Summer 2010: Canada to Corsica

Back in Bastia

2010-09-08T07:57:00.000-07:00

Picture captions: road between Bonofacio and Porto Vecchio; knives are popoular gifts in Corsica; it's quite a hike UP to teh old city of Porto Vecchio; the harbor in Porto Vecchio from the terrace of the restaurant where I had dinner and heard the shots of the MAFIA assassination.

September 6, 2010 La Place Republic, Porto Vecchio 26/2054km 11:00am

And the cycling portion of our program comes to a close. Cycled back here from Bonofacio this morning. It took just over an hour. The hills t the very beginning weren’t nearly as steep as I had remembered them on the way in. After that, it was pretty much rolling and flat for the middle portion. Then, the hills here to get to the City Center and the hotel. Oh, and the wind that was in my face on the way to Bonifacio had somehow managed to turn around and was in my face again. The Bicycle God certainly has a sense of humor. I guess I can say it now without worrying about whether I’ll jinx myself…ANOTHER CYCLE TRIP COMPLETED WITHOUT A SINGLE FLAT TIRE!!! Pretty amazing. Of course, it’s better to carry spare tubes and not need them than to need them and not have them with you.

The room at the hotel isn’t going to be ready until 12 o’clock. I’ve put the time to good use. I asked the young woman at the front desk to call the bus company ad reserve a spot on the 8:00 am bus tomorrow with a bicycle. No problem. Then, I walked down to where the bus leaves from. About a 10-minute walk from where the hotel is. No worries. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for a smooth take-off tomorrow.

Sadly, it’s time to retire the overall SCOTT cycling pants. I’ve had them for about three years now, and they’re pretty much worn out. As is the wearer. There’s a small hole in the right pant leg. I still have my other SCOTT cycling pants. Maybe for next year’s summer cycling I’ll pick up another pair of overall pants. Maybe I’ll hang the retired pants on the wall somewhere in my apartment with a list of all the cities and countries that those pants have gone (with me in tow).

Walking up from the hotel to here, I picked up a t-shirt. On the front, it simply says “Corsica.” On the back it has a picture of a skull-and-crossbones with the saying “That’s the Spirit” underneath. Obviously, the island of Corsica has a long history of pirates. I just liked the shirt. It’s white. They didn’t have the black in XXL. Oh, well. I’m sure I’ll pick up one or two more in Bastia. Of course, that’s just what I need…more t-shirts. I also have to figure out what to get everyone else as souvenirs. AND, of course, I have to mail all the postcards back in Bastia. If the bus gets into Bastia by around 11 tomorrow (as it is supposed to), I should be able to ride/walk the bike over to the bicycle shop and try to communicate that I want them to put it in a box for me. Here’s hoping.

The woman who works at the restaurant on La Place Republic where I was sitting having a Coke while waiting for my room be ready just came up and asked if I was an actor. How nice. I had to tell her no.

Back to the hotel just after 12. I’m actually in Room #1. I don’t think I’ve ever been in that room in any hotel I’ve ever stayed in ANYWHERE. Same lovely view, just a floor lower. AND, the air conditioning is working in this room. I watched a little bit of Charlie Rose interview Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson about their new book, Sixty Feet, Six Inches. Pretty interesting stuff.

Today’s Monday, so, like many other European places, many shops are closed. Not much going to happen today. I’ll have to wander around to see if I can find the same place for the “set menu” dinner as I had last time I was here. If not, I’m sure I can find another place for a margherita pizza.

I’ve asked for a 7am wake-up call from the front desk so that I can get down to the bus stop by 8:00 for the bus to Bastia. There should be a couple of places on the way down where I can pick up some snacks for the trip.

Received little bit of bad news yesterday. Since I hadn’t sent off a rewritten proposal taking into account all of the suggestions from my potential thesis supervisor by the deadline (right about the time of Mom’s passing), my application for starting my Ph.D. in October has been withdrawn. I’m guessing I can still apply at a later date, like maybe for January 2011 or even October 2011. We’ll see. I’d hate to think all of the reading I’ve been doing over the past two years will go for naught. Oh, well. We’ll see. I’ve certainly got quite a bit on my plate right now as it is.

Oh, ya. I picked up a novel by John Sanford (a good trashy, quick read type), who writes the “Prey” novels, featuring the central character of Lucas Davenport. This novel didn’t feature that main character, but was still a good distraction for most of the afternoon and evening. I finished the book while enjoying a post-dinner glass of wine.

For dinner, I went back to the same place for pizza again. I don’t know what changed, but this time the pizza pretty much matched the size of the plate. I still had the mixed salad before, but this time the pizza was margherita (only cheese) instead of ham and cheese. And, of course, the small pitcher of local red wine. I finished it all instead of leaving half like last night.

The port was pretty quiet last night because I think many of the boats in for the weekend had left. Most of the HUGE yachts had left, that I know.

On my way out of town this morning, I saw the bus from Porto Vecchio arriving in Bonifacio for the return trip. I had seen passengers waiting for it in the designated place. I just wanted to make sure that I was in Porto Vecchio before the 12:30 bus from Bonifacio arrived there. Mission accomplished.

As I sit here at the Café Tropicana (because of the free WiFi access), I notice that the wind has picked up quite a bit. Glad I don’t have to worry about that on the bicycle any more.

When I get back to Dubai, I’ll probably take a bit of a break from the bike at least outside and just do the stationary bike (so I can read as well). I’d also like to start swimming a bit more. To do that, I’d like to get a snorkel and goggles to wear in the pool. Anyway…we’ll see. Tennis and squash will also be on the itinerary.

September 7, 2010 Bastia, Corsica 5:15pm

Got my 7am wake-up call; got on the 8am bus to Bastia (and so did the bike). Now I’m back here to wait out my final day (and a half) before heading out on the 9^th.

Last night, I went to the same pizza place as I had eaten my first time through Porto Vecchio. I sat back out on the terrace. I was actually the first person who arrived for dinner. By the time I finished, I was far from alone. BUT, one thing that happened during dinner was that we heard two gunshots from somewhere down in the port. I could tell that the waiters and waitresses knew something was up. This afternoon, I read in the Corsica paper that apparently some sort of MAFIA-style assassination had taken place. GEEZ!! Wouldn’t Mom have just loved that? Just some Corsican-style excitement on a Monday evening.

Oh, by the way…dinner was great with the chorizo and onion pizza, the tomato and mozzarella salad, and the carafe of local red wine. I stopped at one place for another glass of red on the way back to the hotel, and then crashed pretty early because I had to get up early for the bus. I made sure to pack the night before, so all I would have to do in the morning was put on my sandals, grab my backpack and get my bicycle out of the garage (unless someone had stolen it).

I was at the bus station (empty parking lot) at about 7:20. There was a big blue bus in the parking lot. Since the name of the bus company is Rapides Bleus, I figured that was the bus and that the driver was sleeping somewhere (maybe even in the bus). Not the case. The REAL bus pulled in at about 7:45. I took off the front wheel and put the bike in one of the luggage compartments underneath. 30€ later, I had my ticket. When we pulled out of the parking lot, there were only two and a half of us on the bus. (The ½ comes because the woman had a baby with her…doesn’t really count) We picked up and dropped off people all along the way.

It was difficult to look at the road and think that I had bicycled over these same roads over the past week. Had I really done that? I guess so. I recognized each of the places where I had stopped for the night or along the way where I had stopped for a drink and a bit of a break.

We picked up 5 people who looked as though they had been hiking in the mountains here. I’d like to come back at some point and give that a go. We’ll see. I don’t think I’d want to do any of them in the winter. Highest point on the island is around 3,000 or so meters. I guess that translates to about 10,000 feet. Definitely talking snow at that point.

When we arrived back in Bastia, the protesters (mentioned when I first arrived), were just arriving in San Nicolas Square. I could see how it might disrupt traffic quite a bit. It seemed as though there were TONS of them. Don’t these people have jobs? How do they get the time off? I walked through the demonstration on my way back to the hotel.

I didn’t get the same room at the hotel. I’m in the central building this time. That means that I can’t take the bike up to the room (although there is room for it). I had to put it downstairs in one of the garages under the building. The room is nice enough, still with a water view. I got to check in right away. Good stuff. It was also good to get my bag out of storage. I’m wearing my grey CITY SPORTS t-shirt. For the last week, I wore either my Moosehead Lake long sleeved t-shirt or my KWIK-Dry black Nike shirt when I wasn’t cycling.

The wind here in Bastia (and through much of the bus trip) has been up pretty good all day. I am SOOOO glad I didn’t have to cycle in it. I might have gone insane. Oh, well.

Just before I sat down to write this, I mailed off 40 postcards to both the US and to Dubai. The cost for each postcard to both destinations was .87€. Overall cost 34.40€ or something like that. The hard part was that I had to put three stamps on each card. On stamp for .85€ and two for .01€. That’s a lot of licking!!! Oh, well. I’m glad I got it done.

When I first left the hotel this afternoon (after relaxing a bit), I found that my ATM card was rejected at two different machines. THAT was certainly cause for concern. Without being able to access money, I could pay for my hotel room (on my VISA card), but I wouldn’t be able to pay for the cab to the airport, or the bike shop for putting the bike in the box, etc. I returned to the hotel and called my bank in Dubai. It turns out that the card was being rejected because my bank in Dubai has a limit on the amount of money which can be withdrawn in a particular country over a particular time period. I guess I had gone over my withdrawal limit here in France. We got that straightened out. I know that because I have since used the card to withdraw 300€ late this afternoon.

It was also nice to get back to my book stash in my bag at the hotel. I had pretty much exhausted the books I had brought with me. I’m now reading a book on one guy’s travels through Afghanistan. Seems promising.

I’ve been wandering through the souvenir shops to try to figure out what to bring back for my colleagues in Dubai without spending too much money. It looks like it might be stickers of Corsica (of various kinds and let them pick). For some of the more “important” colleagues, it might be key chains or something similar. We’ll see.

I’ll be taking the bike down (actually UP) to the shop tomorrow and hopefully pick it up on Thursday on the way to the airport. My flight to Nice (I flew in through Marseille), doesn’t leave Bastia until about 6:30 pm. I’ll try to get to the airport at about 4, just in case there’s any hassle with the bike and stuff. (That’s another reason I needed access to money…in case I have to pay for extra baggage.) I then have only about 1 hour in Nice to get to the next flight. I arrive in Charles de Gaulle airport at about 10:30 pm. I’ll get a hotel room at the airport. My flight on Friday is at 1:30 pm and I arrive in Dubai at about 10:15 local time. There’s only a two-hour time difference between here and Dubai, so the jetlag should be minimal.

So, we’re winding down on this Corsica thing. It’s been quite a trip. Wonderful towns and cities and beautiful scenery. Nice hotels (probably a little costly, but that the hell?).

Once again, my body has proven to me on this whole 2,000km bike adventure that no matter how poorly I sometimes treat it, it’s a brilliant machine and can accomplish some wonderful things. As I usually do at the end of these adventures, I vow to try to take better care of it. But, like always…we’ll see.

September 8, 2010 Bar Novelty, Bastia, Corsica 4:00pm

Last full day in Bastia. Last night I stopped by a pizzeria where I had eaten on my last evening in Bastia a week or so ago. The proprietress recognized me. Still good stuff. Mixed salad, margharita pizza, and a bottle of the local red. All the while reading one of the books I left behind when I did my bicycle trip: An Unexpected Light: Travels in Afghanistan by Jason Elliot. Pretty good stuff so far. As I write this, I’m about 140 pages into it.

On the way back to the hotel from the pizzeria, I stopped by the O’Connor Pub only to find it tightly closed up. That’s not a very good sign. Oh, well. I guess no “going away” drink there. The air conditioning wasn’t working in the room, so it was a god thing tht it was a windy evening.

The wind continued this morning. I was up and got the bike to the bike shop to be “boxed up” by about 9:30 am. (Go back to pick it up same time tomorrow morning…that’s quite a relief to have it professionally packed rather than my own doing. I mean…I could DO it, but probably not quite as well as the guys in the shop.) On the way back to the hotel, I stopped at a SPAR grocery and picked up a roll of duct tape and a package of razors Also, on the way back, I saw that the dark clouds were starting to come over the mountains outside the city. AND the wind started to really pick up. I hustled back to the hotel and back to my room. And then the rain started coming down in BUCKETS. I opened the windows, but the shutters stayed closed, so my room stayed pretty cool for the duration of the storm. After reading for a while and then showering and shaving (final time on the trip), I wandered back out. The wind had almost disappeared, and, if it wasn’t for the wet ground, you wouldn’t have noticed that there had been a storm.

Since then, I’ve just been wandering around the town, mostly trying to find stuff in souvenir shops to bring back for the Division of Arts and Sciences. It will mostly likely be stickers or key chains or some such thing. Anyway…since my plane doesn’t leave tomorrow until 6, I still have some time.

As I write this, I’m at the far end of San Nicolas Plaza. I’ll probably head up over to where the Old Port is before heading to dinner (probably same pizza place…don’t mess with a good thing).

Yesterday afternoon as I was sitting outside a café on the edge of San Nicolas Plaza, I watched a Corsica/Sardinia boat come in to the “modern harbor.” I then watched it pull out about 30 minutes later. I thought to myself, “That wasn’t very long.” I then caught myself. The boats that had come into the Istanbul harbor (which I could see from my balcony) were CRUISE ships. The ones here are FERRIES. They are simply designed to pick people up and drop people off. They aren’t stopping here so that people can visit the city and then get back on the boat and go to the next “port of call.” DUH!!

It’s official…I’m over 31,000 words for this blog. Pretty amazing. Of course, having the netpad has made that so much easier. It also added a little bit of weight to the backpack, but not too much…that and the camera. I’m glad I only brought one lens with me. It really was all I needed.

Perhaps when I get back, I can get some periodicals interested in some stories either about Boston or about Corsica. We’ll see.

Bunking down in Bonifacio

2010-09-05T05:03:00.000-07:00

Picture captions: steps up to the old city; rock formations off the coast of Bonifacio; strange outfit in St. Barthelme's Church; part of cemetery at the end of the old town; tombs overlooking the water...Sardinia is in the background; view of the harbor from the old town; view of the citadel from the harbor; small boat leaving the Grotto du Sdragonatu; Heading into the grotto (looks like a Disney ride, doesn't it?; Part of the grotto illuminated by a hole in the ceiling; beautiful turquoise water; pretty easy to see how a house could fall off this cliff; this big boat is from Nova Scotia

September 4, 2010 Hotel Roy d’Aragon, Bonifacio 26/2028km 1:15pm

I’m pretty much dreading the ride out of here on Monday. It’s going to be uphill for about the first two or three miles. That won’t be any fun at all. I could take a bus back to Porto Vecchio, but I’d feel like a schmuck if I did that. (Although I still might)

No Internet at the Hotel Caleche d’Or, so there wasn’t anything to distract me this morning. I was on the road at about 8:30 and pulled into Bonifacio at about 10. Beautiful morning. Not a cloud in the sky. The terrain was pretty much rolling until about 5 miles from Bonifacio. Then there were some pretty serious hills (both UP and DOWN). Also, there was a bit of a headwind, which I’m hoping will turn into a tailwind on the way back. (Not that that ever happens)

The whole town of Bonifacio is pretty much the harbor. There are some GINORMOUS boats here. Some beautiful sailboats as well. There is a lot of traffic with the boat tours heading out to the grottos and islands. I’ve only seen one big ferry like the ones I saw in Bastia.

I couldn’t check into the room immediately upon arrival. First time that’s happened since I’ve started this trip. Of course, I’ve e-mailed when making reservations and let them know, “I’ll be arriving late morning by bicycle and would appreciate early check-in.” Apparently, here the place was packed, and the people from the rest of the week were a bit tardy checking out. Oh, well. I wandered up and down along the Quai (key) having a Coke here and an Orange Juice there. I finally got into the room at about 1:30. Not too bad. Even though I don’t have a “marina view” (how ironic is that?), the room is lovely. There’s a nice big balcony with two sliding doors from the room out to it. From the shutter doors, I hung my bicycle clothes, and laid my shoes and socks where the sun would have maximum effect. I only thought afterward that I have two days before I have to put any of it back on.

I had originally thought that I’d just stay in the port today and explore the haute village (old town) which is a HUGE hike UP tomorrow. Well, for some reason, I did that this afternoon after showering in the room. The old town is pretty extensive, and allows for some amazing views over the ocean between Corsica and Sardinia (seen in the distance) as well as the harbor of Bonifacio. The overall picture is one of hard living as well as amazing beauty. Limestone cliffs falling into the sea. Turquoise sea near the shore. Wonderful stuff. The cemetery is a wonderful mixture of old and new structures and graves. And, of course, crosses out the wazoo. And all overlooking the sea.

My legs were feeling it when I descended down the stairs into the port. I guess that means that I’ll just stay down here tomorrow. I’ll try to keep it just a relaxed day. First thing in the morning, I’ll go out on either a GROTTO tour or an ISLAND tour (which includes the GROTTO tour). That should chew up a good part of the morning and give me the opportunity for some great pictures.

I’m also hoping to take some pictures of the ABSURD yachts moored here. I’m assuming that the C.I. on their names indicates the “Cayman Islands.” But I could be mistaken. There are some from Amsterdam, some from London, and one that I’ve seen from Nova Scotia. WOW!!!

September 5, 2010 O’Brian’s Pub, Bonifacio 1:45pmOK. Grotto tour taken care of. I decided not to do the island tour because it was windy and a bit rough. I didn’t want to get spray all over myself and my stuff and, most importantly, my camera. More on that later.

Last night for dinner, I had a ham and cheese pizza (pizza has been a staple of dinner on this whole trip…I “trust” its results) and a large carafe of good local red wine, and a mixed salad. The pizza, it turned out, was GINORMOUS!! It was twice the size of the plate underneath. It was flopping over the sides of the whole thing. I could only finish about ½ of it. I didn’t bother taking the rest of it home to the hotel. I didn’t want to wake up to the smell of day-old pizza. Too much like college.

17.50€ for the grotto boat trip which lasts about an hour. What the hell!? Some pretty amazing rock formations. We (boat and all) went right into the Grotte du Sdragonatu (no idea what the translation is). It was pretty amazing stuff. We also visited some of the other inlets along the coast. The color of the water was so turquoise!!! I almost felt like jumping over the side and going for a swim. Almost. The trip also allowed all of us to take pictures of the old city perched above the cliffs which drop right into the sea. In fact, The Rough Guide discussed “in 1966 one house fell into the sea, killing two people.”

Pushing on to Porto Vecchio

2010-09-03T06:12:00.001-07:00

Picture captions (not sure what order they appear in on the blog. Hope you can figure them out.): Beach at San Pellegrino; Great Eastern Plains with the mountains in the background on the way to Aleria; Part of the Casablanca vineyard on the way to Aleria (with tractor); Part of Roman site outside Aleria (2 pictures); Road to the mountains on the way to Solenzara (thankfully, I didn't have to cycle OVER the mountains); View from my room in Solenzara; Tower over a small beach on a stormy morning on the way to Porto Vecchio; View from my room in Porto Vecchio.

August 30, 2010 Café L’Ancura Marina, Bastia, Corsica 4:05pm

I’ve got all of the postcards addressed, but in doing so, I found I needed some more, so I’ll try to get them today.

I put the bike together this morning and then took it up to my room. All seems to be in working order. I put the box back in luggage storage at the hotel, hoping to use it for the trip back to Dubai.

I also did a bit of exploration this morning. I found the road which I had seen everyday pointing to Bonifacio. It seems that there is a tunnel that goes under the harbor and comes out on the other side. Unfortunately, no pedestrians or cyclists are allowed inside the tunnel. It looks as though I’ll have to go up and over by the citadel. I’ll also be leaving my big bag at the hotel as well. I’ll only be taking my backpack with me. Shouldn’t be a problem. At least I hope not. I left the rack that I used in Canada and Maine at Mom’s house. It wouldn’t fit in the bag, and I forgot to ask the bike shop to put it in the box. Oh, well. Here is the tentative itinerary for the Corsica bike trip (and beyond):

Aug 31 T Bastia – San Pellegrino San Pellegrino Hotel 48.5km

Sept 1 W San Pellegrino – Aleria Les Oranges Hotel 40km

Sept 2 TH Aleria – Solenzara La Solenzara 31km

Sept 3 F Solenzara – Porto Vecchio ?? 43 km

Sept 4 S Porto Vecchio – Bonifacio ?? 28.5km

Sept 5 SU Bonifacio ??

Sept 6 M Bonifacio – Porto Vecchio ?? 28.5km

Sept 7 T Porto Vecchio – Bastia (bus) Posta Vecchio

Sept 8 W Bastia Posta Vecchio

Sept 9 TH Bastia – Nice – Paris Radisson Airport

Sept 10 F Paris – Dubai My house

So, once more I’m off on the bike. Today is a little worrying because it is quite windy, but I can’t really tell which direction it’s blowing. Let’ keep those fingers crossed for a tailwind (or no wind…or not much wind).

In the table above, even where I haven’t listed a definite place to stay, I know there are a couple of options. I don’t like to make reservations because if anything happens and I get delayed, I’ll be charged for the room. Not good.

August 31, 2010 San Pellegrino Hotel 48.5/1887.5 1:45pm

I’m not sure if that’s the actual mileage because the computer was a bit dodgy this morning. But, that’s what the map shows, so I’ll go with that. There were times when the display for speed on the computer would go from 21 to 6 to 0 to 15 to 0 to whatever, all in a matter of seconds. Of course, that affected the odometer as well. Finally, it seemed to give up the ghost and just sit on 0 for the rest of the trip. Oh, well. If that’s the only thing that goes wrong on the bike, I’ll be in good shape.

Last night was pretty uneventful. I finished writing all of the postcards. I’ll mail them when I get back to Bastia. I didn’t want to schlep them all over. I only took my big grey backpack on this trip. It has only the essentials in it.

The terrain today was pretty rolling, so I was actually able to carry pretty good speed throughout. Even though the traffic on D193 and D198 was pretty steady, all of the drivers were courteous and gave me sufficient room. Some of the time there was a shoulder. Sometimes the shoulder was cement instead of asphalt which made for a bit of a bumpier ride.

Seeing as how I’d been off the bike in about 10 days, I was pretty pleased with my performance. It took a little while to get my legs under me. Only one stop for PowerAde and water. The rest of the time it was “Head down, and GO!”

Check out this morning went pretty quickly. I left the big bag to gather when I get back to Bastia on the 7^th. I think I reserved the same room I had this time for the 7^th and 8^th. Yesterday in my wanderings, I found a bike shop which might be able to box the bike for the trip home. I wasn’t able to ask because yesterday was Monday and it was closed (as were many other shops in town). Fortunately, the SPAR grocery store wasn’t, and I was able to pick up a wrench with which to tighten my pedals on the bike.

I arrived at the San Pellegrino at about 10:30. Pretty good time. (That’s what makes me question the distance). I had made a reservation two days ago. I had cancelled my reservation when Mom passed. There was a 25€ penalty for the cancellation. They were nice enough to apply the penalty to my room now. Isn’t that great??

The room is wonderful!! Lots of room. Air conditioning. About 100 yards from the beach (where I’ll take a long walk after finishing this entry). The only drawback is there are two single beds instead of one BIG one. But, it was the only room that I could check in to when I arrived. No problem.

Aleria, next stop on this adventure. There is a site containing Roman ruins just outside the town, so I’m hoping to get there at about the same time that I arrived here today so I have time to look around the ruins. According to The Rough Guide they are worth seeing.

I sent off a first draft of the initial correspondence for the project that I’ve been assigned the other day. The Director of Institutional Effectiveness sent it back with some suggestions. Before I make any adjustments, she’s going to share it with the President to see what he has to say. We’ll see.

I’ve taken the bottoms off the “zipper pants” for the first time since I began all of this in Montreal. Since I’ve got a bike tan, I guess it looks OK. The sock tan leaves a little to be desired.

Since I stopped cycling, the wind has picked up quite a bit. I don’t know if it’s just because I’m on the immediate coast or if it’s windy everywhere. I guess what it tells me is that I should get out on the road early in the morning before the wind get up. Important.

September 1, 2010 Hotel L’Atrachjata, Aleria 42/1931km 5:10pm

Overall a pretty good day on the bike. For some reason the computer decided to work again. 26 miles total. That translated to 41.6 km. Took just about 2 hours. No rush. More later.

I gotta say…the San Pellegrino complex (and it was), was pretty amazing. After a short nap after arrival, I took a loooooong stroll down the beach toward the left. There seemed to be a point of land jutting out at the end. The wind was up pretty good, but it was behind me as I headed in that direction. The sand was pretty soft, so the walking was a bit tough. The waves were up a little bit because of the wind.

At the other end was another “complex.” Just as I sat down on the patio to have a small beer, it felt as though at least two buses of senior citizens descended on the place. They all carried their “welcome glass of juice” with them. They were then addressed by what seemed to be the local version of “Julie McCoy” (Love Boat reference), a guy in a blue Hawaiian shirt. Of course, it was all done in French, so I had no idea what was going on. Anyway…I read my book and tried to be invisible.

The wind had subsided a bit for the walk back. On the way back, I walked along the edge of the water the whole way. It was so nice. I hadn’t had my feet in the water since I don’t know when. Maybe last summer in Cuba. Anyway…it felt great.

I had made a reservation for dinner (suggested by the front desk when I checked in) for 7:30. Caesar salad to start (with no anchovies) and then grilled steak with potatoes wrapped in bacon. It was all quite good and filling. Actually, I don’t usually eat steak, but it was the only thing on the menu that I could figure out. There weren’t any menus in English, so I had to try to decipher the French one. I wasn’t sure about the pasta dish, and there wasn’t any chicken, so I went with the grilled steak.

After dinner, I had two small glasses of red wine (to help with digestion). All the while I was reading some of the “box texts” in The Rough Guide with information about Corsican vendettas and the nationalist movement, etc. Pretty interesting stuff.

After that, I went to bed and slept pretty much like shit. I’m not sure why. Even though the air conditioning was on, the room was a bit stuffy. In the middle of the night, I opened the sliding door which is just inside the slatted front door. The allowed lots of cool air in. Helped only marginally.

7:30 up and over to breakfast. Hey, I was paying 7€ for it; I might as well eat it. A bowl of Corn Flakes…a bowl of fruit, a croissant, water, and juice. Should stand me well on the bike trip. Supposed to be about 40km to Aleria. That’s about 24 miles.

The morning was actually pretty cool even though the sun was shining brightly and there were a number of people strolling along the beach. I wore my black Nike Quick-Dri shirt over my bike shirt on the way out of San Pellegrino. Again, it felt good to start the day on the bike.

All through the day, I kept getting mixed up with kilometers and miles. When I first left San Pellegrino, the odometer read 22.something. The map said that Aleria was 40 km away (24 miles). I figured, “OK, when I get to about 60, I’ll be almost there.” However, I forgot that the odometer was in MILES, not KILOMETERS. So, when I took my first rest stop at 10, it took me a while to realize that I had already gone 10 MILES, not kilometers. That meant that I was almost halfway there. Oh, well. In fact, the distance wound up to be about 26 miles for the total. Of course, that included the additional two kilometers from San Pellegrino to the main road.

Again, traffic wasn’t too bad. I even clicked into my pedals today because most of the time there was a six-foot wide travel lane for me. Two stops for water/PowerAde along the way. At the first stop, I took off the black Nike shirt and put it in the backpack. The day had warmed up in a hurry. Occasionally the wind whipped up (or at least I felt it) because I was riding through the plains of Eastern Corsica. The ocean was a ways off to the left, and the mountains were a ways off to the right.

I found the hotel in Aleria without any trouble. Got checked in right away. (I had made an electronic reservation.) Really nice room. Except, the 2^nd time on this trip a room that has an unattached shower nozzle…expected to use it by hand. Nowhere to put it. Oh, well.

After showering and checking e-mail in the room (free WiFi), I headed out for the Fort and the Roman ruins just outside town. From the elevated area where they are located, there are some great views of the surrounding countryside. In addition, other than over the mountains, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Beautiful blue.

The displays inside the Museum were “okay.” But it was pretty amazing to think that I wasn’t in ROME looking at this stuff. I was a long way away.

Oh, ya…When I checked e-mail, I found out that the hotel in Solenzara where I had hoped for a reservation for tomorrow night (Sept. 2) has no availability. It is, as they often say in Europe, complete (meaning full). So, I had to go to my 2^nd option, which is a bit more expensive (but not overly so). Fortunately, I can get a room with a “sea view” for a reasonable rate. Yay!!! I’ll be sure to take pictures and send them along.

When I returned from the ruins, I wandered down to the far end of town to the local equivalent of Carrefour. There, I bought a new pair of boxers and some new highlighters. The highlighters I purchased at Office Max before I left don’t work so well. To me, it seems to be a design flaw. The ones I bought work like ball point pens. The point appears when you click the top. This is all well and good and eliminates the need to take a cap on and off, but it also leaves the tip exposed to the air. That means it dries out quickly whether in use or not. The yellow one I’ve been using is already almost dry. Not good. So, I bought a pack of four different colored mini-highlighters with caps. Should last me to the end of the trip. The boxers I’m currently wearing are on their last legs, so I picked up a cheap pair to last me until I get back to Bastia where there is a clean pair in the bag I left behind. Probably more than anyone wanted to know.

The roads of the D198 continue to be good. I’ll be following it all the way into Bonifacio. Over the next day, I’ll also try to line up accommodation in Porto Vecchio and Bonoficcio for the end of the trip. I’ll be taking a bus back to Bastia from Porto Vecchio. If I took the bus from Bonofaccio, I’d have to change in Porto Vecchio, so what I’ll do is travel from Porto Vecchio to Bonofaccio…stay overnight and one more day in Bonofaccio…then bicycle back to Porto Vecchio (30km) and stay overnight and take the bus from there.

Of course, in the back of my head, I’m deathly afraid that I won’t be allowed to take the bike on the bus back to Bastia. Just before I left Bastia, I thought about taking the bus (with the bike) down to Bonofaccio and bicycling back to Bastia. That way, I’d arrive in Bastia with the bike and not have to worry about getting it on the bike. Obviously, I didn’t do that. We’ll see if that comes back to haunt me.

So…that’s about it from here in Aleria. I’ll post more from Solenzara. There’s not much to see there. Just hanging out on the beach. No ruins or anything. It should be an easy day on the bike. From here in Aleria, it should be about 30km.

At this point, I’m over 26,000 words for the blog. Isn’t it too bad that I can’t submit a travel blog as my dissertation? I’d be about 1/2way through by now. Oh, well.

September 2, 2010 Hotel La Solenzara, Solenzara 32/1964km 3:00pm

Pretty easy day on the bike. I got a bit of a late start (about 9:30). That was because I was “only” going 32 km today (20 miles). I had a little bit better grip of the miles/kilometers thing today. Not too much confusion.

Pretty rolling terrain (only one real “hill) for most of the day. There were also quite a number of “flats”…spaces which had pretty much open plains on both side. That meant that the wind had a chance to become a bit of a factor. Oh, well. It didn’t blow too badly. (In many senses of that expression)

I managed to find the hotel La Solenzara without too much trouble. It is, after all, right on the main street. I arrived in the late morning but was able to check in right away. Pretty good stuff. Technically, it has a “sea view,” if I look straight left out the window. I immediately hung my riding clothes out the window in the sun to dry. By the time I had checked e-mail and taken a shower, they were already dry. The bed is large, and the TV works (although the only thing I could understand is the US Open highlights on EUROSport.

As I write this, I’ve already walked the entire length of the town. Not really much to see. Although, there are two other hotels that weren’t listed in any of the books that I consulted (including one given to me at the Tourist Information Office which was supposed to have all of the hotels in it from all over Corsica). No big deal. I decided not to go for a walk on the beach just down from the hotel because the other day at the San Pellegrino, the beach walking really did a number on my leg. It made them a bit more sore than usual. So, seeing s how tomorrow is a 43 (or so) kilometer day, I decided just to rest.

I now have all of my hotel reservations for Porto Vecchio and Bonifacio. The one in Porto Vecchio was a little complicated to try to do over the internet. I would up just contacting them by e-mail to let them know that I wanted a reservation for two night but not consecutively. The one in Bonifacio is not the one that I originally had a reservation in when I first planned to come here but then had to cancel. Both of them are slightly pricey, but the location more than makes up for it.

Just before I rode into Solenzara, I passed a sign which indicated that Bonifacio was 63km away. That’s odd. The map says that from Solenzara to Porto Vecchio is 43km and Porto Vecchio to Bonifacio is 28.5 km. A book from the Tourist Office in Aleria says that it’s 41 to Porto Vecchio and then 27 to Bonifacio. Who to believe? Oh, well. Just put my head down and go. When I get there, I get there. It’s not a race. I’m constantly reminded of my two favorite Nike t-shirts which I bought at the huge mall in Kuala Lumpur: one said “The Road is Long. So what?” The other one said, “It’s not a Race. It’s a State of Mind.” I had my picture taken in both of them at various points. (The first one I wore when I finished the Camino de Santiago…pretty appropriate.) I gave that one to my Kenyan doorman friend at Le Meridien Hotel in Dubai. I still have the other one. I’ll definitely have to take it with me on my next bike tour.

In Bastia, I saw a number of long-distance cyclists. Sometimes I saw them bicycling into the city. Sometimes I just saw their bicycles (complete with trailer) leaning outside one of the tourist attractions. However, since being on the road, I’ve only seen ONE. He was ahead of me on the road to Aleria early in the morning. He was riding in a tank t-shirt (wife beater) and what looked like black track shorts (ouch, my bum). I didn’t have the inclination or the energy to overtake him. I did see him turn off somewhere to have breakfast (I can only assume). Haven’t seen him since. I’ve seen TONS of long-distance motorcycle riders. Maybe I’m just going the wrong way. Who knows? But it’s the only way I’m going.

September 3, 2010 La Caleche d’Or Hotel, Porto Vecchio 42/2006km 1:00pm

Boy, was it dark this morning when I woke up. I thought I heard the distant sounds of thunder as well. In my head I started going through all of my options: Ride in the rain; take a taxi to Porto Vecchio; stay in Solenzara and wait it out for a day or so; etc. etc. The sky looked just so dark, but really, it hadn’t even started raining yet. Then, just as I was getting into m cycling clothes, it started. I kept getting dressed, figuring I could wait it out in the lobby. But I wanted to check out.

By the time I had checked out and gotten my bike out of storage, the rain had stopped. The clouds were still dark and foreboding. I decided to make a run for it. I figured that even if it started raining again, I could find somewhere to sit it out.

Just a quick note on the totals above. This is the 2^nd trip that has gone over 2,000 km. The other one was my first trip through Eastern Europe so long ago. No new countries on this trip, though. That’s a little disappointing, but what to do???

Anyway…I rode pretty hard for the whole 42 kilometers today. I got spit on a few times. I a couple of places, it was clear that it had rained just before I had gotten there. I was a little concerned with the thin tires on the wet road, but no problem. I didn’t clip into the pedals for most of the trip because I wanted to be able to get my feet down quickly if anything happened because of the wet road. I noticed that my legs were getting tired, and then I clipped into the pedals, and BOOM off I went!! With about 10 miles to go to Porto Vecchio, I was passed by a husband and wife cycling team (I’m assuming) as I came out of a water break. They passed me going pretty quickly, but I caught up with them, and just coasted on their tail for almost the whole way to Porto Vecchio. The ten miles went by wonderfully quickly.

Finding the hotel in Porto Vecchio was not so easy. First of all, the old town is WAAAAY up on a hill. I started to cycle up one really steep street and almost went over backward. So, I walked the bike up the rest of the way. After a couple of consultations with the map in The Rough Guide, I found the general direction to the hotel. I got there at just about noon. Fortunately, I got to check in right away. I paid for tonight and for the night of the 6^th when I return here to catch a bus for Bastia. I wanted to take the bike up to the room on the 3^rd floor, so I asked if there was an elevator. There was. However, it is barely big enough for one adult. The bike didn’t fit. If it did, it would be going up by itself. So, I carried it up three flights of stairs. Good thing it’s so light. Boy, did the shower feel good!!! A hot shower after a damp ride.

Out and about into the Old City. Small streets and alleyways. Pretty neat stuff. Just trying to relax. The sun has been out almost continuously since I arrived here. Good stuff all around. I’ve wandered down here to the port to the Tropicana Bar where I am writing this entry. There seem to be a million beautiful sailboats here in the harbor. Wow.

Tomorrow I head about 30km to Bonifacio and the southernmost point of this ride. I stay Saturday night and Sunday night at the Roy d’Aragon Hotel there and then return the 30km here to Porto Vecchio. Anyway…that’s the plan. Here’s hoping.

On the Road Again

2010-08-30T03:48:00.000-07:00

Pictures: Statue of Napoleon Bonaparte in Plaza San Nicolas, view of the entrance to the old harbor from the citadel, one of the huge cruise ships that seem to call at Bastia daily, looking down the coast of Corsica in the direction that I'll be riding on Tuesday, a view of teh old harbor from ground level with the mountains and clouds in the background.

August 27, 2010 O’Brien’s Pub, Logan Airport, Boston 193/1839 3:30pm

It’s been a long time away from the journal/blog, and there’s a great reason for that. On August 19, 2010, my mother passed away at Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center. She was surrounded by all of her children, her sister Cathie, and her nieces Gretchen and Marion.

Since then, it’s been pretty much a whirlwind. I spent most of the time at Wendy’s house. My Uncle Tom flew in from Washington. He stayed at Mom’s house along with Karen (and later Sean and Meghan).

The above mileage totals reflect the riding I did after the PanMass Challenge around Scituate, Cohasset, and Hull. I even bought a t-shirt on one visit to Nantasket Beach. It’s a grey t-shirt with “Go to Hull” on the front. Simple but charming.

August 29, 2010 Bastia, Corsica 2:15 pm

Back at that travel thing…

I didn’t write too much on the above entry for a couple of reasons…

1) My flight was leaving very soon, and I still had to buy a converter so I could plug my computer in here in Corsica. The plugs take the two round prongs, and I had the three-pronged cord for America. One store had a converter for about $35. I got one that has proved quite nifty for $8;

2) I didn’t do any writing on the plane. The person in the seat in front of me (as with almost all other occupants on the Air France flight) put the seat all the way back as soon as the seat belt light went off and left it there for the duration (except for meals). Not much room to type at all. So I settled in to watch movies: Love Actually, Pretty Woman, and Valentine’s Day. I didn’t sleep at all. I got some exercise walking back and forth to the galley to get additional (small) bottles of good French red wine. At the beginning of the flight, I saw a little girl of probably 6 or 7 years old who was traveling by herself and being led onto the plane by one of the flight attendants. The little girl was SOBBING. It broke my heart to see her standing there so obviously distraught. On the flight from Paris to Marseille, there were twin boys (probably 8 or 9) travelling alone. On the Marseille to Bastia flight, there were three siblings traveling alone. Pretty interesting.

3) My battery was running pretty low when I was in the layovers in Paris and Marseille.

Anyway…

My sisters Heidi and Wendy dropped me at the airport at about 1:45pm. I hope they didn’t hit too much traffic on the way home, but I’m afraid they probably did. It was so nice of them to do that. I really enjoyed the company. The Air France counter didn’t open until almost 2:20. I was pretty close to the front of the line. Check-in took quite a bit longer than I would have imagined. First, the woman couldn’t find my Paris-Corsica-Paris itinerary. Eventually she did. I was then told that I would owe $400 for the bicycle. After a bit of conversation and consulting with others, I was informed that I was only allowed 1 piece of checked baggage and would have to pay $55 for the 2^nd. That, I would live with. When I went to another counter to pay, I inquired as to why my ticket said that I was allowed 2 piece of luggage, but here I was paying for the 2^nd. I was then informed that I didn’t have to pay for the 2^nd piece. AND, the baggage was checked all the way to Bastia, Corsica.

After that, I headed through Customs with no problem and then to O’Brian’s Pub. I hadn’t been in the International Terminal in quite a while (maybe since coming in from London last summer). Usually I fly out of Boston on American Eagle to JFK. I remembered the female bartender and most of the wait staff from my last trip. Interesting. I watched some of the Hawaii-Texas elimination game of the Little League World Series. Hawaii won. Good for them.

The 7-hour layover in Paris seemed pretty interminable. Nothing much to do. I did get a piece of ham and bacon quiche. That was pretty good. I slept for maybe 2 hours in ½ hour sessions. When we landed, the transfer terminal was pretty quiet, but it got progressively more active as we went along. Read The International Herald Tribune cover to cover. One thing I DID notice in the Paris airport was that Converse All-Stars seemed to be quite popular footwear (especially the white high-tops).

I had a window seat from Paris to Marseille. I slept for almost the entire flight, but I woke I time to see the rugged, rocky coast as we circled and came in to land. Landing in Marseille is a little like landing in Logan…coming in over the water. I found out later, we also take off over the water. Pretty exciting. There was an Air France representative waiting outside the plane to hand me my Boarding Pass for Bastia. I couldn’t get into the Transit Lounge without it. There was literally NOTHING to do in the Transit Lounge in Marseille. Oh, well. Kept comparing notes between the information in my Lonely Planet for Corsica and my Rough Guide for Corsica.

The ride to Bastia was only about 45 minutes. Again, a pretty rough-looking place. We came in with low clouds hanging over the top of the mountains in the middle of the country. The best news was that the bike and bag both arrived with me!!! How great is that? After two changes? WOW!!! Then things got interesting.

When I went to get a taxi, I was told that no taxis could go into Bastia (about 16km away). Apparently, there was a HUGE protest in Bastia which had closed all of the roads in the city!!! So, the driver told me he could drop me at a train station just outside Bastia, and I could take the train from there. As we got closer to the city, the traffic seemed to be moving much better. So, the driver called a friend of his who was in the city. Nope. Nothing was moving. False alarm. I was dropped at the train station at about 6:30. The next train was scheduled to come through at 7:11 (it came at 7:15). It was supposed to arrive in Bastia at 7:21. I muscled the bike onto the train and sat where it and all of the other luggage were for the ride of about 12 minutes into Bastia. From there, I put the bag over my shoulder and the bike box on my head and carried both about ½ a mile to the hotel, which came into view none too soon.

During the ride into town, the driver had tried to convince me that the ride from Bastia to Bonifacio was not nearly as interesting as the ride from Bastia to Calvi. PLUS, there was a train to take back to Bastia. I briefly considered changing my itinerary, but have decided to stick with my original plan. We’ll see what becomes of it.

Check-in at the Hotel Posta Vecchia went quite smoothly. I have a room with a lovely seaview (mostly big ferries). The bike is in the luggage room. I made arrangements so that I could leave my luggage here to retrieve it upon my return from Bonifacio. Good things all around.

From the hotel I wandered back down to Place Saint Nicolas, the central square in Bastia. A couple of beers and a margherita pizza later, I was heading back to the hotel. It had been a long day of travel. However, when I got close to the hotel, I saw a sign advertising an Iris pub. I had to check it out. I was the only one in the place. The barmaid, a 30-year old from Bonifacio, and I talked about life, the Universe, and everything. I was drinking Diablo beer, which she told me was Heineken with a shot of tequila in it. Whatever it was, it tasted much better than regular Heineken, of which I am not a big fan. As I was leaving at about 12:30, the place seemed to just get going. Unfortunately, the bar isn’t open again until after I leave on my cycling adventure.

Today (after shaving since the morning of Mom’s service), I’ve just spent some time wandering around the city of Bastia. My first sojourn brought me up to the Citadel and around. Pretty neat stuff and wonderful views over the city and the harbor. The day was warm, but there was a cooling breeze. Even though it’s Sunday, it seems as though all of the churches are closed. More’s the pity. Clouds seemed to be hovering over the tops of the mountains in the background o the city but those clouds have since disappeared. The sun has been out all day. I’ve bought 30 postcards at .35 € each, 3€ for 10 (total of 9€). I’ll write them and send them out before leaving here. It’ll be pretty strange not addressing one to Mom.

I’ll put the bike together tomorrow and then I leave from Bastia on Tuesday. At least that’s the plan. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed.

200 more miles and counting

2010-08-12T12:37:00.000-07:00

Turkeys in Mom's Backyard; Scituate Harbor Lighthouse; beach scene on the way to Nantasket Beach

No pictures of the Pan-Mass yet. I hope they'll be coming soon.

August 1, 2010 Mom’s Kitchen, Scituate, MA 56/1342km 11:00am

Just got back from a 20 miles ride this morning. From Mom’s house to Nantasket Beach and back. Beautiful day. Little headwind along the way back. No worries. About 15 miles yesterday down to the harbor and back. The weather has cooled down a bit. Don’t know what the next weekend will be like. Let’s hope for cool and clear with a tailwind (ya, right).

On Friday, I walked up to the Dana Farber to visit with Mom and Wendy while Mom was getting her treatment. Her primary nurse, Carolyn, is very nice. I really wanted to try to find a hotel room (not in the Fenway area) in the city and cycle down to Scituate on Saturday, but Mom was having none of that.

So…we put the bike in the back of Wendy’s vehicle and they took it with them down to Scituate. I headed back towards Fenway where I met up with my brother Bill and some colleagues of his who were going to the Sox game. We met at UNO’s, had a beer, and then they headed off to the game. I stayed at UNO’s and had dinner before catching a cab over to South Station to grab the Greenbush train down to North Scituate. Wendy grabbed me at the station and delivered me to Mom’s.

Saturday was pretty much a day at leisure. Mom and I hang out and watch Golf, Tennis, and Baseball. And chat. Nice day overall. We opened all the windows in the house to allow the cross-breeze to keep the house cool. Good stuff.

After Mom headed into her room after the Sox game (yay, Ortiz!), I flipped back and forth between Road House, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. Good stuff. Boy had they cut the hell out of Road House. I kept thinking, “Wait a minute. What happened to the part…?” Oh, well.

My sister Karen came in last night after going to see “Pippin” which features my niece Colleen. Apparently, it was quite good.

August 9, 2010 Mom’s Kitchen, Scituate, MA 304/1646km 1:00pm

WHOO HOO!!!

Back at Mom’s house after the Pan-Mass Weekend. Quite an experience. I am SOOOO glad that I didn’t have to get on the bike this morning.

I am also SOOOO glad that I got to ride the first day (the 109 mile day) with my brother Bill. It had been such a long time since we had had the opportunity to do something like that together. I think the last thing we did together was hiking up Mount Washington. But that was about 10 – 12 years ago. Saturday was such a special day. He certainly helped me keep plugging along.

From Bourne, Bill was picked up by my sister Heidi. They met Bill’s family in Boston. Bill had dinner with his family, and then got on a plane to go to Italy for business.

5:30 am start from Sturbridge. The pack was led by State Senators John Kerry and Scott Brown. Apparently, I was informed later, the two of them were just doing the first day. We came out of the parking lot at the Sturbridge Host Hotel and took a left. We were riding right into an absolutely beautiful sunrise. It took us about 6 ½ hours to cover the 109 miles from Sturbridge to Bourne. Not so bad for a couple of first-timers.

Not much sleep at Mass Maritime Academy in Bourne. No air conditioning in the dorms. Four grown men sleeping in two bunk beds. No breeze from outside. I’m guessing I got about 3 – 4 hours’ sleep, sweating the whole time.

At the BBQ Saturday night, I caught up with Dorothy Bicknell (a long-time family friend) and her family. This year’s ride was her 25^th (out of 31). Pretty amazing stuff. Also at Mass Maritime, there is a Proof of Life picture taken by an official PMC photographer. The participants are all people who are survivors of cancer who are participating in the ride. Pretty impressive.

I left Bourne on Sunday morning at about5:20 am. It was barely light out. After only about 5 minutes of cycling, we were faced with having to cycle over the Bourne Bridge. Quite a wake-up call. I arrived at the Provincetown Inn at about 11:30 for the 78 miles. I wasn’t the first at the finish, and I wasn’t the last. Pretty brutal headwind for about the last 10 miles into Provincetown. I suppose that’s pretty much a constant because of the location.

All the way along the route, there were thousands of people cheering us on. The two most common cheers I heard along the way were:

“You can do it!!” and

“Thank you!!” Even when I thanked any of the volunteers (about 3,000 total) for something, they would respond, “Thank YOU for riding!”

There is one young boy that was pointed out to me (can’t remember the town) who comes out the route every year. The first year he held up a sign which read “I’m 5 thanks to you all.” This year he held up a sign which read “I’m 14 thanks to you all.” Great stuff.

Also, along the way, I was amazed by how many flat tires I saw along the way on Sunday. A couple of people remarked about it. Some others said, “Well, with 5,000+ riders, 50 or so flat tires really isn’t that many.” PLUS, there were support vans cruising all the way along to assist riders with any bike-related problem. Great stuff.

I was a bit surprised by how emotional I felt at the finish. I likened it to arriving at the cathedral in Santiago de Compostella after completing the Camino de Santiago. A mixture of pride, relief, accomplishment, a sense of being involved in something really important. For all of you who supported me financially or otherwise, thank you very much. (If anyone still wants to contribute, you can log onto the Pan-Mass Challenge website and do so until October 1, 2010. My number is KN0070.)

There seemed to be a HUGE number of first-time riders this year. Of course, there were also quite a number of riders who have completed multiple rides (out of the 31 that have been conducted).

From the Finish Line, I walked about a mile down to the Ferry dock. I took a 3:00 Fast Ferry to Boston (thank you, Bill) which arrived at 5:00. From there, it took me about 5 minutes to cycle down to the Marriott Long Wharf where I had made a reservation at the end of the previous week.

Really nice room. Great location. Quick shower. Wander down through Faneuil Hall re-hydrating at a couple of bars. Ultimately winding up at The Purple Shamrock for dinner and to watch a disappointing Red Sox game.

Walked from the hotel down to South Station this morning and took the 10:30 down to North Scituate. My sister Wendy graciously picked me up at the station and drove me to my Mom’s house.

In the week before the ride, I had been getting on the bike every day and riding 15-20 miles around Scituate and Cohasset. One day, I rode all the way over to Nantasket Beach over in Hull and back. Pretty good stuff.

Now, I can relax a bit and spend the next two weeks just hanging out with Mom and the rest of the family. I’m hoping to go up and spend a couple of days (maybe 1 ½) with Bill and his family. I’m hoping to be able to do a little book shopping as well instead of having to rely on Amazon.com shipping them over to Dubai. The shipping is almost as much as the total for the books when I do that. I obviously couldn’t pick up a whole lot of books along the way while I was on a bike. But, before I head back to Dubai, I can pick up some. If all the planets align in the near future, I might get to start on my Ph.D. in January. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed.

Back in Boston

2010-07-29T15:01:00.000-07:00

Pictures (in no particular order):

Statue of Paul Bunyan in Bangor; Me in front of the Portland Head Light; the beach scene at Old Orchard Beach; a DRIVE-IN that I passed on my way to lake Sebago; Ken Davis' house on Frye Island; the bluest sky we were looking at from Ken's front porch on Tuesday afternoon.

July 20, 2010 Fireside Inns and Suites, Bangor 60/893 3:45pm

I got e-mails from both Liz Greason and Ken Davis yesterday. Setting up my visits. It’ll be great to see both of them.

Last night I had a small bowl of chili (risky) and then the chicken parmesan with spaghetti for dinner. Pretty good stuff. The Bear’s Den is an interesting place. After that, it was pretty much off to bed to watch some baseball, read a bit of the John Sanford book, eat a Snickers (carried around in the backpack for two days), and go to sleep.

Slept OK. I guess at some point last night, I rolled over and hit the bedside lamp and knocked the lampshade off. I put it back as best I could this morning. A bit slow moving this morning. I couldn’t really decide whether to try to get a ride to Bangor or to risk it and just go as far as I could until something happened (maybe) to the tire with the bump in it. I had heard the owner of the place say on the phone that he was heading into Bangor today. When I asked him about it, he told me that he wouldn’t be going until about 2 in the afternoon. He told me if I was still around that I was welcome to a ride. I also tried to call the number that the waitress had given me last night for the local taxi. No luck.

Eventually, around 8:30 I decided to just go and see how far I could get on the tire. As it turns out, I got all the way here. As I suspected, I did have to break out the “back-up clothing” because the other stuff hadn’t quite dried. I hope it’ll dry while I’m here in Bangor.

When I had asked the owner for a lift to Bangor, he indicated that the True Value Hardware Store in town did bicycle repairs/service. I stopped there on the way out of town on the off chance that they might be able to help me. The “bike guy” in the shop said, “Yup…it’s the tire. I don’t know if we have that size here. Let me check.” When he came back, he said, “Nope. We don’t have that size. The nearest service would be either Greenville or Bangor.” I said, “Well, I’m heading to Bangor. Do you think I’ll make it on that tire?” He actually seemed to think about it for a while and then replied, “Yup. The road’s pretty good between here and Bangor.” I thanked him and left, keeping my fingers crossed.

The ride, in general, was pretty good. The day started out really sunny, but eventually it became a grey, cooler day. Not much wind to speak of. Only a couple of stops for liquids. There were a couple of HUGE hills, especially at the beginning f the trip. There was a good bicycle path all the way along. There were a couple of scenes that I wish I had stopped and taken a picture of along the way. But, I was more concerned with keeping the momentum and kept going.

Without too much trouble, I found the Fireside Inn and Suites. I got a room for two nights. Tomorrow, early, I will take the bike to the nearest bike shop (maybe 2 miles away) to get a new tire for the back. Then, I’ll be good to go to start heading down toward Portland on Thursday.

Anyway…that’s the plan.

July 21, 2010 Paddy Murphy’s Pub, Bangor, Maine 19/912 3:30pm

Sort of a good news/bad news day.

The good news is that I got the back tire fixed on the bike. I had to cycle over to a place near the Bangor Mall called The Ski Rack. The bike shop was wonderful. The clerk seemed quite knowledgeable. He suggested his most durable tire and installed it. It seems that I had pretty much blown out the back tire. I guess I was lucky to have made it all the way here (and then to the Mall) on the tire. The replacement tire cost $40. The clerk didn’t want to charge me for labor (it took about 30 minutes), so I left him with a $5 tip. Everything seemed okie-dokie on the ride back to the hotel.

Of course, there was also some bad news involved as well. I tried to find the bike shop which as only two miles from the hotel. However, I found Cottage Street, but there was no 141 house there at all. Oh, well. Then I had to cycle another 5 miles out by the Bangor Mall where the other bicycle shops were. Oh, well.

The bad news is that it didn’t rain today. Even though all of the forecasts had predicted that it would. That was why I had taken two nights at the hotel. That is why I didn’t get the tire fixed yesterday. Anyway…that means that I’ll have to rethink a little bit about tomorrow. There are supposed to be possible showers in the afternoon, and it’s supposed to be WINDY. Well, that’ll pretty much determine how far I’ll get tomorrow. I was hoping to get all the way to BATH, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. Anyway…we’ll see.

After I returned from getting the tire fixed, I wandered about 1 ½ miles down into Downtown to meander around. Pretty good stuff. I stopped at a couple of bookshops. In one I bought one Spenser novel (which I probably read a thousand of years ago), and two Louis L’amour books (which I don’t think I’ve ever read), and one Zane Grey novel which I’m SURE I’ve never read. In the 2^nd bookstore, I saw a couple of titles which would be good to include in my Ph.D. study. I can’t remember them right now. I probably should have written them down. One was by Rory Stewart (who wrote about his walk across Afghanistan), and the other was a book about following the five books of Moses across the Middle East. I’ll have to try to get them when I get to Mom’s. Anyway…

Oh, wait a minute. I stopped by the Hollywood Slots and Raceway on the way back to the hotel. (It’s right next door.) The place was PACKED!!! Of course, as you might imagine, I was the youngest person in there by maybe 10 years! The beer was a bit cheaper than in the hotel. I watched the end of the Red Sox game (from the West Coast). They lost (again). I also finished reading the Spenser book that I had bought downtown. It was called Ceremony although I STILL can’t figure out what that title has to do with the plot of the story. And, of course, at this point, I can’t ask Robert B. Parker.

Not much else happening…Just a day of relaxing and getting the bike back in tip-top shape before the dash down the coast.

July 22, 2010 Amore Restaurant, Belfast 58/970km 4:30pm

next to the Belfast Harbor Inn

Well, isn’t this unusual? I’ve been to Belfast, Northern Ireland, and now I’ve been to Belfast, Maine. Not too many similarities. Both pretty green. Other than that…

Not much happening last night. I had chicken fingers, vegetable beef soup, and the Pub Cheese Chicken Burger and a glass of red wine. All good stuff. All sat reasonably well.

Slept pretty well. The room was dark as a cave. I could hear the thunder as I was watching TV last night. I watched some baseball and also the movie Independence Day with Will Smith. Lights out at 11. Could still hear the rain and thunder.

Out the door this morning by about 8:30. One last look for accommodation in Belfast before I left. No worries. Today was supposed to be windy, but that never really appeared (at least not while I was on the road).

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but the road, for the most part was pretty good. I had expected the traffic flow to be similar to what it was outside the hotel. Nope. Pretty much a two-lane road with a bike lane. Not too much traffic, and not too many trucks. Good stuff overall. About 10 miles outside Belfast, 1A merged with US1 for the rest of the way. I’ll pretty much follow that all day tomorrow into Bath (that’s the target). Should be 50-60 miles.

I rode for a couple of miles alongside another long-distance cyclist. She seemed like a nice young lady. Originally from the West Coast, she was visiting some friends throughout the US and cycling around wherever they were. She was heading from Bar Harbor to Belfast today. She was going to be spending a couple of days around Belfast. After a couple of miles of riding next to her, I saw a big hill coming up, and wanted to get some good momentum going, so I sped off. Up at the top of that hill, I pulled over for some Gatorade. While I was drinking it, there was a brief rain shower, which I waited out for about 30 minutes.

On the way into Belfast, I pulled over at the Information Center to find out if there was any accommodation in the city of Belfast. I was told that the only accommodation in the city proper would cost me $300 or so. No thanks. My options outside the city were the Comfort Inn or the Belfast Harbor Inn. I chose the 2^nd. I had seen it online, and, I believe, it is less expensive than the Comfort Inn. It is also about a mile closer to the town than the Comfort Inn (less travel tomorrow). Nice room. Continental breakfast tomorrow morning (starting at 7). I’ll need the fuel for the ride to Bath.

July 23, 2010 Black Barnacle Pub, Bath, Maine 109/1079km 5:00pm

WOOOOW!!! Really, really long day on the bike. Bath was certainly a little further than I had originally anticipated. I probably should have gone to Camden last night. But…that’s water under the bridge.

Before I forget, I meant to mention that there was a guy who came into the Amore Restaurant last night who had had an accident with a table saw very similar to Jim’s. Except it was this guy’s LEFT hand. He lost all of his index finger, and his middle finger might not come all the way back. Other than that, he was VERY lucky. (His words)

The chicken parmesan (notice a pattern here?) at the restaurant was quite good. A bit too much with the fettuccini, though. And I didn’t even touch the salad. I figured the pasta was more important for today.

Last night I watched most of the USA-Canada World Cup of Softball game. The US absolutely dominated. It was 4-0 before the end of the 2^nd inning. Two home runs…absolutely CRUSHED. One by Jennie Finch. Too bad she’s retiring. She is just lovely and a helluva talent. Oh, well. I suppose the team will just “restock” (not rebuild).

Didn’t sleep especially well last night. Lots of tossing and turning. But, before I knew it, it was 6:45. I got off to a bit of a late start. On the road by 8:30. (Ultimately pulled into the Hampton Inn in Bath at about 4:30) The day was MUCH warmer than I had anticipated. Very few clouds during the day as well. And HILLS, HILLS, HILLS. That wasn’t the worst part. The WIND was. Pretty much dead into the wind all the way. There were so many times that I would be faced with a pretty good downhill before a pretty good uphill, and I just couldn’t carry as much momentum off the downhill as I would have liked because the wind picked up. Another day of having to peddle while going downhill (many times) in order not to lose speed. Pretty frustrating.

The bicycle lane, for the most part, was pretty good. However, the “frost heaves” were especially annoying. (“Fump-fump” about every ten yards or so for most of the trip) After about the first 20 miles, the “refreshment stops” presented themselves a bit more regularly. There was literally nothing for the first 20 miles. Pretty frustrating. I picked up two SNICKERS bars (2 for $1) at one of the early stops. They are now re-solidifying in the refrigerator in my hotel room. Maybe I’ll have them for desert when I get back to the room.

There seemed to be pretty much of a bottle-neck in Wicasset as I came through. I passed most of the traffic as I came down the hill and across the bridge into Wicasset “proper”. As I passed out the other end of town, the traffic was backed up the other way for quite a bit. I figured it’s a bunch of people heading out for the weekend somewhere on the coast. There seemed to be lots of campers, etc. Some of the “recreational vehicles” look like full-sized busses. AND, they’re pulling a trailer or a car behind them. Pretty amazing.

Occasionally, when the wind and the terrain seemed to be conspiring against me, I toyed with the idea of putting out my thumb in the hopes that someone with a pickup truck would pull over and I could put the bike (and me) in the back and get dropped off in Bath (or somewhere on the way). However, I’m glad I didn’t.

Tomorrow should be an easier day than today down to Portland to see Liz and Josh. (36 miles vs. 68 from today) I think it’s good that I’m arriving on a Saturday. That’ll give us ½ a day and then all day Sunday to visit. It’ll be great to see them. Off to Kenny’s on Monday.

When I arrived in Bath, I went directly to the Tourist Information Center to ask about directions to the Holiday Inn (which I had seen online yesterday). I asked the woman at the Tourist Center to call to ask about availability. Unfortunately, they had just sold their last room. (Bummer) Next on the list was the Hampton Inn. Fortunately, they had a room. It was a bit dear at $159 for the night. Oh, well. I didn’t care at that point. I just didn’t want to have to cycle much further. It turns out to be a BEAUTIFUL room. It’s such a pity that I’m not going to be in it very long.

It’s almost 7:30 now, and as I write this, I’ll finish my pint of Moosehead and head back over to the Kennebec Tavern which is much closer to the hotel for dinner. All that I could get here at the Black Barnacle are sandwiches in one form or another (Panini or wrap). I need something a bit more substantial. Anyway…that’s the plan.

I’m kind of disappointed that I’m not in Canada anymore and can’t readily watch CFL on TV. Bummer.

Dinner at J.W. Merrill’s. Onion soup, loaf of warm bread (good stuff), and chicken cordon bleu. I at only about ½ the chicken. I wasn’t crazy about the heavy sauce on top. Good stuff, though. Over to the Kennebec Tavern for a glass of red wine before heading back to the room.

July 24, 2010 Dry Dock Pub, Portland, Maine 56/1135km 6:00pm

Josh and Liz just left to go meet her aunt and uncle for dinner and then the show “Chicago” at the Maine Musical Theater. I’ve stayed here in the Old Port area of the city. Just to have a couple of beers and some dinner and then head back to their place. We’ve had a really nice visit. Chilling out on their balcony when I first arrived and then heading out to Portland Head Light (lighthouse) for a bit of a walkaround and then down here to the Old Port. Ill grab a bite to eat down here somewhere and then take a taxi back to their house and wait (or not) for them to come home. I might just turn in early. We’ll see.

Slept pretty well (go figure) last night. Up only once to pee. The first time I stirred this morning, it was 6:10. The next time I looked at my watch, it was 7:10. Up and at ‘em. I watched a bit of SportsCenter as I got ready.

I headed down to the front desk at about 8:10. I paid my bill and got what was left of my $50 deposit (after last night’s phone call to Liz). I headed outside to drink my last bottle of water before heading out. I thought I had left my red glasses in my room on the table in the room. I asked for my room key back so I could retrieve them. As soon as I entered the room and didn’t see them on the table, I felt on top of my head. DUH!!! So I wouldn’t look like a total fool, I swapped out the red glasses for the clear ones before I got down to the desk. Besides, since the day was pretty overcast, I would wear the clear ones on the ride. I still felt pretty stupid.

I walked the bike up all the hills in Bath to where I was able to pick up Route 1 which I would then follow all the way to Portland. It was about .6 of a mile. From there, the ride wasn’t too bad. I stopped twice for refreshment. I arrived at Liz and Josh’s at about 12:15. Not too bad time.

Unfortunately, I somehow missed the cross street where I had planned to cross over from Route 1 to Route 9 (the road on which they live). So, I wound up all the way into Portland, and had to backtrack a little (maybe a mile) up Route 9 to their house. No worries.

When we went over to Portland Head Light, the fog had begun to roll in a bit. There was also a couple getting married in the park. At least we think they were GOING to get married. The ceremony hadn’t actually started as we were leaving. The lighthouse was pretty impressive and OLD. The coast around the site was pretty rugged. It’s pretty obvious why a lighthouse was needed in that area.

July 25, 2010 Liz and Josh’s house, Portland 9:00 am

An absolute DELUGE last night. It just POURED. No wind. No thunder and lightning. Just rain and lots of it.

Great brunch. I had Eggs Benedict and a Bloody Mary. After brunch, while Josh went to his cousin’s birthday party, Liz and I went to watch about six innings of thee Portland Sea Dogs game. Great fun. Nice day. Sun popping in and out. The Sea Dogs were getting killed 6-0. I think it’s the Red Sox AA affiliate. None of the players looked all that great. Some good baseball, though. And, of course, the entertainment is pretty amusing between innings.

Overall great entertainment. Chicken, asparagus, and potato salad on the menu for dinner. Good stuff.

July 27, 2010 Ken Davis’ Cabin, Frye Island, Maine 45/1180km 9:00am

Sorry I didn’t touch base yesterday.

First of all, a big shout out to Liz and Josh for two enjoyable days in Portland. It was a wonderful time. Thanks, you two!!! Great stuff.

Yesterday, I left their house at about 8:30. Took Rte. 9 south to Rte. 302 West. Just stayed on there for the next 20 miles all the way up through Windham, North Windham, and up to Raymond, Maine. Turn off onto Raymond Neck Road and 5 miles later, I was pulling up at the Frye Island Ferry Landing. The terrain wasn’t too bad. Except the ride was pretty much into a steady wind all the way. When I head out on Wednesday, if I don’t have that wind behind me, I’ll be pretty pissed off.

Ken, Brenda, Chloe, and Olivia were all waiting on the other side of the ferry trip. It was about 11:30am. It was great to see all of them. (Oh, ya. Duke was also with them…Duke is a short-legged chocolate lab mix.)

The rest of the day was spent wandering around the island and viewing Ken’s beautiful (but slightly unfinished) house. It really is lovely. I’d include some pictures, but on the ferry ride over, my 2^nd battery died. So, until I can get three CR3 batteries to put into the battery pack, I can’t take any more pictures or upload pictures to the blog. Sorry.

Yesterday afternoon, the wind really came up. We were going to go swimming at don’t brother’s house, but the waves were WAY too rough. Even Chloe, the swimmer didn’t want to go into the water. Later in the evening, we walked from Ken’s house to go down to the beach to watch the sunset. From the beach, we could even (barely) see the outline of Mount Washington. I thought it was a beautiful sunset, but apparently not “up there” on the Davis scale.

Grilled steak tips, corn on the cob, green beans, and fried potatoes for dinner. INCREDIBLE stuff. When Chloe came home from work, she tucked in to what was left like a lumberjack. Pretty impressive.

After dinner we looked at some pictures of the house-building and Chloe’s pictures from her recent (April) trip to China. Apparently, a couple of the students they visited with over there are now coming over here during this coming school year. A couple are staying with Ken and his family. Should be interesting.

As I write this, I’m sitting outside on Ken’s deck…not a cloud in the sky…slight breeze…waiting on Chloe’s pancakes. What a life!!!

The plan for tomorrow is to be on an early ferry and cycle back through Portland to Old Orchard Beach just for one night. Then, on Thursday, pick up the Downeaster to Boston. From there…we’ll see.

July 28, 2010 The Pier Pub, Old Orchard Beach 74/1254km 4:15pm

(770.5miles)

Another big shout out to my great friends Ken, Brenda, Chloe, and Olivia Davis. One and a half great relaxing days on Frye Island. In fact, the girls bought me a Frye Island t-shirt. Great stuff.

I was up early. Ken was as well and made for the two of us “homemade mcmuffins.” Outstanding. The girls were rousted out of bed to say good-bye. (I apologized to them for the early hour.) Ken, Duke, and I walked down to the ferry landing after breakfast. The ferry left the island at about 8:15, and by 8:30, I was on the other side and cycling for Old Orchard Beach. Oh, ya…by the way…there wasn’t the hint of a breeze on the island. Only once I hit the mainland. Go figure.

The total distance today was a little more than I had anticipated. I was figuring about 35 miles or so. Even though it was a bit longer, my overall time (about 4 hours) really wasn’t bad, considering.

The breeze that I had ridden into the whole way to Ken’s house had somehow managed to reverse itself and was today in my face the whole way. Obviously disappointing, but what’s to be done???

Instead of following Rte. 302 all the way into Portland and then picking up Rte. 9 to Orchard Beach, I decided to cut over Rte. 4 to Gorham and then pick up Rte. 114 to Scarborough, then Rte. 1 South and Rte. 98 into Old Orchard Beach. The terrain wasn’t bad, but the wind made a bit of tough going. Pretty gusty in places. I doubt it would have been any different if I had gone 302 all the way. Anyway…

Once I got into Old Orchard Beach, I cruised down the main drag looking for some of the Hotels/Motels I had seen online. I saw many of them, but most of them had NO vacancy. I found the Moby Dick Motel and Grocery Store. Fortunately, there was a room available, but it had to be cleaned. I was asked to come back in an hour. The General Store was absolutely CRAZY with sub and pizza orders and people just coming in for refreshments and snacks to take back to the beach, which was only about 75 yards from the place. I had seen this motel online while at Liz and Josh’s. It was one of the options.

I used the time to cycle back to the train station to check on the Downeaster for tomorrow. There’s a train to Boston at 8:15, and one at 1:05. The first one gets into North Station at about 10:30; the latter at 3:15.

Since the train station is not really a “train station” but the Chamber of Commerce, I was not able to actually BUY a ticket. I can call and make a reservation, and I will be given a reservation number and then I pay the conductor on the train. OR, I can try my credit card in the machine at the Chamber of Commerce to buy my ticket. OR I can try a reservation online. We’ll see what happens.

I’m guessing I’ll catch the 1:05 with the bicycle because it really doesn’t matter about timing tomorrow. From North Station, I’ll cycle over to Kenmore Square and try to get into the Hotel Buckminster for two nights. Then, on Friday, I’ll walk up to Dana Farber and visit with Mom and whoever drives her in during her appointment. On Saturday, I’ll cycle out of the city and down to Scituate (approx. 26-30 miles). I’m really looking forward to that.

When I got back to the Moby Dick’s, I spoke with the young lady who was cleaning the room. It turns out she’s from Kazakhstan. What a great coincidence! We chatted for a little while about my trip there and that there are a lot of Kazakh students at AUD, etc. She seemed genuinely excited by the conversation. It was nice. Her English was actually quite good…Much better than some of the Kazakh students at AUD. Go figure. Anyway…by about 2:00, I got into the room and was able to hang out my clothes and take a nice hot shower. (Usually the best part of the day)

When I had originally spoke to the people in charge, I was told the only room available had two “double beds.” In some places, this means two “twin beds.” In this case, it means, essentially, two QUEEN beds. Great stuff. One for me to sleep in. The other one for me to lay out all of my stuff to dry, etc. No worries.

I connected the computer once inside the room. Moby Dick’s has WiFi, but I didn’t have the access code. On the way out to walk downtown, I stopped in the shop and asked for the code. No worries. So, if I don’t find any pub or restaurant here that has WiFi access, once I get back to the room, I should be “hooked up” and can explore a couple of things like Train tickets and hotel rooms in Boston. We’ll see.

July 29, 2010 Hotel Buckminster, Kenmore Square, Boston 32/1286 4:30pm

Little bit of a crazy day today.

I slept reasonably well after a bit of a pub crawl last night. I was up early at about 5:20. I was planning on being on the 1:05 Downeaster to Boston. Unfortunately, there were a couple of problems. One: I was told that there were no bicycle slots available for the foreseeable future on any trains. Obviously that was a bit of a problem.

I was given the number of the Downeaster administration, and discussed the issue with the Customer Service person. I was informed that perhaps the Amtrak people misunderstood my question. I was informed that bicycles are only onloaded at Portland, Wells, and Boston. The only person who could approve loading a bicycle at Old Orchard Beach was the Train manager. So, I could simply sit at the station and wait and hope….OR I could get on the bike and head up to Portland (or down to Wells) where I could put the bike on the train. I opted for Portland…mostly because I felt I would have a bit of a tailwind (or at least not a headwind). It also seemed to be a bit closer. I wasn’t sure how far Wells was. I was told that I could take a bus to Portland. I was told that it comes by every 30 to 45 minutes.

I waited about 15 minutes and then decided that it was only 11 o’clock. I could certainly make it to Portland in time for the 2:15 train. I took off. In fact, I made it to the Portland Transportation Center in time for the 12:50 (the one that would be passing through Old Orchard at 1:05). I arrived at the Center at 12:30. The ticket (with the bike) was $29. Not too bad.

When it was explained to me why I couldn’t load the bike at Old Orchard Beach, the reason given was because the car that the bikes go on is at the front of the train and doesn’t line up with the platform when the train comes in to the station. When I borded the train at Portland with the bike, I was told to put it at the front of the car in the space that is usually reserved for Disabled passengers. AND…AND…later in the trip, another cyclist boarded with his bike at a station that was NOT Portland, Wells, or Boston. He put his bike in the handicapped space on the other side of the aisle. Pretty frustrating. Oh, well.

I had surfed last night and this morning trying to find a hotel near Kenmore Square with no positive results. When I arrived at North Station, I headed for Kenmore Square just hoping that something might have changed. Luckily…it had. The Hotel Buckminster had an Economy Room (or a Palace Room) for $115 for the night. SOLD!!! It was about 4 miles from North Station to Kenmore Square (at least the way I rode). I rode around the Common and then up Beacon Street all the way to Kenmore.

I’ll call Wendy when I get back to the room after dinner. I had an e-mail from Bill, and I asked him how to get to where Mom will be in Dana Farber tomorrow. We’ll see. He’s going to be at the Sox game tomorrow night.

So…one more day to ride for a while…down to Scituate. I’m really looking forward to it. If I stay around here, I’ll take the Jamaica Way. We’ll see. Mom may insist that I come down to Scituate tomorrow with her and whoever takes her in. We’ll see.

Bearing down on Bangor

2010-07-19T16:01:00.001-07:00

Images: (clockwise from left)...

There are lakes everywhere in this freakin' state; one of the enormous hills on the way between the Canadian border and Bangor; the Pleasant Street Inn in Greenville (a lovely B&B); a view from the dock at the Black Frog in Greenville. I guess the sign has much more significance in the winter.; the Brown Moose Motel in Jackman where I rested after crossing the Canadian border and waiting out the rain at the border crossing.

July 15, 2010 Invitation Inn Motel, Ste. Marie 58/628km 4:30 pm

Little shorter day than I would have liked. I got off to a bit of a late start (almost 9). The route was pretty clear. I had ridden 6 miles before I even got to the turnoff for Rte. 175 South. The terrain, for the most part, was pretty rolling with some rather large hills. Not too bad overall. Once it was clear that I wasn’t going to make it all the way to Ste. Georges, I set my sites on Ste. Marie.

Tomorrow’s forecast is for showers and wind and possible thunderstorms. What I might wind up doing is jumping in a big taxi and head down to Ste. Georges. From there, I’ll head over the border to Jackman, ME. Anyway…that’s the plan. I’ll see what happens when I wake up.

That also might give me the chance to update the blog, which I haven’t done in a little while. I’ve got some nice pictures from Quebec City to add as well.

July 17, 2010 Northland Hotel, Jackman, ME 70/698km 4:00 pm

Okay, Okay, Okay. I missed yesterday. There really wasn’t much to report. I did, in fact, take a big taxi over to St. Georges and got a room at the Comfort Inn at the far end of town. It was a lovely place. While we drove over, we drove through occasional wind and heavy, heavy wind. I was glad that I had decided not to ride. It would have been amazingly annoying.

Anyway…most of the day was spent reading and occasionally napping. I actually ate lunch for one of the first times on the trip. I had a chicken burger with fries. Pretty good stuff. For dinner, I had the restaurant’s version of “chicken parmesan.” Pretty good stuff. Carrots and rice pilaf and Caesar salad and chicken noodle soup. It tasted wonderful. Didn’t sit particularly well. Oh, well. After dinner, I just went back to the room and did a little searching for accommodation for today and watched the CFL game between Hamilton and Winnipeg. Hamilton won pretty easily after knocking out the starting quarterback for Winnipeg.

I didn’t sleep particularly well, but since I had turned out the light at 10:30, I had plenty of opportunity. I only got up once to go to the bathroom. The rest of the time, I slept well in between tossing and turning.

Today, I was on the road by about 8:15. It was breezy, but mostly a “cross wind.” The terrain was not rolling, but HILLY. There were some HUGE hills. Overall, a pretty tough day. But, I got it done. Once I left St. Georges, there was virtually not a single store at which to stop and get a Gatorade or PowerAde or even water. The first opportunity I had was at the border crossing, about 28 miles into the trip. There, all that was available was at the Duty Free Shop. I got two Cokes and three small waters. I stopped for about 45 minutes before heading through the border crossing.

The officer at the crossing asked me the following questions:

HIM: Why are you on a bicycle?

ME: Because I’m crazy.

HIM: What do you do for work?

ME: I teach at The American University in Dubai.

HIM: Well, that would explain all the travel stamps in the passport.

ME: Sir, it looks like it’s going to rain pretty much any minute. Is there any room or anywhere I could sit or stand and wait out the rain?

HIM: Sure. Just pull into Bay #3 up by that table. I’ll tell my boss what you’re doing there.

Under the shelter of the bay, I sat and waited. It took only about 10 minutes before a steady drizzle began. That increased to a downpour within minutes. Of course, the wind was blowing, and I still got a little damp. But not nearly what would have happened if I had tried to cycle through it. Once it finished, I stayed dry through the whole rest of the whole rest of the trip. I was a little nervous when I finally pulled into Jackman that the rain was going to start soon, so I really cycled pretty hard for the last 5 or so miles.

Overall, there wasn’t too much traffic on the road today. As I got closer to Jackman, there were actually houses along the road. That was nice in case I had to ditch in case of rain. Fortunately, I didn’t have to.

I found the Brown Moose Motel (where I had made a reservation and had a confirmation last night) without too much trouble. It is literally RIGHT next door to Bishop’s Motel, which really had been my first choice (because I had read about it in the Rough Guide. But, I didn’t hear back from them last night. The Brown Moose is smack in the middle of town.

The room is beautiful. TWO big queen beds. TV, free internet access, good water pressure in the shower, AC. Good stuff. It was interesting to turn on the TV and find that all the channels were in English. But, DUH!!! Anyway…it was a nice treat. However, when I tried to find the Red Sox game, I couldn’t. Maybe they play tonight. I figured that since it was Saturday, they would be playing an afternoon game. I guess not.

I’ve pretty much decided that I’ll be taking the Downeaster from Portland to Boston after spending a little time with Liz and Josh, and Kenny and his family. I think I need to go see Mom. I still want to cycle from Boston to Scituate, though. I’ll try to stay at the Buckminster in Kenmore Square, so I can walk up to Dana Farber to see Mom if she comes in for treatment. I’ll only stay one night. It depends on what time I get into North Station on the Downeaster. Anyway...that’s the plan.

I’m supposed to head to Greenville tomorrow. We’ll see how that goes. According to the map. It’s about 50 miles. I hope to get an early start.

As I’m sitting in my room at the hotel (Brown Moose Motel), it’s POURING outside along with a bit of thunder and lightning. On the TV earlier, I saw that there would be an “event” tonight but that tomorrow would be nice. Here’s hoping.

July 18, 2010 The Black Frog, Greenville 80/778km 3:30pm

Pretty good overall day on the bike. I made it the 50 miles to Greenville in just about 4 hours (that’s minus the break that I took in Rockwood for a Gatorade and water). A couple of severe hills, but for the most part, pretty manageable terrain.

I slept pretty much like shit last night. My left knee was acting up a bit. I couldn’t tell if it was structural damage or whether it was my gout had kicked up. Since the knee didn’t bother me while on the bike today, I figure it’s the gout. I took some pills in the middle of the night (which have been prescribed) and it’s okie-dokie today. Anyway…

Up and out by 8. Watched a little bit of the (British) Open Championships. Tiger and Phil were pretty much out of it, but were trying to do whatever they could anyway… I went outside before I left to take a picture of the motel and “Mother Bear’s Restaurant” across the street (where I ate dinner last night). Good stuff. The wind was up and there were a few dark clouds in the sky. But, I figured if I can get the 50 mile ride in today before any weather moved in, I could do the 30 mile ride early tomorrow even if the weather moved in. Anyway…that was the thinking.

Oh, ya. Before I forget…on the ride today, I saw a little red fox on the side of the road as I was cycling by. Apparently, I scared the shit out of the fox because he looked at me and ran in the opposite direction as fast as it could. I was also looking for moose all along the way, especially as I was going really fast coming down hills or on straight-aways with momentum. If one came out of the woods and stood in my way, I was pretty much screwed. I would lose that collision. Fortunately (?) I didn’t see any.

For the most part, today the tarmac was pretty good, but coming out of Rockwood, for about 5 miles, the road was in really shitty condition. I had to be really careful about the cracks in the road. Because of how thin the tires are on the bike, any big crack heading in the same direction can grab the tire and create a real problem. So, needless to say, they are best avoided.

Here in Greenville, there are some great t-shirts and sweatshirts that I would love to purchase, but won’t because of the extra load on the bike. I really wish I could. Up in this area, they really play us the whole “moose” thing. Pretty funny.

I have taken a somewhat expensive room at the Pleasant Street Inn, which is a BEAUTIFUL old home. The people seemed very glad to see me because they have no other guests for tonight. Of course, the room includes breakfast tomorrow morning. I’m really looking forward to that. It seems that the only times on this bicycle trip that I eat breakfast are when I stay at really nice B & B’s (like Le Capucine in St. Placides). Anyway…tomorrow’s ride to Dover-Foxcroft should be pretty easy. It’s only 30 miles or so. Certainly easier than today. We’ll see.

July 19, 2010 Bear’s Den Restaurant, Tavern, 55/833 5:45pm

and Motel, Dover-Foxcroft, Maine

Not quite as easy a day as I had imagined. There were essentially three (3) reasons for that:

1) There was so much shitty road surface. There was about 3km of new tarmac, and that was wonderful to cycle on. However, much of the rest was HORRIBLE. I had to be constantly on the alert for huge cracks that might grab my front wheel and send me head-over-heels off the bike.

2) There were some ENORMOUS hills, especially in the first 1/3 of the trip. Obviously, these took quite a bit of time getting up and over.

3) There was about a one hour “rain delay” in Abbot Village. It had just started raining when I pulled into the General Store for some Gatorade. By the time I came out, it was raining pretty good. I just sat down on the porch and waited until it had reduced pretty much to a drizzle. Since Dover-Foxcroft was only 12 more miles, I figured I could stand getting a little wet. The ride from there wasn’t really too bad.

I found the Bear’s Den Tavern, Restaurant, and Motel which I had located on the web last night. It’s a really lovely place. All self-contained. That means that I can sleep here as well as eat here as well as get a beer (or two) here. I got into the room right away when I arrived (about 1:30). Unfortunately, I don’t think my stuff will be dry before tomorrow. That means I’ll have to wear the back-up stuff. (Good thing I’ve kept it.). I should be able to dry everything in Bangor.

Today, I discovered a little bump in the back tire. I’m a little concerned, but it didn’t seem to create a problem (other than the thump, thump as I was going along). I have to decide in the morning whether to chance it on the 38 miles to Bangor or to take a taxi to Bangor and locate a bike shop to fix it. Either way, it’ll get fixed in Bangor. I don’t know if it’s something in the TUBE, or something on the actual TIRE. It’s not rubbing against the brakes or anything, so I might just take the chance tomorrow to Bangor. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed.

I’ve been in touch with Elizabeth Greason and Ken Davis about when I might come into Portland and Sebago. It shouldn’t be too long. By then I should be well over 1,000 km. Another monster trip.

In Greenville, I finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, which was the last book that I had with me. So, in the Northland Outfitters store, I bought a John Sanford novel and a Jonathan Kellerman book. I hope to pick up some more meaningful reading when I get to Bangor, or Portland, or Boston.

So, that’s where I am right now.

Quitting Quebec

2010-07-16T05:08:00.001-07:00

Pictures: One of the soldiers outside the citadel (still a working military base); the view out my hotel window in Quebec City; some of the colorful buildings in the Lower Old Town; the view of the Hotel Frontenac.

July 12, 2010 St. Patrick’s Pub, Quebec City 65.3/570km 5:25pm

OK. I think I’ve figured it out. The bike computer is set for MILES instead of kilometers. I saw a sign this morning that said “Trois Rivieres 80km.” that sign was 9km into my ride. Therefore, I rode 71 kilometers yesterday. If I multiply the 48km that I rode yesterday by 1.6 (conversion from miles to kilometers), I come out with 76.8. Just about right. Also, my total trip from Montreal to Quebec City has totaled 176. It is generally accepted that the distance from Montreal to Quebec City is about 250+ kilometers. If I multiply 176 x 1.6, I come out with about 280. That would be about right considering some of the side trips I’ve taken (following the bike route off the main road (but then rejoining it). So, those are the numbers I’ve included at the top of today’s entry. It also directly impacts the speed I thought Id been traveling. Normally, when I look down at my computer on the flats, my speed is inevitably between 15 – 16. That’s MILES PER HOUR. Translated to kilometers, that’s 24 – 25.6 kilometers per hour. Not too bad. I had been thinking that I was just really slow. But I was passing a TON of people yesterday (when I was riding amid the Ride to Conquer Cancer people). Oh, well. All part of the adventure.

I’ve heard a couple of times from the Editor of Esquire: Middle East while on the trip. He really liked the piece I submitted, but he’s had to cut it down. I always like to give editors a lot of stuff to work with and let them shape it as they wish. Anyway…he will be sending me a final mock-up for my approval. When he does, I’ll send it along to everyone. It’s pretty exciting. I’m hoping that this might lead to more work with them (or even with other magazines in the region. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed.

Today was a pretty brutal ride. There was the HEAT, but also some REALLY big hills. Just put the bike in the lowest gear and hunker down to pedal like hell. In addition, as I was coming out of Donnacone, for some reason, the computer went from displaying all of the totals from Montreal to beginning at “0” on all counts (time cycled, total distance, etc.). Pretty frustrating. But, there still was an overall counter somewhere, and I managed to retrieve it. That’s where I got the 176 number that I discussed earlier.

Quebec City certainly is a LOOONG city. Once I hit the city outskirts, it was almost another 45 minutes to an hour before I actually arrived in the Old Town. For good measure, there were a couple of detours thrown in along the way. It’s all good, though.

I’ve spoiled myself a little bit by getting a room at the Hotel Clarendon, the oldest hotel in the Vieux Carre (the Old Town). It’s REALLY nice. I’ve noticed that a number of hotels that I’ve stayed in have terrycloth bathrobes in the closet for the guests to use (which can also be purchased upon departure (new ones). Pretty cool. AND, the room that I have for tonight (moving to a little cheaper room tomorrow) has a jacuzzi int eh bathroom. Sooooo cool. Anyway…I’ll be here in Quebec City tonight and tomorrow night before heading out towards the good ol’ US of A on Wednesday. I passed Route 175 Sud (south) on the way into Quebec City, so I just need to retrace those tracks, and I’ll be heading toward Maine. I might even stay one more night here in Quebec City because I’ve looked at some of my itinerary for the coast of Maine and I’ve found that I have a couple of pretty short legs. If I need to pick up any time at any point, I can do it there. I’m just saying.

While on my way walking from the hotel over here to St. Patrick’s Pub, I passed a bookstore and picked up The Girl Who Played With Fire because I should be finished with Monsieur Quixote by tomorrow. I really enjoyed the first one in the series, so I’m hoping this one keeps pace. We’ll see. I obviously don’t want to carry more than one book with me at a time. When I get to Bangor, I’ll try to pick up a Rough Guide or Lonely Planet for New England. I forgot both of those books in Dubai, but it’s probably just as well because of the weight they would have added. Once I get into the US, I can ditch the Lonely Planet for Montreal and Quebec City even though it has served me well. Any weight jettisoned it good. I left a pair of gloves and a pair of socks behind in Three Rivers, as well as my boxers (still damp after being washed the night before) and my white ankle-high socks that I’d worn for the whole trip. I still have two more pairs of black ankle-high NIKE socks and one extra pair of gloves (although they’re a little tough to pull on…don’t have the Velcro strap at the wrist). Right now, my tan on both arms extends to just about mid-bicep to just above my wrist. Pretty weird.

Oh, ya. Before I forget, it seems as though I’ve arrived in Quebec City just in the middle of a HUGE music festival. The festival runs from the 8^th to the 18^th of July. Among the musical performers are

The Black Eyed Peas

Steve Winwood

Santana

Iron Maiden

Rush

Jimmy Cliff

Allen Toussaint (those from New Orleans will recognize this name)

I’m sure there are a bunch of popular Canadian popular acts who are also listed, but I have absolutely NO idea who they are.

Apparently, Steve Winwood and Santana are both playing tomorrow night (the 13^th). The venue is a place called “The Planes of Abraham.” Weird. Unfortunately, both shows are sold out. No tickets. Oh, well. Not sure if I would have gone anyway. The older I get, the more I just really HATE crowds (for the most part).

I’m a little worried about my new, expensive camera lens. It seems as though it got a little wet during the downpour in Bertheirville and now has a little trouble with the “autofocus.” I’m hoping to find a camera shop here in Quebec City tomorrow to check out the problem. It’s the only lens that I brought with me. If it’s not working properly, I’m SOL. That would really suck. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

July 13, 2010 Hotel Clarendon, Quebec City 2:30 pm

Well, it’s been a pretty busy day so far. I changed my room first thing this morning. My new room doesn’t have a Jacuzzi in the bathroom. Oh, well. It has a bathtub, though. I’ll think about that later. I got all the stuff laid out to dry before I head out tomorrow. Apparently, David Ortiz won the Home Run Derby yesterday (last night). Not too bad for someone who was supposed to be “washed up.” I had to pay for tonight’s room in cash (US $$) because there’s a problem with my VISA card. I’ll have to try to call Dubai and get it straightened out. I don’t know what’s the problem.

Then I went out and wandered about the Old Town of Quebec City. Some pretty good stuff. I went inside the Basilica of Notre Dame. Pretty impressive. Unusual casket top for Francois de Laval, a missionary who apparently founded the church in New France. The altar was pretty much all in gold, but it was impressive.

I walked out through one of the old city gates and into the city just outside the walls. Apparently, there is someone doing a “tribute” show to Johnny Cash. I’ll bet THAT’s interesting. I know that here in Canada, country music is very popular. Not that that’s a BAD thing.

From there, I walked by one of the concert venues for the festival tonight. It looked as though it could hold quite a crowd. I have to keep remembering that Quebec City is pretty small as far as “cities” go. If there are multiple concerts going on at the same time, I don’t know if any of them will be that crowded. I’m not sure, but I’m not going to find out because I’ll try to be in bed early tonight. I hope to get an early start tomorrow. I’m hoping to get all the way to St. Georges. I’m not really sure how far that is because the kilometer readings on the map aren’t especially clear. Also, I don’t know what kind of terrain it’s going to be. I suppose if it takes me two days to get to Jackman, either way, it’s two days. Between Jackman and Bangor, it looks to be pretty hilly. Along the coast it shouldn’t be too bad. The area around Bill’s house will be a bit tough, though. Like always…we’ll see.

Then I wandered up to The Citadel. Since it’s a working military base, no one is allowed to wander around alone. You either go with a big group tour or you pay for an individual guide. Apparently, the 22^nd Regiment (the occupants) are the baddest MF’s in the whole of the Canadian Army. Anyway…the tour was pretty good. I think I got some pretty good pictures of the city below as well as some of the structures of the fortress. Just at the very end, as we were all walking along the ramparts, it began to rain…not pour…but a steady drizzle. By the time I had gotten out the other side of the building, it had stopped. It’s just been grey and damp since then. I guess I won’t be needing my sunglasses anymore today.

I’ve just uploaded all of my pictures from my camera onto the computer and looked at them. Not too bad. Even though through the viewfinder it doesn’t look as though the lens is focusing, none of the pictures are out of focus. The lighting for most of the pictures today wasn’t great, but at least they were in focus. Oh, well. I’ll just keep my fingers crossed. I’ll include a few more pictures in the blog when I update it later today/tonight before heading out toward the US of A tomorrow.

Didn’t sleep so great last night. Second night in a row that I had some pretty weird dreams. Also, the air conditioning was a bit sporadic. One minute I woke up and I was freezing; the next minute I woke up roasting because the AC had cut out. Oh, well. When I first woke up, I watched a little bit of Robert Downey Jr. on Inside the Actor’s Studio. Pretty interesting stuff. He’s a brilliant talent who’s made a great comeback from near disaster. Well, I guess it pretty much WAS a disaster. But he’s made it back. I watched a bit of Sherlock Holmes on the flight from France to Montreal. Not a wonderful movie, but it’s hard to look away any time Robert Downey is on the screen. (And of course, I ALWAYS appreciate Rachel McAdams.)

July 14, 2010 St. Patrick’s Pub, Quebec City 2:30pm

For whatever reason, I just didn’t get on the bike this morning. I just wanted to stay here in Quebec for one more day before I begin my adventure southward toward Boston.

I spoke with Mom last night on the phone. She sounded a bit tired. I guess that’s to be expected with all the treatments, etc. She expressed concern and suggested that I just jump on a plane and head home. I told her that I needed to put many more miles on the bike and that I really wanted to see Kenny and Liz Greason and see Lisa and Mike’s house in Wells. We’ll see how things develop.

Watched a bit of the All-Star game last night. It turns out that I saw all of the scoring before I fell off to sleep. According to the reports, it was the lowest scoring All-Star game since 1997. It was also the first time that the National League won since 1996. Quite a stretch.

I spent most of this morning wandering around the Lower Old Town of Quebec City. It’s really a lovely little place. Lots and lots of tourist shops, but I pretty much ignored those. As with all of the Old Town, lots of little streets and alleys. I also wandered down to the port. Not much going on there. It has turned out to be a wonderfully sunny day. I’ve taken a few more pictures to round out my collection of Quebec City.

I’ve just finished The Girl Who Played With Fire. Quite a book. I’m going to try to find a copy of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, which is the 3^rd and final part of the trilogy. I know there’s a bookstore that has a hardback copy of it, but I’m not sure I want to carry that on the bike. We’ll see. Maybe I’ll have to wait until I get to Bangor. I tried to buy a David Balducci book last evening, but the bookshop wouldn’t take a US$100 bill. Oh, well. Maybe I’ll go back there.

Definitely getting on the bike tomorrow and hoping to get all the way to Saint Georges. It should be about 80km. I’ve already done close to that a couple of times on this trip. If I get an early start, I should be able to make it.

Oh, ya. On the way between the Lower Old Town and here, I bought a new pair of underpants. It’s been a while since I’ve had any. I think I left the last pair in Three Rivers. Thank goodness. I still have a couple of pairs of socks and one additional pair of gloves.

July 15, 2010 Invitation Inn Motel, Ste. Marie 58/628km 4:30 pm

That also might give me the chance to update the blog, which I haven’t done in a little while. I’ve got some nice pictures from Quebec City to add as well.

2010-07-11T14:02:00.000-07:00

Pictures: Some of the riders from the Ride to Cure Cancer; a shot of the street performance in Montreal; the statue of Christ outside the church in Three Rivers (with the Notre Dame East Street sign in the foreground).

July 9, 2010 Days Inn, Bertheirsville 47/337km 6:30pm

As I pulled into Bertheirsville, I got caught in thunder and lightening storm. It absolutely POURED for about an hour. I was stuck under an awning of an abandoned store. That was okay until the wind picked up. And of course, there was the lightening. Not pretty. By the time I got settled into my room here (thank goodness), it had pretty much petered out. But I was pretty wet and desperately needed a HOT shower. Fortunately, I got one in the hotel room. Hung all the stuff up to dry. We’ll see.

July 10, 2010 D’Artagnen’s Pub, Three Rivers 43/380 5:00 pm

I didn’t get to write much yesterday at the Day’s Inn. I did get a chance to update the blog this morning before I left, however. Most of my time was spent resting, trying to get warm and trying to dry my stuff out to wear today.

I ate across the Boulevard at Mike’s. I had Minestrone soup (see earlier comment) and the Chicken Parmesan with linguine. Both were really excellent. I picked up three bottles of water on the way back to the room. There, I watched the CFL game between the Toronto Argonauts and the Winnipeg Bombers. A wonderfully entertaining game. I was hoping to catch some of the Red Sox – Blue Jays game, but it was not on any of the channels I got on the TV. Oh, well.

Apparently, overnight, the rain cleared out. This morning was pretty dry and warm, but not as warm as it had been over the past week. I saw very few cyclists over the route today, so I’m thinking that the Ride to Cure Cancer route was different than the one that I was on. The destination was the same, though. I was told at the first hotel that there were probably no rooms in the whole city. The man at the Reception Desk at the 2^nd hotel (Delta) apparently took pity on me and offered me a small suite with a bed from the pull-out couch for $120 for the night. SOLD!!! It was either that or get back on the bike and backtrack about 8 or 9km to the last hotel/motel I saw on the way into the city, or head easterly and try to find the next hotel/motel on Route 138. I took the room. It might have been the last available room in the entire city. (yay)

For whatever reason, I thought that all of the riders in the Ride to Cure Cancer were all staying in tents in the big field that was featured on the website. Apparently not. It seems that most of them prefer the comfort of hotels to the camaraderie of “Tent City.” Whoodathunk??

As I sit here typing this, it appears that this small city is PACKED!!! In addition to all of the bicyclists, it seems that there is a bit of a “motorhead” exhibition down near the river (I believe that would be the St. Lawrence River).

I had toyed with the idea of taking a bus (from the station right behind the hotel) from here to Quebec City in order to stay a bit closer to schedule. However, I realized that a) riding there will be more beneficial in preparing for the Pan-Mass Challenge and b) I would feel much better about myself if I can ride into the city. I won’t be able to stay as long, but it’s the right thing to do.

While I was putting all of my wet clothes from today (and a couple from yesterda ) out on the balcony (on the 12^th floor, yuck), I got to watch the end of a Magnum P.I. episode. Good stuff. I then took a VERY hot shower and just relaxed for a little while. Since then, I’ve been out-and-about in the town. It’s a nice place.

Oh, ya. I’m thinking the guy at the bike shop in Montreal might have set my computer for MILES instead of KILOMETERS. The reason I think this is because, according to the computer, I’ve pedaled about 88km since Montreal, but Three Rivers is generally acknowledged as the halfway point between Montreal and Quebec City. However, most people (and maps, etc.) agree that the total distance between Montreal and Quebec City is 250 or so kilometers. So, if you divide 250 in half, you get about 125 kilometers. If you multiply 88 by 1.6 (the miles to kilometers formula), you get 140km, a bit closer to what should be the halfway point. I’m not sure. I’ll have to check it out later. Also, it seems that I’m going pretty fast, but the speedometer only registers 15 – 17 of whatever (mph or kph). I’ll try to get it straightened out in Quebec City.

Watched the Uruguay – Germany 3^rd place game from the World Cup this afternoon. It was a wonderfully entertaining game. Germany won 3-2. On the last free kick of the game, Diego Forlan for Uruguay hit the cross bar. Then the game was over. What a heartbreaker. The final game is tomorrow at about 12:30. I need to be wherever I’m going to spend the night by then. I really want to see the game. It should be quite something, considering neither of the teams has won a World Cup before. That means I’ll probably have to get on the road much earlier than I usually have. Maybe about 7:30 (after breakfast, which comes with the room).

When I get back to the room, I’ll do a little bit of surfing to see if I can make a reservation in an appropriate place between here and Quebec City. The bicycle riders from here will be going all the way to Quebec City tomorrow. It’s probably a good thing that I won’t be trying to go all the way there with them. It might turn into another accommodation nightmare. Maybe not.

July 11, 2010 Hotel Le Portneuvois, Portneuf 48/428 4:00pm

Well, today I went 48 something…not sure if it was miles or kilometers. I rode most of the day with riders doing the Ride to Conquer Cancer. They were heading all the way to Quebec City. Tough day for that. Although the day started foggy and grey, it soon became quite sunny and hot. At the beginning of the route today, there were a number of convenience shops along the way. After a while, they disappeared almost completely. More’s the pity.

It’s a bit unusual. One of the people who rode yesterday from Montreal to Three Rivers said they went 143 kilometers yesterday. I’m even more convinced that there’s something wrong with my computer because it shows a total of 135 as the distance travelled since Montreal. Not even as much as Three Rivers. Very unusual. I’ll try to see about it in Quebec City.

I’ve sent a reservation request to the Auberge (Hostel) St. Louis which is pretty centrally located in the old section of Quebec City. I hope to hear back from them before the end of tonight.

I managed to arrive at the hotel here in Portneuf about 5 minutes before the kickoff for the World Cup final. Outstanding timing. Although, as I write this, I think I could have been a bit late because the game is in extra time. It hasn’t been a particularly exciting game, but the excitement is building in terms of who might get the goal that wins the whole thing.

It’ll be a little lonely tomorrow, riding all the way by myself. It has been, for the most part, a beautiful ride, along the side of the St. Lawrence River.

On to Quebec

2010-07-10T04:04:00.000-07:00

July 8, 2010 Bar Terrace, Montreal 3:30pm

Last day in Montreal. At this point, I’m just not ready to handle 160 miles in two days, so I’m going to handle it in 3 days instead. I’ve already communicated with the people in charge at The Ride to Conquer Cancer. All of the moneys will still go to the cause, but I just won’t be taking up tent space at the midway point.

Some good news…I got a new computer for the bicycle today. I was told at the shop that the only way to service a POLAR bicycle computer was to take it to a POLAR dealership, and since there wasn’t one in the whole of Montreal, I was pretty much shit-out-of luck. However, I got a new computer installed for about $40. A good deal. In addition, the bicycle technician was a little worried about putting a rack clamp on a carbon fiber seat post. So, I swapped out the carbon seat post for an aluminum one. Then I won’t have to worry about the post cracking and breaking at any point. I can replace the post when I get back to Dubai. Not a big deal. The new seat post cost $20. Another good deal. These guys in the shop (right around the corner from the Hotel) really knew their stuff.

So, I’m good to go tomorrow. It should be another hot day, but there is supposed to be some rain coming in over the weekend. I should be in Quebec City by somewhat early Sunday. I’ve located reasonable accommodation in Louisville (about 80-90km from Montreal) for Friday evening. I think I’ve located reasonable accommodation in Donnacona for Saturday evening. Then it’s into Quebec City. I guess I’ll have to try to secure accommodation when I get there.

I updated the blog this morning with a couple of pictures. I hope to keep doing that everywhere I can find Internet access. This Terrace Bar has WiFi access, so I’m good.

A bit of a lie-in this morning. Mostly because I knew the bicycle shop wasn’t going to open any time before 10. But also, because I had nothing really planned. There were no World Cup games, nor were there any Wimbledon matches. Just a leisurely day before heading out tomorrow.

One thing that I’ve noticed here in Montreal is that shoulder to elbow tattoos on both men and women seem to be INCREDIBLY popular. It’s almost as though everyone his walking around with one sleeve.

Earlier this afternoon (about 5 or so), I followed a HUGE performance group down the street. They wound up at a big square in front of an official looking building, and did quite a few amazing acrobatics. Of course, it was all rehearsed, but it was still pretty amazing. At the end of it all, the primary performers walked off down the street, and the rest of the performers followed shortly afterward at a run.

I’ll be heading to NAPOLI shortly for a repeat of last night’s dinner (except without the Onion Soup…not great). Bacon and ham pizza and a ½ bottle of Valpolecella. Good stuff. Tomorrow will be a long day, and I want to have sufficient fuel in my system. I should be back in the room by a little after 9 in order to watch the LeBron James special during which he reveals his new team. Most people are already claiming he’s going to Miami to join Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosch. Can all three of them survive with only one basketball? It’s one thing to have a bunch of superstars on an Olympic team which lasts for a finite period of time. It’s quite another to have them on one team for an 82 game season + post season. I mean, the Big Three in Boston all had to back off their egos in order to make it work. Can these three do it? They are much younger and perhaps much earlier in their EGO stuff. Just a thought.

I finished The Dancer Upstairs by Nicolas Shakespeare. It was a wonder, but heartbreaking story, supposedly based on true events. More’s the pity. It’s also supposed to be a movie with Javier Bardem. I’ll have to try to find a copy when I’m back at Mom’s.

So…back on the bike tomorrow. I should be able to follow Rte. 138 all the way to Quebec City. Here’s hoping.

Back in Montreal

2010-07-08T09:09:00.000-07:00

July 4, 2010 Bar Central, Montebello 2:45pm

Happy 4^th of July everyone!!!

Another bit of deviation to the schedule. I was supposed to be heading back to Montreal this morning, but I woke up with a horrible case of diarrhea (Thanks Wendy for the correct spelling). In a lot of other instances, that can be dealt with, but on a bicycle, not so much. It’s pretty tough. So…another day here in Montebello.

One good thing is that I got to watch the Wimbledon Men’s Final. In some spots, it was pretty interesting, but for the most part, it was pretty clear who was going to win. Nadal played well, but certainly not his best. He made WAY more unforced errors than he usually does. I think Berdych was a bit overwhelmed (as are many first-time Grand Slam finalists) by the whole situation. He played well in spurts, but never really mounted a threat.

It was interesting to see and hear Borg and McEnroe commentating on the 18-16 tie-breaker from 30 years ago tomorrow (July 5). Of course, it was also very nice to see the grass on the court worn down up by the “T” as well as at the baseline.

Another beautiful, sunny day here. The wind has come up this afternoon, but it seems to be coming from the same direction that it has been all week. Let’s hope that keeps up for tomorrow and Tuesday.

I’m thinking of trying to shed a little more stuff here before heading out tomorrow. I can certainly get rid of one of the pairs of bicycle gloves and perhaps one or two pairs of socks. I can also probably get rid of one of the sweatshirts (Don’t need both). I want to try to get the backpack on the rack down a little because it was a pain-in-the-ass to keep it centered (even with all the bungee cords) on the way out here.

I included a couple of pictures in the last BLOG update. Some pretty good ones, I think. I’ll try to take some more pictures on the way back. (Perhaps more than I took on the way out because the weather will be much better…insha’allah)

Tomorrow night I’m hoping to stay at Le Capucine just as I did on the way out. This time, though, I think I’ll take one of the upstairs rooms with a shared bathroom. It’s about $10 less than the room I had on the way out. This time, I’ll eat dinner at the house as well as breakfast. (Wasn’t it so lovely last time?)

I’ll try to sort out accommodation in Montreal tonight from the hotel room (where I have WiFi access). We’ll see how that goes. I’ll try to let everyone know where I’m staying.

I’m hoping to get an EARLY start tomorrow to try to stay out of the midday heat. I’ll also stop a couple of places along the way to take some pictures that I wanted to take on the way out, but didn’t because the weather was such crap. Here’s hoping for some better pictures.

July 5, 2010 La Capucine B&B, Saint Placides 6pm 65km/215km (approx.)

Lat night was nothing special. I watched the end of the Montreal Senior Open. Larry Mize won over John Cook. I remember seeing Larry Mize chip in at the US Open (I think) to stick another dagger in Greg Norman’s heart. Anyway…Mize is certainly not a long hitter, but incredibly accurate and a helluva putter.

After that, I sat on the porch and read a bit. I’m almost finished with Down the Nile in a Fisherman’s Skiff. Some interesting stuff. Of course, once I’m finished with that, I’ll be out of books. I didn’t bring any more with me. I guess when I get back to Montreal, I should be able to find one or two others. I don’t want to carry too many with me (obviously).

I wanted to get an early start today, and I guess I kinda did. I was out the door and on the road by 8. I left the blue sweatshirt behind. I felt kinda bad because I think Mom bought me that sweatshirt a thousand years ago at Building #19. Great stuff. That sweatshirt and I have been on many adventures together. The other one (River’s Edge) is slightly smaller and takes up less room in the backpack. That was the basis of the decision. Anyway…the backpack fit much better on the rack. I didn’t have to worry about it wobbling or falling off.

Haiyam came out to wish me well at just about 8 as I was loading up the bike. I thought that was nice. She had helped me last night call to La Capucine in order to make a reservation for tonight. Apparently, she (and her family) have been here for about 3 months. When I asked her if she spoke much French, she replied, “Un peur.” Pretty much like me. She seems to be a sweet young woman. I’ll try to send her a postcard or e-mail from Dubai.

I pretty much traced my exact journey out this way in reverse. I stopped at the same convenience stores for sustenance. The long stretch before Carillon (right along the river and very bouncy) was nowhere near as bad or as aggravating as on the way out. It actually went by pretty quickly. I stopped at the Carillon Canal at the little Café there, and relaxed for a bit. The woman there explained to me about the lock system before the HUGE dam(n) was put in. There used to be 11 locks and some rapids on the river. Now, there was really only one. It was interesting that she seemed to tell me all about it without betraying any “attitude” one way or the other.

By 11 o’clock, the temperature had really begun to get up there. When there wasn’t any wind, I could SERIOUSLY feel the heat. Overall, though, because of a lack of headwind, a much better day on the bike than on the way out.

The last stretch into Saint Placides was just out in the open and HOT!! To get any shade (and drink a quick swig from one of my water bottles), I had to pull onto a side street or into someone’s driveway. I pulled up into the driveway of La Capucine at just about 1:15. Not bad time overall. The proprietors seemed actually glad to see me. I had interrupted their lunch, but they both came out to the driveway to meet me. Merrill opened up the garage for me to lock up my bike. It was amazing, but Sandra had actually saved the large bottle of Molson Export Beer that I had left behind in my room on my last visit. She presented this to me as she led me upstairs to a room she recommended over the last one I stayed in because it had air-conditioning. The air-con felt soooooo good after the journey in the sun. In fact, after one glass of beer, and hanging up all of my damp clothes, I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes for what I thought was just a couple of minutes. When I opened them, it was 45 minutes later. Time for a hot shower. GLORIOUS stuff.

I finished the beer and finished Down the Nile in a Fisherman’s Skiff. That means that I have nothing else to read for the rest of this visit except the Lonely Planet Guide to Montreal and Quebec City. Not that it’s bad reading. It’s just not very “gripping.” Oh, well.

After my shower, I walked down past the old church at the end of the street to the dock and watched people putting boats in the water and taking boats out of the water. It’s always interesting watching people try to maneuver trailers behind vehicles. Some do quite well. Others, it’s like parallel parking…it seems to take forever.

I made an on-line reservation for a couple of nights at the Hotel Le Paris back in Montreal for the next couple of nights. It got a good write-up in the Lonely Planet, but let’s see what it really looks like. Also, I’m hoping to stop at the bike shop on the way in and see if anything can be done with the computer. If not, I’ll just ask them to install another one. All I really need is distance and speed. That should do it. But, neither one…that’s pretty annoying.

July 6, 2010 Hotel de Paris, Montreal 3:30pm 75/290km (approx)

Well, I made it back to Montreal and found the hotel that I had made the online reservation for. It’s actually a pretty nice place. The room is OK. The bed takes up almost the whole room. Apparently, there is WiFi throughout the building, and no code to punch in. I’ll do some e-mail and some checking of accommodation on the way to Quebec later.

I’ve got to sadly admit that with this heat and my lack of training, I’m really not ready for the Ride to Conquer Cancer. I’ll still ride from Montreal to Quebec, but at a bit more leisurely pace. It’s not worth killing myself at the beginning of the trip. (At least I don’t think so.) This doesn’t even seem to be negotiable. I‘m no sure too many people would disagree. It’s a bit disappointing, though. But the miles had to be put in while I was in Dubai, and they just weren’t because of all of the other things that I was involved in. If I continue to stretch myself, I’ll probably be ready for the Pan-Mass. That’s really the important one. I’d hate to let Bill down.

I didn’t eat dinner last night because last time I was here and ate at the Fried Potatoes place, I got really greasy French fries and had a bit of a tummy on the bike in the morning. Never a good thing. Besides, I knew that I would be having a GREAT breakfast at 7 (by request). And, of course, I did.

Lots of fruit on the first plate…blueberries, raspberries, melon, strawberries, kiwi, plums, sliced grapes, etc. Large glass of ice-cold orange juice. Oh, ya. But before I had that, I had a plate brought to me with a small container of syrup and two oatmeal muffins. GREAT stuff. The second plate had more fruit (watermelon, tangerines, more strawberries, a thick slice of banana which served as sort of a vase for small flowers. The presentation was lovely. In addition, there was a HUGE, round waffle, sliced into quarters. Although I could have put syrup on them and eaten them, I chose to simply pick them up with my fingers (they were THAT big) and eat them “dry” (but not really). Wonderfully tasty stuff.

While I was eating, Merrill (the husband), brought out a photo album to show me some pictures of an Arctic Kite Festival which is held at the end of February on the lake just down the street from the house. Apparently, the lake freezes to a thickness of about a meter (three feet). The pictures looked as though the event was quite a bit of fun. He also showed me some pictures of two properties nearby that he and Sandra (his wife) had recently purchased. One of them (I think he explained) was for their six grandchildren when they came to visit. The properties are only two streets over from the house we were currently in.

After I went back upstairs after breakfast, I went out to the garage to pack up the bike. According to Merrill, the temperature was already 26° Celsius (about 84 Fahrenheit). Even when I had the bike ready to go, Merrill wanted to show me around the garage a little bit. It turn out he is a metal worker. He had made almost all of the metal works in the house (elaborate and artistic towel racks, lamp fixtures, etc.). Really lovely work. Apparently, his father was also a metal worker, and his grandfather had been a blacksmith. He wanted to show me some of the creations of the former generations, which were quite impressive. Apparently, he does only contract work at this point. Still wonderful stuff, though.

I had wanted to get going, but he and his wife had been so wonderful to me on both of my visits, and what he was saying was actually pretty interesting…besides, I thought it would be rude.

Got on the road just about 8:30. It was probably a little hotter than 84 at that point. Overall, I’ll bet it got close to 100 (if not over) during the journey. I stopped to take a picture of one of the Native Cigarette stores just outside of Oka. I stopped in Oka and watched the ferry pick up a new batch of cars and other passengers and briefly thought about going over to the other side and riding in from there. However, I thought I might get lost. In this heat, that was the LAST thing that I wanted to do. So, I continued along.

The terrain was pretty much rolling, but the sun was pretty much relentless. There were very few depanneurs (convenience stores) that I passed by without picking up some water or Gatorade or something similar. I knew that I couldn’t afford to get dehydrated.

There were a few times when I thought I was lost, but then I would see something which I thought to be familiar. Overall, not too bad. Thank GOD that I have the Walkman. If I had no music or had to sing to myself, I would probably go NUTS.

A bit of a dangerous situation happened when I was in the extended city proper of Montreal. I was pulling up to an intersection, when my right shoe got caught in the pedal clip. (I usually don’t use the clips in cities.) When I realized this, I stepped down on my left foot. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my shoe out of the clip, try as I might. Ultimately, I had to take my shoe off and then back the spring on the pedal all the way down before I could remove the shoe. It wasn’t something that I really needed at that point in the ride. While I was at it, I backed the spring on the left pedal down as well. Just in case. It was a little scary, and VERY frustrating.

I was heading into the city and trying to figure out where I was when Rue Mont Royal appeared out of nowhere. Great stuff. I knew where I was, and I wasn’t too far from the hotel. I got checked in pretty quickly, left most of the stuff (including the bike, locked up) in the room and headed out to watch the Uruguay-Netherlands World Cup match. As I write this, Netherlands is up 3-1 with about 10 minutes left in the game. The REALLY big game (as most people are concerned) is tomorrow’s match between Germany and Spain. Germany has been playing AWFULLY well.

Oh, ya. One of the things I noticed today as I visited so many of the depanneurs…almost all of them were manned (owned?) by Asians. Interesting. (Actually, I just checked with a local, and the literal translation is “corner store.”)

July 7, 2010 The Pub Elizabeth, Montreal 5:00 pm

Just finished watching the Germany-Spain semi-final in the World Cup in a place called MVP, with a HUGE contingent of German fans. Boy, were they disappointed. Spain won 1-0. They deserved it. They were the aggressors all the way through the game. Germany never got any sort of attack going.

I originally wanted to sit at a table (in case I wanted to order food), but the manager asked how many in my party (ONE). Wouldn’t you like to sit at the bar? I said, “I wouldn’t like to, but I will if that helps you out.” Apparently, it did.

By the way…one of the waiters at MVP looked very much like Ray Walston (My Favorite Martian). Fun stuff. The bartender looked like a young Jennifer Connolly. Good stuff all around.

Last night was pretty much of a pub crawl. I just wanted to survey the surrounding area of the hotel. I didn’t shower until this morning (which was probably not a good thing). A couple of notes from yesterday afternoon and last night:

- I watched the Uruguay-Netherlands game at Le Bar Mon Royal, where I had watched some of the World Cup games and Wimbledon. Much of the regular crowd was there.

- I wandered up to one of the other bars where I had a few beers on my first go-round in Montreal. There, there was a beautiful young woman (drinking rose wine) telling some long-winded story in French that I didn’t understand. But it was interesting to watch her tell it.

- While I was walking down Rue St. Denis toward the hotel, I saw a group of about 20-30 red-shirted cyclists heading the other way. I don’t know who they are. Maybe in training for the Ride to Conquer Cancer. Who knows?

- I stopped at a Greek restaurant for a beer and met 21-year old Sara, the bartender. We chatted quite a bit while she was trying to fill all the orders for the service attendants.

- At a different pub on the way back to the hotel (down St. Denis), I saw what I thought was Hugh Laurie’s (the guy from House) exact twin. Not sure whether he was or not. I didn’t approach him. However, when I got to that bar, all of the TVs were frozen, on a particular image. When I was there, the channels finally got working and we were watching either a) poker or b) drag racing. I left as quickly as possible.

While up in the area of the city where I was originally, I picked up a couple of books to read as I go along. One is The Dancer Upstairs by Nicholas Shakespeare. He also wrote In Tasmania which I begun on my bicycle trip there and am about halfway through. This one is a novel, though. So far, I’m about halfway through this one. Good stuff. I also picked up Senior Quixote by Graham Greene. I think Wendy loaned me this book at one point, but I had to give it back. (I might be mistaken on this point) However, I’m looking forward to reading this one. I figure I’ll finish The Dancer Upstairs before I leave for Quebec City.

I’ve decided to stay at the Hotel de Paris for the 8^th. I will take my bicycle to the shop where I had it put back together to see if they can decipher the problem with the computer. If not, I’ll ask them to install another one. We’ll see. It might just be the battery. But a bike shop I stopped at on the way into the city from Saint Placides couldn’t figure out how to check the battery. So….Nothing to be done.

Meandering in Montebello

2010-07-04T03:08:00.000-07:00

July 3, 2010 Central Bar, Montebello 2:45pm

A bit of a change of plans. I’ve decided that there is nothing in Ottawa that I’m DYING to see. Therefore, I opted for a bit of a rest day here in Montebello. It’s such a nice little town. I slept pretty well last night. Got to watch a bit of the Red Sox game on TV. Another strong outing by Wakefield. I STILL don’t know a whole bunch of guys who are playing for the Sox at this point.

I think a big part of my decision was that I just really didn’t want the aggravation of spending another six (or so) hours bicycling into the wind. And, of course, if I don’t have a bit of a tail wind when I head back toward Montreal tomorrow, I’ll be REALLY pissed off. We’ll see what happens.

I’ll just retrace my path on the way back to Montreal, but perhaps take a bit more time to take some pictures, etc. I’m hoping to stay in Saint Placides at La Capucine on the way back. Then, it’ll be a straight shot back into Montreal. I’ll have to sort out accommodation before I get there (maybe later tonight). The Motel Bel-Eau has WiFi access in the rooms, so I should be able to take care of that.

I could go ahead to Ottawa (about another 80km) and take the train back to Montreal (assuming bicycles are allowed on the trains), but I think it’s better to spend the time on the bicycle. That’s the thinking at this point.

I finished The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Pretty good stuff. I’ll be interested to read The Girl Who Played With Fire, which I believe is the next in the sequence. Right now, I’m reading Down the Nile in a Fisherman’s Skiff which might help me with my Ph.D.

Here in Montebello today, it seems as though there is a Harley rally. I’ll bet if I counted the bikes parked on the side of the streets here, there would be 50 or so, maybe more. I remember seeing all of the signs along the way to here which said in French (with a picture of a motorcycle with earphones around it), “Please keep the noise to a minimum.” (Of course, I’m only loosely translating.)

Watched the Germany-Argentina match this morning. What a shocker!!! Not so much that Germany won, but by the amount!!! Who would have figured they would STOMP Argentina? I would imagine there were quite a number of people who felt that Argentina would win. I’m sure the criticisms that dogged Maradona as coach will begin all over again. I’m watching the first half of Spain-Paraguay as I write this.

Watched Serena Williams overwhelm Zvonareva this morning as well. 6-3, 6-2. Not much of a match. It’s a little disappointing (to me) that Serena showed so little emotion during the match. She seemed to take so little joy in the battle.

Nadal vs. Brdych should be quite a mismatch…but, who knows? That’s why they play the matches. Burdych will have to play “red line” tennis which involves taking all kinds of chances. Again, we’ll see. I should be on the road, I won’t be able to watch any of it. AND, the place where I’ll be staying doesn’t really have TV or Internet. That’s one of the things I like about it. Quiet.

Other than that, a couple of issues on the work front. The announcement about my re-assignment has gone out to the general population at AUD. I’ve gotten one “congratulations” e-mail from one colleague. I’ve also gotten a follow-up e-mail from the President of AUD asking me to stay with one of the important projects that I began before the transfer took place. No worries. It is a logical request given that I was part of preparing the original SACS document, and the fact that Dr. Lege will have plenty on his plate to get used to at the beginning of the term. But both Drs. De Masi and Nader had nice things to say about the contributions that I made during my time as Interim Chair. Dr. de Masi talked about “let’s keep the momentum going.” Nice thoughts.

Dinner at La Zouk Restaurant here in Montebello. Good stuff. Ate outside on the porch. It was a pleasant, but windy, evening. Onion soup to start. (God, how long has it been since I’ve had THAT?) Another chicken burger with a side of Caesar salad and a couple of beers. I was pretty proud of myself when I pointed out that I had two beers rather than the one that had been listed on the bill. If I’m going to teach my students to be ethical, I guess I have to practice what I preach. As my brother Bill and I have often discussed, “When you know what the right thing to do is, why would you do anything else?” It just complicates your life.

Anyway…I’ll be heading back to Montreal tomorrow. We’ll see what happens once I arrive there. I still haven’t figured out accommodation. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

On a separate TV from the Spain-Paraguay match, the Montreal Senior Open is going on. It’s pretty clear that the wind is blowing pretty good at the golf course. I hope it’s blowing in my direction tomorrow. I’d hate to think that I have to fight the wind both ways. Although when I bicycled around Ireland (a thousand years ago), it seemed as though whatever direction I was going that the wind was in my face. Oh, well.

Upon watching the World Cup, I’ve come to the conclusion that no referees in any sport take the kind of abuse that soccer officials get. It’s just amazing. At every decision, there are four or five members of each team surrounding the referee to plead their cases and try to get him to call something or not call something. And with all the DIVING on both sides it really is amazing that more players don’t get kicked out.

In the Spain-Paraguay match, I’ve just watched two penalty kicks saved. On the second one, when Spain was shooting, the shooter’s teammates went into the box before the shot (successful) was taken. So, the shot had to be taken again. The second one was saved. Why the shooters don’t just shoot at the middle of the goal is beyond me. The goalies dive one way or the other. That means they’re not in the middle. But the shooters shoot for low or high corners. WHY????? Just shoot right at the keeper. HE WON’T BE THERE!!! Just a thought.

First Two Days on the Bike

2010-07-02T16:51:00.000-07:00

July 2, 2010 Central Bar, Montebello 3:00pm approx. 150km

I know I’ve been away for a couple of days. Both days were spent on the bike. Coming all the way here to Montebello on the first day was a bit (!!!!!) ambitious. I shall endeavor to explain.

Day 1 on the bike

Still no computer for mileage (kilometerage?) and speed. But the shops didn’t open until 10, and I didn’t want to wait around. And none of the towns that I passed through seemed to have bike shops on the main road, so I just kept going.

I was on the road by 8. I left behind my New England Patriots t-shirt and my adidas black sweatpants, and the two books that I had finished reading, and a pair of sunglasses. I still had plenty of stuff to put in both backpacks. I think I might try to get a bigger backpack for my back to hold a little more stuff than I can hold in the CamelBack. I’ve never really been comfortable drinking and riding at the same time. I sometimes feel as though I’m drowning. Anyway…

I never really got lost, but a couple of times there was quite a bit of doubt that I was still on the right road. I sometimes felt as though I had missed a turn or something. Never was the case. Overall, it was a cool grey day. There were a couple of rain showers that I managed to sit out under protection. For about the first three hours, it was kind of like riding through neighborhoods. Lots of houses and lots of businesses. For a while after that, I was riding through farms, so it was much more open.

The wind wasn’t too bad in the morning when I left, but it got progressively (MUCH) worse as the day wore on. It was a pretty frustrating ride. The terrain was pretty flat for most of the beginning of the day. It got progressively more hilly as I got further into the ride (and as the wind picked up…and as the rain came a little more frequently).

When I got to the Tourist Information Office in a town called Oka, I asked if there was any accommodation in the vicinity (it was about 1 or so), and I was pretty beat from battling the wind for so long. (There were some times that the wind was so intense that I had to peddle while going DOWNHILL!!) Even though I had made a reservation in Montebello, I knew I wasn’t going to make it that far today. Anyway…I was informed that there was a B&B in a little town called St. Placides about 12km further down the road.

Just outside of Oka, for about 5km, both sides of the road were lined with little shacks selling, primarily, cigarettes. Apparently, many of the sellers were Native Americans because this phrase was featured on the signs out by the road. It was a pretty interesting phenomenon.

So, 12 windy, hilly kilometers later, at about 2:30pm I pulled up to the front door of La Capucine B&B. It was a lovely place in a lovely little town. The house and room were beautiful, if a little dear. The couple who ran the place were lovely. When I asked how far it was to Montebello (where I would be heading today), Merril, the husband, replied, “About the same that you covered today…about 75km.” GEEZ. What ever possessed me to think that I could do 150 km on the first day on the bike??? Somewhere along the line, I had searched for the distance between Montreal and Ottawa and found that it was 102 miles. If that’ the case, then it’s a little more than 160km. Not sure who got the numbers wrong. It was probably wishful thinking.

It was very peaceful at the house. Spent most of the afternoon reading The Girl With the Dragoon Tattoo and trying to rehydrate. The sun popped out, but the breeze kept up pretty good. I had a chicken burger and fries at the local “greasy spoon” up the street (I would pay for this in the morning). I was in a wonderfully comfortable bed at about 8:30 and on my way to sleep. I slept a bit of off and on, but when I DID sleep, it was wonderful. Started tossing and turning at about 5:30.

I knew it was going to be another long day, so I made sure to have a decent breakfast (unlike the first day). Breakfast was STUPENDOUS!!! And all for me. I was the only guest in the place. The night before, when asked about breakfast, I said that just cereal and toast would be fine. But Nadine (the wife) said, “No. I will make a special breakfast for you.” And she did. Lots of fruit (strawberries, melon, kiwi, grapes, raspberries, peaches, oranges, bananas, etc.). An apple and cheese crepe. After that it was more fruit and a small goat cheese omelet over a homemade waffle (with broccoli, which I scraped off). And a large glass of orange juice. Absolutely brilliant stuff.

I left Le Capucine at about 8:30 (a little late, but I couldn’t walk away from the breakfast). Even though when I first looked out my window in the morning all the leaves on the trees were still, the wind had already begun to come up.

By the way, I should mention that almost the entire way for two days of cycling, I’ve been riding in a ten-foot wide bicycle lane. Although I saw a number of cyclists (mostly going the other way) yesterday, I saw only three or four today.

In terms of the wind, it was pretty much a repeat of yesterday. Other than that, it was pretty much opposite. Very few clouds in the sky. And it was HOT. About 30° C (translates into almost 95F). A few more water stops than yesterday. The terrain was pretty much rolling, but still the freakin’ wind to battle every step of the way. AND, very little shade. Because it was one of the first really nice days since I’ve been here, I stopped along the way to take a couple of pictures. The road(s) followed the water (not sure if a river or lake) for most of the way. I’m not sure if this provided opportunities for the wind to be so strong. But the scenery was lovely. Also, thank God I brought along my SONY Walkman Mp3 player. Great stuff.

But, at about 2pm, I pulled up at the Motel Bel-Eau where I had a reservation for Thursday. (I couldn’t call them because I didn’t have their number with me. I couldn’t send them an e-mail because they didn’t have any.) Fortunately, they hadn’t charged me for not showing up yesterday. I was given a slightly more expensive room but not as expensive as La Capucine. AND, I get to bring my bicycle into the room.

The woman behind the desk is named Haiyam, and she is from Shanghai, China. I told her that I had spent a wonderful holiday there in May. She seemed pleased. She also gave me the code for the WiFi connection in the room (which I will utilize later tonight). The hotel has a Chinese restaurant, but I think after last night, I have to be a little careful about what I eat.

When I first got the room, I turned on the TV to see who had won the first World Cup match today. It turns out that there was a HUGE upset when the Netherlands beat Brazil. Good for them. I am currently watching the Ghana – Uruguay match which is tied 1-1 about halfway through the 2^nd half.

I also got to watch a couple of games of the Murray-Nadal semi-final. Nadal was up two sets, but had been broken to start the 3^rd. Boy, I really like to listen to John McEnroe as a commentator. I do wish he would be a little more instructive, though. (“Players have to remember that it’s not a break of serve until you win your own serve. Many players lose their next service game because they are so happy with themselves for winning the other player’s serve.” Stuff like that.)

Anyway…that’s where I am currently. Tomorrow I am hoping to make it to Ottawa. But, according to the mileage signs along the way, it’s still about 80 or so kilometers. It’ll be nice to take a break there. But, the question is how long. If I’m going to be back in Montreal for the bike ride, I’ll have to arrive on the evening of the 8^th at the latest to have the 9^th to get the bike tuned up for the ride and to coordinate with the Ride Organizers to take my stuff in the support vehicles to Quebec City. We’ll see what happens.

There was a long stretch of road today which was quite rough and bumpy. I had to keep adjusting the backpack that is bungee corded to the small rack on the back of the bike. Kind of a pain-in-the-ass. There are some stretches of road which remind me of my family’s trips to New Hampshire when I was young (a thousand years ago). You know, the frost heaves which created a thump, thump, thump, rhythm when the car passed over all the joints between sections of the road. Well, imagine going over those on a bicycle. Still the same thump, thump, thump rhythm, but felt much stronger on a bicycle. Really no avoiding it, though. Oh, well.

Montreal Day 4

2010-07-02T16:27:00.000-07:00

June 30, 2010 Le Bar Mont Royal

Federer down 2 sets to 1. Not good. He doesn’t seem to have the same confidence or swagger that I’m used to seeing. Berdych is an immensely talented player who has never really played up to his potential. Let’s see what happens. Speaking of Federer, I read a great line in a story about him the other day (I think it was by an ESPN writer, but I can’t remember). It was a description of Federer as an athlete. “Federer is one of those athletes that God took one look at and said, ’Hey you. Go get a tuxedo.’”

I’m a little disappointed as I look at the grass on Centre Court. I remember the good old days when the grass around the “T” was as worn out as the grass around the baseline. (SIGH)

Already went for a 15-20km ride this morning around the city. Everything in pretty good working order. A bit breezy. Somewhat cool. Nice city. The only place that’s really hilly is around Mont Royal (which really is a Mount Royal). Courteous drivers. Actual bike paths in some places. I then came back to the vicinity of the hostel and did a couple of laps around Parc La Fontagne. Of course, there were a lot of other cyclists out this morning. Some of us obeyed the traffic signals. Some not.

Quesadillas for dinner last night. Pretty good. A bit of red wine as well. It all sat well. Always a concern. Slept pretty well.

Finished Baghdad Without A Map and began Motoring With Mohammed: Trips to Yemen and the Red Sea.

For some reason, I thought there might be fewer people who smoked here in Canada. Why would I think that? It CERTAINLY isn’t true.

No more World Cup matches until the 2^nd of July. Whatever shall I do? Great Spain-Portugal match. One thing is for sure at least as far as I am concerned: Ronaldo really is a prick. Fantastically talented footballer, but certainly not much of a teammate.

ZAZ Bar 5:45pm

What a disastrous day at Wimbledon for all my favorites: Federer lost and looked pretty terrible; the Williams sisters lost in the Quarterfinals of the Women’s Doubles; the Bryan brothers lost in the Men’s Doubles. GEEZ!!!

Oh, ya. And as I write this, it’s raining pretty good. I sure hope that doesn’t continue to tomorrow. The sun is looking as though it’s trying to make a breakthrough as well. Let’s see who wins the battle for tomorrow.

I wandered down to the Latin Quarter (Quarter Latin) to check out some accommodation options for my return to Montreal, but didn’t really find anything that looked reasonable or that cost what I felt was a reasonable amount. I guess I might have to re-think the return trip. I guess I could go for the McGill Residences for accommodation. I don’t think I want to spend $100 per night for accommodation (I know I might have to pay that later along the East Coast and certainly in Corsica). Anyway…I’ve got my accommodation lined up in Montebello and Ottawa, so I’ll worry about the return trip to Montreal and Quebec City a little later.

Having a little trouble with the computer on the bike. It keeps time pretty well, but doesn’t register anything else but the rpms of the pedals. Nothing from the odometer or from the speedometer. I’ll have to see if I can change that later.

While walking around the city today, I saw a couple of pretty unusual things:

1) A crowd of guys in a group talking to each other…two wearing Yankees hats; one wearing a Chicago White Sox hat, and another wearing a Boston Red Sox jersey.

2) A guy walking down the street wearing what looked to be a trench coat (blue); he was also wearing gloves. One was an Easton batting glove, and the other was a cycling glove. Pretty weird.

It’s also been a bit gusty (windy) today. It will really suck if that keeps up tomorrow. Certainly not what I’d like to see on the first day of the trip. Oh, well. Not much to be done for it, is there?

I took a couple of more pictures today, and I’ll try to include them along with the next update of the blog. We’ll see how that goes. My understanding is that I’ll have free internet in the room at the Motel Blu-Eau tomorrow night. I might use that in order to do all my updating and searching for the accommodation for my return to Montreal and Quebec City.

I received a couple of more e-mails from the Steering Committee regarding my initial posting to “Get the discussion started about the topic for the QEP.” The Provost responded with something to the effect, “My thinking is exactly the same.” Not too bad. We’ll see how the rest of it goes. The more we can get accomplished during this July/August lull, the better it’ll be come September.

Montreal Day 3

2010-06-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

June 29, 2010 Le Bar Mont Royal

Good day. I’m sitting here with the World Cup game between Paraguay and Japan on one TV, and Serena Williams’ match at Wimbledon on the other. The bicycle is back in the room ready to go on Thursday. Right now, it’s chained to the radiator. Had a little bit of a scare at the bicycle shop. No one could find the CamelBack backpack that was included in the bike box. It had my lock, my helmet, my gloves, my spare tubes in it. Nothing too important.

So, last night (make that yesterday afternoon) I went to the hostel to take a short rest at around 4:30. I think I rolled over and looked at my watch and saw that it was 7:30. I figured, “OK. Just a couple of more minutes.” Next time I looked at my watch (with the dial light…thank God I got a new watch before this trip), it was 1:30. I guess I needed the sleep a bit, huh?

Anyway…started stirring at about 4:30 and have been going since then. Checked e-mail for a couple of follow-ups to e-mails I sent yesterday. No bad news.

Read a bit more of Tony Horowitz’s Baghdad Without a Map. Pretty good stuff. I also figured out my route out of town and all the way to Ottawa. For those of you playing along at home, I’ll be following Rue St. Denis out of Montreal (only two streets over from where my hostel is); then I’ll pick up Route 344 heading west to Ottawa. Then, I’ll switch over to Route 148 where the two intersect. Route 148 takes me all the way along the north side of the River (not sure which one) and into the small town of Montebello where my motel is: Motel Bel-Eau. It’s right on the main street, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find.

Although cereal and toast is included with the price of the room at the hostel, I elected to wander out for a “real” breakfast this morning. I found a place where I got 2 eggs, bacon, sausage, AND ham, fried potatoes, “baked” beans (their quotation marks, not mine), fruit (melon and pineapple), and tea. Good stuff. Also because I had skipped dinner last night in favor of much needed rest. From there, I wandered down to the bike shop to pick up the bike. I rode it back to the hostel (a bit uncomfortably because the seat was too high). Almost as soon as I got back to the hostel, it began raining pretty good. (Oh, ya. It rained pretty good last night, too. A bit of thunder and lightning for good measure.) So, that put the kibosh on the ride around the city. Oh, well. Not to worry. I’ll have a good go tomorrow.

As I was walking down here from the hostel (in the rain), I just started looking around at all the stuff that is so different from Dubai…tree-lined streets, traffic lights that people actually obey, bicycles out the ying-yang, storefronts instead of malls. Pretty neat stuff. Certainly reminded me that I’m in a very different part of the world. The cashier at the Pharmacy (picked up toothpaste) was veiled. Other than that, I haven’t seen any veiled women and certainly no dishdashas or abeyas. VERY DIFFERENT. But pretty freakin’ expensive. I suppose it’s pretty logical for me to think that based on many of the places that I’m used to frequenting on my holidays. Oh, well.

Oh, yah. Probably the reason that I didn’t need dinner last night because I had a pretty late lunch of a three-cheese pizza at a pretty nice restaurant.

Montreal Day 2

2010-06-29T10:19:00.000-07:00

June 28, 2010 Le Bar Mont Royal 10:53 am

It’s already been a very busy day. I started tossing and turning about 6. I guess I needed the sleep pretty badly. I had been up for almost 48 hours. I even managed to sleep through the ceiling fan clicking all night. It would have been pretty miserable trying to sleep without it. No AC in the room (or in the whole hostel).

Apparently, it rained overnight. However, since I’ve been up and out this morning, nothing. It’s still pretty grey, but really only damp and muggy.

I originally went out to get some breakfast, but I really didn’t find anywhere that was serving anything to my liking. So, I just wandered around Rue Mont Royal. I headed down to where Maison de Cyclists was located. Apparently, they don’t do any type of bicycle service. Just a rest stop for the cyclists in the city. I was told that they could GIVE me a box, but not that I could get a bike put back together from INSIDE a box. But the man behind the counter did point me down the street to a place that COULD put it back together for me. That’s where the bike is right now. It’s going to cost me $35. Not bad. When the guys in the shop opened the box (to make sure all the components were still in there, one of them said, “Wow. This is a really nice bike.” I had to agree. I said, “Yes. It is. A REALLY nice bike.” So, I’ll pick it up tomorrow (TUESDAY) morning. Coming out of the bike shop after first inquiring about their putting it back together, I was lucky to walk around the corner and find a taxi station wagon. I made arrangements to meet him back at the Hostel in 45 minutes. He was there a little early, and we had no trouble making it back to the bike shop. $10 for the ride and his help getting the bike in and out of the car. Not too bad.

For a bicycle holiday, I might not have been able to pick a better city in North America to start in. There seems to be a HUGE bicycle culture in Montreal. Bike shops all over the place. Lots of places to lock it up. Great stuff.

I bought a map in La Maison de Cyclists of the Quebec region. I think I have a pretty good plan for getting from the Hostel in Montreal to my hotel for the night of July 1. The map also gives me a pretty good idea about how to get from Quebec City to the border and beyond. Jackman is the first town I’ll be staying in in Maine. It’s on the map. I wonder what the border crossing will be like. I remember a couple of border crossings on previous trips. I would line up with everyone else. Before the toll booth, the line would look something like this: car, car, truck, car, bicycle. Pretty funny stuff.

Back in a bit.