Joy to the world

"A Joyous Perspective"

Greetings to the followers of the Sore Bum!

Beach fire

Joy here. I've literally followed (and been followed by at times) the Sore Bum from Berlin to Stockholm. Ben's indulged me for the moment, and given me the opportunity to describe for you some of what goes on between the adventures he's been relating. I hope you will find the banality a bit interesting.

Yum yum, pastries and coffee!

Our days began with a reluctant emergence from the cocoons of our toasty sleeping bags. Change into the cycling clothes, eat breakfast of cereal and fruit and yogurt, pack up camp, ride bikes! Ben certainly spent the six months prior to my arrival honing his packing skills and developing an efficiency that I couldn't come close to matching. Although he did wear shorts for all but 2 of the days we cycled together, while I stacked on layer after layer against the ever-plummeting chill, so any head-to-head competition in preparing for the day would have been immensely tipped in his favor at the outset.

Even with all the baked goods....

Lunch!

With easy riding and favorable conditions, we trucked along nicely at the outset of most of our days. Until we would encounter a larger town with a bakery or grocery store, that is. Without any kind of certainty that we'd encounter another such oasis at some point that day, stopping in to pick up a pastry or six became a habit that will not be an easy one to let go of. A bit more riding before we would stop for lunch: I'd lay down a sarong and we'd make sandwiches in the sun or in a shelter from the wind. We spread our spread on many a bench of village greens, in bus shelters, next to lakes, even once in the lobby of an office building when a brief respite from the cold and wet was needed as much as the caloric fuel. Eating became something I looked forward to beginning from the last bite of any meal break, and it took me far too long to realize that Ben was munching snacks at a near-constant pace out of his handlebar bag. I was quick to follow suit.

Who's in the lead?

Back on the bikes for more riding through farmland and forests; along orchards and strawberry fields; past heaps of harvested root vegetables and lines of lettuces ripped from the ground leaving only a bed of soup greens behind to wilt into the soil. In every small village we passed through, we were greeted like heroes home from war with a ticker-tape parade by the domesticated (though unmannered) animals. The barking would spread from house to house as we rolled through, and the dogs would deepen the runways they'd grooved next to the fences that (usually) held them at bay. A squirt from the water bottle was often necessary to prevent the unfenced and unleashed canines from becoming our traveling companions. The cows would turn their heads, slowly following us with their fixed gaze, before occasionally letting out a surprisingly loud moo. Chickens seemed the only ones nonplussed by our presence, and I spent a great deal of time contemplating why the chicken did not actually cross the road. One does tend to have some pretty deep thoughts when spending most of one's day on a bicycle.

Dead ends

Tourist games

Navigation proved to bring its own adventure. I got a big kick out of the days when we had an enormous distance to our next destination and we picked a direction and ambled generally along it. We used what tools we could: maps, road signs, and bicycle path signs; on sunny days, we followed our long shadows north; we chased rivers downstream toward the sea or kept them as best we could to one side of our path; we encountered dirt and gravel roads that we would take a gamble in following. Ben asked once how long I'd be willing to try one such road. "Let's just commit to it, it's gotta lead somewhere", I replied, which was usually true. Except when that somewhere was a river bank with a long-gone bridge, a sand quarry, or a house at the end of the multiple kilometer long driveway. We did manage to continue along in a forward motion most of the time...only twice did we find ourselves riding in circles when trying to make our way out of a city.

Don't cry over spilled yogurt.....eat it!

Working for posterity

As the sun sank slowly, we would look for a place to call home for the night. We managed to find some exquisite campsites that people would have waited in line to camp at in warmer weather. We'd set up camp and cook dinner. If there was wood and a bit of seclusion, we'd have a fire to make staying outside the tent past dark bearable. We'd read, write in our journals, discuss the finer points of life, make a treat of rice pudding or popcorn. before diving into our sleeping bags for the long cold night.

So there you have a bit of the routine that we fell into. I hope all of you who know Ben can appreciate what I've endured, er, "experienced" in our travels without either one of us resorting to physical violence. Big thanks to Ben for letting me share in a good bit of his adventure (and for letting me make use of so much the gear he carried), and may fortune continue to be his constant companion!

Joy

Baltic Slug

nice fellows at lunch in Lithuania

I am beginning to think that the color of the sky here in the north eastern Europe is actually grey. The conversation would go as follows. Hey Fred, hey mike, great weather we are having. I know mate, I looked out over the lapping waves of the Baltic sea today and I could barely see anything. just multiple shades of grey..... It is true however that there is a certain beauty to behold when the sun does glint through the thick stratus clouds and warms the disjointed secondary roads that we a have been following for the last week or so.

Doris waiting at the Baltic, Lithuania

Joy and I thought we would be clever and follow cycle path that cuts along the ocean but what we found was hands down the most challenging road I have come to thus far. Its fair to say that I have had my fair share of challenging riding and it is a testament to Doris that she is still ridable at this stage of the game. This road being that it was only meters back from the beautiful exposed beach was of course very sandy and in places far to deep to ride. We took our chances on a path that led away from the beach but it introduced us to a grassy road with hidden bogs lurking just under the green surface. These sometimes caught us weary bike riders off guard and at one point Doris sunk up to her hubs with little more than a squelch of warning. Once through this smelly watery mess we made a farm crossing that was so riddled with pig scratchings and cattle hoof divots that it was akin to riding over a large golf ball. At least I think it would be. And thus, out the other side we popped into Latvia and headed for Riga where we are now.

a slippery bridge

Lithuania/Latvia

Doris has taken some TlC after breaking a pedal which I managed to completely open only to discover that the bearings were so worn they were not even round. In fact if you took a peanut M&M and dropped it from a mouth height it may start to look like these particular bearings did. Needless to say I bought a new set against my will only to discover that my foot cages would not fit until I found and used a discarded fan belt and manipulated it to my needs.

Start of the worst road ever

After a quick dip in the rather refreshing Baltic to continue my quest to swim on all sides of the Eastern Europe land mass we made a camp in the sparse pine trees adorning the coast but close enough that the refreshing and beautiful smells and sounds so familiar to the coast dweller I once was. It is great to be back where the sand is beneath ones feet and the foamy water tickles at ones toes.

 Further to my trying to fit in with the locals, as well as learning what words I can when I get into a country I am growing what I have termed a Baltic Slug. That is to say I have shaved my delicate face with the exception of a slug or soup strainer as it were above my upper lip. I have been known to give a cheeky cheer when I see a local (often swigging from a plastic bottle of beer) when they are also sporting the same facial do.

Joy and I have the good fortune to ask some lovely small towner's if we could use their fishing hut to get out of the wind for lunch. After they had created a bench and a couple of chairs by lugging large freshly cut rounds of wood under the awning they took off in their car to return a few moments later with hot water in a flask, arabian coffee and a micky of brandy to wash back the chills of the afternoon.

Riga, just in case you did not know

The weather has been extremely friendly considering the day time temperatures are and have been hovering between 0-5deg. I continue to be told by animated locals that it is uncommon for the ground to be clear of snow at this time of year so I hope we can continue to keep dodging that bullet.

Life on the road continues tomorrow. We head from Riga north to Tallinn, Estonia and get the ferry to Stockholm heading west to London where the trip is scheduled at this stage to be completed. There is however another plan in the works so I will keep the world of my blog posted as the plan formulates.

Pine Forests and Train Tracks

About Time!! Good on ya boys

When one thinks back to the long days at work some 7 months ago and the day dreaming that took place I never imagined for a moment that I would be camped in so many pine forests and for that matter I never thought that this late in the year I would still be able to bike in the relative comfort of shorts and a light wind jacket. But there you have it. The riding has been for the most part very straight forward with the exception of a couple of insignificient rises it has been fast and flat, which is great because the landscape has not really changed for the last couple of weeks. There have been some fields that have been left to weed for the winter and there are those that have been turned over ready for next seasons planting then repeat as necessary and you get the idea.

Who hasn't ridden a tank??

I am in the capital of Lithuania at this current juncture in a town called Vilnius which has a lovely old and cobblestoned Old Town and a new and up market new town like many of the cities in Europe that I have wandered through. Getting in wasn't the easiest task and I am sure when I go to take my leave in the morning I will find it equally frustrating in the opposite direction. People here seem aloof but once we crack the outside of the nut they seem to be nice enough folks although as yet no one has gone out of their way to be particually helpful or generous, Perhaps I am becoming needy as I am nearing the potential end of the trip.

Camping in the trees. Poland

A week or so ago we were diligantly following the map to cross one of the larger rivers that snakes its way across the planes of Northern Poland heading for the chilly waters of the Baltic when we were stopped in our tracks. That is to say that the road stopped on the waters edge and as we viewed the expanse of the slow moving water we could make out the partially submerged bridge embuttments and imagine what the construction my once have looked like but in reality had to make 100km detour to make the correct heading on the opposite side.

Learning Early. Northern Poland

I had the great pleasure of watching the final of the rugby world cup again with Andy and I need not say more than good on the boys and I am proudly waving the Nz flag off the back of Doris. So obviously in fact that I was approached by a polish gentleman at the Lathuania Poland boarder restaurant who gave me a congragulations for winning the cup. He went on to quickly mention the efforet he needed to go through to make sure he caught the game. The week before was successfully unsuccessful??? I was in a small town trying to catch the Aussie game and making my way through a few of the open stores trying to find a tv and the game. Needless to say I did not see the game but came out of the bakery with a couple donuts some muffins and a hot cup of coffee for my worries. All that and not a word of understanding was spoken. Love it!!

Fall beauty, Poland

Fall, Poland

Welcome to Lithuania

                                               


No real problems to talk about. Doris has broken her peddle so it remains to be seen if that will be a big issue. It still works but something is very wrong. Otherwise she is running ok with the winter weight she has taken on. Apart from the Police waking me up in the middle of the night and a couple of curious locals sleeping through the long nights has not been a problem at all.  Thanks again for the comments.

Warsaw Saw War

Its been a few days back on the saddle since leaving the wonderfully wet and historic city of Berlin and into the German countryside and I feel remarkably good and ready for action after the long break. Leaving the German capital was one of the easiest riding experiences of the entire trip. Take for instance the pain in the ass Auckland was to ride into and the epic I had when I left Istanbul to start the Europe leg of the adventure and this really was a breeze. Not long thereafter I found my way to the open fields and pasture lands dividing Poland from Germany. So continue we did and have now arrived in the interesting city of Warsaw where we took in a museum of the uprising in the second world war and went for a tiki tour around the old town. I must admit, this is a city like many other cities I have been in and add to that the grey drab overcast day and the temperature hovering around 8deg C and its not really writing its own story. Never mind, tomorrow I head south in an effort to make sure I am in a position to catch the All Blacks playing in the World Cup final sunday morning Polish time.

I met with Joy in Berlin and she has been riding with me since then. The riding has been easy and we have been finding some great campsites along the way so it has been a good introduction for her. We have even been invited into a couple of homes for coffee and showers so it has been a very pleasant experience for everyone.We have been pushed along by a strong breese which has helped put some good kms on the clock although when we turn north in a couple of days there is potential that it will be very challenging with this very same wind. Not to worry.

Fortunately the riding temperature is excellent although after the sun sets and the frosts greet us in the morning I am happy for the gloves that I crochet for myself, just as any worm blooded nz male would in the same situation.

Thanks for all the comments, Pip, I am coming to see you in Dunedin atsome point so you will get a chance to see how Pimped out Doris has become. Take care Gina, didnt have a drink there but I am sure it was a lovely bar, and Liza, you're gross. Lots of love to you all.

No photos Im sorry, the internet is not the best.

Go the all Blacks, stick it up the french

Czech Mate

Misha, Overlooking Prague

It must be said the Prague is one of the most fantastic cities in the whole of Europe. Certainly not the easiest to ride into with all the tram tracks, cars and people everywhere but friendly, beautiful and old as can be. From the hill top where I was staying we can look out over the towers and spires of this thriving city while throwing a disk around among this somewhat eclectic but brilliant group of fashion stylists, musicians and students to whom I have been befriended.

John Lennon Memorial wall

As I rode into Prague I was attending to my map when a lad of 20 some years rode over and asked if I needed some help finding my way. I had the address for Misha but no clue at all how to get there, and as it happens Michael did not either. What he did though was take me to his student residence where he produced a map and showed me where I needed to go.  It was not as straight forward as one would like so he insisted on biking with me to her house. Not only this but as we biked he gave me a quick overview of the areas I was in, stopping to point out things of interest and giving me a low down on some of the more interesting historical happenings in the past couple of hundred years.

Locks of Love! Lovers pad lock the iron grate and throw the key into the river for the key keeper to look after. Gross!! 

Prague

I know Misha from my days in England's south west and very soon upon arriving we were in the car and racing off to her home town of Chomutov, close to the Czech/Germany border. As seems to be the trend with meeting old friends, their friends are keen to meet me and find out what makes me tick, or at least what kind of a person bikes through Europe. And of course this is done over some great Czech renditions of well known American pop music. Take for example Grease Lightening in Czech.

A beautiful fall day full of daisys

Biking into the Cz Rep from Poland I was instantly greeted with quiet smooth roads that simply meandered through the most picturesque of vividly green rolling hills adorned with the vibrant reds, yellows and oranges of the fall that would rival the beauty found in Canada's east as the seasons change. Leaves floated to the ground as a breeze rusted through the trees and acorns fell in alarming numbers with strong gusts, making the going somewhat hazardous for young Doris and her fortunately helmeted rider. None the less, through such trying riding we made the destination in good time.

Andy's kid in Poland

As the seasons change and the snow begins to fall in the mountains it is now an unfortunate reality that I will no longer be able to acquire vast amounts of fresh fruits from the trees lining the sides of the road. A staple diet for most of the past 5 months I will now indulge in the hearty soups and stews that are designed to keep one warm and cozy. People are certainly surprised to find out my journey is continuing north and while I shrug away the suggestions that it may be too cold to bike I am looking forward to the challenge of such a eventuality. 

Found you Gina!! Trying to hide in Poland couldn't fool me

Currently I am sheltering from the drizzly rain here in the south west of Germany at my good friend Annette's flat. Annette also put me up for the night in Wellingtion on night one of the trip before moving back to her native Germany to follow an offer of work so we have come half a circle if you will. Off to Berlin in a couple of days before I head back into the east and into Poland tending north towards Estonia over the next month.

Love, sunshine and happiness.

Old friends

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Castle in Slovakia





I haven't seen my once good buddy Andy Gillian for the best part of a decade and a half but thats nothing a good night out untill 6.30 in the morning did not fix. High five for Polish pop music. I pulled into the Polish border as the light from the day was quickly receeding and the fog so indicitive of winter started rolling off the mountain tops and into the valleys. I went to the first people that I saw who were standing in their driveway and asked in my best charade if I could pitch my tent on their lawn. No worries was generally the reply I got and this was no exception. Within moments of my tent hiting the dewy lawn before the poles were even snapped into position I was asked if I wanted to come into the house to sleep. Of course I accepted and after a lengthy introduction period consisting of dinner and beers with them we sat in front of google translater and had an almost normal conversation. I think. The following day to Andy's place in Katowice was much longer than I expected and it wasn't until the lovely attendant at a petrol station made a call for me, gave me a coffee and let me chill out in the store with Doris that I was collected by Andy's lovely wife and we headed for the city.

Not a good road to be heading down

Its fair to say the roads in Poland, certainly in the south are very difficult to negotiate. Perhaps when I get further north I will have a better time staying off the large roads and on the rural roads where the trucks and cars aren't allowed to scream by at 140kph. Needless to say we made it without too many dramas and I have been here for a couple of days. A very welcome relief for my poor ass which seems to be getting worse, not tougher and more resistant to soreness.

Slovakia was generally speaking a beautiful place and filled with lots and lots of contrasting communist concrete buildings and very old churches and castles of which I am not too concerned if I never see another one.

William shatner look alike

Leaving a small town the morning I was trying to get to the border, I went into a pub at 9am to fill my water  bottles. Its become apparant that these are really the only places open at that hour, not only that but there are usually plenty of people entertaining themselves there. This one however only had a couple of patrons who were very curious why someone was in a helmet and a bright yellow high vis vest ordering a water in their local. As happens I left the bar at 1pm and was just a little wobbly on my bike. It seems that I am similar to a circus in that people enjoy the company of the exotic animals as much as wanting to see them perform. In my case they want maps and photos and then when they need to leave they call their friends who buy more rounds and take the place of the original patron. Its like a relay where I always play catch up but cat pull out of the race.

Hello to you too Poland

It feels like the winter is on the doorstep. I have twice now had to fill a water bottle in the middle of the night with hot water to keep my self from a restless cold shivering night. There are plans to get some better gear in the next few weeks but it will not be too much longer until there are frosts and the first snow falls of the winter months. Heres hoping that doris loves the cold as much as she like throwing me off onto the pavement. I was riding along quite happily on a very busy road that had just been sealed. The problem being the new seal was an inch higher and an inch narrower than the old seal so once I slipped off the new sometimes the tires wouldn't grip the surface as I tried to come back to the new road. This time my weight went over but the wheels stayed and I skidded out sprawling over the lane of traffic fortunately between cars. Dodged a bullet there but Doris suffered an interesting injury. Instead of breaking her chain completely which by all accounts although messy is easy enough to fix she bent a link in half. Much tricker to fix and twice as greasy.

In a great little tid bit, the German ladies I mentioned last story time wrote to me and said the bike was no better and no worse for the time I put into fixing it. However they came up with the name bobby for the bike as I kept calling it bobby when I was tinkering and they confessed they couldn't understand why. I racked my brain and it dawned on me that I was calling parts of the bike I didn't know the name of 'thing-a-me-bobbys' so one of the gals is now travelling on her bobby.

Some dude showing off in Krakow

Heading to the Cz Rep next then north to where the real expedition will kick off. Here to warm fingers and toes.

Very Hungary

What countries is doris stradling

So I was just chillin out as one does when they dont need to be doing anything else riding my trusty bike along the stop bank of the river Duna when I came across a shepard with his faithful flock. Im not really sre that you would ever put sheep in a 'faithful' catageory but there you go. Leading the group was a Donkey, yup, a Donkey. For some reason I am not really sure of the Donkey took great offence to me even though I had gone well out of my way to avoid any confrontation. The Donkey turned my direction, walked, trotted then started running after me. What is one supposed to do what a god damn donkey starts to chase you? This was beyond all my high level response training for the military so I just rode like stink until the amused shepard called off the raging beast. I mean honestly, a Donkey.

Pumkins in Austria

Tracing my way through to Vienna I continued through the extreamly old city a couple of days thereafter to find myself in another city of just as intriguing history. That would be Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia. Here I was stopped by a few curious folk who all commented on the state of me and the bike. The general concensus was that me and the bike looked in remarkably good condition for the 11000km we had just completed. I thought they were being nice but it was a good feeling not to be like the stinky kid for a moment at least.

Vienna

I have been following the Euro Velo signs for the last few days before I got sick of them and headed out onto the roads again. The Euro Velo is a network of cycle paths strewn all over the continent to make life easier for the drivers on the roads and the bikers. The problem is that everybody on the paths is on a mission so noone stops and talks unless you really impress yourself upon them. I did this too two such gals from Germany and we spent the day biking through what was left of Austria before we got to Slovakia. It was pissing with rain for a short time at camp so we used their roomy lodgings to drink wine and play cards and I was very grateful for the quality cheese they offered. A lovely break from the cheap plastic stuff I have been buying. I had a crack at fixing the gears on their bikes but it was a little beyind me without new cables so I think I made the situation worse. Still It was nice to be able to try and help someone even if I just ended up creating more work for them in the long run.

Good Boy

Hungry has been a little bit disappointing in that I have hardly met anyone and I have not really taken in much of the culture. I was speculating as to why this could be the case the other evening as I sat under a full moon and I think it is because I am so far off the tourist trail I had found the farmers and peasants of the inland counties. There are acres and acres of golden corn crops swaying and rustling in the afternoon breeze across this remarkably flat countryside, or where the crops have been reaped there are endless dusty fields streatching far into the distance. There are no curches, or museums or interactive displays telling of the occupations that have taken place here over the centuries, just the crops and the sun hardened paople that are serving the land. And me of course, trying my best to fit in with my white skin and stickered touring bike.

Waiting for the train in Hungary

So thats where I am at the moment. I have moved from Slovenia to Austria, Slovakia and into Hungary. Now as I write this I am a stones throw from the confluence of Hungary, Slovakia and the Ukraine boarders. The days are getting shorter but as yet the temps are staying perfectable rideable and the days are plenty long enough to exhaust ones self in a bike saddle. I was treated to my first medical issue the other day when I had to remove a splinter from my foot. Almost 5 months and that is the damage, not to bad me thinks. I did eat a face full when Doris dug her front tire in some very soft sand at the edge of the grassy road I was on and stopped dead. Of course I didnt stop until I hit the ground, rolled with the agility of a cat, resumed my feet with the grace of a tiger and pondered with the resilience of a dragon what the hell just happened.

Tom Foolary in Austria

A monument for the lives lost in Vienna in World wars

It would seem that my job prospects in the Uk are looking slim to none at the moment based on some of the emails I am getting back. With that in mind I will be looking to come back to Nz for February. What I was hoping from you lovely people is if you could give me some advise as to where I might look at some sponsorship for another couple of months on my bike. Go on ask around, who knows your boss may want their name on my sweaty top. I am flirting with the idea of heading south once I get to the Uk and head to Africa for a month. We'll see.

Corn field in Hungary. Likely not a sunrise

     Take care world and go have an adventure.