I’ve started and stopped writing this post twice already. This will likely be the third time because I probably won’t have time to finish before I get back on my bike in 45 minutes or so. As I sit here in my cozy room, with a view out to a small piazza in the hilltown […]
Journey into the Unknown Our journey took us from Alaska to Ecuador and then to Spain, from where we cycled back home. Often, we faced routes whose conditions we could hardly assess. It was uncertain whether the path was feasible with our bicycles. We couldn’t always rely on navigation apps or locals to judge the […]
In May 2018, we, Beate and Kerstin, embarked on a special journey: traveling through Israel on our bicycles – a land full of history, culture, and contrasts. What started as an adventure turned into an experience that left a lasting impression on us. What started as an adventure turned into an experience that left a […]
I’m on a train, bound for Rome. Yes, Rome, and yes I’ll be there for the funeral of Pope Francis tomorrow – Saturday. Crazy idea? Well, maybe. I’m sure the city is going to be nuts, and I’m not sure I’ll go through the effort to try and attend the mass at St. Peter’s Square. […]
I’ve parked myself in Barletta. It’s a beautiful, bustling, smallish seaside city in southern Italy – perfect for a two-day layover, even more perfect because it’s Easter weekend and the city is abuzz with local families spending the holiday weekend together, lingering in the piazzas during the day, attending mass, strolling the narrow streets by […]
As I write, I’m sitting on the very old, very hard mattress of my room at a bed and breakfast north of the town of Mesagne in southern Italy. Looking out the large window to my right I see that another gray, windy day awaits me. It will be Day 3 of my bicycle journey […]
My name is Dieter, I’m from Germany and I’m 62 years old. I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis in 2007. This disease restricts my freedom of movement considerably, as my lower spine and my chest have stiffened. My rib cage has stiffened. As a result of the stiffening, my rib cage only moves 1cm and […]
There are days when I struggle to get out of bed. And yet I’m choosing to ride my bike for 30 days across Italy. Depression still has a hold on me. Some days are okay. Some days are extremely difficult. Some days it takes all the energy I can muster just to get out of […]
As I begin this post, I’m on the very familiar RB-66 train from Kochel to Munich. It’s familiar because during my year in Bavaria I often took this train on the weekends, to towns like Kochel, Mittenwald, Krun, Garmisch and other beautiful places at the foot of the Alps in Germany’s far south for hiking […]
Resting. In Munich. I’ve had a few cups of coffee, I just popped around the corner from Nick’s apartment to Aldi Sud for a few groceries, and now I’m watching a replay of the Wimbledon quarter final from yesterday between Carlos Alcaraz and Tommy Paul. I arrived Monday night and, burying the lead, LAST NIGHT […]
