Archive for October, 2006
Friday, October 20th, 2006
45km Putney, England - Den Haag, Netherlands
London`s leaving present to us was a slow drizzle as we eased out of the door in Putney just before 7am. With winter coming on, it was still very dark and we crossed Putney Bridge, onto the Kings Road, feeling slightly vulnerable in the already heavy rush hour traffic.A white van man slowed down just to yell at us, ‘where`s your lights’, even though we had front and back ones on and plenty of reflectors. On we pedalled, through Chelsea where three young well-to-do women waited to cross the road, the rain splashing off their high-heeled leather boots but their perfectly coiffed hair still protected as they huddled under one umbrella.
Through Sloane Square we went, past swanky bars and chic boutiques, then across Victoria with its tangled knot of roads around the train station and into Parliament Square, where a solitary bell rang out from Westminster Abbey. Up Whitehall, past the Cenotaph and Horse Guards Parade, it was still dark but a few more people were walking to work, coming off buses, clutching morning coffees.
We opted to walk across Trafalgar Square, before hopping on our bikes again and moving past Leicester Square, then turning right towards Holborn. By now it was getting light and as we wove our way through Leather Lane Market, traders were setting up their stalls for another day. Vegetables, fruit, clothing, fabric, mobile phones, jewellery, all on offer.
A left turn put us on the path for the great Saint Paul`s Cathedral and Bank - now we were truly in City of London territory. A sea of suits darting in and out of traffic, preferring to take their chances with the cars rather than wait for the crossing lights to turn green.
Only a group of construction workers broke up the wave of black, in their neon safety vests, all of them carrying coffee in a simple styrofoam cup and bacon sarnies from a greasy spoon down a side street. No Pret-A-Manger for those boys. Just a few turns later and we arrived at Liverpool Street, where the streams of people coming off trains was truly a sight to see.
For five minutes, hundreds of souls got off the train and headed for the tubes. Once they`d cleared, we got our bikes on the same train and left Britain for the last time in a very long while.
Once we arrived in Hook, we jumped straight onto cycle paths to a bed with friends in Den Haag, about 25km down the road. The scenery was quite pretty, following the coast for much of the route.
No Comments » - Posted in Cycling Trips, Journal Entries by andrew
Tuesday, October 17th, 2006
Mu and Chai!
Two very loveable, funny cats we met at Geoff and Cat`s house in Montreal (check out Geoff`s page here and Cat`s blog here — we were treated to one of her performance pieces and it really got us thinking). We enjoyed having pets again, even if only for a couple days! In case you were wondering what `Mu` means… according to the all-knowing Google, it`s a Japanese word alleged to mean “Your question cannot be answered because it depends on incorrect assumptions”. Chai, of course, is a very tasty cup of tea 
No Comments » - Posted in Canada by friedel
Saturday, October 14th, 2006
Last few days in Canada
We`ve now left Sackville and have arrived in Montreal, after an all-night train journey up the coast of New Brunswick and through Quebec, passing many of the spots we cycled through just a few weeks back. Our bikes were stowed without any hassle by VIA Rail at the Gare Centrale, amazingly for free for the first day and then just $3 per item for each day afterwards. A bargain! Our second bargain of the day came when we were told public transport is free in the city today. We spent our unexpected riches on a coffee, which we`re now enjoying while watching British football as we wait to meet up with a couple friends. We`ll spend the weekend with them before flying back to London with BA on Monday night.
No Comments » - Posted in Canada, Quebec by friedel
Sunday, October 8th, 2006
Jayme & Donald`s Wedding
Congratulations to our good friends, Jayme & Donald. They had a beautiful wedding this weekend in the Miramichi and everything worked out perfectly — beautiful weather, a beautiful wedding and a beautiful couple. We took a lot of pictures and are putting them all up in an album on the site for family and friends. Please feel free to take any photos you like for your albums. If you want to get them printed, you`ll see an option when you click on a photo to view it in full size. Any questions, just ask us. Congrats again, Jayme & Don.
No Comments » - Posted in Canada, New Brunswick by friedel
Saturday, October 7th, 2006
I am in awe…
This trip amazes me. We get a fair bit of incredulity when recounting our adventure, but I think this person has gone one better. Alaska to the tip of South America, on a tandem, picking up passengers as he goes. Fantastic!
