May 13, 2013 - Pre-trip

We are gearing up for our trip to the Benelux-Germany region of Europe. We will be flying from Chicago to Dusseldorf, Germany. We plan to rent bicycles their. We will ride to Maastricht, Netherlands over the next 3-4 days, probably following the Maas (Meuss) river. Once their I will attend the International Society of Travel Medicine conference for 4 days. Pam will enjoy what the area has to offer. After the conference we will train to Luxembourg city and begin a ride down the Mosel river to the confluence of the Rhine River. The Mosel...

May 3, 2013 - The trip to Madison and a day of parts chasing

Tuesday April 30 We made a run to the Cabelas a short distance from Dunes Park to buy some chest waders for Alaska. Our old ones (left at home) were not in great shape, bulky and heavy and we opted not to bring them with us. I was able to get a pair. Ginger has a pair being held for us at the Rogers, MN store. We did laundry and grocery shopping then returned to the Dunes. On Wednesday we hooked up to leave for parts west. As we were doing so the hydraulic pump stuck in the on position. We were able to get it to shut off using one of the...

May 2, 2013 - Broken down again

Well, we just got on our way from the Chicago area and now we are parked and waiting for parts again. The hydraulic pump acted up yesterday as we were leaving. When we got here (Madison, WI area) the pump wouldn't work at all. We were able to use the override (using a screw gun) and were able to unhook and get set up. On the phone/email with Lippert this AM to get parts sent. After reviewing photos I sent, our contact at Lippert tells us the pump was installed incorrectly when our trailer was built (far too familar a theme) and that may...

Sep 30, 2012 - Peace Out Suckas

4 Weeks of Hell Start Now!!! This update is mainly aimed at curious parents and family members. We have a feeling no one else is interested in what flights we take (just realized it's also likely no one else will be interested any of these entries).
Depart Madison 1:20 PM (Central time) Arrive in Denver at 2:38 PM (Mountain time) Depart Denver at 3:39 PM (Mountain time) Arrive in San Francisco at 5:23 PM (Pacific time) Depart San Francisco at 10:57 PM (Pacific Time) Arrive Sydney at 6:25 AM (Sydney time?)
Also, big thanks...

Sep 27, 2012 - Home

To Milwaukee and beyond Got up at 3:45 am and via taxi were shuttled to,the airport. It take about a 1/2 hour to get there. Uneventful. The taxi driver did not or would not speak English. The mass of humanity greeted us at the airport, as in any airport. We ended up paying Luthansa $300 to ship the bikes back, after some haggling. Air Canada charged us $50 dollars to ship them to Europe. Spent the last of our Forints ( Hungarian currency) on some wine to bring back to the USA. Otherwise uneventful so far. We will fly to Toronto now. We have...

Sep 14, 2012 - Introducing the Cast of Characters

14 of us from Madison, Chicago & Charlottesvile are leaving tomorrow(or have already left) for Prague. This is the cast of characters featured in this journal for the next 13 days. This just in from Amsterdam: The Carlando's and the Martin's hopped off plane in Schipol-Amsterdam and immediately went to the wonderful Dutch flower auction at Aalsmeer Holland next to Schipol. The auction is open from 7 to 11:00 am. Later in the afternoon we bought these flowers from that very auction already in the market in Amsterdam! Please notice the very...

Aug 27, 2012 - On Our Way

We are spending the night in a hotel near Mitchell field (airport) in Milwaukee. We get up tomorrow at 6:00 AM to begin our journey to Europe. It cost us $80 to stay the night and an additional. $30 to park our car here for 30 days. We will catch the shuttle in the morning to the airport. Can't wait for our Super 8 breakfast.

Aug 26, 2012 - Pre-Balkan II - Packing day

We packed all of our gear Today - including our bikes in a fiberglass box. We borrowed it for the second year in a row from a very accommodating and helpful friend. Pam is much faster breaking down her bike, as I have fenders,a kickstand and other junk on my bike. When we get to Budapest, we will need to rebuild our bikes. The fiberglass box will be stowed at the airport. We will then bike to our hostel (Pals) in central Budapest, near the St Stephen Cathedral. We also packed our bike and non bike clothes and other gear in a large (#4...

Aug 25, 2012 - Pre-Balkan ride

Today we went for 35 mile ride with our loaded panniers ( 20-25 pounds) thru hilly western Dane county. It was very hot today - Mediterrean like. This was in preparation for our extended trip to the Balkans. We have been training - myself for about 3.5 weeks and Pam for a few months - for this trip. We have been carrying an extra load when we go to work to get into shape. We hope to bike tour mainly, with help from trains,planes and automobiles, in Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Croatia and if all works out, Bosnia and Montenegro. We leave on...

Jul 31, 2012 - The Adventure Resumes!

My new knee replacements are a success! I can once again walk normally and at a greater pace than a turtle (my old knees). Elgin was a great place to recover--always had a nice quiet neighborhood to walk. Mary Barb is most grateful her nursing career is ended!! Today we left Elgin at 3PM after hustling supplies and luggage all morning. We then had to prepare the houses for our extensive absence. Mary Barb had to leave her fabulous flower gardens and bird sanctuary behind--that was heart wrenching. We were a feeding station for myriads of...

Jul 25, 2012 - to Madison WI; 16/190

120725-Wed-61597-Today we started our trip to the NW. Each entry should start with the date, day, starting mileage. Like today we ended at 62158, started at 61597 miles, for total miles today of 561.Long day - 10 hours. We are now in DeForest WI, just north of Madison and about 40 miles south of the WI Dells.We went thru OH, IN, IL and are now in WI. A good start to our trip, but it is 109 degrees outside and 92 inside now, but it will cool down. We will probably have the air on all night.

Jun 16, 2012 - Capital - Madison, WI 2012

This capital was an unexpected pleasure. The tour guide was very good. The building is spectacular. I am finding I like the glitzy capital buildings. Lots of marble, gold, rich paintings, sculptures and attention to detail. Some of the flooring in this capital is limestone containing various fossils. Built in 1838, the first Madison Capitol stood for 25 years until it was replaced by a larger building in 1863. After a devastating fire left the second Madison Capitol badly damaged, George B. Post & Sons designed the current Capitol, which...