Unmapped Escapades

My handlebars creak. My warped wheel groans against the brakes on each rotation. My un-greased chain squeals.
Okay, so my bicycle doesn´t exactly weep, but it comes close to it, and so do I. My thighs burn. My shoulder bag is soaked in sweat. My body and mind are exhausted.
We´ve spent the last 2 days cycling [...]

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When we crossed the border from Lithuania into Poland, our Lonely Planet guidebook suddenly became obsolete, and our knowledge base, our bible, is now Let’s Go Eastern Europe. It’s a book that’s designed to blow you through Eastern Europe at a pace of about one country every 2 days. It points out the [...]

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A folk singer friend of ours tells a story about playing a series of gigs in Arizona, driving from one town to the next.  The towns were small, conservative, and boring, and as the band worked their way toward Phoenix, the big city became Eden in their minds.  On their final approach, a chant was [...]

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Yay!  We’re on the train, not the bus, which heightens the comfort level of the next 8 hours dramatically.  On the negative side, it also heightens the stress level as the bikes take up a lot of space between the seats.  There’s no tuckng them away underneath.  Just hoping wagon #2 stays relatively uncrowded.
This gives [...]

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