2019 - Northern Tier Part 2 - Day 7 - Malta, MT

Apparently in the last 3 days we have gone through 3 of the top 10 worst towns in America, which seems pretty judgmental, and besides who gets to make these rankings anyway? I’m in Malta, MT, and actually it seems quite nice. I got a free shower at the Conoco Truck stop, and the lady who made me a ham sandwich was very friendly. Today was a tough day of riding; the miles are starting to catch up with me and little things go wrong on about day 7, things like forgetting to charge your Di2 electronic shifters, and my right achilles tendon acting up. But, I had friends to ride with today, and that makes all the difference.

Last night we watched Jumanji at the church, and there’s a major theme of the main character not being brave enough to stand up for himself and his values, and be brave, that for some reason really struck home with me. I think it’s a message that caught me in the right mood to hear it.

I rode today with Kelly. She’s great. She also played music the whole time. That was rad, because the terrain was as boring as all get out.

P.S. The Middle of Nowhere picture is from Glasgow; that is, believe it or not, their marketing slogan because apparently someone did a study and they are the city in the US which is furthest from the closest big city (I don’t know how you define big city, so don’t ask).

Oh! And today we saw a drug bust! We were in a small town along the way - Hendley? something? - at a tiny ice cream shop (really good ice cream) and a cop pulled a couple over and proceeded to start tearing their car apart - the full arrangement, plastic gloves and everything. In the middle of the street. The folks I was with were totally fascinated. I’m sure it wasn’t fun for the folks who got pulled over though.

Also, last but not least, I went to Radio Shack, which was a blast from the past. Still a cool store. Still wish we had one in Oakland.

2019 - Northern Tier Part 2 - Day 6 - Glasgow, MT

No, not Scotland, though they are apparently the home of the Scotties. Today was, honestly, not one of the more interesting days of our trip per se. We only rode 55 miles, but I was dragging because my head wasn’t in the right space and also it’s just really sunny and hot. The town we’re in is fine, but nothing particularly interesting; they are known as the “Middle of Nowhere” (no joke) because apparently they are the town which is the furthest from any other big town; something like 400 miles to Billings, MT (which isn’t that big!). But this church we’re staying is is very nice, with A/C and good cell phone signal. And we’re going to watch a movie up on their projector. One thing I really love about these trips is the ability to turn any place into a home. The shot below is my little setup; I just took a nap and now I’m blogging by sitting on that sleeping bag. Pretty soon I’ll fart around on my phone a bit before walking out to buy a razor and some food. It’s fun to arrive in these little places and have them become home, even if just for a few hours.

2019 - Northern Tier Part 2 - Day 5 - Wolf Point, MT

Yesterday we rode 104 miles through the heat to Wolf Point, MT, on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. I had been told by friends from the past that this would be one of our hardest days, if not the hardest, so I was mentally prepared for a beast, but it really wasn’t that bad. Wolf Point is rough. Indian reservations are always hard, and this is as remote as it gets. The night we were there there was a rodeo in town, so we went and checked it out, which I think was a real eye opener for a couple of folks on the ride. Rodeos are hard on the animals, and I don’t approve of them, but it was a cultural touchstone so we went and checked it out. On the way back we got hit by a freak windstorm that was actually a bit scary. The wall of dust and wind was so abrupt and specific; I can’t imagine being caught in a really bad one. It gave me a sense of what a tornado might be like. Even the locals were a. little scared. Ted and I checked out a really nice diner and had dinner and breakfast there and chatted up the waitress. I’m enjoying the riding but my body is having difficulty adjusting and man, is it hot!

2019 - Northern Tier Part 2 - Day 4 - Glendive, MT

The most interesting thing about today was crossing into Montana, and the 3 stories that happened to me almost immediately. But first, the second most interesting thing was the Teddy Roosevelt National Park, which I rode about 8 miles into. I did not see bison, sadly, but I saw a lot of cool wildlife. I love the sounds of nature, especially the prairie dogs, which really go at it if you just stand there and let them go. There must have been a million of them. Anyway, on to Montana things:

1) As I stood in line at the Re-Treat (think: local Dairy Queen) to buy my rolled ice cream (it’s ice cream they make right in front of you in a flavor and color of your choice, and lay out into 4 tortilla-shaped ice cream rolls, see picture below, apparently it’s a thing in Pennsylvania, why they had it here I don’t know) and Bratwurst with sauerkraut, the guy behind me paid for my food and then asked me to sit and eat with him. He was 100% Montana; I wish I could have gotten a picture with him but I felt weird. He had crazy white hair and whiskers and told me all about the housing prices in Bozeman (too high), the weather tomorrow (nice but hot), Palm Springs (nice but hot) and living in Montana (born and raised).

2) As I was riding up to town, on a small county road with nobody around, a red pickup drove past me and then stopped about 1000 yards up ahead on the right. This always sketches me out slightly so I was on edge, and as I rode towards him, I saw a shape come out the window. My first thought was, “that looks like a gun”. My second thought was “how gauche, mr city slicker. not everyone in Montana carries a gun, it’s probably your imagination.” Then he got out, with a very large gun. I”m thinking a rifle, with a wooden stock, straight out of a bad Western movie. Now I’m about 500 feet from him. He raises it and takes aim - not at me, but at some cows off to the side. I freak out and start pedaling about 100 miles an hour. He starts muttering something. I honestly almost shit my pants. I kept waiting for the gun shot behind me as I rode as fast as humanly possible without looking like I was. Now, I look back on it, and it’s obvious; he was using the sight on the gun to look at the cows in more detail. But holy shit. Welcome to Montana.

3) On the way into town I was advised to check out the dinosaur museum, which was brand new and had a very cool dinosaur coming out of the side of the building. A good start. I walked up the door, which had a hand-typed sign: “Find the truth, creation truth.org”. “Huh",” I thought. Then I looked through the double doors. There were some normal museum things at first glance, but there was also a sign: “We are proud to present the facts about dinosaurs through the lens of biblical tradition.”

I did not go into the museum.

2019 - Northern Tier Part 2 - Day 3 - Medora, ND

Yesterday was relatively uneventful in terms of riding; we did another 70-odd miles; I started to feel better athletically but the pain of repetitive riding started to set in. But the most interesting thing about the day by far was the Medora Musical which we saw at the end of the day. I had some context for this because years ago I had seen something similar in a canyon in Texas; a sort of outdoor wild-west extravaganza of the sort that used to be popular 60-70 years ago and still lives on in a couple of places in the rural parts of the country. They were obviously quite proud of it and everyone said we should go. And I’m glad we did. It was exactly what you would think; kitschy, conservative, occasionally awesome, often a bit…tone deaf. There were jokes about Jesus, a gospel number, a song where all the kids got to get on stage, some horses riding through a canyon, a very funny but oddly out of place comedian from the Conan show who did a quite edgy skit involving kids from the audience, a few off-color jokes, and a heaping helping of Teddy Roosevelt style patriotism. The best joke was as follows: “I’ve been having trouble sleeping through the night; I often wake up 4 or 5 in the morning. Which is a lot of people to have in bed at one time.”

2019 - Northern Tier Part 2 - Day 2 - Hebron, ND

Today I rode 70 miles. It was a nice day. The End.

OK, OK, just kidding. But basically, yeah, it was a great day of riding. I rode with Ted - who I rode England and Scotland with - and Sarah, who I met briefly on the Pacific Coast in 2017. North Dakota gets a solid “meets expectations”; the green is appropriately green, the rural is very rural, the barns are red or aluminum, and the cows all stand huddled together. We had to get on the Interstate for about 10 miles but there was a very wide shoulder and it was all good. We had a nice conversation about life, physical therapy school, and riding a bike, and Ted and I swapped some stories from England. Ted told me about some charity rides he arranges which sound awesome, including one from DC to Pittsburgh that I really should do sometime. We’re in one of those classic middle America towns I like, with a diner, a coffee shop, a pool with outdoor showers, and a community center, where I currently sit and type this on a Walmart plastic folding table and folding chair using their free community Wi-Fi.

All in all: a good day.

2019 - Northern Tier Part 2 - Day 1 - Bismarck, ND

No riding yet today, except for a short jaunt up to check out the river, the bike shop, and a used video game store that I found in town. Traveling was relatively uneventful. I ended up in a Lyft XL coming from the AirPort to the house we’re staying, and the driver and I slowly realized that he had given a ride just a couple of weeks ago to a friend of mine Matt who is doing his own personal ride from here out to Miami. One of the things that I love about these rides is that sense of community, of feeling that there are many of us all over the place.

There’s a beautiful bike path here along the Missouri River. The weather is slightly overcast which is very nice for riding. It’s funny to be here in the same exact place I was two years ago!

Tomorrow is the first day of riding!

2019 - Northern Tier Part 2 - T Minus One - Pacific Grove, CA

Hooray! And we’re off! Today was a big traveling day. I woke up this morning in the cottage that my girlfriend Jenny is renting in Pacific Grove down on the coast at 5am, and the two of us drove in the dawn light up to San Francisco, before taking a nap, and then I continued on to Oakland, hung out with my brother, then packed up the bike and back over to San Francisco before heading to the airport - which is where I am now - en route to Denver, then Bismarck, then a bike ride back to where I left off last time!

Today was a great day, and also a symbol of what my life has become. I got to wake up in a beautiful spot with someone I care about, head up to the city I live in, hang out with my brother, play some video games, swing by our office where he gave me a cool present, then on to the airport! Like I said in the last blog post, it’s fun to go on these trips but even more fun to know that my life isn’t something I want to escape from. Next time I post it will be from North Dakota!

2019 - Northern Tier Part 2 - Day 0 - Practicing

Hi blog! It’s been a while. I thought I would whip out the ol’ keyboard and make sure the blog was still ticking and I knew how to log into it and all, and I figured, while I was at it, why not actually make a blog post.

The last year has been really intense and interesting. There’s probably more than I can really write about here in this space. It’s been a roller coaster ride with a lot of pretty serious ups and downs - for myself, and even more so for the people around me. Cancer, death, birth, new jobs, old jobs, a new office, a new home, a new relationship.

But what I’m focused on today, as I get ready for another trip, is the change in me. Put simply, whenever I came to these trips in the past, I was super ready to just hop on that bike and race away from my life. I wanted to escape. And this time, don’t get me wrong, I really want to go, but it’s a bit more wistful. I don’t honestly feel like I want to escape from my life. I’m actually a little bit sad to get away from my new adopted home, my new relationship, my brother, my new office. It’ll be great to get out on the open road again, but it doesn’t have that feeling of urgency that it used to.

I think this is a good thing. Welcome home, me.

2018 - United Kingdom - Day 15 - John O'Groats, Scotland

Well!  Because Mother Nature has a sense of humor, our "victory lap" turned into "50 miles in the driving Scottish highlands wind and rain".  But honestly I wouldn't have it any other way; it totally fit to come, dripping and shivering, to the sign at John O'Groats and the end of the journey.  It's hard to put into words what these trips mean to me and how much of a role they've come to take on in my life.  I feel full and complete when I do these rides, like the real me has a chance to shine through.  The night before, I "won" the "most improved attitude" award at the little awards ceremony, and far from being angry or hurt, I totally understood what they meant; at the beginning of the ride I was very grumpy and hurt and sad, and by the end I felt much, much better.  Sadly it takes about two weeks for me to really unroll from the previous year, so I only had a few days to really enjoy it.  Last night was one of those times, and today was another.  After taking some shivering pictures and opening some bottles of champagne, we all retired, laughing to the fields outside the ocean, where we pitched our tents and hoped for the best (but more on that later).  I love doing this so much, I love the people that I meet both in the groups and along the way.  

One more day of fun and a bit of traveling, then a day of hard core traveling, then finally I arrive home, in time for the next leg of the journey.  More on that soon!

2018 - United Kingdom - Day 14 - Bettyhill, Scotland

We've finally reached the ocean and our second to last day of cycling; now we just turn east 50 miles to John O' Groats for a victory lap of sorts.  The trip is winding down, and it's sad, but the second to last day had some nice surprises for us, including church ladies waiting with finger sandwiches, hot showers at a rec center with a pool and a hot tub, a fun ceremony where we gave each other prizes, and a trip down to the beach at night to watch jellyfish (!) in the cold Atlantic waters.  Every time I do one of these trips I am reminded that this is where my heart is, and likely always will be.  I could say more but I'll leave it at that.

2018 - United Kingdom - Day 13 - Evanton, Scotland

There are so many things I could write about today: how beautiful Inverness was, how great it was to do a downhill at 38 miles per hour, how much I still enjoy riding my bike.  But what I want to choose to focus on is Steve Heltham.  Steve is the man behind NessieHunter.com, and we ran into him up at Dores, on the north shore of Loch Ness, where we stopped for a midday meal and to just take in the scenery.  He runs a little shop, which I believe he also is living in, along a rocky beach in a sleep slightly-touristy town next to the OutDores Inn.  It’s a ramshackle little place made out of what looks to be an old railway car with wood paneling on the inside.  His life story is on a billboard outside the shop, probably so he doesn’t have to repeat it over and over.  It’s long, but the short version is this: he got to be 24, had a solid job and a girlfriend, an interest in studying the Loch Ness Monster, and then one day just decided “the heck with all this, I’m going to move to Loch Ness and just spend my life looking for this thing”.  And then he did.  I met him, briefly, as I bought this figurine in the picture - Nessie - from him.  He seems solid, sturdy, quiet, a bit weathered but happy.  Wistful, is a word I might use.  And in his mid to late 60s.  The article outside is pretty standard stuff; he talks about just speaking with older folks he knew and hearing over and over how they regretted certain choices they made or didn’t make and how he didn’t want to end up that way - with regrets.

It’s a message I’ve heard before, of course, many times, but like many messages I think I needed to hear it right in that moment.  This whole trip has sent me a bunch of signals that there are things that I need to reinvest in and change.  For various reasons - none of which are bad - I’ve had to focus on other things but I think it’s finally time to come back around and really focus on myself and making myself happy.  Going after my own Loch Ness Monster.  Nessie is going to stay with me now as a reminder of how important that is.

2018 - United Kingdom - Day 12 - Fort Augustus, Scotland

What an awesome day!  The beginning of today turned out to be what is so far, and might turn out to be in general, my favorite segment of riding.  We finally hit the Scottish highlands and they are exactly what you would think from the movies - rolling verdant hills and stone walls.   The green is so amazingly *green*.  The pictures you’ll see below - what I call my Windows Desktop Series, if you catch that reference - look almost fake, like the Photoshop saturation tool was used.  But they’re right out of the phone.  The ride through the mountains felt so peaceful, and I had one of my Moments.  If you’ve followed this blog before, I occasionally have these little moments, things that I feel I will remember forever, a single snapshot of a time and place and feeling.  In this case, it was coming around and down a long straight downhill in the highlands with a big mountain straight ahead, as green as you could imagine, and short enough that we could see the top, where wisps of clouds were coming off the top as if it was a volcano releasing steam.  Up ahead my friend Andrew was riding around a curve wearing a bright red cycling jersey.  The primary feeling was one of release - maybe releasing my brother’s cancer, or the things holding me back, or the last ten years, I’m not sure, but just a release and an energy, an energization (even though I think that’s not a word).  A calm certainty about myself and what I need to do.

Tonight we’re staying in this very touristy town of Fort Augustus.  It’s nice.  I got to watch a working lock do its business moving local tourist boats into Loch Ness.  And we swam in Loch Ness - although I only went in halfway because it was coooooooold.  Sadly, no monster today!

2018 - United Kingdom - Day 11 - Tyndrum, Scotland

Last night we stayed at a campground for only the second time since we’ve started this trip, camping outside.  The Pine Tree Leisure Centre.  It was the sort of place you’d find cropping up near Lake Tahoe, and made for one of those nights that remind me why I do this.  I parked my tent down right next to the river and set up my hammock and hung out in, just thinking about my role in life and what I’m coming back to.  A few things that I notice about these trips.  One, I really feel a profound sense of wanting to live, and wanting to do things - a sort of joy, sometimes almost a desperate joy - about what’s to come and wanting to see it.  The second is that riding through nature is very calming for me, and in that calm and clarity I have a lot of deep thoughts about how to move forward with myself.

One thing - that I’ve said over and over, but it’s because it’s true - is that I really, really want to get in excellent shape.  I look back and pictures of myself from trips prior and it makes me sad that I’m kind of overweight in some of them, and conversely the few times I’ve been in really great shape it makes me feel so alive.  I know people say you shouldn’t judge your body that way, but what I finally realized is that I’m not doing it for other people, I’m doing it for myself.

We rode through Glasgow.  It looked nice.  They have a wonderful bike path all the way through the city.  Also some very interesting looking modern architecture.  Overall, though, what I will always take away from these trips is the nature.

On the negative side, we’re getting a lot more annoyed drivers and honking.  Not that bad yet, but a noticeable change from England, where we didn’t have any at all.

Also - and there’s no nice way to put it - England was so clean and tidy, and Scotland is just a bit messier and more like, well, America.  

There’s supposed to be these little biting gnats called midges that everyone warned us about, but honestly they weren’t that bad.  Maybe it’s the unseasonably hot and nice weather!

I did feel pretty sick last night for a while.  I think the “road diet” has caught up with me.  I ate a rich dish with a cream sauce and mashed turnips and haggis and I think it came back on me.

2018 - United Kingdom - Day 10 - Carluke, Scotland

Yesterday we did our first century of this trip - that's 100 miles.  I've done them before of course, but this one was especially fun.  It was nice to see that I could still do it, and actually do it pretty easily - I mean, I'm tired, but it wasn't that bad.  It helped that the weather was perfect, slightly cool and overcast.  Scotland is very nice but reminds me a *lot* more of the US.  The roads are wider, and we even had - gasp! - a shoulder to ride on for a while.  And the building constructino is more modern.  But James says that might just be because of the area that we're in.  I stopped in a random little shop in Suquhar and struck up a conversation with the owner and her little dog Daisy, and was reminded of how that can be one of my favorite parts - just random conversations with locals - and I should do it more often.

Top 10 Questions I Have For Scotland About Irn-Bru, the Unofficial Drink of Scotland:

1) . Seriously??!?
2)  You are a nation of warriors, shouldn't you drink the blood of your enemies or something?
3) . Why is it orange?
4) . Just please tell me what it's *supposed* to taste like.
5) . In what sense is it "Brewed"?
6) . Does the "Irn" leach out of the can you put it in?
7) . I mean, c'mon, you're joking, right?
8) . When you drink Red Bull, do you think "hey this is like Irn Bru but worse"?
9) . Do you mix it with alcohol?  And, if so, do you then have a seizure?
10) . Would you like some help thinking up new beverages?

2018 - United Kingdom - Day 9 - Carlisle, England

Yesterday we rode over Kirkstone pass, which was a beautiful 11-1200 foot climb into picturesque northern English highlands.  At one point on the down slope we came across a sheep which had parked itself right in the middle of the road and was just bleating.  I hope it wasn’t sick.  The climb was fun; if I lived around there I would do it every week, and in fact we saw a lot of locals because it was Sunday.  After the descent, we rolled into a more lower-middle-class industrial area called Carlisle.  It was an easy day overall, only 55 miles.  The town wasn’t particularly notable but we did stay in a very nice church and met yet another MS society.  We’ve had a lot more interactions with people with MS on this trip than I’m used to in the US and it’s interesting to hear their life stories.  The thing that comes across is how frustrating it is to have good days and bad days, and to have a disease that to many observers is invisible.

Even in the more industrial areas we were in, England is remarkably clean.  Tomorrow we head into Scotland for a 100 mile day!

2018 - United Kingdom - Day 7 & 8 - Kendal, England

Hmm...so much to write about.  The riding on the day before yesterday was fun but not especially interesting.  We finally got a taste of this rain, wet and cold we'd be hearing so much about it, but it wasn't bad.  We chose a nice sloooow pace and still got there in plenty of time.  I have often been elected unofficial leader because of the Garmin that I have, which, by the way, has turned out to be worth its weight in gold.  James - the route director - did a great job putting together his own maps but there is no substitute for having the device guide you around, it lets you really relax and take in the sights.  We stopped at one point at got warm at another nice pub with some more delicious food, this time a cheese and onion pie.  I might be full up on pubs for the moment.  :)

Kendal is beautiful and amazing.  It's not a huge town, but it's everything you'd want from a small British town - cobblestone streets, gorgeous yards.  I didn't get to explore as much as I might like, and anyway it's been cloudy, but the town is beautiful.  We went out to this really cool Activity Center; I've never seen anything like it, it was set up for people with disabilities to do activities like rock climbing and riding bicycles and we all rode bikes with the folks with MS.  I spent a good bit of time talking to a younger couple Judith and Craig and their two kids; Judith has MS and still is in great spirits but you can tell she is desperate to be rid of the disease.  I have hope that the same treatment that worked for my brother will work for them someday, so we spent some time talking about the Stem Cell treatments.  They talked a lot, wistfully, about visiting San Francisco, and you can tell they would have if not for MS.  :(

And last night the local MS director took us out for drinks and tapas appetizers.  The food here is, really, so good.  And now I know that I really like British bitters.

One of my friends sent me a text saying "Are you ready for your second half of your journey?"  And the thing is, I really, really am, in many more ways than one.

2018 - United Kingdom - Day 6 - Eccleston, England

Today I (essentially) caused a wreck by one of my friends Andrew.  I am using this Garmin to track the route instead of the maps, and I realized right away I'd missed a right turn (remember, right turns are harder here).  I called out "stopping" but I stopped too fast and he was behind me and got flustered and essentially went over his handlebars.  He's OK but I felt super bad.  We ended up hanging out in a local town for some coffee while a local ship fixed his mech hanger.  Lucky he did it so close to a shop! 

I mentioned to someone where we were headed yesterday and he said we were headed into a poor area, and then - quite possible by coincidence - it started to look like America.  :( . It's probably a coincidence.  

Oh my god, does everyone here hate Donald Trump!!  They are all quite relieved to find that there are Americans who didn't vote for him, don't like him and think he's just as stupid as they do.

The weather has been amazing.  Even though I know England/Scotland is really rainy, I have to admit I'm OK with seeing the sunny side.  :)

Also, the beer is outstanding, and cheap.

2018 - United Kingdom - Day 5 - Wharf Tavern at Goldstone, England

Yesterday was one of those "uneventful" days that sometimes happens during cycle touring.  I say "uneventful" because of course a lot of things happened, but they were the things that you would expect to have happen during a cycle tour, i.e. cycling, and eating.  There are a lot of little things I could talk about: the dozens of tiny harmless black flies that coated us, the amazing food we were served in the little pub we're staying at, the way you learn the rhythm of a new place just long enough to enjoy it before moving on.  But the thing that really strikes me is how calming it can be, for me, to be out here on these trips.  Staying in my tiny little tent, waking up naturally at 6:30 am - it's just very soothing.  Nothing particularly happened yesterday, and sometimes that's just the way I like it.

We've built up a good 400 or so miles now are heading towards the halfway point.  I have to keep reminding myself this is a relatively short trip.  Everyone has been very nice to me.  I have a lot of trouble with social groups and I often spend a lot of time alone at home.  I know I have a very unpleasant personality and people take a while to warm up to me, if they ever do at all.  It's weird - but nice - to have such an intense relationship with these people many of whom I might never see again.

I'm still dreaming of my trip to Iceland to ride around the country.  I'd like to ride it once, either on my own or with one or two other people, then do a "test ride" where I simulated what it would be like as a Bike the US for MS-style ride, then submit it to them for approval to do it as an actual fund-raising ride.  I think it would be great!

Oh, and last but not least, we've been meeting folks from the various MS societies - the local ones - which is fun.  Over here, the group gives donations directly to these local societies, so in some ways they are "campaigning" to get some of the funds.  But they're very nice people. The pub owner, for example, her sister has MS so she lets us camp here for free as long as we eat dinner in her pub (which we would do anyway because there is literally nothing else here!)

2018 - United Kingdom - Day 4 - Hereford, England

Today we went - very briefly - through Wales!  It was cool.  We stopped in at a little tourist stop and bought some stickers - my first ones here!  We had lunch at this placed called the National Diving Center which is an old quarry where they do ziplining, diving training and some swimming.  I would have done all of the above but they were closed.  I had an interesting conversation with a British man named Graham whose wife has MS about the differences between the US healthcare system - having watched my brother go through it - and the British one, and especially how it relates to having chronic illnesses.  It's always interesting to get a new perspective and although it didn't change much about my opinions - I still think the British system is superior - it did fill in more of the details about how it works in practice.  For example I asked how the quality of care for MS is and he said it varies widely based on your postcode (like our zipcodes).  Which I would expect to be true in a capitalist system but less so here, but it's still true.  So I asked him if people move to get better quality of care and he gave me a funny look and said Britons are too attached to family and place to do that.  Just interesting to get that perspective.  I have to imagine if I was sick with a chronic illness I would at least consider moving to get better treatment but perhaps that is a uniquely American attitude.  Everyone continue to be very awesome.  I alllllmost got hit by a car today - not my fault!  Driver just wasn't paying attention.  Some of the roads are incredibly terrifying - bumpy downhills through these narrow "death chutes" with hedges on either side.  And so narrow!  We had a few minor mishaps such as chains falling off but everyone is doing great.  This ride is somewhat more relentless than the US rides - we don't have short days - but I'm absolutely enjoying it.  And I'm finally used to riding on the left side of the road!  More later.