25 July 2014 Melk, Austria (0 miles; Total = 248 miles) Happy Birthday To You Happy Birthday To You Happy Birthday Dear Gina Happy Birthday To You I know you’re going to say I went overboard this year, but really, it was nothing: for Gina’s birthday, I got her a new spoke. It’s sparkly and …
24 July 2014 Mauthausen to Melk, Austria (55 miles; Total = 248 miles) I’m pretty sure the lady who lives here next to the bike shop is a hoarder, if the five big dogs running around in this filthy outdoor pen are any indication. Shame On Her is what I have to say – these …
23 July 2014 Linz to Mauthausen, Austria (18 miles; Total = 193 miles) Today’s goal: Let’s not get wet. We probably should have been a bit more specific and added something like “at any point today,” which explains why we had a dry bicycle ride but are now standing beneath a tree, seeking cover from …
22 July 2014 Inzell to Linz, Austria (34 miles; Total = 175 miles) The rain is starting to fall harder now and Gina is over there in a frenzied state, grabbing and shoving every item not currently packed in a waterproof bag into a Ziploc or beneath a shower cap. I’m trying to ignore her …
21 July 2014 Vilshofen, Germany to Inzell, Austria (47 miles; Total = 141 miles) “Don’t mess with Mama.” This is our mantra for the evening. We’ve checked into the cutest riverside Gasthof in a town that consists of 4 buildings which I think, perhaps, makes this place not actually a town. “Mama” is the octogenarian …
20 July 2014 Vilsbiburg to Vilshofen, Germany (51 miles; Total = 94 miles) I’m pretty sure that can’t possibly be what I think it is but then I slosh it gently around, tentatively touch it with my tongue, and confirm the unbelievable – those are actual ice cubes in my Coca Cola Light. This can’t …
19 July 2014 Freising to Vilsbiburg, Germany (43 miles) “Do you want me to carry that?” This is Gina talking to this evening’s landlady, who is manhandling her bicycle down into the basement. Gina doesn’t really like anyone touching her bike, let alone carrying it down a few steep flights of stairs. I think our …
18 July 2014 Freising, Germany It’s 3 am and someone is wandering about the room, checking email, complaining she cannot sleep. I suggest that laying down would be a good place to start before promptly falling back into my own jet-lagged stupor. Nothing like going to bed at 9 pm and not getting up until …
17 July 2014 Denver, Colorado to Freising, Germany Gina is about to have a meltdown. Correction: Gina is having a meltdown. We are standing at the Lost Luggage kiosk in the Munich Airport. This makes us 0 for 2 when it comes to arriving in Munich with all of our bags arriving with us. We …
30 June to 16 July 2014 Colorado I’m cycling up a steep, switchbacking trail in the mountains around Frisco, Colorado, wondering if it’s okay for my heart to be beating this fast and my lungs to be heaving this heavily here at 10,000 feet when it occurs to me that not only am I several …