England Entries
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Plymouth at Last
Friday, May 29th, 2009The past few days have felt a little uninspiring-- after two months of cycling in England and then triumphantly making it to Land's End, we've felt "complete" with England, ready to move on to new ad...
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Lesson Learned?
Thursday, May 28th, 2009We had a very nice morning making (and eating) a boatload of pancakes before we set off. Our plan was to cycle 40 miles to Plymouth from our campsite in Pentewan, just outside Mevagissey. Our desti...
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Home in our Tent
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009It was raining when we woke up this morning. We are only about a day's ride from Plymouth and ahead of "schedule" so we decided to take the day off. Yesterday was particularly difficult for me for ...
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A Day in the Life
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009Rather than write another journal entry about what we ate or how the roads were I've decided to document what our daily life is like. Below is an outline of a typical day bicycling around the world ...
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Land's End
Monday, May 25th, 2009On our way out of camp this morning, we met Nick and Bronwin, a really nice couple who were on their very first cycling & camping adventure. They had taken the train from London to Penzance, and the...
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Parlez-vous anglais?
Sunday, May 24th, 2009Today we enjoyed a quiet, relaxing day off in the beautiful coastal town of St. Ives. We had a nice morning walk through all the little shops before we made our way to "Pengenna's Pasties" to have a...
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St. Ives
Saturday, May 23rd, 2009Thanks to Tyler's prodding to bike extra miles the last few days, we had a short day ahead of us into St. Ives. We took our time in the morning; I leisurely broke camp while Tyler made honey butter ...
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Wild & Local Foods
Friday, May 22nd, 2009As I was filling our water bottles this morning a friendly caravanner at our campsite asked me where we were headed. I replied, "in the direction of St. Ives, but we're not sure yet!" He asked wher...
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Tintagel Cliffwalk
Thursday, May 21st, 2009I woke up early this morning to the sound of songbirds and the hum of a distant lawnmower. The sun was shining through the tent, and it felt blissfully like summer had finally arrived. I let Tyler ...
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1000 Miles!
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009We woke up early this morning to the peaceful sound of the ocean and the heat of the shining sun filtering in through our tent. Feeling incredibly content we made a point to take it slow breaking ca...
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Hearth & Home
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009Once again, we waited out the rain this morning. When the alarm went off we promptly turned it off and rolled over, the sound of the raindrops in our ears. Tyler was fed up and decided that if it k...
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Logistics
Monday, May 18th, 2009This morning was really, really trying. The sky looked promsing as we hauled everything out of our wooded free camp into the field we had sneaked into last night. Things quickly took a turn for the...
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Pain in the Neck
Sunday, May 17th, 2009I woke up to the sound of the rain with a really stiff, painful neck this morning. I'm not sure what I did to it, but I could hardly move my head! I did neck stretches (while yelping) as we waited ...
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Steak Dinner
Saturday, May 16th, 2009Another morning in England, another morning of rain! With spirits slightly sour about the prospect of another rainy ride we headed to the Glastonbury Abbey for a bit of sightseeing before we left to...
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Glastonbury
Friday, May 15th, 2009I was relieved this morning to wake up to dry skies. It was a little annoying packing as our things were still damp and icky from yesterday, but at least they weren't sopping wet. While I worked, T...
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Peaceful in the Rain
Thursday, May 14th, 2009We had a really nice ride today, the first half of which was beautiful and the second half of which was equally beautiful with the addition of misty landscapes and pouring rain. Neither of us paid a...
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Avebury
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009It was chilly and grey when we awoke to the repetetive warbles of our arch-nemeses-- a certain type of bird here that squaaaaks the same song (if you can call it that) ceaselessly: "Wuhn-waaaaah-waaa...
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Down the Road
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009We bid farewell to the Gaskells (just Liz, everyone else was at work) this morning around 10am after yet another generous breakfast of croissants, apple crisp, cereal and orange juice. I am happy to ...
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Markets & Museums
Monday, May 11th, 2009This morning we joined the Gaskells for a delicious breakfast of almond croissants (something we must have more often) and cornflakes. Sufficiently fueled for a day of sightseeing, we set off with R...
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Sightseeing in Oxford
Sunday, May 10th, 2009We were treated to a breakfast of almond croissants with butter and honey this morning. I have always loved croissants but I've never had one with almond goo inside. It was so good I can't find words...
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New Friends
Saturday, May 9th, 2009When we emerged from our tent this morning, we found that our caravaning neighbors had brought a tray with a pot full of hot tea and four mugs-- two for us, and two for Nic and Oanh. How lovely! Tea ...
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Eat Breakfast
Friday, May 8th, 2009As we were packing up camp this morning, Mark, the owner of the Green Man pub (behind which we camped) came out to talk to us and we had a nice conversation about beekeeping. He even promised he wou...
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Spring Memories
Thursday, May 7th, 2009We joined Ted this morning for cereal and toast while watching some early morning TV-- the raw inside scoop on fire-fighters and EMTs. We cracked jokes about British television while they helped an ...
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Changing Scenery
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009When we woke up this morning everything was blissfully dry, a first in at least a week! As we packed up camp I continued my crusade of teasing Tara for being a slowpoke. I realized today that the ...
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Our New Life
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009What a great day! We slept in later than we have in weeks (10am), packed up our things, and then had a leisurely morning enjoying breakfast and chatting with Pete and Reinette. As we were packing t...
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Chatsworth House
Monday, May 4th, 2009Pete and Reinette's garden made a cozy campground for us last night. When we awoke early in the morning to the sound of rain on our tent and the din of what seemed like hundreds of birds we were thr...
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Pete & Reinette
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009We awoke this morning to the sound of ducks swimming in a stream about a foot away from our tent! It took some coaxing to stir Tara from her slumber, especially after I told her that today's ride wo...
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Home Safe Again
Saturday, May 2nd, 2009After a restless night's sleep (some poor kid cried all night long and one of our neighbors snored very loudly) we got up with the intention of leaving as soon as possible. I packed up camp while Ty...
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Lost and Found
Friday, May 1st, 2009We ran out of fuel for our Whisper Lite last night while Tara was cooking a delicious macaroni and cheese dinner (with real cheese, none of that boxed crap!). In good spirits and undeterred by our mi...
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Rainy Day Off
Thursday, April 30th, 2009We decided last night that if it was raining in the morning, we would take a rest day and Tyler would get some work done. So when we awoke to the pounding of water against our tent we sloshed into t...
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Pushing Through
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009This morning we awoke to a nearly cloudless sky and beautiful, dry, warm, sun! It was actually hot in the tent! We both forgot to set the alarm last night but no matter; we have been waking up ever...
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Sopping Wet
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009The weather was supposed to be sunny all day today. Tyler and I packed up camp with high hopes in spite of the overcast skies. In the midst of packing, Pete and Reinette stopped by to say goodbye b...
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Helvellyn Ascent
Monday, April 27th, 2009As the morning wore on, the clouds cleared a bit and it was starting to look like we might have a nice day ahead of us. Tara's cramps were subsiding so we decided the day would be much better spent ...
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Waiting out the Rain
Monday, April 27th, 2009While we were in town yesterday it dawned on me that we are surrounded on all sides by mountain climbing shops, mountain climbing gear and mountain climbers yet we know nothing about the mountains in...
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Hiking & New Friends in Keswick
Sunday, April 26th, 2009We awoke to a beautiful sunny day in the Lake District-- a rare treat indeed! I walked 10 yards to the campsite shop and bought some butter and milk and set about making pancakes while Tyler was tak...
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Right at Home
Saturday, April 25th, 2009We left Cockermouth today for the town of Keswick in the heart of the Lake District. Fresh from two days of rest we were both energized and ready to hit the road. As we pedalled out of town I had a v...
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On Being American
Friday, April 24th, 2009When we went downstairs for breakfast there was an American couple sitting down already having some eggs and toast. Their names were Nikolai and Ashley, and they were from San Diego, on their honeym...
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Resting at The Rook
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009While our free-camp spot was technically great, neither of us slept very well. It was extremely windy and the confined space in which we placed our tent didn't allow room to stake the rain fly down....
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Lush Life
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009We woke up this morning and started packing up camp immediately. We were almost done when a very friendly park ranger came walking up with her dog with this to say: "You know what I'm going to sa...
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Fare Thee Well Northumberland
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009We are definitely getting better at this new way of life with each passing day. This morning we both had showers, made french toast, and packed up camp in the space of 1.5 hours and didn't feel rush...
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Finding the Right Road
Monday, April 20th, 2009We actually got up reasonably early today-- the alarm went off at 7:00 and we were up by 7:30. We're getting better at packing up camp, but all the time we save is now used to make delicious breakfa...
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Perfect Roads
Sunday, April 19th, 2009We started the morning by trying out our popovers recipe as pancakes. We wound up with hot, doughy crepes that were really, really good. Tara tossed some Hob Nobs (our new favorite snack) into the ...
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Hilly Day
Saturday, April 18th, 2009After a very relaxing evening in our 2-pound-a-night field, we munched on buttered hot cross buns and some leftover sandwiches as we packed up camp. We started our day cycling back to Rothbury by cl...
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Hedgeley Hall
Friday, April 17th, 2009We coasted into the Hedgeley Estate around 5:30pm. Affixed to the door of Hedgeley Hall was a note from our host, Katie, letting us know that she had run to the next village to visit her mother. T...
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Alnwick Castle to Hedgeley Hall
Thursday, April 16th, 2009After being rushed out of our B&B by our not-so-friendly host, we spent most of the morning exploring Alnwick Castle (Harry Potter was filmed there!). The inside of the castle itself was as fancy as ...
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Working in Alnwick
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009We've just spent two relatively uneventful nights in Alnwick at a spotless, soul-less B&B run by a very weird and off-putting bachelor with a habit of coming into our room and totally rearranging our...
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Alnwick
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009- Well, I guess I copped out of writing this entry! Tara and I both had a good laugh when we came across this today (May 13th, 2010). That little dash up there is all I wrote. Neither of us remembe...
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Warkworth Wandering
Monday, April 13th, 2009Breakfast is served in the Warkworth House Hotel from 8:00 to 9:15 in the morning. We are still in scavenger mode so we made a point of waking up in time for optimal eating. We had freshly squeeze...
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Stopping to Work
Sunday, April 12th, 2009We've stopped very early today as I have a few unfinished work projects that need to be completed. My biggest clients have all placed an incredible amount of trust in me that I will keep their softw...
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Holy Island & Drama at Newton-by-the-Sea
Saturday, April 11th, 2009We woke up on the beach to a stunning sunrise, packed up, and headed towards Lindisfarne, or Holy Island. To reach the island we cycled along the damp, seaweed-covered causeway that is only accessib...
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Goodbye Scotland
Thursday, April 9th, 2009Today was our last day in Scotland. I've joked with Tara a few times that of all the countries we've visited, Scotland is my favorite. Absolutely everyone we have spoken with has been friendly, the...