Picture Recap

 Some pictures of the trip not in any particular order.

Pre-Ride Location of Game 7 at a ridiculously early hour in the morning

Hay Bail Break on the Way to Wittenberg

Windmill Scenery in Amsterdam

Somewhere in Amsterdam

Train Ride in Amsterdam (Pre-Ride)

Dutch Clogs

Canoe Ride in Utrecht (paddle is for show, didn't do much paddling)

Snack Break in Goslar, maybe...

Frolicking in Daisy Field

Budapest

Praha, maybe...

Dresden, host city of the world cup, but didn't get a chance to catch any games

On the road, but still time for photos

Astonomical Clock in Prague with strange man posing underneath

Lake break in Tabor before we even started riding for the day

Teepoo, yes not a spelling error, in Cernovice

One of many castles we passed by

Watermelon break

Life is a highway

Play time in Cesky Krumlov

View of Cesky Krumlov

Artsy shot on the way to St. Poelton, Austria

Debating on whether to trade my bike in for an elephant, probably will cost too much to feed it

Coffee and dessert time, don't worry they weren't all mine

Bratislava

Entering Hungry

Chain bridge in Budapest

last day of riding

After a night of being caught in a thunder and lightning storm and staying in a zimmer frei, I started my last day of riding to Budapest, and of course it was raining. Rode for 40 km and stopped for brunch at a hotel restaurant that was serving a buffet. It was closing in 15 minutes so the group of us ravenously ate our first plate and quickly went back for seconds. Coffee, tea, eggs, cheese, deli meat, buns, brownies, and fruit. So delicous! After eating we saw another pod ride by so I sprinted out the door barefoot and chased them down. Turns out they spent the night in a bus stop. Then we waited around for our support driver to drop off another rider.

Once we finally hit the road again it was blue skies, perfect conditions for riding.

Hit budapest in the afternoon, got the address to the accomadation andthwn stopped at the blue tomato for food and a celebratory brewski. The place was recommended by a local who also poiinted us in the right direction of our accom as we were on the wrong streeet.

Budapest, what a beautiful city, byfsr my favorite place on this tour. So glad I have a few extra days here beote flying home.

Prague

In Prague today for another day off. The city is so beautiful. Last night we had no set accomadation so when we arrived into town the first thing we did was set off to find a place to sleep for the night. We ended up finding a nunnery. There were some very strict rules to follow but there was a bathroom, a kitchen and a roof over our heads so we couldnt really complain. We needed to all be inside by 9 pm which was kind of sad since we all wanted to go out and explore the night life of prague. the other thing was that we had to be super quiet and had to be out by 8am. Oh well an early start to the day means more time to explore the city and so far I am liking what I am seeing.

I love how all these towns are so old and the buildings are so beautiful with so much history. i alwazs forget how young canada is relative to europe.

this trip has made me realize how addicted to coffee i really am. its a sad but true fact. Well actully caffiene and sugar. I have consumed so much coffee, baked goods and Fanta.

when leaving germany and entering the czech republic we did it along a bike path, but once we got onto the roads you could really notice the difference. Thhere are less bike paths, or they are poorly marked. The roads are in poorer conditions. The people seem shyer possibly less friendlier and less people speak English which makes asking for directions when i get lost a lot harder.

The weather has finally heated up. It feels like its in the 30s but I actually have no idea how hot it is. All i can say is that when i am just standing in the sun, i am sweating and sweating profusely. we have followed the Elbe river the last couple of days and there have been many times where i feel like pulling over and jumping in the river to cool off. the only thing holding me back other than the fact that i am a poor swimmer is that the water looks disgustingly dirty.

Dresden

Had the day off today in Dresden, Germany. We stayed in an elementary school last night and had to be out of the gym at 7 am. We had a little meet and greet with one the classes at 7:30am. They were learning English and knew a few words but conversation was very sparse. One of the students could speak English so he was able to translate a short presentation about Canada and what we are doing with this bike ride. It was pretty cool to interact with kids who didnt understand a lot of what we were saying. It was mutually beneficial because they got to practice there English and we learned a little German.

So there has been quite a bit of structure to our ride days, yet there have also been a ton of random happenings as well. Yesterday morning I went on a trampoline before hitting the road. I have run through a field of daisies. I have consumed a fair amount of donars and Fantas, mmm delicous. I have run into a few bike issues but so far nothing that has prevented me from riding. I have been through torrential down pours (thought I left the rainy weather in Vancouver, i guess it followed me) and 30 degreee weather as well.

The last couple rides were 100 km days. Really give you a chance to find out how mentally tough you are. Other riders help with the song rides, singing songs, boga (bike yoga), stopping for picture oppurtunities and ridiculous amounts of laughter to the  point where I have to stop riding at times or I might fall off my bike.

All the hosts we have had along the way have been amazing and I cant thank them enough for putting up with 17 riders for the night. this trip would not be possible without them.

I had my first bike crash on the way to Wittenburg. Don't worry I am okay, just a few scrapes. it didnt happen while riding on the shoulder of  a road or highway which i have found to be scarier than a bike path. But along one of the bike paths while traveling downhill there was an upcoming corner, the rider in front of me made it through no problem and at that point I was already hitting the breaks but once I saw her go through I let go of the brakes. Bad choice. Just as I hit the corner I saw the mud. Too late to do anything but prepare to eat some pavement. Some how I got unclipped and I flew to the left and my bike went to the right. I basically belly flopped, ripped a nice hole in my ride jersey and cut open my hand but that was the only damage to me. My bike did take some damage. The rear brake level took the worst of it, actually it was the only thing damaged. A plastic bit broke off so it is a little wobbly but the brake still works fine. I have fastened a splint using my helmet cam foam and some electrical tape. looks odd but its doing the job.

Yikes, that is a very sporadic blog, but thats the way my mind is working right now. its hard to remember everything and find a place with internet to blog.

Signing out from Germany,

Nicole