We're really enjoying the relaxed pace of life here in Thailand. It is almost too easy! Tomorrow, we'll either ...

To the Bungalow

Wednesday, October 20th, 2010

Without the constant mental mantra of find water, find food, find a free-camp running through my mind, I find I am more relaxed. Here in Thailand, there is abundance. Food is plentiful, in the form of vendors and markets generally only a few step...

Leaving Bualuang

Tuesday, October 19th, 2010

After a dry night, the main thoroughfares in and around Lopburi are fairly passable – much of the flood water is now well on its way to Bangkok. Many of the secondary roads in the area are still pretty wet, though, and our chosen route out of town...

Lopburi's Monkeys

Monday, October 18th, 2010

During a lull in the rain this morning (it has been pouring non-stop since we got here), we rode to the center of Lopburi to see what the town is most famous for: wild monkeys living a life of luxury in the middle of the city: They roam the ...

Apple Pie for Ad

Sunday, October 17th, 2010

Dad, it's like those things in the freezer!" Boss exclaims, after watching us prepare a homemade apple pie. "Nah man," Ad replies, "this is the real deal!" It has been years since Ad was able to enjoy a real apple pie. So long, in fact,...

Flooding in Lopburi

Sunday, October 17th, 2010

Thailand is currently in the midst of the worst flooding the country has seen in decades. Ever since we arrived, the rain in Lopburi has been unrelenting. Thankfully, both our hotel and Bualuang are on high enough ground not to be affected (so fa...

Bualuang Restaurant Kitchen

Saturday, October 16th, 2010

In a bright, airy room, with windows overlooking the garden, the family gathers for lunch. Normally, everyone eats separately, but today is special; it's Sansanee's father's birthday. While her Dad, the The Four Star General, is busy celebrating ...

Thai Food Feast

Friday, October 15th, 2010

Being waited on hand-and-foot gracefully is not our strongest suit. Invariably, it involves numerous rounds of awkward back and forth – us reflexively insisting on doing everything for ourselves, then relenting when we realize that we're spurning ...

My Thai Uncle

Thursday, October 14th, 2010

So, I have this Thai uncle. His name is Ad. Over the years, I've asked numerous times how some guy from Thailand became a part of my grandparents' funny Jewish family in central Illinois. Each time, I've been met with a jumble of unclear st...

Photo Calendars for 2011

Thursday, October 14th, 2010

It's that time again – we just spent a pleasant couple of days sorting through old and new photos to compile these five calendars with some of our favorites. Here we go! A Bicycle Calendar buy now Bicycles, bike parts, bicyclists… from G...

A Day in Ayutthaya

Wednesday, October 13th, 2010

What a luxury it is, to sleep in a wide, clean bed, and to wake up tangled in a pair of warm, floppy arms. This is what I think as I extricate myself from Tyler's embrace, now padding to the window, bare feet creaking on wood, listening to the sou...

Sprinting to Ayutthaya

Tuesday, October 12th, 2010

Our first real cycling day in Southeast Asia begins with a farewell breakfast from our favorite local vendor. Every time we returned from sightseeing this past week, he waved us in like we were a fighter jet, and he was the flight deck crew. Thes...

Lunch Break

Monday, October 11th, 2010

Sometimes, when we're working, we forget about eating. After several hours of writing and editing, I'm usually the first to notice my stomach making strange sensations. Tyler, though, hardly notices when I grab our wallet and slip out the door of...

Muay Thai: Boxing in Bangkok

Sunday, October 10th, 2010

I arrive on foot alone, covered in sweat, an hour into the event. Approaching the arena, a woman quotes a series of cringe-inducing ticket prices for the various levels of access, most probably reserved for farang. For a split second, I wonder ho...

Bangkok Canals: Long-Tail Boat Tour

Saturday, October 9th, 2010

Tyler: At our friend Neisha's suggestion, we've booked a trip on the rivers and canals around Bangkok. Normally, our guide leads twenty or more people on this tour, but for reasons unknown, we are the only people with a booking for this particu...

Night Riding

Friday, October 8th, 2010

Leaving the tranquil Wat Pho, we return to cycling in Bangkok's bustling city traffic. As we make our way towards the hippy/backpacker ghetto of Khaosan Road, I get a little disoriented. We've been told getting lost in Bangkok is a top number one...

Wat Pho

Friday, October 8th, 2010

Swinging a leg over my bike, I am instantly awash in a joyous feeling that permeates our rides in Bangkok. Biking in this city is fun! This morning, under the benevolent gaze of Thailand's dweeby-looking royalty, observing us from their huge, dec...

Errands in Bangkok

Thursday, October 7th, 2010

Tyler: One, two, three upshift, four, five, six, upshift, seven, eight, nine pedal strokes and I am passing cars already. My unladen touring bicycle is a featherlight rocket, powered by calves delivering torque meant for a machine well more than...

Riding to Bangkok

Wednesday, October 6th, 2010

We're cycling again, feeling carefree and happy as we pedal out of our airport hotel, heading to a more centrally located hostel in downtown Bangkok. We're in a new place that smells of flowers and frying garlic, with foodstalls on every corner se...

A Welcome Change

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010

Together, we rip into our bicycle boxes like they're giant Christmas presents, throwing scraps of cardboard and tape and plastic wrap in a big pile in the corner of the room. Tyler spends the morning re-building our machines, while I reorganize ou...

Flying to Bangkok

Monday, October 4th, 2010

We're groggy and tired, bouncing around in a taxi that feels like it could be a louage. Our driver hums along to the radio, while every joint in the body of his rickety van creaks and squeaks and complains about its old age and neglect. Out of th...

Neisha & Rob

Sunday, October 3rd, 2010

Every so often, we have the good fortune of meeting people with whom we connect immediately. Try as we might, we've thus far been unable to ascertain exactly what is required to bring about this experience, but when it does, it is unmistakable. A...

Tumen Ekh: Mongolian National Song and Dance Ensemble

Saturday, October 2nd, 2010

This evening marks the third time we've set off with Neisha and Rob to find the theater where Tumen Ekh performs. Jake, one of the Mongol Ralliers that gave our cycling friends a lift in the steppe, has all but demanded that we see the show. He i...

Rest at Last

Friday, October 1st, 2010

It took five days of non-stop activity, but we've managed to sort through everything! Our car has been donated to the Mongolian government, our tickets to Bangkok are booked, and our bicycles are packed and ready to go. With all of the logistics ...

Making Boxes

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

Looking at Air China's website this morning, we learn that the total linear measurement of our bike boxes (length + width + height) must be equal to or less than 180cm. Not quite sure what to make of this, Tyler grabs our tape measure and starts r...

Ulaan Baatar's Gandan Monastery

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

I was pretty disappointed by Ulaan Baatar's Gandan monastery. Between the hawkers trying to sell us cheap crap, the strong warning in our guidebook about pickpockets, and the monks texting and talking on their cellphones during the chants, I spent...

Finding Boxes

Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

My goal for the day is a deceptively simple one: find cardboard boxes. We've already failed at this once. Yesterday, we asked at the local outdoor supply shop, a camping outlet, and the huge State Department Store, all in vain. If I can't find c...

Lightening Our Load

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

We've just noticed that our tickets to Bangkok with Air China allow a maximum of 20 kilograms in checked luggage per person. After calling around, we've definitively confirmed that the overage fee per kilo is $20. With bicycles that weigh in exce...

Decisions Made & Friends Missed

Monday, September 27th, 2010

Stumbling out of the restaurant and into the darkness, bellies stuffed with delicious stir-fry, we are more than a little relieved we decided not to backtrack our entire journey to the UK. If we had, we'd be leaving in an hour, driving through the...

Back to Basics

Monday, September 27th, 2010

Back to at the car park, Tara is busy journaling. Striding in to meet her, I can hardly believe we've done it! Cheering, high-fives and a recounting of the last few hours ensues. Then, as much as I want to collapse and call it a day, I get to wo...

Turning in the Keys, The Fate of LRC: Part Six

Monday, September 27th, 2010

Pulling into a parking space at the customs building, I feel like I am fourteen years old again, taking our beloved but very sick family cat to the Humane Society to be put down. Walking into the brick building, I am holding out hope that the hard...

Farewell, The Fate of LRC: Part Five

Monday, September 27th, 2010

We have less than two hours to get back to our hotel, fully unload our car, and drive the LRC back through the busy traffic to the custom's office. We race outside to hail a cab. Just seconds later, a car screeches to a halt and tells us to get i...

Mongolian Customs, The Fate of LRC: Part Four

Monday, September 27th, 2010

It is Monday morning, and we're about to see if we can give our car to Mongolia. Tom from the Adventurists has told us to go to the customs office, so that's where we're headed. "Okay, get psyched up", I say to myself. It's going to be one of th...

The Black Market

Sunday, September 26th, 2010

Tara: After our morning meeting with Tom, it's pretty clear there is nothing we can do with our car at the moment. It's Sunday, and all the offices we need to visit are closed. What we can do is take some time to relax. Sitting inside with a h...

Options, The Fate of LRC: Part Three

Sunday, September 26th, 2010

Tyler: This morning, we head to Ulaan Baatar's backpacker hangout, Café Amsterdam, to meet with Tom, the founder of the Adventurists. He lives in Mongolia organizing the Mongol Rally six months out of every year, and when it comes to dealing wit...

Rocking Out

Saturday, September 25th, 2010

Now that we have some semblance of a plan involving our car, we're able to enjoy ourselves a little. The team is holding a beard competition! After the elimination stages, only two members remain. The final round will be put to a group vote. ...

False Start, The Fate of LRC: Part Two

Saturday, September 25th, 2010

Now that we've reached Ulaan Bataar, we have a daunting list of logistical issues to solve. Though it would be nice to celebrate the end of our Mongolian road trip, get back to journaling, and regain some semblance of a "normal" routine, it doesn'...

Beginning of the End: Part Two

Friday, September 24th, 2010

We just want a quiet night to ourselves, maybe at a nice Italian restaurant with a glass of wine or two? But, as we get dressed, we're bit sad about the prospect of missing out on the festivities. We decide to head to Marco Polo, just to say hell...

Beginning of the End: Part One

Friday, September 24th, 2010

The alarm goes off, 5:00 AM glowing on our small cell-phone screen, shrill beeps sound in my ear. I fumble around desperately, barely conscious, mashing the keypad until I press enough buttons to make the godawful noise go away. Darkness surround...

The Loving Hut, The Jimny Saga: Part Ten

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

Eeveryone sleeps in today after the triumphant party celebrating the success of the Jimny. Nearing noon, we all pack up and head into town to pay the local mechanic a visit. Unfortunately, when we arrive, we realize that Richie and Freddie have f...

A Guitar String, The Jimny Saga: Part Nine

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

Over dinner we discussed options. We're not going to leave Richie and Freddie out there in the desert, but the question of what to do for them still remains. For now, we're thinking that one of the teams could go pick them up tomorrow, or at leas...

Back to Tarmac

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

We've heard reports that a paved highway begins four hundred kilometers from the capital. Some say its smooth all the way to Ulaan Bataar, while others say the surface is patchy, potholed, and intermittent at best. We're not sure which of the rum...

Absurd, The Jimny Saga: Part Eight

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

Knowing they'll have to travel extremely slowly, Richie and Freddie set off a good three hours before the rest of us today, hoping they can make some headway before we catch up to them. In the meantime, we start the day as usual: a leisurely paced...

Wheels Falling Off, The Jimny Saga: Part Seven

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

We've been killing time waiting for the Jimny to arrive, but eventually we have to face facts. They are not coming. What in the world has happened to them? Someone suggests we take the motorcycle to find them. Wanting to get the show on the roa...

Bad Moon Rising

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

With the Saxo's exhaust repaired, we're back on the road. Before us, a spaghetti-like sprawl of dirt tracks stretch out as far as the eye can see. Behind us, a billowing cloud of dust obscures the air. Each member of the convoy has arbitrarily p...

Obstacles

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

When we started thinking about buying a car and driving it across Siberia, we had a rough time getting reliable reports as to the conditions of the roads. It seems silly, but back then we weren't even sure if crossing Russia was possible without a...

Uncertain, The Fate of LRC: Part One

Monday, September 20th, 2010

Each day closer to Ulaan Baatar brings us nearer to a potentially difficult decision we'd really like to continue ignoring: what to do about our car. We're currently weighing the pros and cons for a bevy of less-than-ideal options, because at the ...

Farewell to the Swift

Monday, September 20th, 2010

Matt and Tom gave it their best shot this morning, but the Swift's bent connecting rods couldn't be repaired. When they went to make arrangements to leave their car with the Mongol Rally, they discovered another Suzuki Swift at the drop point. If...

Exploratory Surgery

Sunday, September 19th, 2010

None of us are deterred by the fact that we have no idea what we're doing. Today, we're going to tear apart the Suzuki Swift's tiny three cylinder engine. Maybe, just maybe we can repair it, or find the parts we need to get it running. If not, a...

Together Again

Saturday, September 18th, 2010

We need cash to pay for another night at our cozy hotel. So, I leave Tyler hard at work in our room, and head outside to search for an ATM. I seem to recall seeing a bank nearby, but I can't figure out where it is. My solution to this problem, w...

Recreating History

Friday, September 17th, 2010

The majority of our day was spent in bed, uploading and sorting a month's worth of photos. When we weren't busy with that, we were slowly recreating history, digging ourselves out of a twenty-four journal backlog. We're going to be feeling the ef...

Into the Great Wide Open: Part Three

Thursday, September 16th, 2010

We spent a lot of time mucking about in sand this afternoon. Even if the rest of the drive goes smoothly, making it to Bayankhongor today is going to be difficult. Tara calculates that I have to keep our pace safely between 60 and 80 kilometers p...

Into the Great Wide Open: Part Two

Thursday, September 16th, 2010

Being free of this sand pit lasted roughly five minutes. While we were able to maintain humor and perspective the first time, this is too much for both of us. Composure is lost. Curses fly. We are exhausted and upset but it doesn't matter. The...

Into the Great Wide Open: Part One

Thursday, September 16th, 2010

Our life has become a Choose Your Own Adventure book. This morning, as we flip to a new chapter, the one where we drive across part of Mongolia alone, a twinge of sadness overcomes me. Waving goodbye to the early risers of the team, I think about...

Something to Learn

Wednesday, September 15th, 2010

We start the day making apple-almond rice pudding, and cinnamon French toast for our friends. The morning feast is a huge success! As Tom (a saint) washes a mountain of dirty dishes, we receive our morning Mongolian visitor. He is on horseback, ...

Leaving Altai

Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

Tara: I've read that there is a market in Altai, right next to our hotel. As a visitor, I can't see how you'd ever discover this without being told. The only telltale sign is an incomprehensible voice yelling over a distant loudspeaker outside ...

Repairs in Altai

Monday, September 13th, 2010

With the Jimny dealt with, Tara and I go driving in search of a hotel. She is feeling the aches and fatigue of impending illness, while I need a quiet place in which to work. We eventually stumble upon a nice clean hotel on the outskirts of town,...

Showdown, The Jimny Saga: Part Six

Monday, September 13th, 2010

It has already been a trying day for Richie, Freddie, Charlie, and Tim. But, the drama isn't over yet. Thankfully, getting the Jimny off the truck proves much easier than loading it had been. As the guys shell out a whopping $270 for the twelve ...

Leaving Early

Monday, September 13th, 2010

Tyler: A glimpse of our "old life" appears this morning when we leave camp alone, headed to Altai before most of the team wakes up. I've been leaving my work unattended for the last week – I need a day or two to catch up with the jobs that have ...

Loading in the Night: The Jimny Saga, Part Five

Sunday, September 12th, 2010

Tara: Matt has agreed to stay behind with Freddie. We are driving back to camp, feeling like a pair of medieval horse messengers, carrying news from one village to the next. As we rush to reach home before the sun slips below the horizon, Tyler...

Finding Tara: The Jimny Saga, Part Four

Sunday, September 12th, 2010

Tara has been gone for roughly ten seconds when the reality of what has just occurred sinks in. Usually, my delayed reaction to external stimuli while programming is cause for playful teasing. It is a frequent occurrence that I'll answer a questi...

Further Afield: The Jimny Saga, Part Three

Sunday, September 12th, 2010

I am barreling over the sandy terrain as fast as I possibly can. I am so pissed about being separated from Tyler in the middle of Mongolia, him having no idea where I am, that I secretly hope some of the bumps will cause Freddie to hit his head. ...

Finding a Truck: The Jimny Saga, Part Two

Sunday, September 12th, 2010

It has been an hour and a half, and still no one has come to help. I am journaling and Tyler is working when Freddie leans over to us and asks, "Could you drive me back to town to ask about the guy with the truck?" Tyler is is so far gone in prog...

Unrepairable: The Jimny Saga, Part One

Sunday, September 12th, 2010

Our distributor cap fix is working flawlessly. We're now at the head of the convoy, blasting over the steppe, perhaps at inadvisably high speeds. For once, the road is flat and straight and relatively well graded as far as the eye can see. ...

On Cars

Sunday, September 12th, 2010

Tara: I've never been the least bit interested in learning about the inner workings of a car. In fact, they always seemed mysterious and scary to me. Until recently, fixing them was certainly outside my realm of possibility – that's something s...

The Rock Tumbler

Saturday, September 11th, 2010

Tyler and I have talked many times about how this trip has been one gigantic exercise in personal growth. All of our silly idiosyncrasies, the many niggling things we do to get in our own way, and a multitude of habits which we could improve upon…...

Dry and Dusty

Friday, September 10th, 2010

I'm not entirely sure where the boundary begins, but I'm pretty sure we're in the Gobi desert. What started as intense mountain scenery has transformed into flat, rocky desert, complete with sharp, pokey shrubs, and numerous full skeletons of the ...

Herding Cats

Thursday, September 9th, 2010

Sometimes, getting anything done in this convoy roughly resembles herding cats. This morning, we are packed and ready to hit the road before anyone on our team is even awake. Hoping they'll be up soon, we head into town to purchase supplies for o...

To Hovd

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

Tyler: We awaken with joy this frosty morning, overcome by an intense sensation of relief. We're still incredulous about the bizarre circumstances which reunited us – it will be well into the evening before we're through exchanging wide-eyed loo...

Driving at Night in Mongolia: Part Two

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010

Green, blocky numbers glow faintly from our digital clock above the tape deck; the time reads 11:30 PM. We know better than this, why on Earth are we out here? We are lost in a maze of barely-lit tracks, exhausted, stupidly driving over the alrea...

Driving at Night in Mongolia: Part One

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010

It is already wearing on us that we can't get anything accomplished with our writing. This doesn't bode well; we've only been in Mongolia for three days. Even though we've decided to throw ourselves into this new adventure without writing about i...

Back to Ölgii

Monday, September 6th, 2010

Glorious morning views are waiting to greet us as we reluctantly crawl out of our warm sleeping bag today. Yellowing fields stretch far and wide around us, hugged by a series of awe-inspiring mountains. Our camp is nestled near the lake in this s...

Mongolian Hospitality

Sunday, September 5th, 2010

Light is fading fast as we drive off-road, over green fields towards our host's ger. Pulling up next to the round white homes, we are welcomed enthusiastically by a man we've never seen before. Perhaps he is the brother of our host? He has two a...

Dead Doblò

Sunday, September 5th, 2010

The roads of Mongolia have claimed another victim. Just a few minutes ago, Mette's red Doblò had a collision similar to our own—some unseen obstacle smashed into the underside of her van. The exhaust system survived, but it seems the motor didn't...

Exhausting

Sunday, September 5th, 2010

I knew the roads in Mongolia would be bad. I've seen pictures. I've heard first-hand accounts. I've even watched documentaries about people traveling over them! I was prepared for river crossings, giant potholes, deep ruts, car-eating sand, hug...

Slow Start

Sunday, September 5th, 2010

Nobody is in a hurry to get moving this morning. In fact, when I rouse myself from a comfortable night's sleep around 9AM, everyone is still cocooned under their down comforters, or wrapped up like pupa in their mummy-style sleeping bags. I le...

Mongolia!

Saturday, September 4th, 2010

It is early afternoon by the time we're prepared to leave the Mongolian border. As we make our way towards the gate, the guards on patrol smile and wave enthusiastically. After we pass them by, the barrier which held us captive in no-man's land l...

Morning at the Border

Saturday, September 4th, 2010

My nose feels like an ice-cube this morning. The rest of my cramped body is, thankfully, much more inhabitable – safely wrapped in numerous layers of clothing and sleeping bags. It was a group effort last night, staying warm and comfortable. If ...

Rallying Together

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

Well, it looks like we'll be spending the night at the border. Locked in on both sides, with no real identification, now in the dark of night and a swirling blizzard, what else is there to do? Luckily, we're among friends. As all we pile in...

Border Crossing & Blizzard in No-Man's Land

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

The wind is blustery and wintery, whipping through the mountains and flying across the plains as we head closer to Mongolia. It smells like snow. As Tyler drives, I realize I've missed this particular seasonal odor and the chilly expectations tha...

Towards the Edge

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

Our breath hangs in the air like clouds this morning as we emerge from our tent and notice the white horse still quietly sharing our camp, munching away on grass now laced with frost. There is something almost mystical about him, something unearth...

Number One

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

We've seen some truly incredible landscapes on this adventure. Over the last year and some months, Mother Nature has served up wonders like the Amalfi Coast, the fjords of Norway, the Swiss Alps, the Italian lake district, France's Verdon Gorge an...

Back on Track

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

With a reluctant squeeze, we left our little puppy friend to frolic in the flowers and sleep in the shade. We packed our LRC, and headed back the way we'd come, driving past the same scenery for the fourth time at least. This time, though, we rea...

Working at Lake Teletskoye

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

We started our day looking for information about Uchar Waterfall. Our investigation turned up some interesting news: the falls are very young, just a few hundred years old, and they were only discovered about twenty years ago! Also among the fact...

To the Cabin

Monday, August 30th, 2010

Back when we were planning our trip, Russia was this mammoth lumbering place I wasn't excited about visiting. Tyler always wanted to go, but I saw the vast landmass as something to "get through" in order to travel from my comfort zone of the roman...

Backtracking

Sunday, August 29th, 2010

This morning, we continued our drive through the Altay Mountains, enjoying the scenery of Chuisky Trakt for a second time. After passing the spot where we turned around yesterday, we felt a bit better. Even though we've been behind the wheel for ...

Camping on the Katun

Saturday, August 28th, 2010

This morning, our car caught the fallen evidence of changing seasons – it is getting more autumny here in Russia by the day! Amidst orange leaves drifting softly to the ground, we left our farm field free-camp, and pointed our trusty LRC in the di...

The Way to Mongolia

Friday, August 27th, 2010

As Tyler journaled this morning, I began doing some research about the next phase of our road trip: the Altay region of Siberia. As I did so, I noticed that Chuisky Trakt, billed as one of the most beautiful roads in Russia, winds through the stun...

Morning Chai

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

It is a chilly grey morning. Heavy clouds hang overhead, threatening rain. Even so, we pack our camp at a leisurely pace, paying no mind to the potential deluge. Once everything is in order, I direct Tyler through our field of car-high grasses, ...

Off the Beaten Path

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

Our last adventure in the Siberian countryside left us feeling like it might be a good idea to stick to the highway for at least a few days. Though off-roading in our LRC is exciting, we want to be sure we'll actually make it to our final Russian ...

Things We Don't Know

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

Two years ago, the sheer number of unknowns regarding this adventure were mind blowing. We had no first-hand knowledge, no experience, and honestly, for all of our preparation, no idea what we were doing. Instead of letting this get in the way of...

MobilityPass: Global Internet & Cellular Service

Sunday, August 22nd, 2010

MobilityPass claims to offer cellular phone and internet access with a single SIM card in more than 100 countries– they also advertise free incoming calls for many of them. Wanting to provide the best possible support for my clients, they were one...

In Search of Rest

Saturday, August 21st, 2010

Tyler: Our goal this morning is simple: get to Omsk and check into a hotel. We've had enough excitement in the last 24 hours to last a month (okay, not a month, but at least a few days!). It has been eight nights since our last shower, and we a...

Fire on the Border

Friday, August 20th, 2010

I messed up when publishing our previous entry, Racing Through Russia's Heartland. It is fixed now! Tyler: While making our way back to the highway leading into Omsk, we spot a grey plume of smoke in the distance. I'm excited, because Russ...

Racing Through Russia's Heartland

Friday, August 20th, 2010

It is a sleepy day in Siberia. A recent series of several time-zone crossings have disoriented me a bit, and I find myself battling odd patterns of sleep and wakefulness. This, combined with a quiet emptiness about the land we're driving through,...

Are We There Yet?

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

Last night, another pesky cop pulled us over. During the time we'd normally spend searching for a safe place to sleep, we were patiently doling out our paperwork, tapping our feet surreptitiously, and waiting for him to surrender. As he fumbled a...

Yekaterinburg

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

We're on a major road in the outskirts of Yekaterinburg. The main highway has morphed into speeding city traffic – Tara is navigating as we make our way to the city center. "Okay," she instructs, "You're going to turn left in two hundred meters… ...

We're In ASIA!

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

I'm driving to Yekaterinburg while Tara sits in the passenger's seat, reading to me about the busy city from our Trans-Siberian Railway guide. Even though we aren't on the train, we're inordinately pleased to be using the book every time we pick i...

Home in the Woods

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

Yesterday, we left the Kungur Ice Cave and headed eastwards, driving until dusk. When we spied what looked like a tractor's path snaking into the hills nearby, we pulled off the main road with high hopes that we'd find a good place to call home fo...

Kungur Ice Cave

Monday, August 16th, 2010

Destination: Kungur Ice Cave. With an epic-sounding name, and the mystique of being located in what one would think is the middle of nowhere, we spent the morning entertaining fantasies of arriving to explore the vast, icy reaches of a publicly ac...

Distractions

Sunday, August 15th, 2010

Tyler: I possess a strange affinity for taking unassuming vehicles to places where they might not belong. For reasons I can't really articulate, I was ecstatic about driving off-road in our trusty little econobox this morning. Maybe it is an ad...

Friendly Russia

Saturday, August 14th, 2010

It seems that anyone who has traveled far and wide eventually comes to the conclusion that no matter where you roam, people are very much the same. Having heard variations of this idea my entire life, I had some vague inkling of its merit before w...

VIGILANCE!

Friday, August 13th, 2010

We milked our expensive hotel stay for all it was worth, working in the lobby on their wireless internet connection for most of the morning. After we published a few entries, we struck up conversation with an Indonesian journalist. She was here r...

A Brief Walk in Kazan

Friday, August 13th, 2010

We woke early today, and headed into the city for some sight-seeing. Off to the Kremlin we walked, along a canal and past several churches. Tyler was excited when we saw an onion dome which was only partially constructed; he wondered if this was ...

Parental Controls

Thursday, August 12th, 2010

This feature was removed during website upgrades on November 8th, 2012. If you are a parent or teacher who would like to use it, please contact me and I would be happy to re-implement it. If you are a parent or teacher who is sharing Going...

Into Kazan

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

More and more, Russia is reminding me of Romania. In both countries, back-aching manual labor in the fields is the norm, and yet old and young alike seem to spend much of their days quietly resting on benches, watching the world crawl by. They bo...

Down for the Count

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

When I am writing, I sometimes imagine that we are talking to our families, to our friends, or maybe even to ourselves in twenty years. Occasionally, I like to pretend that our future offspring will read this one day and think, "Mom and Dad are so...

Russia's Golden Ring: Suzdal

Monday, August 9th, 2010

The tiny town of Suzdal is purportedly the home of more than one hundred architectural monuments (and fifteen monasteries too). We're still a little unclear on what actually constitutes a monument, but all of them are packed into the space of a fe...

To the Swimming Hole

Sunday, August 8th, 2010

We start our morning by returning to Hundertwasser: Coffee & Blah Blah Blah to enjoy a few more cappuccinos. Not exactly eager leave our climate controlled surroundings, we procrastinate, putting off our departure into the scorching day. Inst...

Camped on the Volga

Saturday, August 7th, 2010

We slept in this morning, awakening when Russia's heat wave gathered enough steam to smother us inside our tent. After yesterday's accidental twelve hour marathon of sight-seeing, we wanted to take it easy. The plan was to drive to Kostroma, our ...

Russia's Beautiful Homes

Saturday, August 7th, 2010

Before coming to Russia, I really had no idea what to expect outside of some vague notions of Soviet apartment buildings, lots of blocky concrete structures and the endless steppe of Siberia. I was wholly unprepared for the beauty we see here on a...

Russia's Golden Ring: Yaroslavl

Friday, August 6th, 2010

We leave the Kremlin of Rostov, and hop in our LRC for some more driving. The next stop in our Golden Ring tour, turns out to be too big a city for our tastes. To do it justice, we'll have to spend a few days exploring it all. This means finding ...

Russia's Golden Ring: Rostov

Friday, August 6th, 2010

The cities on our Golden Ring tour are teeming with ancient architecture, including loads of Russia's iconic onion domes. Leaving Petroslavl-Zalessky, Tara read from a website I'd saved about our next picturesque, church-filled destination of Rost...

Russia's Golden Ring: Pereslavl-Zalessky

Friday, August 6th, 2010

In spite of the difficulty, getting out of Moscow last night was an excellent plan. We're told the smoke, smog and heat (caused by the forest fires covering Western Russia) escalated to new levels of awful today. Apparently the haze is so thick n...

Absurd

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

We dismiss Evgeniy's wise warning about traffic, and our own rule about not rushing, and leave Moscow at precisely the wrong time. We've stayed in the city until five o'clock, and are now running around to drop off Evgeniy's key, buy groceries, an...

This is Elizabeth

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

When Tyler and Tara pulled up in their red Corolla, I was glad to see them, and impressed that they'd navigated their way through crazy Moscow traffic to my husband and my apartment. I didn't know Tyler that well. We're distantly related – I thin...

A Day in Moscow

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

This morning, Elizabeth taught me how to make syrniki, or sweet cheese fritters, for breakfast. She learned the recipe from her Russian in-laws, and as a fellow cooking lover, she was excited to share it with me. First, you open a block of...

Americans in Russia

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Tyler's cousin, an ex-pat working as a journalist and English teacher in Moscow, lives less than a kilometer from Evgeniy. They haven't seen each other since they were twelve, and we're all going to meet here in Russia! Unsurprisingly, a series o...

Objectification 101

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

This morning, while Tyler showers, our host Evgeniy begins earnestly instructing me on the merits of various breast shapes and sizes. As he scrolls through an online forum where Russian women regularly compete for prizes by posting photos of thems...

TGI Friday's on Sunday

Sunday, August 1st, 2010

This morning, Evgeniy came up with a brilliant idea. He suggested we buy a fishing pole to take advantage of all the lakes and rivers in Siberia! He and his wife Svetlana were planning on going shopping anyway, so it worked out nicely. Early thi...

Special Day

Saturday, July 31st, 2010

Here we are, in Red Square, in Moscow. We can hardly believe it! The first thing we notice is not the giant statue of Lenin or the colorful oniony domes of St. Basil's Cathedral, however, but some of the tallest, skinniest woman we've ever seen, ...

Driving With Evgeniy

Saturday, July 31st, 2010

We're in the back seat of Evgeniy's car; he is giving us a ride to Moscow's Red Square, a straight shot, ten kilometers from his apartment. His wife, or as Evgeniy prefers, "pussycat", Svetlana, is in the passenger's seat. She is wisely wearing a...

Crazy Russians

Friday, July 30th, 2010

Traffic into Moscow is a non-event this afternoon. So is finding the home of our Russian contact, Evgeniy. What a relief! We've just pulled into the parking lot of his apartment complex; Tara is sitting next to me, turning off the GPS and the la...

Wild West: Moscow Bound, Part Three

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

We're on the M10, the only major thoroughfare between St. Petersburg and Moscow. Night is slowly descending. We've decided to cover another hundred kilometers or so before stopping to find our first Russian free-camp. We want to make our drive t...

Breaking the Law: Moscow Bound, Part Two

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

Back at the car, a crushing front of heat pours from either side when we open its doors. Cringing a bit, we roll down the driver and passenger windows, crank open the moon roof, and crack the rear windows as far as they will allow. None of it is ...

Palaces and Kremlins: Moscow Bound, Part One

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

It is another sunny, smoggy day in Russia. We pack up and leave Aleksandr's apartment in the morning as he's heading out for work. We shake hands and thank him for having us, and he wishes us all the best on our journey before walking towards the...

Morbid Curiosity

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

Just a few days ago while staying with our friend Mia in Finland, she mentioned that someone she knew had seen a gruesome collection of dead babies in jars while on a trip to St. Petersburg. This seemed outlandish to us, but as Tara was flipping t...

Photos from St. Petersburg

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

Tara and I are both grappling with a bit of Russian culture shock at the moment. Figuring out the most healthy manner in which to approach the shockingly overt misogyny and racism we've encountered here is proving to be a little difficult. It has...

Heat Wave

Monday, July 26th, 2010

St. Petersburg is currently setting all-time records for heat. We're not enthusiastic about going out this morning, but we need to get our visas registered. Though we have three business days to complete this required task, we've decided we're no...

Into Saint Petersburg

Sunday, July 25th, 2010

Tyler: We've just crossed the Russian border, and are now driving towards St Petersburg. As we cruise through the familiar scenery of birch and pine forests, I flip on the radio. A crackly voice comes in through the speakers as cars speed by us...

Russian Border Crossing

Sunday, July 25th, 2010

I had butterflies in my stomach as we left our free-camp this morning. As Tyler drove, I made doubly sure that we had every thing in order. Passports, drivers licenses (international and US), car registration and insurance, all accounted for! ...

Long Time Coming

Saturday, July 24th, 2010

This afternoon, we cleaned and packed the car while Matias and Mia and prepared the family for a wedding. Once everyone was in their Sunday best, we bid them farewell. Yet again, we've made some great new friends, and once more, we are leaving them...

Hanging Out With the Hannus Family

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

Our host Matias has a habit of signing up completely unprepared for long distance races. He isn't in them to win, just to prove to himself that he can do it! A year or two ago, it was a lengthy cross-country skiing event where he triumphantly too...

Working in Jakobstad

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

We spent most of the day distractedly working on journals and programming projects. It's a bit difficult to focus when you have a hilarious, heart-breakingly adorable child speaking cute, unintelligible (to us, anyway) Swedish at you, and vying fo...

To Matias and Mia's

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

Two weeks ago, our our wallet was stolen in Estonia. In thinking about the experience now, I can't help but shake my head about the events which preceded it. Just a day prior, I had griped about how our adventure had become too easy! The crushin...

Wallet Update

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

Not much happened today, since we spent most of it sitting at Hesburger planning for Russia and working. We did get some exciting news though. Our driver's licenses, debit cards, and credit card are well on there way to meet us in Finland. Accor...

Christmas in July

Monday, July 19th, 2010

Santa's Village in Roveniemi, Finland was our big attraction for the day. Apparently, it rests right on the line where the Arctic circle begins. At first we were pretty disappointed, it was mostly shops selling cheap souvenirs and jewelery. ...

Time Lapse

Sunday, July 18th, 2010

Last night, we taped our camera to the top of the car and set it up to take a time lapse series of the midnight sun. Around 4AM, I drifted just far enough into consciousness to remember our project. Excited, I promptly crawled out of the tent to ...

Norwegian Countryside

Saturday, July 17th, 2010

We woke up this chilly morning to the interminable call of seagulls and other goofy birds circling around the bay. While packing up camp, Tyler and I took turns photographing some of them. Here are the results: Having reached the easte...

Coastal Drive to Norway

Friday, July 16th, 2010

In an effort to duplicate Swedish Pancakes from one of my favorite breakfast places in Champaign, I made crepes this morning, served with Lingonberries. My results were much smaller than the restaurant's due to the size of our saucepan. They were...

Saami Museum

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

We stayed at our hotel late into the morning, sleeping restfully in the novel darkness afforded by closed curtains. When we finally roused ourselves around 10AM, our overpriced, stingy hotel redeemed itself somewhat by providing a multi-buffet fea...

Sick in Lapland

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

It must have been the questionably old chicken I had on my sandwich. Or I suppose it could have been the sweet, tangy addition of lingonberry sauce (like cranberry sauce). Either way, not long after we left the Amethyst mine, I began to feel sick...

Amethyst Mining

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

We're falling into a nice routine with Finland. It goes something like this: swim in the morning, tear down camp, drive through beautiful pine forests, swim before lakeside lunch, enjoy said lunch, drive some more, set up camp, swim before dinner,...

Roadside Oddities

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

Here we are, just drivin' through Finland, when we come to an abrupt halt because we've officially reached reindeer territory. There are loads of them, just milling about on the highway. Here they are, calmly oblivious to the incessant honking di...

Up at the Cabin

Monday, July 12th, 2010

The sun is intense in Finland this time of year. The flaming orb never leaves the sky, even at night. At our current latitude, sunset sort of occurs around 12AM, but it never actually gets dark. Then, around 3AM, the murky pink skies brighten ag...

Lake Hopping

Sunday, July 11th, 2010

Today, we are making ourselves at home in Finland. We've ditched the itineraries we found online, and are simply winging it as we head north towards the Arctic Circle. Feeling as free as we did on our bicycles, we poke along, likely to the annoya...

Sandcastles and Lakes

Saturday, July 10th, 2010

Today, we left Helsinki and headed into the Finnish countryside. It was a relief to leave the expensive city behind, watching metallic cityscapes transition into woods and forest. For our route, Tyler found several driving itineraries from a Scan...

Picnic by the Lake

Friday, July 9th, 2010

We'd planned on spending some time exploring downtown Helsinki today. Mostly, we wanted to sift through the flea markets Tara had discovered during her research last night. We had no intention of buying anything, it just sounded like fun. So, th...

Back in Business

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

…continued from Where is the Wallet!? By now, the worst is over. Thanks to all of our parents, what could have been a massive ordeal has become just a small bump in the road. We pack up our things, feeling relieved, and head out to the car. Th...

Where is the Wallet!?

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

Why, do you think someone is going to leap in through our window while we sleep? That was Tyler's response to my concern about opening our street-level hostel window last night. I eyed the two-foot-deep window sill dubiously, and, with the sligh...

Into Estonia

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

Tyler: As I checked us out of our campsite this morning, I sheepishly handed a note to the woman working in the office. Before packing our tent, I had torn a piece of paper from one of our notebooks, consulted google translate, and carefully scr...

Exaggerated for Effect

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

This morning, we left our quiet beach-side haven and hit the road north towards Cape Kolka. We'd read that violent storms of "biblical proportions" in 2007 had uprooted numerous giant trees and sent them scattering like matchsticks along the beach...

Pāvilosta

Monday, July 5th, 2010

I can think of few better places to spend a holiday than Pāvilosta, Latvia. It is quiet. There are only about eight blocks of houses in town, and most of them dead-end right into the sea. While Tyler spends the day programming, I leave to buy gr...

Working in Latvia

Sunday, July 4th, 2010

Most of today we spent working and writing. Once we got caught up (woo hoo!), we went for a walk on the beach. Right as we were leaving, my parents called. It was so nice talking to you guys! As I said on the phone, I have a feeling you wou...

Baltic Amber Road

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010

I wake up at 7:00 AM to stifling sun, blaring techno, and a very grumpy Tyler. Hoo boy, is he cranky after a night of no sleep. We get to work packing immediately. Thankfully there is little but the tent to take down. As we remove the rain-f...

Up All Night

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010

Normally, I can sleep through just about anything. For some reason, last night was a miserable exception to this rule. With Tara enviably dead to the world next to me, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep for most of the night. It didn't help th...

Hill of Crosses

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

When we arrived at Tomas and Jurgita's two days ago, one of the first things we inquired about was if there were any distinctly Lithuanian sites we shouldn't miss during our stay. After much hmmmm-ing deliberation (nobody thinks their own country ...

Another Adventure

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

This morning, Jurgita didn't go to work. Tomorrow, her husband Tomas will finish the last day at his forestry job. Why? Next week, they will pedal out of their driveway, heading south from their home in Lithuania towards Turkey, a trip two years...

Heaven on Earth

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

After a day of working, our hosts Jurgita and Tomas pack their car with food, bottled water and picnic supplies. Then, we all ride together, fourteen kilometers down the road to Tomas' parents' weekend cabin. As we step out of the car, we enter a...

Over the River and Through the Woods

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

Tyler: Stopping to take photos is definitely easier when you're on a bicycle. But, we don't let that deter us. When there is no shoulder, we just hang our camera (or, if you are me, yourself) out of the car window to snap pictures as the scener...

In the Map

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

Tyler: We leave Janka's apartment this morning, supplied with two big boxes of Polish chocolates, ham and cheese sandwiches, heartfelt hugs, and enthusiastic well wishes. As we pull away, waving wildly, Tara and I feel simultaneously overwhelmed...

Warsaw with Janka

Monday, June 28th, 2010

Yesterday, we received a nice comment from a Polish woman named Janka who lives in Warsaw. Though she wasn't sure if we would be passing through her hometown, she generously took the time to offer us a place to stay, just in case. Conveniently, w...

A Walk in Warsaw

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

By the time I woke up this morning, Tara had already gone running, tidied the hotel room, and planned our day of sightseeing in Warsaw. Wow! She picked a museum about Marie Curie, the old town, and a park where we might hear free classical music ...

On Running, Rest & Routines

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

What started as a simple desire to move my body, is slowly transforming into something much larger. I've decided that I want to love running. More to the point: I want it to be one enjoyable part of my now active lifestyle. While reading abou...

Running Start

Saturday, June 26th, 2010

Last night, I told Tyler that I was feeling like a schlub. Our adventure has really changed how I feel about exercise; over the course of a year, I've grown used to lots and lots of physical activity! Since we started driving, I've missed moving ...

On Driving

Friday, June 25th, 2010

After more than a year spent living out of a bicycle (and writing about the experience nearly every day) many aspects of my worldview have changed so dramatically that I often find it difficult to relate to the motives of my younger self. The most...

A Walk in Kolobrzeg

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

One of the most enjoyable parts of this trip (for me) is traveling to places I have absolutely no preconceived notions about. Poland is definitely one of those locales. Just as it was with Macedonia, Serbia, and Romania, I feel the same intangibl...

Working in Poland

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

We spent the majority of our day cozied up in the tent, pleasantly overwhelmed by what has become our typical rest/work day routine: responding to a zillion emails, writing, and programming. While Tara tapped out a few journal entries and responde...

To the Baltic Sea

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

Good morning, Poland! This morning, as we broke from our first-ever car-based free-camp, Tyler finally lost it about "that damned trunk." It is no secret he has a bit of OCD when it comes to organization. Despite his best efforts to ign...

Why Are You in a Car?

Monday, June 21st, 2010

The shortest answer to this question is: to drive across Russia! Here is the long answer: In the broadest terms, our plan for this adventure was to travel from Scotland to Malaysia by land and sea. As we plotted our route (originally intended...

Road Trip Begins!

Monday, June 21st, 2010

We spent our last day with Nadine and Felix checking off the final items from our to-do list. These were mostly our shopping-related chores. Namely, finding them fun T-shirts, and finding us the things we'd need for our little red car. The co...

Berlin with Friends: Day Three

Sunday, June 20th, 2010

It has been my desire for quite some time now, to have a relaxing, fun-filled Sunday like we would at home. Today, with the best company a woman could ask for, I got my wish. First things first, we rented bikes from our hostel. After driving aro...

Berlin with Friends: Day Two

Saturday, June 19th, 2010

We started the morning off with yet another excellent cappuccino from Felix and Nadine. Then, we all drove into Berlin for a day of sightseeing. Today, Nadine had a Plan. This was really nice; it feels like we're constantly organizing what to se...

Berlin with Friends: Day One

Friday, June 18th, 2010

Guess who came to Berlin to visit us? Our dear friends, Nadine and Felix! They drove six hours north from Munich in their big green VW Transporter to hang out with us for a few days in the city. Following a series of molasses-like traffi...

Driving Around Town

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

We said a heartfelt goodbye to ba noi today (little did she know she would be whisked off to the airport soon after we left, as a surprise birthday trip to Paris!) and hopped in our little red car. Our plan for afternoon was to find a nice cof...

Berlin with Ann

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

We were hot and tired when we finished packing our bicycles into the trunk of our new car. Back inside, we enjoyed glasses of cold water, and chatted with our friend Tony's aunt, uncle, and cousin who had stopped by to see us off. Before everyone...

Roadtrip Ready

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

This morning, we left ba noi's house bright and early, heading in the direction of the car dealership. This was it! We were about to get a car! It is hard to believe that this entire chain of events stemmed from a seemingly innocuous comment mad...

Goodbye, Blogger

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

Goodbye, blogger! I have officially migrated all five hundred and twenty of our journal entries, and nearly two thousand comments to our own server. This journal is now stored in our database, and displayed with my new, written-from-scratch publi...

Puppet Museum

Monday, June 14th, 2010

We're saving most of our Berlin sightseeing for when Nadine and Felix come to visit in a few days. In the meantime, we're working (a lot), sorting out car logistics, and very occasionally venturing out into the city. Today, we took trip to see a ...

Working in Berlin

Sunday, June 13th, 2010

Today, we spent some time designing a new website for our road trip. It is going really well! As was the case when we made Going Slowly, there were some frustrating bits where we stared at the screen cringing. It's especially difficult for me, b...

Buying a Car in Germany

Saturday, June 12th, 2010

Last night, after some hunting on mobile.de, we found a candidate car for our Siberian roadtrip: a 1991 Toyota Corolla from a single (retired) owner with 60,000km (37,000 miles). The asking price? A paltry €1,300! We promptly called the dealersh...

Cooking with Ba Noi

Friday, June 11th, 2010

Life with ba noi is good. She is a kind-hearted grandmother who enjoys growing orchids and pedaling away on her miniature stationary bicycle, among many other things. She also loves to watch Korean soap operas (dubbed in Vietnamese). Occasi...

Crank World Cycling Blog Honors: 2010

Friday, June 11th, 2010

We won Cranklisted's Favorite Commuter/Travel Biking Blog for 2010! Thank you so much to everyone who voted for us! To see the winners in all of the categories, check out this post by Darryl, the friendly guy behind Loving the Bike and Cranklist...

To Berlin

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

Normally, when we take any transport faster than a bicycle, we feel like we're missing out. Today, we were happy to watch the world go by without having to pedal through it. As we hurtled across the German landscape, we weren't pining away for an...

Just a Bike Ride

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

For the last few days, we've been taking some much needed rest. For us, this means cooking less, eating out more, "staying in", and leaving the camera behind when we go out. This welcome change of pace is definitely having the intended effect of ...

Dresden Thunderstorm

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

It rained on and off all day. Nice, warm, summer rain. This evening, we enjoyed our most dramatic thunderstorm yet! ...

Train to Dresden

Monday, June 7th, 2010

After a thoroughly enjoyable break in Bamberg, it was time to move on to our next destination: Dresden. So, this morning we packed up one last time from our three-night river-side free-camp, and rode back into town. When we reached the station...

Home from Work

Sunday, June 6th, 2010

After a relaxing day of working, eating ice cream sundaes, and enjoying delicious, cheap Chinese food, we cycle back to our riverside free-camp along a string of nice bike paths on the outskirts of Bamberg. It is a nice change of pace to arri...

Spargel!

Saturday, June 5th, 2010

This morning we packed up from our free-camp, commuted into town along smooth, shaded bike paths, and headed straight to McDonald's for work and lots of ice cream sundaes. When we're done, we'll scope out a promising Chinese restaurant for dinner ...

Sunny Sneezefest

Friday, June 4th, 2010

At long last, the day dawned bright and sunny. The inside of our tent was hot this morning! Off came our knitted hats, along with our tent's bone-dry rain-fly, but not before we donned our sorely neglected spandex riding shorts. If someone had t...

A Little Help From Our Friends

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

Us: The rain that falls on our tent this morning doesn't faze us. Our friends are here! Donning our rain jackets, we run over to their bright green van, and climb inside where they are already making breakfast. Safe under the metal roof of ...

This is Nadine & Felix

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

We have decided to meet up with Tara and Tyler in Nürnberg. We have been missing them since they left Munich, and with a holiday coming up we will make good use of this possibility. They will be cycling from Rothenburg towards Nürnberg today, and...

Something's Got to Give

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

Tyler: We couldn't bear to leave our tent this morning. Safe and warm in our secluded forest free-camp, listening to the constant patter of water pelting our rain fly, all motivation to start the day eluded us. The skies were dark and unwelcomi...

Into the Woods

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

Before leaving our pension this morning, I decide to visit one last thing before we leave Rothenburg—The Craftsman' House. This is the oldest building in town, dating back to 1270(!) and is now filled with antique goods, appearing as if it belonge...

Rainy Day in Rothenburg

Monday, May 31st, 2010

Surprise, surprise… more rain! Most of the day was spent warm and dry, under the covers in our big bed at Gastehaus Raidel. We did get up to go to breakfast though! When we descended the first set of stairs, we found ourselves in the awesome sit...

Manic

Sunday, May 30th, 2010

Today was one of those days when the weather was so manic it was almost baffling. One moment it was sunny, and we were happily riding through quaint small towns… (…while eating really delicious cake from the only shop open on a Sunday. ...

Altmühltal Cycle Route

Saturday, May 29th, 2010

Like every other night in recent memory, it rained heavily. This morning, our well-shaded forest free-camp was very chilly and very wet. Thanks to a perfectly timed downpour last night (which caught us unprepared, and lasted juuust long enough fo...

Fields of Green

Friday, May 28th, 2010

We packed up after eating a breakfast of hearty meusli, and hit the road at the late hour of 12:30. Our string of late departure times for the last few days continues. On the road, everything felt distinctly German. You know you're in Germany wh...

Leaving Dachau

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

We biked away from Dachau, once again at the late hour of 2PM. Feeling saddened from all we'd seen, we took to the German bicycle path leaving the site for a quiet, grey afternoon of meditative cycling. We wound our way through green fields,...

Dachau Concentration Camp

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

I'm not sure what I was expecting when we decided to visit Dachau Concentration Camp. I can, however, say one thing for certain: I was in no way prepared for the enormity of the memorial. We spent over six hours reading the exhibits before we wer...

Leaving

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

It was difficult, and a little sad leaving Felix and Nadine's cozy apartment. I wonder if it will ever be easy to pick up and go again once we've settled in somewhere for a few days? Along with being bummed about leaving our new friends, we were ...

Working in Munich

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

This morning, we groggily shared a round of excellent coffee with our new friends Felix and Nadine. With a bit of caffeine to carve through the haze, Nadine departed to Däerr (an outdoors store in Munich), Felix to another day of government bureau...

Hiking in the Bavarian Alps

Monday, May 24th, 2010

After drinking some of the best coffee I've had in recent memory (hand ground by Felix, brewed in a shiny silver cafetiere, and finally dolloped with foam frothed in a French press) we made our way to the train station. At one of the station's bak...

A Ride in Munich

Sunday, May 23rd, 2010

This morning we met Felix and Nadine at the "Rathaus Glockenspiel", a famous attraction in downtown Munich. Every day at 11AM and 5PM, the clock tower in the town hall comes to life with bells, chimes and animatronics. As we watched old...

New Friends

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

When we got back from our resupply mission yesterday, we had an email waiting for us from Nadine, a really nice cashier at one of the outdoors stores we visited. Before we made it back to our hotel, she'd visited our website and invited us to a ba...

Resupply Mission

Friday, May 21st, 2010

This morning we picked up some new supplies for our upcoming trek through Siberia. It was a freeing feeling, strolling around sports and expedition shops, having easy access to all manner of supplies. Our jaws dropped when we saw Ortlieb kit in s...

Vienna Vagabonds: A Train Story, Part Three

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

12:00 AM After trying to change our tickets to a middle-of-the-night train so we can sleep on the way, hopefully avoiding homelessness for the night, we find that the ticket office is closed. Looks like we're stuck with our 9:50 AM departure. W...

No Bikes Allowed: A Train Story, Part Two

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

12:29 AM Four hours since our train left us behind, we're back on platform three, waiting. A train whistle sounds in the distance, and people start filing across the rails to join us. The station agent who promised to help us is nowhere in sigh...

Come and Gone: A Train Story, Part One

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

4:30 PM / Tara After a long, cold, wet, hilly day of cycling, we arrive in Sighişoara and head directly to the train station. Tyler goes in to ask about tickets to Munich, while I stay outside to guard the bikes. I am soaked and shivering, cupp...

Farewell, Rainy Romania

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

With cartoon clouds, pixels as raindrops, and yellow, zig-zag bolts of lightning featuring heavily on the internet's forecast all week, we were less than enthusiastic about visiting the UNESCO World Heritage city of Sighişoara, our destination for ...

Robbed

Monday, May 17th, 2010

The weather here in Romania has been terrible for the last week. We went out this afternoon with the hope of seeing some of Sibiu, but the depressing drizzle overhead soon sapped any desire we had to see the city. We halfheartedly snapped a few p...

Sounds of Sibiu

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

I was roused this morning around 7AM by a raucous, twittering racket just outside our tent. The early birds in the trees surrounding us were tweeting and chirping so loudly they may as well have been in our tent. I felt like my eight year old sel...

120 Kilometer Day

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

As we were eating breakfast this morning (a heartier, double portion of yesterday's delicious sausage and egg feast), Lily informed us that today's weather was supposed to be "crazy". According to the forecast, thunderstorms and record rainfall wo...

A Walk in Braşov

Friday, May 14th, 2010

We started the morning off with a delicious breakfast cooked by Lily, the woman who owns Casa Timar. Along with her husband and grown son, she runs their family's cozy pensiune. This morning we exchanged stories about Italian travel while we enjo...

Braşov in the Rain

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

It was an easy ride into Braşov this morning, only 25km! Once again, we made sure to appreciate having a very short day. Rolling into town just an hour after we'd left camp, it felt like we'd been out for a normal-person bike ride. We'd intended...

Bowling in Bran

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

We decided to take advantage of our cheap, electricity- and internet-providing accommodations this morning, opting to spend the day working rather than packing up for our next destination, the nearby town of Braşov. I had expected it wou...

Sheep

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

What a beautiful day in the Carpathian mountains! As if the sunny skies, verdant vistas, and homey horse-drawn carts galloping alongside us weren't enough, our route was almost entirely downhill. …which was good, because we left our hotel at...

Working in Buşteni

Monday, May 10th, 2010

The plan for today was to take a cable car from Buşteni up to a series of mountain-top rock sculptures "Sfinxul and Babele", formed slowly over years and years of heavy blowing winds. Upon learning that the ride would cost over $50 USD, we had sec...

Pedaling Upstream

Sunday, May 9th, 2010

With everything we needed to thrive at our hard-to-reach Romanian forest free-camp, we almost decided to stay another day. Instead, we packed up, said hello to some horses grazing in a nearby pasture, and set off on our 30 minute trek back to the ...

Draculas & Gypsies

Saturday, May 8th, 2010

We awaken to the sound of horse's hooves clip-clopping outside our tent. Smashed together in a furrow of a field, our sleeping mats in a comical V shape, we're genuinely surprised by the restful night of sleep it provided. I groggily poke my head...

Ridges & Troughs

Friday, May 7th, 2010

As he has every morning during our stay in Bucharest, Rob made us a delicious breakfast and gently rebuffed all offers of help. He even made us two extra breakfast sandwiches and packed them carefully in tinfoil so we could have them for lunch! W...

Read Our Journal in 50+ Languages!

Thursday, May 6th, 2010

This feature is currently missing on our new design, but may return eventually! Spurred by several conversations we've had over the last year with non-english speakers who have expressed a desire to follow our journey in more than photos, you...

Russian Logistics

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010

A few months ago, Tara's brother Lian jokingly mentioned we should drive across Russia. His idea was in response to a logistical problem we've known about for some time: we don't have the six months it would likely take us to cross Siberia on our ...

Instant Gratification

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

Day two of Rob's guided tour Bucharest didn't go exactly as planned. We didn't go to the museum or the park we had intended to visit, but we did do something else: we got exactly what we wanted. Before we left, Tyler and Rob searched online ...

Exploring Bucharest

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

After sleeping in, and enjoying the morning with music playing the background (something of a revelation to us after so long on the road), Robert cooked us breakfast. He refused any help and told us the plan for the day while we ate. He had creat...

Bucharest Bound

Sunday, May 2nd, 2010

Like yesterday, today was restfully easy: a flat, uneventful ride towards Bucharest. The highlight of our morning was finally using one of the many wells we've seen dotting the roadsides over the last few weeks! Tyler lowered the ancient chai...

Lazy Saturday

Saturday, May 1st, 2010

Let's just face facts. We never get on the road before 10:00 AM. Okay, not never, but rarely. Even in the sweltering hot summertime, when it is prudent to get moving early to save ourselves from the brutal afternoon sun, we still stay up late wo...

Navigation: Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx

Friday, April 30th, 2010

The Garmin 60 series has been on the market since 2004. My very first GPS was the now discontinued 60CS model. I used it with great success for many years on road trips in the USA, both in a car and mounted to the handlebars of a motorcycle. The...

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

Last Sunday, Tyler and I were featured in my hometown newspaper, Champaign/Urbana's News Gazette. A big thank you to Meg Thilmony for interviewing us about our first year of living on the road! You can read the article here ...

Precious Cargo

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

For the really important decisions in life I've found that no list of "pros and cons" will help. Logic doesn't really apply, nor does rationality. There's simply a knowing, a gut feeling that what we've chosen is the right thing to do, and it req...

A Chance Encounter

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

This morning, while I was securing our camera to the back of my bike, Tara announced, "here comes a flock of sheep!" A shepherd and his menagerie were approaching, complete with several barking dogs. The sheep didn't seem to mind us, they must've...

A Life Less Ordinary

Monday, April 26th, 2010

The first day back on the road after a brief interlude of buffet breakfasts and silky sheets can be a little difficult, especially when it looks like rain. As we wheeled out of the Hotel Anna parking lot Tara was more than a little wistful. I was...

A Walk in Târgu Jiu

Sunday, April 25th, 2010

Considering that I have a degree in Sculpture, I should probably have heard of "the father of modern sculpture," Constantin Brancusi, but I had not. It took a trip around the world and a stop in Târgu Jiu, Romania, to discover him! Thanks to Silv...

Hotel Anna

Saturday, April 24th, 2010

The first hotel we tried when we arrived in Târgu Jiu was pretty blah: on the outside it looked tacky, on the inside it was overly fancy, and the prices were exorbitant. The reception area was also filled with a group of sharply-dressed business p...

Tismana Monastery

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

Before leaving our riverside free-camp, we breakfasted on Valentina-Carmen's bread and very salty homemade cheese. While we dusted off our mud-splattered clothing, she was probably attending to the permanent appointment she holds with every sunris...

The Universe Provides

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

There are times on this trip when I question my abilities. Am I really capable of doing this? What are we even doing here? Why am I doing this? What is the value of this? These thoughts generally make a pronounced appearance when we are somewh...

Cave Hunting

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

A few weeks ago, we received a contact through our website from a Romanian who lives in Tara's hometown. He was excited to tell us all about the country he grew up in, and the things we shouldn't miss while we are here. Having no guidebook for Ro...

Ivana the Terrible

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

For the most part, the steely glares we've been warned to expect here in Romania have proven to be nonexistent. In fact, everywhere we've been, people have almost universally been friendly and welcoming, especially when given a smile or hello to w...

Site Updates

Monday, April 19th, 2010

We've received several reports over the last few months that the search feature on our journal was pretty awful. In response, I've just implemented a new google-based search. The results aren't pretty-looking yet, but they are a lot more relevan...

Typical

Sunday, April 18th, 2010

Today was a typical day. We woke up, and hoped that when we unzipped our tent, it would reveal a nice day. It did, though by the time we were done with breakfast, dark clouds had rolled in, threatening a cold rain. We bundled up, grabbed ou...

Intruders on the Danube

Saturday, April 17th, 2010

It must be 2AM when we are awakened by the sound of voices chattering in cryptic Romanian outside our tent. In moments, we are both wide awake. We watch intently as a shaky flashlight passes over our home, casting ominous shadows on the paper thi...

To the Danube

Saturday, April 17th, 2010

As I unzip the vestibule of our tent this morning, I let out a small gasp of delight and rouse Tyler to take a peek with me. Our free-camp is enveloped in a thick, billowing white mist! A nearby church looms in the fog, and the atmosphere is so d...

Into Romania

Friday, April 16th, 2010

With a good attitude, relatively clean bikes, and the excitement that comes from approaching a new country, we breakfasted on our new staple of bread, butter, and honey, and set off towards a better day. Under sunny skies, over flat, blessedly ...

Mud

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

I spent the bulk of the morning giving our bikes a rare and thorough cleaning. The muddy excuse for a bicycle path we'd pushed and ridden along yesterday had left them several pounds heavier, comprehensively caked with gloopy dirt which had dried ...

Rainy Riverside Ride

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

Getting out of large cities can sometimes be a pain. Thankfully, that was not the case today. After a quick, easy exit from Belgrade, we were back on the road once more. It felt so good to leave, extricating ourselves from the blocky concrete bu...

Sleeping Mat Success

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

We picked up our replacement Therm-a-Rest ToughSkin sleeping mat today. As per usual, no shipments actually get delivered here in Europe. We had to fax a written letter (in Serbian), copies of our passports, our police registration and a bunch of...

The Finisher Finishes

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

While we've been waiting in Belgrade for our replacement sleeping mat, I've been working on a baby hoodie for our new little nephew, Elijah. Tyler, as usual, has been programming for his clients. When we weren't totally engrossed in our projects,...

The Food Game: Serbia Edition

Monday, April 12th, 2010

Unfortunately, the really good stuff we've had here, we have no photos of. There was Pljeskavica (grilled meat sandwich with many salads, slaws, and toppings), Ćevapčići (ground meat sticks, grilled), Urnebes (a salad made of feta cheese and hot p...

Therm-a-Rest ToughSkin Failure

Sunday, April 11th, 2010

About a week ago, one of our Therm-a-Rest Toughskin sleeping mats started failing. The outer fabric began to delaminate, pulling away from the foam inside creating a bulbous air pocket. When you lay on the mat, the added pressure causes the fabri...

Nikola Tesla Museum

Saturday, April 10th, 2010

I've long been a fan of Nikola Tesla. When we were planning our route and I realized that it passed through his home country of Serbia, I was excited to learn there was a museum dedicated to his work there. So, today, nearly two years after we st...

Bad Day to Belgrade

Friday, April 9th, 2010

While Tyler was completely zonkered out this morning, I cooked breakfast. It was a last-resort sort of meal, using the remains of an age-old bag of rice. While I cooked the white grains, he slept peacefully. As I stirred in vanilla, butter, hone...

Strawberries

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

Today was one of those days that went on a little too long. Though we enjoyed our flat ride, we were ready to be done after 60 kilometers (we are slow). Unfortunately, no good free-camps were presenting themselves. So we continued, waffling be...

Homesick

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

It being a sleepy, rainy morning, we almost succumbed to the desire to stay put for one more day. Thinking better of it, we slowly pushed ourselves to motion, dutifully packing our things in a half-awake and hungry daze. It took some time, but on...

Welcome to the World!

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

Our thoughts are with Amanda and Paul (Tyler's older sister and her husband) today as we celebrate the birth of Elijah Paul Noskowiak. We wish we could be there with you! All our love from Serbia, Uncle Tyler and Auntie Tara ...

Sticky and Rainy

Monday, April 5th, 2010

Rain this morning. We muttered something along the lines of "pshhh… forget this", rolled over, and slept through it. Around 11:30 the downpour let up and we roused ourselves from sleep feeling very well rested, but slightly annoyed at ourselves f...

Morning Has Broken

Sunday, April 4th, 2010

8:00 AM I wake up feeling happy and Easter-y with the Cat Steven's tune "Morning Has Broken" playing on repeat in my head. Birds are chirping, frogs continue their belchy song from last night, and the sun shines warmly through our tent. Tyler i...

Serbian Hospitality

Saturday, April 3rd, 2010

Before we left, we received numerous warnings that Eastern Europe would be a dangerous, depressing, soul-suck full of steely thousand yard glares and ferocious dogs. So far, these stereotypes couldn't be further from the truth. The genuine kindne...

One

Friday, April 2nd, 2010

Wow. I cannot believe we have been gone a year! This time last year we were just arriving in Scotland, and I remember thinking to myself as we put our bicycles together in the airport, "what the hell have I gotten myself into?!" A little lat...

Hello Serbia

Thursday, April 1st, 2010

Three hundred and sixty five days of travel. Nine countries and fifteen thousand kilometers covered by bicycle, foot, ferry, train, mobylette and camel. More than four hundred journal entries. Fast approaching one hundred free-camps. I wanted a...

Springtime in Macedonia

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

Riding out of hilly Stip was a wonderful thing. Once we left the city limits, we were treated to a ever-so-slight downhill that lasted almost all day. A sky full of puffy clouds vacillated between looking gorgeous and somewhat menacing. ...

Strolling Around Stip

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

On our "rest" days, we often make grand plans for sightseeing, and then end up spending most of the day inside. It is astonishingly easy to lose an entire morning, afternoon and evening making route plans, writing journals, responding to emails, m...

The Food Game: Macedonia Edition

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

Back in Minnesota, we used to hang out with our friends Eli and Ashley every week for "food night", which often involved making some kind of Thai curry from scratch, grinding up the spices in a mortar and pestle. Sometimes we'd cook other things, ...

Macedonian Mountains

Monday, March 29th, 2010

The day dawned bright and clear, though the headwinds from yesterday were still blowing fiercely. In spite of the extra work we knew they'd bring, we were in good spirits. With a spring and summer full of adventure laid out before us, we've been ...

Filling in the Blanks

Sunday, March 28th, 2010

We awaken to the faint sound of drizzle and the whipping of our rainfly in a hefty wind. Yesterday's brilliant sun and balmy weather have gone, leaving us with rain and a distinct chill in the air. Please let that wind be in our favor, I think as...

Hello Macedonia

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

Our ride out of Thessaloniki was a non-stop parade of factories and industrial sites for hours. According to Tara, the road was full of "mammoth ferocious dogs bred with grizzly bears". Thankfully they were mostly chained up and we didn't have an...

Thessaloniki by Night

Friday, March 26th, 2010

Tyler spent the entire day staring into his computer screen programming while I ran around town running errands: mailing a package home, picking up yarn for another knitting project, stocking up on food for our departure tomorrow, and generally mak...

Loose Ends in Thessaloniki

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

We're staying in Thessaloniki for a few days to make our final preparations for Eastern Europe. Tara is tying up loose ends, sending out postcards and packages, while I'm trying my best to catch up with work. Hopefully we can ride off in a day or...

Dude, Where's My Car?

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Today we had to decide between taking a busy highway to Thessaloniki, or winding around convoluted back roads which would triple our time in the saddle. We chose the highway, and when we were about 40 kilometers from Thessaloniki, we began to see ...

Boxcar Willie

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

Today's "ride" featured a lot of pushing and plenty of bleak-looking skies. Thankfully, the dark clouds that loomed overhead for the entire day only threatened to rain, and the terrain we practically dragged our bicycles through was (for the most ...

On a Roll

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

Today was our longest on record, 110 kilometers or about 70 miles. This is double the distance we usually plan to cycle in a day. Thanks to gorgeous sunny skies and a gentle downgrade leading to the mouth of the Vale of Tempe, we cruised along ha...

On Finishing Things

Sunday, March 21st, 2010

For the past few months I've been working on a baby cardigan for Tyler's sister, Amanda. I rarely follow patterns but I decided it would be best to have one for this project if I wanted it to be really nice for the new baby. When I picked the pat...

Nature Hike to Metéora

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

With the intention of visiting a Metéora monastery or two today, we woke up early and packed a backpack with food, water and our guidebook. We set off on foot saying, "I am thankful for good health and good weather!". Spring is in the air and the...

Flat Roads to Kalampaka

Friday, March 19th, 2010

Since we've arrived in Greece, we haven't seen many cyclists. In Athens especially, bikers seem to steer clear of the city, except for a few brave souls who speed around helmet-less amidst the smog and traffic. Today was a pleasant surprise for u...

Macro Love

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

Flowers make me happy. I don't care if it is cliché, they just do! When we got our first camera I was thrilled when I realized I could finally capture the beauty I see in them. When we get home I'm going to grow a massive garden so Tyler and I c...

That Damned Squeak

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

I love waking up to the sound of the ocean. Even more than that, I love waking up to sunny weather. This morning, I got both. When things go well out here, it really is almost more fun than I can bear! When we're in the middle of Siberia covere...

Snoozin' & Cruisin'

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

We are getting very lax about leaving free-camps bright and early. I used to set the alarm for the crack of dawn, wake up the instant the phone started buzzing, and hurredly wake Tyler so we could be up and going and packed up before any potential...

Out n' About

Monday, March 15th, 2010

Somehow, some way, no matter how ho-hum the scenery or the day, there is always something interesting to see, no matter what. Maybe we are easily fascinated, or maybe we just know how to look, but it seems we have a knack for stumbling across intr...

24 Hour Rule

Sunday, March 14th, 2010

My parents have a rule that says: If you do something routine-altering for a few days, you get a day afterwards to recover and re-adjust to life at home. It's called "The 24-Hour Rule", but the longer you're away (or significantly routine-altered)...

Maintenance

Saturday, March 13th, 2010

Today, I replaced the chains on our bikes. According to bicycling community legend Sheldon Brown, you can gauge their level of wear by using a ruler. You're supposed to measure from the center of one rivet, to the center of one twelve links away....

Miwa & Sergei

Friday, March 12th, 2010

For the past two weeks we've been waiting for our Russian visas in Athens. Saving us from the great expense of a hotel have been the kind, generous, and funny, Sergei and Miwa. We connected with them on http://www.warmshowers.org a few weeks befo...

Athens General Strike

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

I had trouble getting to sleep last night. As rest eluded me, I lay awake for what seemed like hours, staring at the ceiling with anticipation. It was late when I finally drifted off, and quite early when I awoke. If I was tired, I didn't notice...

Athens Graffiti & New Camera

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

I was a little overwhelmed by our new camera when we picked it up from Greek customs two days ago. At first glance, it looked like the flight deck of a 767 to me. Even more ridiculous (in the confines of our small apartment) was our gigantic tele...

Greek Economic Crisis

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Signs of the economic crisis occurring Greece are easy to find in Athens. We frequently pass police in full riot gear, we've seen several protests during our short time here, and taxes have risen (on some goods, to astronomical levels!). I won't ...

Greek Customs

Monday, March 8th, 2010

Wow. I really thought Tunisia would win the award for most inefficient postal service on our trip but today, Greece easily stole the crown. Here is what it took to receive our new camera: Our package arrives in Greece on Thursday but...

Museums & Madeleine

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

There are numerous free museums in Athens and we've been making a point to visit as many of them as we can. Earlier this week, we visited the Museum of Popular Greek Musical Instruments. The collection included Cretan lyres, lutes, pottery dru...

Athens Animals

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

There are lots of stray cats and dogs running around Athens. Actually, to be more accurate, they are usually loafing around. Here are two such loafers: And then there are other animals… these guys belong to the Museum of Popular Greek ...

Athens Markets

Saturday, March 6th, 2010

Apart from buying groceries and cooking, we've spent the majority of the last week cooped up in the apartment staring into our respective computer screens, working away. In a welcome change of pace, we decided to put down our projects and head out...

Buskers of Athens: Part #2

Friday, March 5th, 2010

One of the few things Tara and I really like about big cities are the buskers. We love going out for a walk here, if only in the hopes of stumbling upon a good musician. Athens doesn't disappoint! This jazzy duo winked at us when we left coin...

Lemon Cake

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

Having a real oven has been fantastic and I've been taking advantage of it as much as possible. So far I've made an almond cake, a chicken pot pie, and this lemon loaf. There are several lemon trees in the courtyard of the apartment we're sta...

Buskers of Athens: Part #1

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

During our walk around Athens yesterday, we ran into lots of buskers. We only got recordings of two of them, but I think we'll capture a few more over the next week. There were numerous accordion players of varying skill levels wandering arou...

Our Photos: Year One

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

When Tara and I left to embark on this adventure, neither of us knew a thing about photography. In fact, we'd planned on bringing a run of the mill point-and-shoot with us until my friend Ian Meyer wisely convinced me to buy a DSLR. Since the...

Annual Bicycle Travel Photo Contest

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

We recently took second place in Adventure Cycling Association's first annual bicycle touring photo contest! The submission we placed with is below, and here is the story that goes with it. …and here is an article showing the other winning ph...

Mailing Our Passports

Monday, March 1st, 2010

Traveling abroad in the fluid, flexible way that we do often makes for an exhilirating and rewarding lifestyle. We rarely have to be anywhere at a certain time, and we are free to choose our own itinerary, staying in one place if we like it, or mo...

Arriving in Athens

Sunday, February 28th, 2010

We arrived bright and early in Piraeus, exited the ship with ease and head out for a morning ride to Athens. Thankfully it was Sunday, and early enough so that traffic hadn't picked up. We rode past markets of gypsies selling various and sun...

Hania Waterfront

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

Note: Hania can also be spelled "Chania," (like Hanukkah and Chanukah) because we don't have adequate letters in our Roman alphabet to accurately evoke some Greek sounds. Many towns are spelled numerous ways. Hania's waterfront was just as be...

Short Ride to Chania

Friday, February 26th, 2010

It was another bright, clear day on Crete. We awoke sore and tired from yesterday's climbing, glad we had a short day ahead of us. After a grocery/pastry run in a sleepy nearby village, we hit the road, headed to the coast. We made it to Chan...

Climbing in Crete

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

I drift in and out of sleep, in a very cozy morning haze. I think I hear a truck crunching over gravel… probably Pietro off to milk his sheep. Before I drift back into unconsciousness, the thought: "so glad that's not me" crosses my mind. I roll...

Pushing Through Paradise

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

We were thankful for the shelter of our tiki hut this morning when we discovered it had rained in the night. We really and truly no longer take having a roof over our heads for granted! Since the area was rather deserted, and we rarely concern ou...

Donkey Day

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

Leaving cities is always hard. There is inevitably some navigation difficulty, as well as a handful of surprises like one-way streets, delivery trucks taking entire lanes, people double-parked haphazardly, and often steep, narrow, cobbled roads. ...

Cretan Lyra Love

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

Here on Crete, lyra music is everywhere and I love it! I haven't been this enamored with a type of music since I was a in middle school and discovered the sounds of Ireland. We danced to Cretan music at a mountain party a few days ago, and today ...

25 Years on Earth

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

As of this morning, I am 26 years old. I am now officially exiting my 20s. Wow. How did that happen? We spent a relaxing afternoon at the hostel working, reading, talking to family and cooking. Thank you to everyone who called and wrote! ...

Family Remedy

Saturday, February 20th, 2010

Last night I went to bed with a hurty, swollen feeling on the left side of my neck, but I didn't think much of it. When I awoke this morning, I felt wretched. When I tried to talk, it sounded as if I had a pillow shoved down my throat, and felt l...

Settled in Rethymnon

Friday, February 19th, 2010

Our ride yesterday was a quick 20km jaunt into a ferocious headwind. Knowing we only had a short way to go made the wall we were riding into mostly a non-issue. The brief struggle ended, quite pleasantly, at the quaint hostel in the center of the...

Meta Morning

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

It was very windy as we broke camp this morning in preparation to head to the nearby city of Rethymnon for a few days of rest. While stuffing our tent into its drybag, I spied a ladybug scurrying across the patch of earth we'd camped on. My immed...

The Little Things

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

In our "normal" lives, both Tyler and I are known for our easy-going demeanor. Our friends have even jokingly referred to us as "zen masters" on more than one occasion. While it is fine and dandy to be even-keeled at home, the day to day life of ...

Coasting in Crete

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

We found a thin layer of ice crystals covering everything outside this morning. Thankfully the sun soon melted away the frost, showering the Lasithi Plateau with glorious, warm light. As we packed, Tyler said (as he often does at the start of a n...

Lasithi Plateau and Dikteon Andron Cave

Monday, February 15th, 2010

Last night when I downloaded our GPS tracks I was surprised to find that yesterday was our third biggest climbing day of the trip! The only two rides that topped it were Julierpass in Switzerland and Verdon Gorge in France, two equally stunning da...

Celebrating Sunday

Sunday, February 14th, 2010

I would never have imagined this to be true, but many of our favorite days involve slowly climbing mountains. As long as we bring copious amounts of food, start the day with a positive attitude, and make sure to take our time, it almost always mak...

Knossos and the Coast

Saturday, February 13th, 2010

Our first stop of the day was the ancient Minoan palace of Knossos, located about 7 kilometers from Iraklion. We got a late start, arriving around 10AM, just in time to meet a group of cycle tourists on a package tour of the area! Everyone was ve...

Heraklion Archeological Museum

Friday, February 12th, 2010

Tthough most of the day was spent working on our respective projects, Tyler and I did take a break to visit the Heraklion Archeological Museum. While I was in college I took a class called "Greek Myth, Art, and Literature" during which we studied ...

Working in Iraklion

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

We spent more or less the entire day behind our computer screens. Though I managed to get quite a bit of work done, even more flooded my inbox during the course of the evening (read: business hours in the USA). It looks like we'll be staying an e...

Clean and Dry

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

We disembarked groggily from our early ferry arrival in Heraklion around 6AM this morning. Thankfully there were no intensive searches as we left—we just wheeled away into town. It was very refreshing not being cold in the pre-dawn darkness! ...

What Traffic?

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

After one last dirty parade through the lobby of our Corinth hotel, we rode off under grey but mercifully dry skies heading east along the coast. Our destination for the day was Piraeus, the port town of Athens. From there we would catch a ferry ...

Exploring Acrocorinth

Monday, February 8th, 2010

Unlike yesterday, when grey clouds and drizzle made us focus solely on giant potholes in the road and the muddy water that filled them, today the sun shone brightly and we were able to appreciate the beautiful landscape around us. Always excite...

Wet and Dirty

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

Wet and dirty is my favorite thing, my favorite thing, my favorite thing! Oooooh wet and dirty is my favorite thiiinng… at least I am not cold! sung jovially by Tara as we packed up camp this morning. Every time we camp near the ocean, Ta...

What Matters

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

We awoke excited about our plans for the day. Last night I'd discovered that just ten kilometers away was a town with a rack and pinion railway leading into the mountains. Our guidebook said it was spectacular and not to be missed, trundling up t...

Exploring Again

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Panniers full of food from a shopping spree yesterday, we cycled away from Patras under bright blue skies, lazily spinning our legs as we watched the coming and goings of everyday life in Greece. About 8km into our ride, Tara realized we'd left he...

Partying Patras

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

The first five minutes of earth-shakingly loud techno music BLASTING into our Patras hotel room at 11:00 AM was kind of fun. (OOH DANCE PARTY!) After the five minute mark the novelty had worn off and we began to wonder who was making such a racke...

It's All Greek to Me

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Tara is unofficially our designated communicator when it comes to foreign languages. That isn't to say that I don't speak; in fact, I try really hard! I'm not shy about using the phrases I know, but sadly, my brain doesn't seem to be wired for le...

Καλημέρα!

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

After a relatively decent sleep on the thinly carpeted floor of our ferry's reception lounge, I woke up in the early morning hours to the blaring of Greek TV. I needed to stretch my legs so I took a walk around the outside decks. Cold winds blew ...

Ciao Bella!

Monday, February 1st, 2010

Though the day dawned brilliantly, the sun wasn't providing much in the way of warmth. Amidst millions of shimmering dewdrops in our churchyard free-camp, we groggily blew into our chilly hands and dutifully started our morning routine. I rolled ...

Coasting

Sunday, January 31st, 2010

According to our database, after ten months on the road we've ascended 108,469 meters and descended 108,215 more. Imperially speaking, that is nearly 70 miles in each direction. We have officially cycled up enough hills to take us into space. Co...

Matera Sightseeing

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

We started our day by making french toast with Matera looming in the distance. It was very windy and we were downright cold as I packed up camp while Tara prepared breakfast. Once again, thank you Mark and Lisa for sending maple syrup in our last...

Matera Sassi

Friday, January 29th, 2010

"Please don't be raining please don't be raining please don't be raining"… I repeated over and over while waiting for Tyler to come back from a quick trip outside to check the weather this morning. To my relief, he returned with a smile: lots of ...

Sick Day Observations

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

Though I woke up feeling a lot better than I had last night, Tyler insisted we take a day of rest so I could fully recover. We passed the morning and afternoon laying together in our tiny, smaller-than-twin bed. Tyler spent the time programmin...

Wet and Cold

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

A sickly drizzle of freezing rain patiently waited to receive us this morning. As we stuffed ourselves during our last continental breakfast at the Grand Hotel in Potenza, we were blissfully unaware of this fact. Another detail pleasantly among t...

Just Right

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

We've only been here two nights and two days but Tara and I enthusiastically agree; we think we'd like to live here. The city of Potenza has a particular vibe, a quiet welcoming sort of quality about it which we both immediately noticed when we ar...

Birthday Success

Monday, January 25th, 2010

Yesterday, I made a list of all the things I wanted to do on my birthday. While the best parts of the day weren't even on it (an early morning phone call from my brother, Lian, the sweetest voice-mail of Tyler's little brothers and sisters singing...

Rags to Riches

Sunday, January 24th, 2010

Waking up in the bitter cold at our olive grove free-camp, we ate our last few slices of bread with butter and the final spoonfuls from our jam jar. It wasn't the best breakfast for the mountainous climbs that lay ahead, but it would have to do, s...

Brrrrrrr

Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

In an odd change of perspective, every climb was cause for celebration today (and there were plenty of them: 800 meters, or over 2,500 feet in all). In lieu of hopping around madly trying to keep warm as we did while packing up camp, we slowly and...

Journal Interface Update

Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

We've received several emails from people saying that they often accidentally click on images and feel it is confusing when they are directed to a Flickr photo page. I've updated our site so that when you click on an image it will display a larger...

Climbing in the Cold

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

The day didn't start out very cold. In fact, the first twenty five kilometers of our trek east were just beautiful; much flatter than I expected they would be too! We cruised through non-stop civilization with huge grins plastered on our faces fo...

Field Recording

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

During yesterday's ride, we enjoyed the Amalfi scenery on our second trip through it's unforgettable coastline. Though it provided spectacular views once more, we'd forgotten how mountainous the area is. Today, we were hoping for something a litt...

Amalfi Again

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

When Tyler expressed his desire to return what I call "the tunnel from hell" to do some recording, I was torn. On one hand, I was excited that he'd finally be able to capture the bizarrely intense drone noises he was so enamored with, but on the o...

What's Next

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

For some reason we can't quite put our fingers on, we've found stealth camping in Italy to be incredibly easy and rewarding. Last night's location and the views it provided this morning were no exception. We love Italy! After lazily pa...

Salerno

Monday, January 18th, 2010

After a refreshingly hassle-free boarding process last night, we made ourselves at home on the ferry to Salerno. By making a mat on the floor out of the removable seat cushions, we were able to easily fall asleep snuggled together, unimpeded by un...

Pigging Out in Palermo

Sunday, January 17th, 2010

We woke up to the morning sun streaming through our smudged ferry windows and were greeted with views of the ruggedly beautiful mountains of the Sicilian coastline. We were almost there! An hour later, we had docked and a mob was already form...

Armed and Dangerous

Saturday, January 16th, 2010

It was a drizzly, dreary day in the port suburb of La Goulette, and we were glad we weren't trying to finish a marathon to Tunis this morning. Instead, we were ready for our evening ferry and our kind hotel hosts allowed us to hang out in the lobb...

Hitching a Ride

Friday, January 15th, 2010

This morning was day two of our mad dash for Tunis. We were in good spirits, but our muscles were sore as we groggily shuffled down the stairs of our hotel for breakfast. With each step it was becoming increasingly obvious that stringing a series...

Olive Grove Angels

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

Somehow, after nine and a half months on the road, we still wake up excited about a new day of adventuring—even when just the night before, we cursed the skies and wondered why the hell we were out here at all. We just want to ride our bikes, eat,...

Sandstorm

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

In central Tunisia this morning, it felt like spring was in the air. Tara was excited, snapping photos of the delicate little buds in celebration of the coming season. Here is her first "flower hour" of 2010. Shortly after 2PM, the o...

Back to Work

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

Very excited about our first day cycling in almost a month, we were packed and ready to go in record time this morning. Before we left, Tyler ran over to Cafe la Corniche to say goodbye to Yousri while I jogged over to the pastry shop to pick up a...

Velocity Rims: Part 3

Monday, January 11th, 2010

Our rims are finally here! Tara and I tore into the boxes at the post office this morning as soon as they opened at 8:30 AM. We could hardly believe what we saw when we removed the cardboard packaging. Velocity has replaced our failing rear rims...

In Summary

Sunday, January 10th, 2010

One month after Velocity sent our replacement rims, their convoluted journey has ended here on our desert island of Kerkennah. The first two weeks featured an information blackout during which they sat, apparently forgotten, in New Jersey. Go US ...

Too Windy

Saturday, January 9th, 2010

We left our hotel bright and early hoping to pick up our wheels from the nearby post office during their brief Saturday morning opening. When we arrived they informed us that our wheels had been sent to the Post Office in Remla a couple of days ag...

Youth Hostiles: Part 2

Friday, January 8th, 2010

…I didn't want to sully our last post about Habib with the following frustrating incident. And so, in its own post, is the conclusion of our day: We arrived at the hostile in Sfax around 6:30PM. As we approached the entrance, the three men o...

Fare Thee Well, Habib

Friday, January 8th, 2010

After much discussion, we've decided to part ways with our Motobecane Mobylette 88, Habib. The appearance of our long awaited bicycle wheels in Sfax played a big role in this decision. Sadly, our separation does not involve sending him home to th...

Motorized: Part 3

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

Purchasing a scooter in Tunisia is easily the best decision we've made here. Having a rusting, rattling Mobylette of our own has created a genuine trust not normally found between tourists and locals. Suddenly the fact that we are white and obvio...

Hammama Mia!

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

We took the opportunity to treat ourselves to a hammam (Turkish bath, widely used in Tunisia) today thanks to a generous donation by regular reader, Jeanne Juneau. Thank you so much Jeanne! For our last night at Hotel Pansea, we'd like to thank o...

Hotel Pansea in Ksar Ghilane

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

First, the thank yous. Our luxury tent, complete with bathroom, table and chairs, shelves, blankets, and of course, beds, is a lot nicer than we are used to. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for making our stay here today possible, Mom (J...

Into the Desert

Monday, January 4th, 2010

Yesterday's triumphant team repair and our 70 kilometer ride without a flat finally gave us the confidence we needed to take the plunge. Today, we would ride our 25+ year old Motobecane Mobylette into the desert, 150 kilometers to Ksar Ghilane. L...

Do It Yourself

Sunday, January 3rd, 2010

For the last two days we've been unable to travel more than 40km at a stretch on our Mobylette without the rear tire going flat. In every instance there has been a repair shop within walking distance and/or many people determined to help us. This...

Getting Nowhere

Saturday, January 2nd, 2010

We stayed at our hotel until nearly 2PM trying to resolve the concerns Tyler raised in his last journal entry. Hotel Pansea in Ksar Ghilane still could not be reached. In an effort to feel like we'd accomplished something, we sent them an email s...

Control

Friday, January 1st, 2010

I am by nature, a planner. This at times clashes with the fact that there are ceaselessly a multitude of "loose ends" and unknowns before us as we travel. Improving my ability to relinquish control is something that I've had to work very hard on ...