Portugal to Vietnam

Vietnam and Beyond

2006-04-01T19:44:00.000-08:00

We finished our last leg of the journey riding about 1000kms down the beautiful coastline of Vietnam. One of the most interesting things on this trip is the difference between countries and culture. One hundred metres to cross the border and wham, what does this country have in store for the two hammers?

Vietnam, right away we noticed that the people and the country was a lot louder than Laos. The people in Laos are really easy going and quiet people, no one raises there voice. In Vietnam, the traffic was much more in your face and the people were not shy at all about letting you know they were there. The volume in Laos was about a 3 and Vietnam being a 9 out of 10. Very similar humour though and very light hearted about things. I felt both cultures have a good laugh at us "foreigners" and they also have a good laugh at themselves. The major difference between the two countries is that Vietnam is number 13 and Laos is number 101 in the world for most population per country.

We visited the old capital "Hue" where there was a huge imperial palace fortified by walls for almost a square kilometer. We did a motorcycle trip around the area to visit all the grave sites where royalty was buried, other landmarks and sat in on a Buddhist prayer at this huge Monastery.

We continued south to DaNang, a large port city and the 3rd largest city in Vietnam. We met a friend of Coral's named Brian. He is teaching English in DaNang which has lead me to my next adventure in this experience called life. I met some students of Brian's and had a great time talking and sharing my knowledge of the English language with them. After meeting Brian everything seemed to fall into place. DaNang has about 30km of coastline and surrounded by some nice passes and mountains. You could see why I might want to stay here for a while, fresh tropical fruits, beaches, mountains and a warm climate all year round.

Onwards to Hoi An a world heritage city. There are a tonne of tailor shops there and it was only 30km outside of DaNang so I can get some tailor made clothes for my new career. You could buy new tailor fit clothes, shoes and any style of clothing, bags or accessories for a fraction of the cost of any designer label and the quality is fantastic. There is a lot to see in the area with many reminents of the Cham empire that ruled much of the central region of Vietnam. I can't wait to go exploring in my free time.

The coastline south continued to amaze us, the views were breathtaking. We arrived in a city called Nha Trang were many Vietnamese go to for R&R on the beach. In the area were some hot springs, probably my favourite attraction for a weary cycle tourist. Coral and I(Steve) treated ourselves to a mudbath and massage.

Moving forward we headed into the tea and coffee country to a city called Dalat. This was the honeymoon capital of Vietnam. They call the city little Paris, it has a communications tower that looks like the Eiffel tower. We climbed about 1400m from the sea which turned out to be a long 120km day. There was a 3% grade for the first 70km which can be a bit demoralizing and a 50km climb to finish the day. What a view! The temperature drops at night which was awesome after spending some really hot days riding by the sea. The coffee in Vietnam rivals the Italian espresso and Turkish Kave that will kickstart the day. It's been really neat experiencing all the regional teas and coffees, different ways of preparation and presentation through out our travels. I could see myself living in Dalat, it was the place to be in Vietnam before air conditioning was invented. Waking up with the smell of pines and fresh mountain air, oh yeah!

The final km's were in front of us, 3 days of riding to Ho Chi Minh. It finally set in that these were the last days of our travels. The Two Hammers were about to sing their swan song on this one year journey. Exactly one year from departing Lisbon we arrived in Ho Chi Minh on March 21st. We reached Ho Chi Minh and the days leading in to the capital were extremely hot(35) with 80% humidity, pushing it up to 40%.

Now Kevin is in Canada making his way across the country from Vancouver(by bus) back to Southern Ontario. He will be laboring for another long season of back breaking manual labour at Plan B. I am studying in Ho Chi Minh to be an english teacher. I will be on my way back to DaNang shortly. My days will be spent learning Vietnamese in my spare time, riding my bike in the mountains in the morning, sitting by the sea drinking coconuts in the afternoon and teaching a few hours a night. Sorry Kev, I don't mean to rub it in... hehe. Coral is currently doing some more traveling in SE Asia before she returns to Canada for some back breaking labour as well.

I will be writing some conclusions about our thoughts on the journey. Until then thanks to everyone who fed us, provided us shelter, made us laugh and most importantly made our journey a memorable one.

Laidback Laos

2006-03-07T22:07:00.000-08:00

Been some time now since our last post. Unless you are doing the well trailblazed Lonely Planet routes it is hard to find internet in Laos. It's pretty funny whenever you want to find westerners pick up the lonely planet guide and you will find "Falang" (Laosian for Foreigners).

We spent 31 days of our 30 day visa in Thailand and were charged late fees at the Border... whoops! We arrived in the Capital city Vientiene and met up with Coral's friend another Canadian, Ramsey from Toronto. Thanks to Ramsey and his friend Soo (forgive my spelling) we were treated to some great information about Laos over a delicious Laosian lunch in the park on the banks of the Mekong. We found some wicked spots in Central Laos were few Falang venture.

We headed north to Vang Vieng to meet an organic farmer Mr. T who allowed us to stay in his busy guest house. They really had it going on, many projects on the go with local villagers. They were building a community Library and there was a group of 20 people from a Asian group called AVAN that assists poorer Asian countries to help develop skills and modern practices to increase their standards of living. While Coral and Kevin were farming and working on the projects I decided to take some time off and relax after riding a 7 day push from Bangkok. We met a group of four from the US that I took a lazy day off with. We floated down the river on a tube while many locals were yelling "Beer Laos! Beer Laos! Cold cold! Cmon cmon". Fun in the sun! Thanks Adam, Irene, Allie and Joanna for the good company and many laughs.

On the road again we headed south east towards the Vietnam border to a place known as the Banglor caves. The Laosian country side is breathtaking, we headed up through a steep pass that was probably pushing a 10% grade, no long switchbacks up this hill just pure punishment of our quads. The mountain ranges in this area were unlike anything I have seen on this trip. The ranges were very rigid and the rock formations were stunning. Onwards toward the banglor caves, this lesser known place was off the beaten path and the path was beaten to say the least. Crawling along at about 7 to 12 km an hour we made our way in the deep bush. We stayed a night in a guest house along the river, what a serene place in the mountains far from any sort of civilization. I watched kids play in the river and the local fisherman pulling out dinner for their families, I felt so tranquil and just sat there taking a minute to breathe and enjoy this moment. The next day we had a date with the river men. I had my optimism about placing our bikes on a barely floating river skiff accompanied by my captain no more than a teenager. We headed down the river to the mouth of a 8km cave that passed through a mountain. We had to jump off the skiff a few times to pull the boat up the cascading falls and rapids. We made it to the other side with no problems, but what an adventure!

Two more days on some tough roads, we were still in the thick of things in the Laos jungle roads. Seeing nothing but small villages and astonished faces, we camped out in the jungles scraping by on our rations of food. The final day we headed out of the jungle we came up against some hills that we could not ride up due to steep grades and loose gravel and rocks. Sitting on the 4th hill exhausted, eating our last ration, not knowing how far we had to go, we see a lonely falang heading up the hill. Robert a French worker for a new dam project in the area was going out for his Sunday ride. What a relief, he told us civilization was only two more ascents away. Robert guided us to the village and fooood!!! He returned with a truck to bring us back to the workers compound and treated us to another huge spread of food with desert. Oh yes, we ate again, did I ever say how veracious our appetites were? What an truly amazing time we spent in Laos.

The people in Laos were very quiet and had a very easy going demeanour about them, and not to mention very warm and super hospitable in Laos. Very different volume level from our next and final country Vietnam. We are about 900km from our destination, I can't believe it.

Some big news in the next post, as I have decided to put off my return to Canada.

Steve

Buns of Steel and Banged up in Bangkok

2006-02-04T02:04:00.000-08:00

We have been somewhat stuck here in Bangkok waiting for a Vietnamese Visa. The office was closed due to Chinese New Year... for 5 days! We were able to stay with a friend for the week so that helped cut down on expenses. A big thanks to Toy and Michael from the US who allowed 3 dirty cyclists to take up some floor space in there bachelor pads. They showed us around town and we "made party"!

We went to a floating market outside of Bangkok where all the commerce is done in canals. It was really cool to see gondola like water crafts paked with all their wares. It was a very nice contrast to see a more grass route style of commerce rather than the bland hegemonic american style malls that are plaguing the earth.

A few days ago I had a rough time in the big city. I was playing bumper bikes with Coral. I was looking to merge with traffic as I turn around I got a little up close and personal with Coral's buns of steel and literally bounced of her ass and fell into traffic. Cars honked at me on the ground, luckily no one ran me over. Later on in the same day I was once again looking over my shoulder to merge with traffic and I ran into a stopped car, this time I braked just in time and kissed his bumper with my front tire, the problem was I was clipped in and took a nasty fall trying to get out of my bike. By the end of the day some bruised knees, calves and thighs and another scar to add to my already scarred left knee. Mostly just a bruised ego. The traffic is pretty much the same as every big city, heavily polluted, big parking lots which are called expressways. I hear Canada is having an abnormally warm winter, keep burning those fossil fuels. I hear global warming is all just a big hoax anyways. I have complete faith in the government and scientists to fix everything... right?

We stayed at two Buddhist Temples before arriving in Bangkok. Recently I finished reading the 4 noble truths by the Dalai Lama and it had a profound affect on me. I have really enjoyed the eastern philosophy and their outlook on human nature, compassion and finding inner peace. In highschool I remember learning about Buddhism and I really find the religion is very close to my own views on life. I am really enjoying the immersion into the Buddhist lifestyles. I am looking forward to our journey into two more Buddhist countries Laos and Vietnam. We found out that many Thai will spend a period of time in their life, living as monks in the temples. The beauty of this is that they do this on there own free will, however they do not abandon their old lives and renounce their families like the traditional ways. It is more of a celebration and party nowadays. Some of the old traditions have been lost and the version we see today is a more of a Neo-Buddhism. Like a lot of religions it is always evolving braking off into different sects, changing to the times.

20 countries and counting.

Steve

Malaysia to Thailand, Damn it's hot!!!

2006-01-18T04:12:00.000-08:00

It was a four day ride into KL (Kuala Lumpur). We started in JB and cycled to PK to Muar to PD. Everyone in Malaysia pronounces the cities by their initials like the hip people in Toronto that call the city TO. The Petronas towers stood out in the skyline of KL and helped guide us into the downtown core of the metropolitan city. The infrastructure was well designed by their civil engineers. The light rail transit system was outstanding. We had an inspiring interview in PJ, we took the LRT to meet with a NGO called CETDEM. Ok no more acronyms... Tan Siew Luang and her colleagues provided us with some good information about the organic farming movement, sustainable housing and alternative energy in Malaysia.

We headed north to the Cameron Highlands to meet 2 organic farmers. We met Fung after climbing a 40km 1000m ascent, needless to say our legs were a little rubbery but the scenery and waterfalls were breathtaking. Fung had a great piece of land in a small village in the mountains. He gave us an excellent tour and a great interview of his farm and his practices. We were introduced to another local farmer Mr. Ho and his son Jason. Jason operated the organic farm while his father ran a few local businesses including an organic restaurant where Kevin and I enjoyed and Organic steamboat dinner. It was hands down the best meal we had in Malaysia. The Cameron Highlands had a really cool climate which was a refreshing change from the humidity and hot temperatures in the lowlands. The crops were much different in this area due to the more temperate weather, which was considered the salad bowl of the country.

We continued towards Pinang and bumped into a fellow cycle tourist named David. He took us on a whirlwind tour for the short time we stayed with him. We went to a Chinese Funeral, visited a pottery shop where they made hand crafted pottery on site, a rice mill, 2 prawn farms, a fish farm, to "hell" in a Chinese temple in the middle of a huge palm oil plantation and another Hindi Temple. He also helped us with meeting another Organic Farm in Pinang where David was introduced to Organic farms for the first time. A big thanks to Kenny and Tan who drove us around Pinang to the local organic farm. We saw our first live organic pineapple, I never knew they grow straight up from the ground and take 4 months to produce one fruit, whoa! David then showed us around to some of the local spots where they drink "totty" which comes from a coconut tree by splitting a chute which produces a juice which ferments and turns alcoholic in 2-3 hours. It is only good up to 8 hours but the longer you wait the stiffer the alcohol content. The only downfall is it smells more sulfury near 8 hours.

We are now on an exotic Thai beach getting some well deserved R&R after doing a 7 day haul up the Thai coast. I hope it is not to cold in Canada... hahahaha. We hope everyone in Canada has voted for our new PM, we did our Civic duty overseas here in Kuala Lumpur. We have met up with our friend Coral from Ottawa, she is also an Organic Farmer from Plan B Organic farm in Flamborough Ontario. We have our first female rider woohooo!! I hope I did not scare her off, the first day we met with hit the beach and I broke out my Romanian speedo courtesy of our good friend Gabi. I won't post that picture on the web, we want people to come back and visit our adventure.

Peace out, Steve.

Good Riddance India, Helloooooo South East Asia, phew!?!?!

2005-12-31T01:01:00.000-08:00

After riding 1200km south from Kathmandu to Kolkata we have seen about enough of India to last a lifetime. India is really in a sad state of affairs. There is no education about pollution, food handling and hygiene. The World Health Organization reports that it is a hot spot for Malaria amongst a list of other health warnings. So you might think that there would be some education and thought about combating this problem. Nope almost every Hotel we stayed in had open windows, no screens, windows that couldn't close and even if they could there were many spots where the mosquitoes could get in. The solution for 90% of the mosquito problem, "Here's a coil to burn, Sir". Yeah, I really want to be breathing in pesticides all night, along with all the other black air pollution my poor pink lungs are taking a beating from. Let me get to the air pollution, Kevin's mask had a black outline within a few hours of riding and you could only imagine what it looked like after three days. Everyday our bodies had a layer of black film and I won't go into anything coming out of our nostrils. We spent Christmas day repairing my bike box hours before we had to take our flight to Singapore. The Hotel we stayed at had water all over and they let my box sit in this for days... let's just say we are extremely happy to be leaving India behind.

We arrived in Singapore after spending most of Christmas day in the airport. They say Singapore is a fine city, meaning you get fined for so many outrageous things. Failing to flush the toilet, spitting and even chewing gum is outlawed and punishable. I just read an article that after the 12 year ban they are allowing therapeutic gums, teeth whitening and Nicorette but you have to show ID. If the buyer does not show ID, the pharmacist is jailed for 2 years and fined $2940 dollars. Talk about strict government whoa!!

Ok other than the obscene police state Singapore is in, (Singaporeans are really worried about breaking laws) Singapore is an amazing place. It is a city/country no bigger than Toronto and there is literally mall after consumerfest mall. The place is bustling with commerce and the city is so clean. Leaving Kolkata and entering Singapore was like night and day, total polar opposites. There is sooo much to see and do here we could have spent at least two weeks exploring the beaches, theme parks and limitless amount of malls. We had to do some bike part shopping and finally after hitting every store we were able to locate the specialty rims we required. Singapore is quite the place and if anyone is thinking of traveling to an exotic tropical location, check out Singapore. It is as culturally diverse as Toronto, Indian, Arab, Chinese and even us white cake are spread throughout the streets. There is no religious majority either, a true city of the world. The buildings and architecture is stunning, we could have spent a month here just taking pictures of the scenery here. The food is excellent as well, every meal was fully digested and ready for us to burn on the bikes, did I mention we were ecstatic about being out of India?

We arrived in Malaysia two days before new years, it was a 45k ride out of Singapore. Malaysia so far has been great, the tropical climate is fantastic and we are working on some wicked cycling tan lines. The roads are fantastic, huge motorcycle lanes that we also have free reign in. No more horns that were constantly blarring from the Indian trucks, nice and peaceful with smooth tarmac and no pollution. We are headed towards Kuala Lumpur in a few days, another big hub city in South Asia. We will be interviewing an organization for Organic Farming in Kuala Lumpur. The largest towers in the world are here (CN tower is still the tallest free standing). New years was spent near the coast, not to many people were celebrating. The population is largely Muslim and Chinese so there were no rowdy drunks and the Chinese New Year us not until the end of January.

Looking forward to 2006! Today we had an amazing ride up the western Malaysian coastline. There are so many weird looking tropical fruits on the trees. Ahh fresh fruit mmmmmm!!! We pumped out some good KM's today and I was enjoying a huge high from the endorphine rush, it was unlike any New Years day I have ever had. A good start to the New Year instead of my usual nursing of a killer hang over. A great start to begin 2006.

Happy New Year everyone!!! Happy Birthday to my sister Julie and my Grandma!!

Steve

Nemaste Nepal - Top of the World

2005-11-29T08:34:00.000-08:00

We entered Nepal on November 21st almost walking by the border without a Visa. The western border of Nepal is a relaxed dirt road along a canal with migrating Indians, Nepalese and various assorted farm animals walking to and fro, country to country. Nepal is in the middle of a cease fire with Maoist rebels which will be ending shortly but may be extended with talks from both sides. December 2nd there is a large manifestation being organized to demand democracy at the King's Palace. They are expecting upwards of 1 million citizens. This could be the beginning of a new era here in Nepal. There has been increased pressure from the US and UN demanding the King to listen to the Parliament, the Maoist movement and the people. There are many military checkpoints that we are allowed to pass freely on our bicycles. All buses and other transportation is stopped and searched at each chekpoint for rebel activity.

The locals are friendly and the children ring out "bye bye" and wave very excitedly as we pass them. In the western region there is not much food variety for us and our ferocious apetites. We have been living on biscuits, rice, dal, curried potato/cauliflower and a mustard green of some sort almost EVERY DAY! We decided to spend a couple nights in one of the National Parks named the Royal Bardia. It was amazing, we saw rhinos, leopards, two varities of deer (tiger food) but no tigers. The guide has never seen leopards in his 13 years in the park so we were very lucky to see these predatory cats. We could smell the scent of Tiger pee and saw fresh scratch marks on the side of the trail travelling to the next lookout tower. We then heard an Elephant roar to warn that there was a tiger in the immediate vicinity. We then met up with the Elephant that made our guide turn and almost run for a tree until he looked again and noticed it was domesticated. Our guide was armed with a bamboo stick and his wits. What an exciting day, seeing these large mamals roaming in there natural habitat and not in some zoo. It was $25 dollars for two days and a Jungle trek with lodging and 3 square Cycle tourist sized meals. What a deal!!!

The last few days we started to make our ascent from the southern plains of Nepal into Pokhara. We stopped in the city of Butwal a major hub in Nepal where we finally had a selection of food other than the Nepalese standard (good food but you can only each so much of it). We saw the mountains to the north as we prepared our tummies for the hills ahead. All I can say is we spent almost half our time off of the bike seat stopping to take pictures of utterly breathtaking views of valleys, moutains, forest and river. We arrived in Pokhara on the 29th. Just a few kilometers north of Pokhara is Annapurna the 9th highest mountain in the world WOW!!! (Picture of Annapurna above)

Kathmandu here we come, lets hope the King will do the right thing and listen to his subjects! The next few days will prove to be very interesting as we will be in the heart of the matter.

Stev-0

Chai, Bickies and Numbers

2005-11-15T20:32:00.000-08:00

After spending some time in McLeod Ganj we headed east through the mountains just south of the Himalyans called the Shiwalik range. What an inspiring ride after being spiritually lifted through these intense mountains. The population was much more sparce through the mountains and the air was clean. To the south you could see the haze of pollution which makes for good photos at sun set. There is always a good and a bad for everything.

We picked up another rider to make our bike posse more international. Before heading into Dharmsala we stopped to take some photos of a valley. I saw a man passed out on a small tea hut. I looked again and noticed a fully loaded bicycle. He was also experiencing the after affects (stomach problems) from Lahorrible Pakistan. Alex from Switzerland has joined our ride towards Katmandu Nepal. We have nick named him the Terminator for his deep Arnold-esque Austrian English accent.

We made our way through some mountain villages that made our quads scream and jaws drop. Monkeys were scattered throughout the mountains hanging out on the sides of the roads grooming each other and the mothers carrying their young around. They are amazing animals to watch, they are so graceful playing in the trees. We stayed in the provincial capital Shimla for an extra day. This beautiful city was perched in the foothills of the Shiwalik Range at about 2205m above sea level. As much of a pain the mountain climbs can be there is always breathtaking downhill. I love watching the choreography when we are following each other down the hills picking our lines around the curves, cutting and weaving down the passes.

Today we are at the head of the Ganga river in a town called Rishikesh. At the base of the Ganges the total length is about 2,510 km. It is one of the densest human population belts on earth. We are close to the source which flows from a glacier in the Himalayas. The water is clean here and we are going to take a quick dip in the cold waters. Rishikesh is named the Yoga capital of the world. There are many places to learn and teach many different styles of Yoga, massage and meditation. Cows and monkeys are everywhere here. If you have never tried yoga, I highly recommend it. I was practicing a few months before I left and I never felt so good after the class, all my stress was gone and I felt I was walking on air.

We should be in Nepal climbing back into the mountains in 3 or 4 days. I can't wait for more fresh air and watching more wildlife. There are leopards and other large mammals still living in harmony with the eco systems that have been untouched by man. We are headed towards some national parks in India and Nepal.

India is an amazing place and I will definitely be coming back to spend some time in the mountains for a retreat if I ever feel spiritually, mentally or physically depleted. There is an amazing blend of Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist and many other eastern religions here. It is truly a spiritually uplifting place. Accommodations are $2 to $5 a night, you can eat like a calorie crazed cyclist spending $3 for a huge spread of amazing Indian food and spend $7 for a full hour body massage. Try doing that in Canada for under $20. Words can't describe it, you have to experience this amazing place for yourself.

Until the next post.
Steve

India Alas!!

2005-11-03T20:32:00.000-08:00

Goodbye Pakistan hello India. 16 countries, 13,000km's, unwanted cultures in our sensitive North American tummies and we're still pushin' pedal!

What a relief it is to get out of Pakistan. My intention is not offend Pakistani's as Pakistan is geographically stunning and the people are very hospitable and enjoyable hosts. It is just a relief to be in India where women can be women (not possessions where they rarely leave the house) and the people are used to seeing tourists. Pakistan is the most oppressive country we've been in so far.

We (Steve, Luke and I) are in Dharamshala beside the Himilaya's now. This is where the exiled Tibetan government lives along with the Dalai Lama. There are a few Buddhist monks in the internet cafe right now. It is funny seeing monks on cell phones and internet. The mountains are frickin massive here. The lowest one is 4050m. We climbed a 10km killer hill to get up here. All in all I think we climbed around 2000m of roller coaster scenic mountain scape. We rode well into the darkness of the night. No matter though as there are people everywhere in India. Every 5 km there is a city, town or village. Crowded but not overwhelming like Pakistan. Man is Pakistan a mess. Another story for another time. It is exciting that there is women around you can talk to without fearing reprecussions from small minded, insecure, very religious muslim men that will go straight to hell, do not pass go,(if there is a judgement day) for their treament of women. This is my experience and opinion from travelling through the south of Pakistan and not seeing any women at all. The Pakistani's are very nice people otherwise. That's my rant for this post.

After leaving Islamabad we bused back to Lahorrible(inside joke concerning severe air and noise pollution along with diahrea and stomach ailments that seem to plague foreigners) with double entry visa's for India at the cost of 3300 rupees.($85 canuck buck) We will be heading through the Himilaya's and into Kathmandu for the next month or so. Exciting stuff. We stayed in Lahore for another night and did a little sightseeing and bike cleaning before leaving Bobby's house for the Indian border. Thanks for the hospitality Bobby and Shumella!

We had our most thorough search at the Indian border crossing where they opened our bags and pulled out a few things. Nothing overly invasive. Just a quick check for the sake of procedure then we headed for the border again to see the infamous closing of the border. Bleachers lined the border where hundreds of people watched the soldiers march to the gates where the Indian soldiers taunted the Pakistani soldiers and vice versa. Chanting about Hindustan filled the air and the soldiers marched up and down with colourful outfits in a manner reminiscent of Monty Python's ministry of silly walks. Quite comical.

We cycled on to Amritsar and visited the Golden Temple. Astounded by the beauty of this wonder we walked around snapping pictures and marvelled at the holiest site in the Sikh religion.

After arguing about cold eggs and poor service at our hotel, we rode a comfortable 110km's to Pathankot, where we were treated to the most visually stunning fireworks display I've ever seen. Literally hundreds of thousands of fireworks went off simultaneously for over 6 hours in celebration of Diwali. The equivalent of Christmas for the Indian people. We lit off a few ladyfingers of our own and drank a little whisky on the rooftop of the hotel whilst taking in a fireworks display that could blow up a small country.

That's what's happening in the land of two hammers and one Kiwi. Lots of photo's and stories that are too much for this website will come when we return!

A little advice for anyone coming out this way. Do not, I repeat do not drink the water or eat the salad. Luke is suffering again from what we believe is a water problem. Unless your stomach is made of cast iron and you have bowels of titanium one should avoid road side restaurants and drinking water! Yikes!

Shaking in Islamabad

2005-10-24T01:00:00.000-07:00

Kevin, Luke and I have reunited again in Lahore. I spent a day in a Hostel in Lahore before they arrived. The owner of the Hostel was an amazing, he treated us to a tour outside of Lahore. We joined Malik and went to an inauguration ceremony for his cousin who was recently elected to office. They had some amazing drumming after the ceremony followed up by fireworks. I met with several different ministers of Health, Education, Finance... here I am in the middle of the upper brass of the Punjab region my first day in Pakistan, too funny. We later went to a festival outside of Lahore. I always heard about the cannabis culture here and never knew how big it was, you could smell the hashish everywhere you go. We were invited back to a drum tent were we met the big ticket performers for the night. These "ladies" shook my hand, and I was a little baffled because women are not allowed to touch men. I was sitting in a tent with about 40 men and children staring at me and my friends while we talked with the "ladies". Our host told us they were man "ladies" who performed around the country and this is a good blessing/superstition if they dance in your village. Many of them were hermaphrodite some just very effeminate men. This was one part of the Islamic Republics I never thought I would see. After the dancing was over and the weirdness of 100 men watching 12 un-choreographed "ladies" dance we returned to the hostel. When we arrived we heard music upstairs only to find a live Sufi band playing. We danced and had a good time and the day was over. What a crazy day of random events...

We hooked up with a hospitality club member from the US who is now a resident of Pakistan. Bobby hosted us for a couple days while Luke rested from his stomach problems. Bobby and his wife prepared us some amazing Pakistani food that we thoroughly enjoyed. We needed to head towards Islamabad to apply for our Indian Visa's. We have found out the Karakorum Highway is inaccessible to the north due to the devastation of the earthquake. We were really looking forward to conquering the highest paved pass in the world between Pakistan and China called the Kunjerab pass at 4934m. This will have to wait until another trip.

We arrived in Islamabad on Friday, the civil engineers planned a more western approach creating a grid like infrastucture than other Pakistani cities. We have not seen any major signs of the earthquake but the outskirts of the cities look worse due to their more earthquake prone mud brick homes. I was in my room last night in fetal position (another amoebic party in my stomach) when I felt the bed shaking slightly. I thought Kevin snuck in the room and playing games until I said a few choice words and lifted my head from the covers and no one was there. This subtle shaking went on for about a minute or so and stopped. I thought it was just my delusional state from a high fever and the shakes but it was confirmed that two tremors occurred last night.

So we are waiting for 7 days in Islamabad until our Visa is approved. Next stop India!

Until our next post!

Curry and I'm in a Hurry

2005-10-12T04:50:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updating for all those concerned.

I am safe and well in Pakistan. I was in the south near the Iranian border when the quake hit.

My friend Luke and I cycled through 1000km's of some of the most stereotypical desert you can imagine. Every travel book we read advised against us riding through southeastern Iran as 3 cyclists were kidnapped 3 or 4 years ago. The locals told us it would be fine as did a seasoned traveller who has done this type of journey, so we pushed on. Sand blew across the road and into every possible orifice and spot that you wouldn't want sand getting into. At the end of one day I emptied a small pile of sand from my right ear. Man is it ever parched down there.

Without getting into too much detail, our highlights involved smashing a washroom sink up by acccident, staying at 2 military installations including accomodations in a military jail cell, passing children with AK-47 machine guns waving at us, passing many burnt out trucks and drinking 40 degree water from water bottles that feel half melted from the unrelenting desert sun.

Now I am in Pakistan about 4 days ride from the earthquake affected regions in the north. Unfortunately we will be passing through this section and seeing the aftermath. This region is very high. We rode up to a 3000m pass today and road a sweet downhill for the better part of 60km's. The road between Quetta and a town called Ziarat was bearly a road. Nightmare ride. Very bumpy, no gravel and totally dusty. I just about rattled every bolt of my bike and every ounce of my being.

The land is very arid here. The towns are dusty and crowded and we are constanly bombarded by 10-40 people at once. I counted 40 today when I went into a shop to buy some bisquits. The people are very friendly and curious and I must keep this in mind. Sometimes it is frustrating to say the least, but it is nice when i am thinking about where I am and how much fun it must be to talk to a strange freak like myself.

I feel that I am very safe. There are a lot of people here an it is alarming, but at the same time we cycle past 2-4 military and police checkpoints a day and we have been escorted twice now by police through two areas.

Luke had a bout with diahrea and nausea yesterday and we took a rest. Somehow I manage to avoid this plague of the cyclist. All that organic dirt I eat when not washing my veggies at Plan B must account for something!

So that's Mr. Kevin. Still pedallin my sorry butt onwards. Our route may shift to Tibet and the Mount Everest base camp via Kashgar in China and south through Tibet to Nepal. We'll keep ya posted. Wish us luck. Steve and I should reunite in 4 days or so.

I miss everyone!

Eye of the beholder... trouble in Iran.

2005-09-28T05:26:00.000-07:00

We are being held captive by some of the nicest people on earth. For anyone thinking that Iran is a terrorist state or not safe to travel please stop watching CNN. I will say, some things are not normal and even not right but you could also say this about any country as well. It all depends on the eye of the beholder.

We left Turkey and saw one of the hugest mountains I have ever seen, Mount Ararat. It is about 5165 metres 16,945 feet high. This is where Noah's Ark is claimed to have landed. I left Turkey in eating some bad food and it left me pretty weak. I fasted for two days and I thought I was good, feeling like Superman I decided to move on. We were ready to take on Iran and the rest of Asia. We climbed about 900 metres out of Turkey and were chased by wild dogs at the border. We stayed at Gurbulak and slept out front on the veranda of a Variety store near some military barracks, oh the places we sleep. We were telling all the soldiers the store was closed and we ended up sharing many interesting stories with them about Turkey.

We arrived in Iran the next morning and had some of the nicest roads to travel on. We learned a valuable lesson about money exchange... make sure you know the price before going into a country. We only lost a dollar or two so no big deal... but lesson learned. We headed further in land to the serene desert like conditions of Iran leaving a cooler Turkey landscape behind. It warmed up quickly as we headed further east past Maku. After receiving some medical attention from my stomach woes we pushed forward. The one night we passed about 10 kms of military troops and headed to the hills to pitch our tent. We were probably about 5 kms away and the night was peaceful in the parched desert mountainside when all of the sudden kaboom! The artillery traces filled the skies like yellow fireflies as they began exploding in the background lighting up the dark night... whoa!!! It finally died down so we could sleep but the military presence is very noticeable here and in Turkey. I guess this is what happens when the terrorist leader George W wants your land and oil. There is no doubt that they are waiting for it, the writing is on the wall or should I say the CNN headline ticker.

We headed into a very lively town called Tabriz. We spent a night there in a Hotel for about $4 CDN. The people were great offering us fresh fruit and helping us out with cheap accommodations. There is a fruit smoothie bar on almost every corner... we are in heaven, they cost about 50cents for a cold refreshing mineral rich drink! Alcohol is not allowed so the occasional beer has been out of our diet but the alternative makes us feel 100 times better after a long day of riding.

Now the trouble... I injured my ankle from climbing Ararat in my weakened condition and I will now be taking some time off for physiotherapy to get me back on my feet. The good thing is we met a cool travel mate in Tehran, our Kiwi friend named Luke who we met earlier in our trip in Ankara. Tehran is a huge city (15Mil) and like most big cities it really suffers the effects of pollution. You can hardly breathe as the city is located in a valley surrounded by mountains. The traffic is horrendous and the Darwinian style of driving as our friend Arya calls it is literally mad. You truly take your life into your hands here... every car, motorcycle, cyclist and pedestrian for themselves. Kevin and Luke will continue riding to Pakistan and I will be I recovering so I can take on the rest of Asia with them in a few weeks. Luke has been traveling by bicycle from Vancouver to NY (in 27 days during some unseasonable weather) and continued on from England to Iran. The guy is a madman, he wants to continue onwards to Nepal in November. We will plan on meeting him back in India after he thaws out if he hasn't turned into a meat popsicle.

Everything is well and our spirits are high, Kevin and I have split up again to go on our own adventures. We separated today in Esfahan a very beautiful historical city and I will be returning to Arya's place in Tehran for treatment. His father is a doctor so I will be in good hands for my recovery.

Peace out!
Steve

We're Baaaaaack!

2005-09-09T06:10:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay for everyone who wonders where the heck twohammers are. We are currently 100kms from the İranian border. The adventure continues. We have 16 day visa's for İran and we are trying to get them extended when we get to Tehran.

I, Kevin, spent some excellent time exploring some of the most beautiful coastline the world has to offer in the south west of Turkey. İ clımbed the equivalent of the Alps twice whilst exploring down there. Killer hills everywhere. İn one day i pushed up two 20km hills passing 1650m elevation in 40C heat. Almost stupid. But İ live to tell the tales. Turkey is by far the hardest country to cycle.

Steve spent time in İstanbul and Ankara resting and visiting with friends.

On a sad note, I am a stupid tourist. I left my backpack on a bus and inside it contained 200 pictures, my journal, minidisc, microphone, some food and my common sense. I feel like crying. My journal and the pictures are the real shame in this situation. The bus company is tryıng to send it to where İ am now. The universe is all i have to help me now. Everyone picture me with a yellow backpack and a huge smile on my face and it will arrive safely with all my stuff!

Otherwise we will update again soon! We miss everyone and İ want to say Happy Belated Birthday to Paul and Tara and me!

Cluck cluck, stuck ın Turkey....

2005-08-03T04:04:00.000-07:00

We are waitıng for our Iranian Visa ın Turkey, it takes up to one month to process. We couldn't be stuck ın a better country for hospitality. The locals here treat us like super stars. Everyone has taken us in and shown us around the town in almost every city we are in for cheap food and accomodations. Sometimes even feeding us meals and provding us shelter for the night.

Our Turkish is improving on a daily basis as we are adding more and more words to our vocabulary. We are currently in the North side of Turkey in the Black Sea region where all the Çay tea is made. We had a 40km downhill to the Black Sea to a place called Samsun, it was a little bumpy and our rims are still intact but I think it is time for me to replace mine, more technical woes. We have been hugging the Northern coastline and the view has been nothing less of inspiring. The Black Sea has beautiful mountains on the right and wide open turquoise sea on the left. My only concern about the region from talking to the locals is the increase of cancer in the area due to the Chernobyl fallout. Some children are getting cancer after 6 months in this area. I'd like to research more of this topic to hear more about the aftermath 20 years later.

So we will be doing some more touring of Turkey over the next few weeks as we wait for our Visa's to go through. It's probably a good thing as the temperature has been in the 30's since entering Turkey. I think Iran will be even hotter. An Iranian man has expressed interest in joining us for the journey through the region. We are looking forward to his expertise of Iran and it will place less stress on us to learn yet another language.

So Kevin and I will be splitting up for a little get out of each others hair. We have been good travelmates, but I think it will be good for both of us and our sanity. The sibling rivalry still continues sometimes but it is to be expected.

Peace out!

Steve

Turkish Delight!

2005-07-28T06:38:00.000-07:00

What a fan-friggin-tabulous country. Any pre-conceived western ideas anyone out there has about Muslim countries can be dispelled immediately upon visiting one. I can't even count how many free drinks we have enjoyed from the hands of the sometimes too friendly Turkmen and women. Yesterday I was handed 10 Lira from a women and told to go have a nice Turkish dinner. This has been the normal hospitality for us.

Starting from the beginning. We entered Turkey from Bulgaria and rode 3 rather swelteringly hot days into Istanbul. We stayed with 2 separate hosts, Emine and Elif. They were both excellent hosts and we enjoyed a night of dancing or 2 and a scenic boat tour up the Bosphorous. (Upon other excursions) We never realized, but upon crossing the Bosphorous, it was good-bye Europe and hello Asia. After applying for our Iranian visas at the Persian embassy we headed towards Ankara.

We took a very smelly busy exhaust filled highway. The stink was all over us and deep into our poor lungs. We took about 70 kilometers of "stick to your ribs" disgusting exhaust before we saw a beacon of hope in the form of a ferry sign to the other side of the sea. Thank goodness.

Whilst on the ferry we met more amazing people. (Excuse me for mis-spelling your names, the keyboard and my mind are in English!) Savas and Doygu. They were totally amazing. They took us all over Bursa the fourth largest city in Turkey and we were treated to all the Turkish delicacies and fantastic hospitality. We miss you guys! We should all experience hospitality like this at least once in a lifetime. Thank you sooooo much guys!

I would like to tell you everything about what we've been up to but I am restricted to the un-fair confines of time. We would like to thanks our hosts in Ankara for a great visit. We now have Pakistani visas! Thanks to Berat, Kurai, Alper, Deniz and Honda! I'll write more about Ankara another time.

In closing this post I would like to share a contrast in ideas and views I have noticed upon visiting Turkey. When trying to get our visas for Pakistan we were asked for proof of identity from our Canadian embassy. Pakistan is known in the west for being a "terrorist" state. This is of course arguable. When we arrived at the Pakistani embassy we were greeted by a guard and we told him we were there to apply for a Visa and he smiled and pointed to the door. Upon entry to the Canadian embassy we were searched, made to go through a metal detector, questioned and we had our pockets emptied our walkmans confiscated and our integrity insulted. We were then spoke to through a fiberglass window with a hole in it from our Canadian representative where he fearmongered us about our chosen route. No wonder he wouldn't come out and talk to us face to face. He seems to be living in fear. Of what I am not sure. Our next visit was much of the same. A canadian representative told Steve to ,"Watch out!" and ,"I am scared for the both of you!" and "Can you ride faster than a bullet?" It was like CNN. What a distorted view of reality we live in. Our treatment at the Pakistani embassy was completely opposite
to our Canadian visit. When was the last time we experienced terror in Canada or when was the last time we heard 1 horror story about a Canadian being beaten or mugged in a foreign country. I stress the word 1. You'll be sure to hear about it on our sensational news. Our representatives and our treatment at the embassy reflect a sad state of affairs that is prevalent in Canadian society. Fear. Give me a break. I am not naive. I take precautions and care everywhere I go. Words like Iran or Pakistan have been severely distorted to conjure up images of god knows what people think having never visited or researched a place. The only place I have ever been mugged, threatened or beaten has been in Canada. This is life. There are crappy people everywhere.

On that note, our Muslim hosts are taking amazing care of us almost to a fault. It is a life changing experience for the both of us and shame on us for ever letting our media taint and distort our opinion and views of such a wonderful group of people and religion.

That is the view from here. We think about everyone often as we sweat away in the 35+ degree turkish heat. I'll have some new blues to bring back to Canada. Lots and lots of love to everyone in the land of baklava and Kebabs!

Philosophizing with a Hammer

2005-07-11T22:55:00.000-07:00

I felt like sharing some of my thoughts in two short poems. I am growing beyond my former self gaining new wisdom from this multifaceted journey of my body, mind and soul... loving every minute of it

Reflection Through Introspection
Learning to fly

New capillaries like rivers,
flow through my body.
Bring oxygen for new demands.
My muscles are pulling me,
like rubber bands.
Almost ready to snap
as I stretch myself, my soul
bending the envelope,
filling these holes.
Pulling my tendons to a new extreme
Redefining,
this new human, being.

My spirit is soaring,
I'm way up here now.
I recognize the past,
this shallow existence,
I hope will not last.

My laden history is past tense,
Stress no longer my friend of time mispent.
My heart has been freed,
I am allowed once again to be me.

Herd Animals

People fighting for scraps,
Sheepishly falling into the traps.

2 kilos of love in my brain,
fill my spirit with renewed faith.
2 kilos of fear ingrained,
driving others with corporate haste.

Humanity in all of it's childish greed
always wanting to fill the need.
Will we learn from history ever,
or will it be to late and never.
Will we always succumb to the Joneses,
or will we let this ego mind own us.

Can we press rewind, and live without temptation
or continue to fastfoward and fall into degradation.
What kind of legacy our we leaving for our future generations
I'm not sure but will the ever forgive us?

Yeah I read Catcher in the Rye recently... so shoot me haha. Beleive it or not, I am an optimist.
Stev-0

From Bulgaria Wıth Love

2005-07-09T06:08:00.000-07:00

We have conquered yet another land mass! Bulgarıa is now just a faınt, mıld tweak in my knee.

What a place. We ended up a week behınd schedule as the Romanians were busy setting a new bench mark for hospitaliy. So we cheated and took a traın for 200km's. We are truly embarassed. We wanted to make it into Sofia so we could enjoy the week-end and our host could show us around. The mountaıns between Vıdın and Sofıa were breathtakıng. A litter problem along the waterways and old reminants of communıst ındustry gone wrong were the only drawbacks to the amazıng vıews.

We arrıved the day before one of those 'democracy' farces we know as electıons. In Bulgarıa it is ıllegal to sell alcochol on the day before the elections so we had to rely on the stock piling of Maria and company. We went out for a bırthday party at Marıa's frıends house and we got to see the aftermath of a bomb that was set at some guys door as a scare tactıc one week prıor. 6 storeys of shockwave had blasted out the wındows in everyones apartments and the staırwell and rendered the elevator useless. I felt kında uneasy lıke gettıng in a lımo wıth a chaffeur wıth a neckbrace, as we walked up the staırs, but we had a lıttle vodka and the world was all Kool and the Gang once again.

We had a great tıme ın Sofıa takıng ın the sights of mosques left behınd from Turkısh rule. Stunnıng architecture ıs everywhere. We went hıkıng ın the mountaıns a bıt and Marıa and her dog were attacked by another huuuuugggggeeeee dog as I yelled and Steve whıstled to scave off another attack. All part of the experıence. Thanks to Marıa for hostıng us! She ıs a wonderful host and person.

We pushed 5 days on to the Black Sea. Clımbıng some nıce hılls here and there and pushıng ınto some headwınds. The people along the countrysıde were pretty welcomıng too. Surprısıng as we were once agaın told how crazy Bulgarıa ıs for travellıng. Much lıke Serbıa, we were treated kındly. At one poınt, we stopped to strecth and a woman pıcked a bunch of fruıt and rasberrıes from her property and gave us a bıg bag. One second after acceptıng the fruıt a woman wıth a lıttle pıg comes walkıng down the road and takes us to the store for ıce cream. She asked me ıf I was sıngle, then took my maılıng ınformatıon and I thınk she ıs sendıng my mom a pıcture of her daughter to marry her off. Beıng sıngle opens doors I tell ya!

We were able to ıntervıew a farmer ın a town called Karnobat whıch is 80km's west of Bourgas and the Black Sea. He had a huge productıon of sunflower, wheat and corıander. He ıs faced wıth the same problem of North Amerıcan farmers. Get bıgger and spray chemıcals to be economıcally vıable or sell the farm and move to the cıty. He saw no solutıon to thıs trend. He was really excıted about the possıbılıty of bıodıesel when I explaıned ıt to hım.

We pushed onwards to Turkey and slept ın the woods about 30 metres from a full on barbwıre fence whıch represented the Bulgarıan\Turkısh border. I thought I kept hearıng mılıtary patrollıng the woods as we slept. İ was so tense you couldn't have gotten a pın up my butt wıth a jackhammer. Another sleepless night in the land of bicycle touring.

We survıved and now we're chıllın' out ın Istanbul and enjoyıng the Turkısh hospıtalıty whıch mıght set a new precendence. Who knows what ıs ınstore for us.

untıl next tıme, peace near the mıddle east!

Kevın

Motorcycles and Beer, and did I mention beer?

2005-06-27T01:16:00.000-07:00

Timisoara Romania was a stop to remember. We hooked up with some awesome people here and we had such a good time we ended up staying a week longer than we expected. Our two hosts Anemaria and Mihai were fabulous, taking us around town and showing us the sights of the 4th largest city in Romania. Kevin and I split up for a few days to keep our sanity, but I feel we have got past much of any petty bickering we have endured through our travels.

We left Timisoara to meet up with some of Annemaria's friends in a town called Resita. They were motorcycle enthuisists and defintitely the best motorcycle gang in Romania. They showed us a good time in Resita which was a similiar city to our hometown of Hamilton (steel producing industrial city). The beer was dirt cheap here in Romania and we were told by our friend Mihai that Romania's first national sport was Football (soccer) and second national sport was drinking... too funny.

We were invited to attend a biker party and headed back to Timisoara and decided to experience the meeting. We joined the Street Wolves pack formerly the MF's from Hell. We had a blast and some good pictures from the weekend that we will be posting shortly. The hospitality we were shown by the Romanian people was out of this world. We could not pay for anything as our hosts would not accept our money. Kevin eventually had to quickly pay for a round once and a while.

Fabi, Muti, Gabi, Flavius, Marius, Vio, Costi and everyone else helped us feel like we have been best friends for years. We had our first bicycle pack as Fabian and Gabi decided to join us on a 130Km ride to and beautiful city called Herculaine. Fabi could only ride a with us for 30K because of other priorities but Gabi joined us for the entire 130!! What a trooper, he had not been out on a bike in about 6 years, I had some doubts if he was going to make it. He was the Man!!! We arrived in Herculaine which was the place where Hercules would stay to relax and soak in the natural Hot Springs. We had a long day and it was dark out so we grabbed some Schnapps to relax with in the springs. Beautiful half naked Romanian women and a hot spring was defintitely the highlight of the night... whoa!!!

We stayed in this beautiful valley surrounded by limestone cliffs in this picturesque setting in the south west part of the Carpatian mountains. Mama Doina hosted us in Herculaine. She has a wealth of knowledge about natural medicine and homoepathic properties of the surrounding encvirontment. People in Romania have a good sense about what is important in life. I feel more and more that I will not remain in Canada as people have lost themselves to a system that will eat itself.

The one downfall in Romania would have to be the lack of proper garbage maintenance. Most river ways were polluted and roadways were littered. It is unfortunate but in the country has only experienced "freedom" for the past 15 years and is still in it's infancy for a developing country. Like most politicians the rich are making decisions to further fill their pockets for personal interests like the rest of the world... it's a sad state politically everywhere.

Romania is definitely a place I think I could live in to help promote environmental change. They share similiar philosophies and live for needs more than wants in life. One day North America will have to share this point of view as our mispending of natural resources will bite us back...

Feed us your children ?!?!?!?!

2005-06-14T02:08:00.000-07:00

The Serbian border crossing was a typical border crossing. The old, “Where are you going”, and “What are you doing”, and “Holy crap your wet.” Routine. Two “shu-gungs” in the passports from the stamping implement and we were on our completely saturated way. We stayed in another hotel that night in Sombor and met a super nice woman in the morning who invited us to her house to stay. We declined and pedaled ahead towards Romania parting an infinite number of puddles along the way until we arrived in Backa Toppola. What a neat little town. It was probably a whole lot cooler because we met a bunch of locals that took us in for the night and treated us like gold. Thank you Robbie, Poofie, Ljosch and Silvia. Robbie owns an underground nightclub and we rocked the night out drinking some local Pivos {beers} and enjoying the local music. The morning finally brought us sunny skies and smooth riding into Romania. Thank you Serbia! The people are fantastic. To everyone who thinks or says, “Don’t go through Serbia. Your crazy.” you should travel to Serbia and turn off the television. People are way too afraid in this world. The media laden, preconceived notions people have like, “I heard a story that something bad happened there to someone once when they were traveling.”, or “That’s a bad place you could get ripped off so be afraid of everyone attitude,” is so far off from reality. I spoke to a woman in Serbia about this and she says, “Yeah. It’s not like we’re eating children for god sake!” In short, people are people everywhere you go. Good and bad. Most of the time people are not mean spirited and they are not out to get or rip you off. Trips like this are good for restoring one’s faith in humanity.

So doe’s anyone out there want to come and join us for a week or two or what?

Onwards Bulgaria!

Where's Noah's ark when you need it?

2005-06-14T01:54:00.000-07:00

Here we are in Timisoara, Romania with 2 more countries down and 12 more to go! My knees are counting them down.

So Steve left off the last post when we were in beautiful Hungary. We stayed in an intentional community called Gyürüfü Ecovillage. It is a pretty neat space. There are 25 residents living there and each family has their own hectare of land. Our host Imre had an incredible house made the traditional Hungarian style, using mud brick and straw to build the walls. Most of the homes are built like this here. Super insulated to hold the heat and it is naturally very cool in the summer. Now that Hungary has joined the European Union Imre said it will be illegal to build homes this way under E.U. law. Ridiculous eh. Good old conventional style homes with poor to terrible insulating qualities that are continually reliable on non-renewable inputs of energy! "That's the kind of house I want daddy." Good planning. Anyways, the roof on his home was of particular interest to me, because it is a reed roof that is made by harvesting local reeds from a nearby marsh. It too is a good insulator and is completely renewable. The only challenge is finding the locals who still have the knowledge to build the roofs like this as it is in jeopardy of disappearing. “Daddy how come nobody can build reed roofs anymore.? Well you see son, it isn’t good for the economy to use local regenerative reeds. You need to use black shingles that get really, really hot in the summer and have to be replaced in twenty years and are made from all kinds of chemicals and petroleum so people sweat and want to buy air conditioners.” Sorry. I have to stop doing that. So anyways, the village is also home to many sheep and cows that are used for making cheese and providing milk for the residents. Really good cheese too! The milkman would come by every morning with fresh milk. Remarkable community. Thanks Imre!

From Gyürüfü we pushed the old pedals towards Serbia. True to form, we got rained on heavily the day that we left. And I mean heavy. Noah himself would have been proud of this torrential downpour. I embraced our 4 days of rain content with the knowledge that it would end soon enough. Steve, understandably, didn't share my enthusiasm for embracing for the crummy weather. We were forced to resort to hotel accommodations in Mohacs on the banks of the Danube. The next morning it was raining even harder. We rode into a little border town and stopped at a super smoky pub to have a couple of cappuccino’s to bring our core temperature up. While I was sitting there I here," Hey you want a beer or what?” Then a woman walks by with a Canada sweater on. Very random. You never know where you’ll bump into a Canadian in the randomness that is life. They invited us for bean soup but we had to push on to Serbia.

A Hidden Treasure... shhhhh

2005-06-07T11:19:00.000-07:00

Slovenia was an unexpected jewel on our travel here through Europe. Kevin and I had a lack of knowledge about this hidden treasure as we began to roam through this big country. I say big country in regards to the vast amount of forest and mountains we were riding through in this untouched landscape.

Oh my, fresh air.... imagine that, I was saying to myself as we left the heavily populated Italian countryside. We could breathe deep and enjoy all that extra oxygen that was not tainted by pollution. It`s always a welcome sign to see large green spaces not molested by industry and ahem... progress. Slovenia and Croatia is one of the few areas left in Europe that bears still inhabit as well as other large forest mammals. The biodiversity in the country was extraordinary as we encountered the largest salamander Kevin and I have ever seen. It was as big as a hot dog bun. We saved it from getting smucked by a couple cars. We ended going up this short cut that turned into an 600 meter ascent with a killer grade... but what a detour. It was some of the most pristine land we have seen in Europe thus far and we caught a glimpse of an eagle maneuvering like a Top Gun pilot through the forest.

We were hosted by a great dude named Robin in the capital city Ljubljana. We found out he was also an avid cyclist who has probably rode more kilometers in his life than Kevin and I both. He has traveled to 85 countries... whoa and get this, he is entitled to 9 weeks vacation! It took me 10 years to get 4 weeks of vacation when I was slaving at my old job ouch! . The city was totally set up for cyclists as it had mulitple bike lanes for us to cruise through to miss all the traffic. The city's population was about 300,000 which was perfect. The population of Slovenia is only about 2 million which was awesome from the overpopulation we have encountered in Western Europe.

Ljubljana was very similar to the rest of Slovenia, full of natural beauty like the countryside. We arrived in town and there were a tonne of police around. We found out there was a NATO convention. There were no protests this time and the city was pretty chill. We got some great pictures around town and they should be posted shortly.

On our way to Croatia we were taken in by another Slovenian couple, Brenna and his wife Tatiana. The Slovenian hospitality was great. We enjoyed some wine and the most delicious strudel. They had a Maltese dog that reminded us of our family dog when we grew up. I'm missing Slovenia already.... what a great bunch of people.

Ok... don't ever plan a cycling trip into Zagreb (Croatia).... it was the worst experience so far on our bikes. The drivers were unbelievably rude as we were honked off the rode more times then I could count on my hands. There was literally no room for cyclists anywhere... we were shooed out of a gas station by some rude employee as we needed to stretch our tired legs. We decided to do a count of single occupancy vehicles and it was pretty much the same as North American metropolitan cities... about 80 percent of the cars. I hate big cities...

Zagreb's downtown core was amazing compared to the unfriendly rodes. The downtown core was full of pedestrian friendly walkways and patios that lined the middle of the city streets. There was a great urban park where we stopped for lunch and many amazing sites to see. I even got a photo of (in my opinion) one of the truly greatest minds of the 20th century Nikola Tesle. If you don't know what this guy has done in his career he is worth researching, almost everything he has done effects our daily lives immensely We could definitely see a difference in the public transportation as the busses were old looking but the infrastructure was great as they had many tram lines in and out of the city.

We are now in Hungary and I'll provide an update on this country soon, I'm going to end this post for now, we will be in touch soon.

Update, pictures are now online!!!! I have sent out a photo album from Croatia send me you're e-mail address if you have not received an e-mail from our yahoo account. :)

Steve

What an Entrance!!!

2005-05-25T06:25:00.000-07:00

Viva Italia!! We started our ascent out of France as we looked ahead to some killer switchbacks unlike we have seen on our journey. They snaked uphill into the Italian Alps about 800m and we counted about 4 to 5 minutes as we observed the one truck reach the summit of the hill. Whoa... so we started the climb in granny gear as we took our time. Kevin is much better at climbing hills as he weighs about 65 lbs less than me (25 kilos for our Euro readers), but I kept up with him the whole way. He was taking pictures from time to time... hehe.

The last 10m to the top... PACCCHHIIINNGG!!! oh shit! My chain goes flying off my bike. Luckily I had purchased a new cog and chain before I left Canada... phew. So I learned to ensure my gears were working properly before I hit anymore hills especially the Alps... yikes. We stopped at the Italian border for a birra and lunch before we hit the killer downhill. At the border town we saw a 5kg jar of Nutella... one of Italia's best known junk food products larger than life in front of us, haha.

We continued on to Sestriere (2035m or 6,676ft) above sea level where the Alpine events are for the next Olympics in Torino 2006. We climbed another 600m up putting our total elevation to 1400m for the day. We figured out that we climbed about 14 Hamilton escarpments in one day... whoa, our poor quads. It was damn cold as there was still much snow on the mountain, the temperature was sitting at 5° and was dropping fast as night fall was quickly approaching. We couldn't find cheap accomodations or camping which was out of the question. We headed down to a small village called Frais to camp which was about 15 Km away. We covered that in about 15/20 minutes on the bike as we descended at blurring speeds of 80kms/hr, what a ride. We wiped the tears from our eyes as the temperature went up about 10°, phew!

The next part of the ride was a breeze, we descended down to Pinerolo for about 40 kms and then onward to meet up with a great organization in Bra Italy. An organization that is changing the world starting from our bellies, "Slow Food" is an international association that promotes food and wine culture, but also defends food and agricultural biodiversity worldwide. This is very important as corporations and GMO production (called OGM in Europe) is threatening our food security for guess what... yup PROFIT. There site can be found at www.slowfood.com check it out, they are doing some extraordinary . We met up with two gracious members from Slow Food who took us out for lunch at The University of the Science of Gastronomy. The University was also initiated by the Slow food movement and is a very unique setting for the institution. We had some amazing food and we had a tour of the facility. The Slow Food initiative is one very close to our hearts and our objective of this trip.

After the visit with Slow food we were set up with some future contacts in Italy. We were literally stunned with Italy and the Agriturismo promotion that was recommended to us by Slow Food. There is a collection of farms here in Italy that offer education about food production and argriculture. We stayed at 3 agriturismo farms meeting some truly gracious hosts that will not be forgotten. We also met another local bee farmer and were taken in for a couple of days with their family as well. We met a gentleman outside of Vincenza who also took us in for the night. We have been blessed with some gracious hosts here in Italy. It has been wonderful as the Italian hospitality has been truly outstanding. It brings a tear to my eye thinking about our travels across this country.

The bike culture is alive and well here in Italia as we have been passing through the cities and countryside. The one day we caught up to a pack of cyclist that passed us by thinking they could leave us in their dust... haha whatever! Kevin and I could tell they were the weekend warrior variety and quickly crept up into their slipstream. Kevin was playing the harmonica as they struggled to lose us... too funny. We rode out about 10kms hitting about 35km/hr while Kevin was playing the harp. They didn't know how fit we are regardless of how much wieght we were carrying, I was cracking up as we were enjoying their slipstream. They finally turned another direction. We have been loving Italy for all the great cycling and food culture as well as activism here.

All they have to do is work on their goverment and get their troops out of Iraq. Everyone we have met has been strongly opposed to the Oil war and Italy's role... sigh, stupid governments...

Otherwise Viva Italia!!!

Steve

The long life

2005-05-05T00:32:00.000-07:00

I have arrived...

I think I have found something truly special and amazing. Approxiametly 30 years ago a community was formed here in France, perched in the Alps, I will get back to this in a minute but excuse me while I go on a small rant.

Begin Rant:

read at your own discretion or continue reading at end rant below

In the past before globalization occurred people used to live in communities where they lived to support each other and survive on a local scale which worked fairly well for the last 1000 years. Now we have globalization and a large scale community which is good for the world right? The media tells us so, and we all know that corporate media is never wrong, they are looking out for human interest right???

Before I get into a huge rant about my thoughts of the corporate world and globalization, I've learned a lot in the past few years because my eyes have been opened to the atrocites (on many levels) of globalization and corporate interests. Bless the internet and indy media, it's probably one of the few sources I can get somewhat unbiased information. Has anyone seen Clock Work Orange where they open the main character's eyes really wide to see atrocites of human behaviour.... that's me unfortunately. I am truly frightened because I can see what possibilities the future has to offer. If we continue down this path we have a dark future, it is happening now. Ok no more rants before people stop reading about our journey heh. For those who know what I'm talking about sorry about reiterating what you already know... for others who don't know, go back to sleep, it was all just a bad dream and everything is going to be ok, just buy... just buy.

End rant

So we stumbled upon a community in France that was started up in the seventies. They are into organic farming, sustainable practices and spreading humanity to people in need through activism. People wanted to get back to our roots and to live life where certain values are held high. Food, shelter and love, what else do we really need in life, think about it. The process began and grew into about 9 communities in Europe and one oustide of Europe in Central America. It offered a place where these 3 values flourished and offered a place where people can find refuge from the growing world of "isms" that are unsustainable for our egocentric species and many other species. Many people from all walks of life are here farmers, mechanics, carpenters, builders and some people that had no prior skills but are willing to learn and grow. I think I have found a place that is very unique and unlike anything I have ever seen before. It is still a microcasm of the world because we are all human but it is something that is near my heart, compassion and the good side of humanity. Something I feel is lost in todays modern society. I really can't say enough good things about the community, I am blown away.

I'm finding in this journey that Kevin and I are caught in temporary"ism" as we travel from space to space. I was seriously considering ending my trip here, but I will continue on with my brother in this adventure. I have found a place I plan to return to. I knew that there would be places that would tempt me to end the journey but we have a goal. Until we are in VietNam I will continue forward as I find myself growing in ways that are not possible in school or corporations.

We took our first week off to stay in this community to assist in organic farming. I was able to assist in the production of 80 loaves of bread for the community. I'm learning skills that will help me to live sustainably in the future and I will surely leave a smaller environamental foot print in the world. Many possibilities and so much to learn. We had a great interview with a British fellow named Nick that will definitely appear in our doucmentary. Thanks to everyone in the commmunity that shared this experience with us!

We are currently in the beautiful French Alps in the highest town in Europe... where did the oygen go... heh. We are close to the Swiss border and heading into Italy to talk with some organic farmers in the next few days.

Over and Out!

Steve

I play Russian roullette with a bullet called cycle touring... Riot Police !?!?!?

2005-04-22T13:01:00.000-07:00

"Life is a matter of inches", I hear Kevin yell from in front of me. Since we've been cycling closer to the Spanish coast it has become abundantly clear that the secondary roads on the maps are non existent. Many trucks take the non toll routes to save money as well as the normal drivers. We crossed another border a few days across to France through the Pyreness and celebrated with a bière! Wow, some gorgeous snow tipped mountains were in our sights as we left Girona, Spain. Some amazing views in yet another historically filled city with old fort walls, ancient churches, farmers markets & astonshing landscapes. I would definitely own a mountain bike here as we inadvertantly took a wrong turn to get out of town and hit some trails to the highway...

Onwards to Marseille to catch the John Butler Trio in which we got on the guest list for. Before I get into that, we passed through a city called Narbonne. We chugged along at a snails pace as we met up with some French wind farms, I smiled to myself as I felt the need to say, "That's my kind of progress!" But... uh oh, winds in the wrong direction which are not any cyclist's cup of tea. We intended on going a lot further that day but settled on 60 km's. We arrived in Narbonne and there were bus loads of riot police??? There was a rally, many wine farmers were upset with new legislation passed down from the government restricting consumption. Here's a link to the whole story, check out the name of this website (paste this into your web browser) http://www.fuckfrance.com/read.html?postid=1195295&replies=12&page=1
So Kevin and I are doglegging around the protest line trying to get to a bike store before the campground closes. We were getting some new tires and our noses start to burn, "What the heck is that?", Kevin said. We ride back and there are fires burning on the streets and the streets we're littered with tear gas cannisters... whoa WWIII was breaking out... well not really but it was something I've never been exposed to. We tried to get to the campsite but the river was blockaded by riot police and angry mobs setting fires, screaming and yelling. We got to the campsite which was closed but luckily we got signed in for the night... what an end to the day!

We arrived in Marseilles yesterday and we're on the guest list to see John Butler Trio, one of my brothers favourite bands. It was an urban folk festival, and a lively crowd to say the least. One thing I've seen from the French is that they are very spirited bunch. The show was fantastic!

I'm going to keep this one short, I'd like to thank Olivier and Marco for hosting us over the last two days. I wish we would have had more time to explore Marseille there are some phenomenal coast lines that I would have loved to explore, but sometimes that's the way life is for us on the road. We are headed to some organic farms in the next few days so over and out for now!

Steve

Ahhhh the Mediterannean!

2005-04-17T14:50:00.000-07:00

Anyone out there that is thinking about planning a trip to Europe should seriously consider traveling around the Mediterranean coast of Espanha by bicycle. Every 40km´s or so would take you to another coastline a little different from the last. South of Valencia the roads are less congested. Nice and flat, easily done by bicycle. Beautiful coastline with fine sandy beaches and mountains that lie just behind the beach a few kilometers away. I feel like a cheesy travel agent trying to sell a package. But seriously, if you want to lie on a beach and relax, this should be a consideration. Cervesas in a hammock, marguarita´s from a girl named Marguarita, a foot massage from a girl named Foot Massage. Alright enough of that!

We left Valencia on April the 13th on Steve´s birthday. What a wonderful city Valencia is. We once again slept in as we didn´t hear the alarm on my watch go off and we got a bit of a late start. We needed to cycle 120km´s up to a town called Alcala de Xibert for 9:00pm in the evening to meet our host Marc. We had a mild headwind for most of the day and it took us a good hour to get on a road that would take us in the right direction. After cycling on a road with craters the size of soccer balls we finally got going at a steady pace. Unfortunately the only road that was direct enough was a major highway that had heavy vehicular traffic. It was pretty much unhealthy to breath the air and cycle on this road.

We cycled into large city called Castello where we had lunch in a big park filled with palm trees and other large ferns and native plants. I must say that the Spanish and Europeans have it going on from an urban planning perspective. Almost every town has a huge pedestrian only urban park that is at least three city blocks long with lots of gardens and trees and playground equipment. We enjoyed a huge lunch of pasta beans and sandwiches. I can´t believe how much we eat. It´s embarrassing. Seriously.

We rode on towards Alcala de Xibert, passing by old castles and lots of lemon, orange and olive orchards. The oranges and lemons are in season right now. We rode through the headwinds and up a good hill with no shoulder and rigs passing us pretty close and into Alcala de Xibert. We went for Steve´s birthday dinner of calamari, Bacalao (Cod Fish) Cervesas and pizza.

We met up with our host and went out for a tour of the town. A bunch of people had gotten together and collectively purchased a space where members could hangout in town. It is awesome. A huge warehouse with lots of bicycles and spare parts. It also has a pictorial history of the Spanish revolution from 1936-1939. Fantastic place. The next morning we went to the beach and enjoyed a few beers before we went to another beach and enjoyed a few beers before going to interview a local farmer. Unfortunately I have come to the realization after smelling chemicals in various places throughout Espanha (especially now that we are in the agricultural region) that Espanha is sadly just as chemical dependant as us. The fellow that we interviewed was the one guy that the locals said would be organic, but unfortunately he said that he has to spray an insecticide to kill bugs. He said that that is the only thing he sprayed and he complained that people want perfect looking vegetables. You know, the kind of vegetables with heavy chemical residues found in supermarkets that pollute our waterways, contaminate our soil, kill the ants, worms, birds and other local native flora and give us cancer at epidemic rates to the tune of 1 in 3 people. Sorry for the rant but it is the sad truth. Fortunately there are over 180 registered WWOOFING (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) farms in Espanha. A huge number in comparison to other countries.

We decided at the days end to take a train to avoid the madness that is highway traffic and we went 150km´s to Tarragona. I forgot my passport and all my ID so I am having it mailed to me in France. Stupid Kevin!

The ride into Barcelona was probably the most scenic, breathtaking, scariest crap your pants rides I´ve ever been on. We rode uphill around 200 feet up the sides of mountains. We wound in and out of scenic looks to cliffs that were a 200+ foot plunge into the ocean below. Unreal. The whole way we had no shoulder. We were both being squeezed to the cliffs edge as big rigs came inches from us. At one point I turned around and saw a big rig chugging behind Steve, followed by 8 or 9 cars. Steve stopped to let the rig by and the rig stopped and told Steve to keep going, as there was no room. It was unnerving. Eventually the rig got around Steve. A few minutes later I got really scared. I went around a corner and the traffic in the other lane came to an abrupt stop. I thought the traffic stopped because there was no room around this corner with the rigs and us. Then BAM a car beside me slammed into the back of another car. The people got out of their cars and I stopped and looked back at the corner repeating over and over, “Come on Steve. Come on Steve. COME ON STEVE!” Then thankfully Steve came around the corner chugging it out slowly but surely. What a sigh of relief.

Then we had a great downhill into Barcelona. Barcelona has a few huge parks. The park beside the place where we are staying is called Park Guell. The park is situated 100metres half way up a mountain. Amazing trees and architecture are filled throughout the park. There are really neat old stone walls of weird dimensions and walkways on top of them running through the park. Little cafes are inside the rock of the mountain and they serve coffee and treats. Our hosts live one minute away from the park and have opened up their house and hearts to us. We enjoyed Paella for lunch the first day we were here and we have been treated like gold.

We are heading to Girona tomorrow and then on to the Pyrenees!

We give a huge thanks to Marc and his father and our other friends in Alcala de Xibert and thanks to Jorge for a one night stay in Barcelona and another humongous thank you to Ernest, Laurae, Vinyet and Maria in Barcelona for taking us in there home and treating us like family!

Until next time…..

Ahh the seat position...

2005-04-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

We pushed through and kicked out a few 100+ km days en route to the east coast of Espanha into Valencia. The last 3 days we started out in Puertollano up through the Cuidad Real on to Manzanares, Villarobledo, San Clemente, Villanueva de la Jara, Castilla de Iniesta, Utiel, San Antonio, Requena, Buñol and finally to the 3rd largest city in Espanha beautiful Valencia.

We had some killer winds from the north keeping it really cold and frosty at night. This brought in a wicked tail wind on the first day of riding. The last two days of riding we had a side/tail wind just enough to push us a little but deter us from really pushing about 40km/hr. When it was behind us we were grinding it in our largest front cog... so much fun!

We camped every night finding some interesting places to duck down around night fall like stealthy blood ninja´s. We took nothing but pictures, left nothing but footprints and killed nothing but time. The one night we stayed at an old broken down restaurant in a pool to get out of the wind. There are sooo many old abandoned places to duck behind when the time is right.

We probably passed through the windiest region in Espanha. There were 3 major wind farms we spotted from the road. They were probably larger than any one wind farm in Canada. If we shifted subsidies from oil to wind energy the benefits would be seen almost immediately. The wind farms would pay themselves off within a few years and the excess energy could be stored in a different form i.e. hydrogen fuel or another alternative. The true cost of oil and coal is so high that from a financial, social and environmental it just makes plain sense. This is one man made site that is a beacon of hope to me, I would smile everyday on the train into Toronto when I saw the windmill chugging along. Human ingenuity has provided us with energy that is renewable. This technology is being utilized heavily in Europe and Germany is the leading user of this power in the world, Spain #2, the US is #3 and Denmark #4 with India at #5. In Paul Martin´s platform for Prime Minister said that Canada will one day be #1 in wind power, let´s hope he puts his money where his mouth is. You think Canada would start to get on to this seeing that we have the largest coast line (33000 Km´s).

The other day we went through a provincial crossing where a huge mountain range divided the provinces. My jaw dropped as the turqoise lakes and majestic mountainside left a feeling of awe in me. It helped me push some extra km´s out for sure with all the extra oxygen in the air. Luckily for us a new autovia (super highway) was built and the roads we cycled on were free of cars. There was a trail of closed down gas stations and other places of business that were left in the dust on the side of the road. We all know that the more highways we build the more "parking lots" are created as demand for more cars goes up. Look at the QEW and the 400 series of highways in Toronto for instance. On a daily basis, how fast is traffic moving on average... 5 to 10 Km an hour... whoa... that´s progress. We saw many other signs of true progress as bullet trains would show up for a few seconds as they flew by at 300 km/hr. That was pretty cool.

There was a huge motorcycle race in south western Spain in Jerez. A tonne of motorcycle enthuisist´s were flocking the roads as they passed us by. We had so many waves from them, a very friendly excited bunch. The one guy had a video camera out and taped me and my rudimentary spanglish. I told him about our trip and we got the same reaction we get from most people... are you loco?? It was neat to see them flying along, as much as I´m opposed to burning fossil fuel, I have a soft spot for sport bikes. They do make some diesel models, so I could always try and convert one to burn some bio diesel... hrmm.

We are headed to Barcelona in the next few days and we´ll be breaking out the French/English dictionary again. I´m looking forward to the coastline, the Pyreness and the Alps... but not the financial burden that France will offer us. We´ve been getting used to the cheap produce and inexpensive living in Espanha. We were just starting to learn more Spanish, Kevin wishes he would have paid attention at Plan B Organic Farm. He knows how to command the stray dogs here in Espanha, not quite the same with people. Oh yeah, anyone looking for some good organic food, Plan B provides the largest Community Shared Agriculture in southern Ontario. Check out www.planborganicfarms.ca, the season is upon us.

I´d like to give thanks to a gracious host in Valencia Teresa, we really enjoyed the stay in this truly beautiful city. I think Valencia has some of the most gorgeous parkland I´ve ever seen running through a city. There´s lots of money in this city and many poor areas where people are doing squats for there rights. The city is alive and well with activism. We had a good interview with Teresa to outline some of the activism going on here.

One last note, I´m putting this out to anyone who feels like buying me a $5 Canadian pint of beer for my birthday. I´m turning 31 tomorrow, April 13th. I never thought I´d be here doing what I´m doing, if you would have told me this a couple years ago I would hae said, "Yeah right...". I´d like to transfer the funds over to buy a digital camera to take some better still shots as my camcorder is limited. Any excess funds will be used to spend on a hosted website where I can post the pictures for a nominal fee. E-mail me at two_hammers@yahoo.ca and I´ll give you my account information.

Time to sign off, Ciao for now.

Thanks for reading and I hope everyone is enjoying our posts. Please send us your comments we love reading them.

Steve

Portugal en route to Espanha

2005-04-06T03:38:00.000-07:00

Yes Daddeo Langley I write posts too, so here´s a long one...

Our gracious host in Lisboa took us to this amazing place outside of town called Sintra. Words could not explain this wonder of the world. It was so bio diverse due to a Portguese King who brought in plant and wildlife from Australia and other parts of the world. Before this was explained to us, Kevin thought that the forest looked simliar to Australia and he was correct. This place had species that have gone extinct in their native ecosystems but due to this unique new ecosystem they are flourishing. The castle on top of the mountain in Sintra was a stronghold for the Moors. Many battles took place between the Christians and Muslims there... a never ending battle that continues elsewhere in the world. The Muslims would conquer and allow the Christians to remain and accept Allah as the true Almighty, and allow them to worship their God. When the Christians took over they had no tolerance of Islam and would try to convert them to Christianity or kill them hrmm... nothing has changed too much in 600 years. Tolerance... or intolerance of religion...

We headed out of Lisboa and made it to a town called Vendas Novas. What my brother had failed to tell me is that most of his rides have been in the rain... great! We got a good dousing that day and rested there. From Vendas Novas we headed further east to Evora, an old fortified city which was again unbelievable. The city was surrounded by walls and had some old Roman ruins from 100 A.D. and a huge Roman Catholic Church dating around the 14th century. You could still see the aquaducts lines from the hills. We camped out in a chain campground which was great. We met some budding young activists from Belgium who came over to chat with us. They we´re telling us stories about the Bush rallies in Brussells being sprayed down by water cannons sitting peacefully on the streets. My brother was telling them stories of the FTAA protests in Quebec city where some of us Canadian´s were wearing hockey equipment to protect us and fling back tear gas canisters with hockey sticks. They laughed, as it seemed only fitting that we fought back with our national sport... Thanks GW for uniting the lefties of the world.

Back on the road again we continued on to the Portugese/Spanish border were we stopped at the old border patrol that was riddled with bullet holes. No more borders with the EU. We cracked open a cervesza (not sure if that´s correct spelling) as we crossed our first official border of the ride w00t!! It took 3 days to go across Portugal and we made it into a city called Jerez de los Cabelleros, which literally means city of men. It was a good hill into Jerez, but what the heck happened to all the women here, talk about a sausage fest. There were a tonne of stereo shops and after market car part shops. Very much like what most of the dudes are doing in North America, pimping their rides. The car culture is alive and well in the city of Men. Many dudes in Spain also have extremely poluting two stroke scooters and offroad bikes that they Rev the hell out of to get attention, too funny. Here´s a stat for you (correct me if I´m wrong), a two stroke gas lawn mower running for a half hour is as polluting as an SUV drving a 100 kms, ouch!!

It was funny to see how much Olive oil is consumed here in Europe, a litre bottle is as cheap as the wine... about 2€. They poor it all over white bread for breakfast, and we soon found it is a great way to get in those extra calories we desperately need. So we left the city after two days rest and hit a downhill that took us 10kms in a matter of a minute and a half, we were flying!

We headed to Zafra for lunch and hit have been finding it hard because we´ve been getting some late starts due to techincal problems and other delays. Siesta basically shuts these cities down and people relax during the middle of the day which means, no internet, no super mercados, or shops of any sorts. Bars are about the only thing open, but the streets are empty. So we have adjusted our starting time and working around as best we can. I can appreciate a culture were rest is important unlike North America were commerce 12 hours a day is the way of life, they still shut down shops on Domingo (sunday). We started to seeing these weird looking black pigs called encina pronounced enthina. They are a delicacy in Europe. The brits go ape shit for this. Yes, I have been tasting the sweet salted pig flesh, my old lunch time gang at RBC would be proud of me, long live the grill (freaks). I don´t have to worry about steroids and antibiotics and insane conditions for the animals as they are all free run out here from what we have seen. I still can´t beleive people still eat meat in North America... sigh. Whenever we mention the conditions to the locals, they laugh at us for our stupidity and lack of sense. The cows actually have horns like normal cows should. In norh america the "production units" as they are not called cows anymore, have them removed so they don´t gore any other units. Beleive me I´d eat meat again if there was any concern for welfare of our fellow animals. You are what you eat at a cellular level, one big reason I don´t eat sick animals. Ok no more meat ranting...

Onward we continued east and hit some good mountains with climbs similiar to the rockies. We see olive trees everywhere with moutains in the back drop and farm land as far as the eye can see. Little villages nestled along the mountains, truly breathtaking sites and eye candy for us hammers. We figured out from news casts that Papa was in trouble (Pope) and we arrived in a city on Domingo called Monterrubio de la Serena. We were ironically in Restaurante called the Vatican when we saw the news. We were out of food and no mercado´s were open so we struggled to find a meal to feed our monsterous appetites. It´s hard to beleive they call some of the places restaurants, the menu is 6€ for Jamon(salted pork) on white bread... and about 6 to 10 items that are all overpriced with no side dishes or veggies on the side. I guess we are a bit spoiled in North America were we have diverse menus from different cultures. However like anywhere in the world, it´s hard to find a vegeteriano dish that provides protien which we ultimately need.

We stopped in a place called Belalcazar to drop off some recycling and were called over by some spaniards with the international sign laguage for drinking. It was Domingo and we graciously accepted his invite. We talked to them in our rudimentary spanish about our journey and they contiunued to feed us homemade wine, whiskey, sausage and cheese which was A1 and all made from scratch. Our one friend Jose was probably in his 50´s and loving that we stopped in to share their hospitality. They were truly gracious as we became more and more clear we would not be able to ride our bikes out of the city. The bar which we video taped, was family owned and 90% of the patrons were family. One fellow spoke french so we were able to communicate at a better level than spanish. Round after free round, our friend Jose was singing us Flamenco songs. Kevin in turn played his harmonica which truly moved the family and brought Jose to tears at one point. Many hugs from Jose and a good time was had. So we tried to get some clear directions as we needed some food after the days ride. That was pretty funny as people were giving us different directions. Finally one patron decided to take us over to Bolera a local restaurant and Hotel. We arrived at this place with beatiful decor, really upscale looking. Our new friend seemed to get sketchier as were waiting for the bartender. Kevin picked up on this and his unability to communicate to us became more clear. We believe he was asking us 20€ for taking us 500 metres from the other place... we could communicate in English since he did not understand us. Eventually people were giving us looks which we were used to, being outsiders. He left as he soon he knew he was not getting any money from us for his small effort. The bartender told us he was a local drunk and that was our first experience with a sketchy dude.

We left Belalcazar late trying to find fuel for our cooker, not because we were hung over... we arrived at Bienvenida around dusk. We were rained on for about 30Kms so we were looking for some warmth and shelter. There was a small place that we were looking for a warm drink and some directions. We flipped a coin to see who would speak terrible spanish to the vendor. I lost, and went in to struggle through it. "Yo hablo espanol terriblement" and immediately she gave me this look of digust and shaked her head... wow great customer service. So I asked in terrible spanish for tea which she looked at me like I had two heads, and eventually she said no sternly with a scowl. We asked if there was any camping around... NO, how about pitching a tent outside the station NO. I was totally surprised by this unwelcomed feeling as we were two soaking wet travellers looking for some compassion for a warm beverage. This battle axe that rivalled my ex-mother-in-law set me off and I bit my tongue and left. Kevin went back in to ask for some water as we needed some for cooking and continuing on into the night to find a campsite off the beaten track. He tried his hardest to get a smile out of her no luck at least we got some water. The one lady came outside to lock her car... whoa... paranoia will destroy ya. But hey the country is a bit impoverished and have no idea about the life they have led... most farms are gated so you can´t even try a door knock to ask for some space to pitch a tent. Off into the dark, my light stopped working from the rain we headed onward eventually finding an olive orchard in the night. Broken down we made some beans and rice and left nothing but footprints before dawn.

We arrived in beautiful Puertollano, the population around 5000 and the age group is really young here. All the women have buns in the oven and there is a tonne of kids shops. The downtown is this beatiful park land and free mineral water has been running here since 1905. I think there is something in the water here with all the pregnant women. Everyone flocks to this old fountain in the centre of the park. The parklife is awesome, it´s a big social gathering. I can see why people love this city. People have been pretty friendly to us here. We´ve been used to being jeered at throughout Espanha as most can tell by our packed bikes we are not locals. Spanish culture is Spanish culture, not too many english speaking people and rightfully so, we are in Spain...

Kevin thinks I´m long winded in my stories (yeah a little), but hey I like to share my experience.

Gord e-mail us for the radio show on Tuesdays, we want to make a concerted effort to do this, do it for the Franklin Institute!!!

Peace out !!

Stevarino.

Lisboa, Portugal. Hashish anyone?

2005-03-26T00:54:00.000-08:00

We have made it to the original destination point! After one hell of a fight against the universe. It seems the universe did not want us to bring our bicycles to Portugal. I'll try to explain this really quickly. We bought tickets to go to Portugal in Paris. We got to the train station with the understanding we did not need our bicycles in boxes. We did need boxes. So we got a refund because we would have missed the train. So we were sent to another train station for another train that we do not need boxes for. We got on the train and went to Irun Spain. Upon arrival, Steve goes to make sure we can get our bikes on. It seems you cannot take bikes or any oversize luggage on the train to Portugal. Nightmare continues. So after being severely frustrated, we get a refund and lose 10% of our money. The lady tells us to take a bus. The buses only go to local spots around Irun. So there is no bus in Irun for us and nobody speaks English and our Spanish is non-existent. So we decide to go chill out and breath and assess the situation. In the end we decide to go to Madrid and try our luck there. We wait until 10pm and we go to our platform to board the train. The conductor guy says you cannot bring the bicycles on the train after we were assured to the point where the lady who sold us the ticket even circled bicyclettas on the ticket. So I, Kevin am like, 'The bikes are coming with us. There is no way this is happening again.' Steve goes and speaks to a guy and he agrees. So we get the bikes on and get to Madrid. We go to the bus terminal and the bus company informs us no bikes are allowed after we called ahead and were assured very pointedly that we could bring the friggin' bikes. So Steve talks andd talks to this lady who speaks very little english. To make a long story short we find another bus company who allows bikes in boxes and we find out that Spain really loves Jesus and they are on a 4 day easter holiday where absolutely nothing is open and there are no boxes for bicycles or boxes period for that matter. Nobody knows where we can get any cardboard at all that we can tape together to make a box with. So we rent a car and drive to Lisboa with our bikes hassle free and breathe a huge sigh of relief. Unfortunately Steve has to make the 6 hour drive back to Madrid with the car and take a train back. Steve forgot his wallet with everything he needed and a 6 hour trip is looking more like a 12 hour nightmare for my poor brother. Everyone send Steve some good warm, I'm sorry the universe is against you feelings!

Ahhhhhh. So here we are in Portugal. It is warm and sunny and the people are very friendly and english speaking for the most part. This makes life a little easier even though I enjoy the challenge of the language barrier from time to time. We are staying at a super nice guy named Vasco's place for a few days. Intelligent fellow with lots of really amazing books I'd love to read. He lives near the university in a great apartment with the internet and nice big kitchen perfect for hungry cyclists to prepare meals of 6000-8000 calories.

We walked around downtown Lisboa yesterday and soaked up the sights and culture. Culturally it is quite a scene. Lots of cafes where they will bring you extra things that you did not order like cervesas(beer). You have to be careful about that. One also gets offered hashish at least once every 100 metres. Seriously. We got offerred hash at least 40 times yesterday from sketchy guys you wouldn't buy a match off to start a fire with let alone some nice smoke that could be a chunk of dirt or something cut with turpentine for all you know.

It is really cheap to live here. Wine is $1 Canadian a bottle. Seafood and other delicacies are pretty cheap. Not super cheap, but good enough for the shoestring budget we are currently on. After the financial kick in the crotch one experiences in Northern Europe, especially France, things seem cheap here. I'm seriously hurting from the prices up there. Number one rule when travelling to Europe. Always ask what the price is before ordering things. Especially litlle things like hot chocolate. We got gouged for a $6 canadian hot chocolate in France. It seems $5 and $6 is the norm for coffee and hot chocolate. Un-be-frickin-lievable. I wanted to cry for a moment. You can get a bottle of wine for $2 but hold the hot chocolate please, because I don't have my gold bar to stir the thing with. Ouch!

The Portugese are pretty laid back people. Except when they are driving cars. My goodness. You want to talk insanity. Everyone drives about 140-160km\h no word of a lie. I had guys and girls passing me at speeds in excess of 180km\h I'm sure of it. There are some very scary stats coming out of this country surrounding the car culture. Portugal fought 2 wars back in the 70's. I believe Tunisia and Morroco were fighting for their independence. More people died in Portugal on the roads in one year than the number of people that died in fighting those 2 wars on both sides, including civilians. Portugal is the worst place for car deaths in Europe and is 3rd on the world scene. So we have been told repeatedly to seriously, seriously, seriously watch out on the roads. The car is a symbol of status for the Portugese. Much like North Americans they identify it as part of there personality. Traffic jams are regular, as there are 750,000 people living in Lisboa and the population explodes daily, as another 400,000+ people drive in. There are 4 tracks of trains with a train leaving every 4 minutes to commute into the city, yet people still choose the car as the popular method of transport even though the highways transform into a parking lot on a daily basis. They also have 4 subway lines and old school trams that run throughout the city.

Agriculturally speaking, we are having a hard time finding organic food, but fortunately, food production to my understanding is not anywhere close to as chemical dependant here as in North America. Agricultural production in Potrugal is not set up for monocropping huge agribusiness where you always run into huge pest problems. Europe also doe's not allow any North American meat into the continent because of our gross production habits. They are intelligent enough to realize that pumping big amounts of hormones, steroids and antibiotics into animals is not only unecessary and disgusting, but it is unhealthy for human consumption. I mean we wonder why our daughters are growing breasts at 8 or 10 years old. We are what we eat. So all you non-organic meat eaters out there in North America, stop supporting this industry. Try writing a letter inquiring about this and check out the bogus propaganda you get back in return. The Portugese are still not however, anywwhere close to providing enough food for there own people.

So that's the scene here. We are going to start cycling from the most westerly point in Europe (that's 30km's outside of Lisboa) on Monday and we will keep everyone posted!

Is anyone actually reading this or are we burning up our money on overpriced internet shops?

Chez Paris

2005-03-22T02:47:00.000-08:00

So we have made it to Paris! After a week of consistent headwinds we arrived in Paris on Friday night. What better way to start training for a ride of this magnitude then into 20 - 40km/h winds. At times it was even stonger than that, but you when your born and raised deep in the belly of Hamilton your prepared for everything!

What can I say except it has really been an amazing experience thus far. Belgium was equally as beautiful as the Netherlands except of course they pale in comparison in regards to the bicycle. We found a decent amount of cycling routes, but the culture is definitely not bike centric. We pedalled through some really pretty old towns. Every town has as a very old feel to it, dominated by a large church or two and downtowns with other large old buildings that date anywhere from the 16th and sometimes the 15th century on. We made our way through Poppel, Merksplas, Lille and Lier to name a few. The cities feel really huge to me. They are unlike the suburban wastelands we call cities in North America. The housing is much more dense and centred in the city for the most part. The city of Lier seemed massive to me and then I found out it had a population of 80,000. I thought it was at least as big as Hamilton. The downtowns are generally pretty packed with people popping in and out of shops all day long. It is getting more carcentric as we move south and the people are becoming less and less friendly it seems. A fella in a prdouce store put it to me like this. "People are becoming more and more concerned with money and getting rich. They are less likely to smile and greet one another and are always in a hurry to get what they want when they want it." After I left his shop I noticed it immediately. It has been a challenge for me to get smiles out of passer bys. They sneer at the two new people from out of town even when I smile and say bonjour. Sometimes you get one back, but for the most part people don't really give a fuck it seems.

Brussels was next on our list of big cities to pedal through. It is kind of a dirty place away from the downtown. We took the worst road in and came through the heart of there industrial giants. Being from Hamilton we revelled in it. Breathing the pollutants deep into out lungs to mingle with the heavy metals of our Hamiltonian past. There is a huge arab/muslim population there. Lots of good food. Again the people were seriously distant. I can't understand it.

Downtown Brussels is a sigh to behold. The grand Square I believe it is called it is fantastic. All the buildings are from the late 17th century and are full of detail I've never seen the likes of. Gargoyles adorning every arc. Sculptures of saints and knights and other members of royal families. Some of the buildings were adorned with gold trim and some of the scultures are green from the rusting copper. Truly breathtaking. We stayed at an amazing hostel called Centre Vincent Van Gogh for 16euros and the beer was 1.30 each. Not bad even when converted to the diving loonie. There was somewhere in the neighbourhood of 60 women to 10 men there. A bit overwhelming but a great hostel all around.

The next three days we pushed on towards Paris into more killer headwinds. We went through a really nice city called Mons. Very old. Another great example of pedestrian friendly downtown squares with no cars except those that are delivering goods. North America really is backwards in the way we design our cities and plan our neighbourhoods. It is truly sad. Don't get us started!

After Mons we were into France and vast expanses of rolling green fields and hills that really pushed us to the physical limits that are bodies could handle. At times we were pushing into 50km winds uphill and we were moving at a turtles pace of 2-5km/h. Gruelling days. We endured two days of killer wind and 40km progress here and 60km progress there and we got to Saint Quentin. We could see it from a great distance away. There was a frickin unbelievable 11th century church that was one of the biggest I've ever seen. Very impressive. Every little hamlet we rode into in France had this awesome medieval feel to it. This is of course because most of the structures are medieval. Old stone walls and no windows on the houses. Just little peep holes to open to tell outsiders to bugger off. Just like in an old movie. Most of the towns have old castles that are falling apart, some with moats around them. Really storybook kinda quality.

Unfortunately we cheated and took a train away from the open fields and killer winds and went to Compeigne after arriving in Saint Quentin.

We rode 100kms that day from Compeigne to Paris and we were blessed with calm conditions and amazing forests the whole way in. An excellent ride.

I can't even describe the beauty of Paris from an artitectural standpoint. Everywhere and anywhere they can over do adornments on buildings they did. Sculptures, trim, gargoyles doors crevices, lets throw a miny tower here on the corner because we can. Just breath taking. I didn't really want to come here but I am glad many people told us we have to chack it out.

So that's it for now. We are heading to Portugal tonight and we'll update y'all sometime soon again. Sorry no pictures yet! Soon to come.

Myn Hollands is niet zo goed!

2005-03-12T12:15:00.000-08:00

That is what we have been saying to almost anyone we approach for directions. Pretty funny. Sometimes they say what? So we say it again in our best dutch accents.

So here's a quick update. We're in Lier Belgium today. We rode 65km's in some serious headwinds. Yesterday was even worse. We experienced 40-60km/h. We rode at about 10km/h. Beautiful forests in the south of Netherlands. Kampina Wildlife Preserve in particular was really nice. Forest and marsh and songbirds and huge cranes. Really beautiful. A town called Oisterwicz was particularily wonderous. All of it was engulfed in a beautiful forest that tamed the headwinds for us.

So we are heading to Paris for Friday then traing to Portugal. If anyone has any contacts for us or can do any research in the area of organic farms and phone/e-mails for them we would be eternally greatful as finding farms and riding and eating and sleeping and e-mailing can really drain two hammers out. Please any info like that to us at two_hammers@yahoo.ca

Thanks and much love to anyone who reads this. Post comments we like that!
Shout out to Mike for the first posting!

On the road again...

2005-03-09T09:27:00.000-08:00

So we have now left Amsterdam. We cruised up and down and all around Amsterdam on the bicycle. Totally amazing. The most efficient transportation system I have ever seen. Hats off to the urban planners in the Netherlands. They have it going on. Lots of trams, buses, really small cars and most of all BICYCLES! Bicycles like you've never seen. Thousands of bicycles. Millions actually. The Netherlands has a poulation of about 15 million people and somewhere around 19 million bicycles. Steve and I were both blown away. When we landed it was around -10C. That didn't stop anyone from bootin' around on the bikes. There's almost no parking downtown. Cars have to yield for pedestrians and cyclists, except at the traffic lights. But for a large part the downtown shops and busy streets are closed to cars. They were packed too. Amsterdam's population is about 1 million.
Other than that we checked out some of the finer things in Amsterdam like the coffeeshops and the infamous red light district. The attitude towards drugs is sooooo liberal. They were no shortage of coffeshops to purchase some of the finer Hasish and Buds from around the globe. As for the red light district. We walked up one way and had enough. We got offered every drug imaginable and some we couldn't imagine I'm sure. We seriously got offered drugs about 20 times in ten minutes. Sketchy.

So with that our fun was over and we decided to start riding. Steve's a little heavier than I am, but hey I'm the little guy. The first day we rode 40km's to Utrecht. Beautiful ride with the winds at our back. It rained off and on the whole day with a high of maybe 7C. We met a really nice fellow named Robert who invited us to his place for dinner and a nights rest but we settled for a warm beverage at the local pub because he lived the 30 minutes the wrong way. So we finished our ride into Utrecht after feeling lost for most of the day and we stayed at a hostel for the night. Utrecht is a really nice city. Picteresque, canals through the downtown and old buildings everywhere. 9 organic grocery stores in total.

This morning we ventured to S-Hertogenbosch around 60km's. It rained for most of the day but we had a serious wind behind us. We crossed the 3 largest rivers in Europe today. The Rhine, the Lek and the Maas. I think that's right. We saw a couple windmills and passed through some other small towns. Pretty much every town is beautiful beyond anything I've seen. Compounded by the fact there is almost no car traffic during the day or at rush hour in the downtowns. Seriously try to imagine Hamilton or Toronto with car free downtowns and tons of people flying around on bikes. Ahhhhhh.

So that's that. We're in Den Bosch now after a good cycle and strecch and we'll post again some other time hopefully with photos when we figure that out!

On European Soil!

2005-03-05T07:14:00.000-08:00

Hello anyone who is reading this. Steve and I have landed safely in Amsterdam after a nine hour flight. The flight was pretty unevevntful aside from meeting the Ultimate Fighting Champion in O'Hare Airport! I wanted to take him on but Steve theought it wasn't a good idea since we were starting this ride soon. You know how it is. We both enjoyed the finest Hindu meals that United Airlines had to offer. Lentils, rice and naan bread with a list of ingredients that would twist anyones tongue.

We're now staying at a global freeloaders house in the east end of the city. For those of you that don't know what Global Freeloaders is, it is an organization of people that are willing to house people for a day or two and are in turn housed when they travel. Philippe met us at an organic farmers market and brought us back to his place for some cheese, bread and salad. Very nice.

Now, unfortunately I have to go to bed as I have been conscious for too many hours. Until the next post!

Steve and Kev

Preparation

2005-02-20T20:00:00.000-08:00

In preparation for our trip I (Steve) needed to get up to speed with farming both mentally and physically. My bro is more seasoned at organic farming and for the past two years, he's been with Plan B Organic farm (see link below). We've been assisting them with the green house beds for some early spring crops. It's an amazing feeling to be a part of this process. I can really appreciate the amount of effort that goes into this type of farming and the quality food they provide to the golden horseshoe. It's nice to know the food produced from my efforts will be healthy and petro-chemical free. My brother explained it best, "Eating conventional food would be like going up to a gas pump and asking the attendant for some oil with your meal, fill er up!" A little harsh but that's the reality of it.

We will be working at quite a few organic farms and WWOOF'ing (willing workers on organic farms) to earn our food and keep. The rule of thumb is you have to work 6 hours minimal but I'm sure we'll be putting in whole days at the farms.

It's been great to physically exert myself and hit muscles that I forgot existed. The Venturelli brothers (2 of the founders of Plan B) have been kicking my butt at ping pong in one of the empty green houses. It's been about -10 all week but in the green houses it's been 12-15 degrees Celsius. I think when I'm done this tour I might come back for a season or two at the farm. I've met some of the most amazing people at the farm and I need to work on my ping pong game. The food I've been putting in me has been phenomenal. It's really a win win situation all around, I'm building up my karma points for sure.

We still haven't booked an official flight yet but we'll probably know by the end of the week for our departure date.

http://www.planborganicfarms.ca

Exodus

2005-02-12T11:00:00.000-08:00

So here it is, the online journal of the biggest journey in my life. The updates will be in collaboration from my brother Kevin and myself (Steve).

The shaping of my journey.

My younger brother had a plan, 2005 Europe to Asia. He's travelled coast to coast on two other continents, Australia and Canada. I envied him with all the tales he had about the amazing people and places he had visited. I travelled with him from Tobermory down to Hamilton on his way across Canada. I didn't think about work, my bills or any other stress in my life. I met some of the most incredible people on that ride and it set me free. There was much more to life and the way I was living was unfullfilling and full of limitation. I knew something was fundamentally wrong. The 9 to 5 was limiting my life. Like a majority of the populous, I was playing the game to keep up with the Jones. This threw me into debt, I began to view this a form of slavery in an econmic sense. I imposed this upon myself, these material possessions ended up owning me, how ironic??? It was always a choice not to fall in to the trap but I got sucked in. I had normal TV diet which ultimately led me to an unhealthy lifestyle of stress, obesity, boredom. I followed the masses and and I started to see the transparency, I began to see the world in a different light. I'll never be able to go back now that my eyes have been opened.

So here I am shedding the skin of a former lifestyle to begin a journey that will shape my life and forever change me. Keep posted for more to come.