Tired feet, smiling faces

We got a little bit of a late start this morning. The hot water burner in the apartment decided to take Sunday off, leaving the shower a little on the frigid side. Our route to Praha Bikes was detoured by 3 or 4 km's as we wound our way around the marathon. Both of these left Oleh a little grouchy with us. After we told him how great he was. How much we appreciated his service and, all the people that we were going to recommend him to, his smile re-emerged. By the time we put our bikes together and paid Oleh for all of his time and support, we'd become best friends all over again! CHECK :-)

A few lessons learned ...

1) It's difficult working your way against the foot traffic of 10000 marathoners who have just completed 42 km and are anxious to find their spouse, partner, children, parents, medic, anyone that they know.
2) Those working in the service sector (waiters, clerks, Oleh) don't always -- or maybe ever -- believe that the "customer is right". They have never been taught to say thank you. The guidebook warned us that they can quite often appear rude or grumpy. Perhaps a remnant of having been communist governed from 1948 until 1990.
3) Czech craftsmanship is as good as anything we can compare it to in North America. Every detail is finished well.
4) Czech women like to appear well-dressed. Czech men? ... Not so much.

Enjoy some of today's tourist sites. Tomorrow morning we start on the bikes to Český Krumlov.

John Lennon "Imagine" wall

Homage to mothers ... "In Utero" sculpture by David Cerny

View of city rooftops from Prague Castle

Keep smiling & keep cycling!

Praha - Prague

Traveling, by definition, is an adventure. Traveling 24 hours to get from Victoria (Point A) to Prague (Point B) is an adventure and a half. Once we saw the ramp agent bring our bike boxes into the oversize baggage claim, all of our concerns disappeared.

One day into our vacation and everything has been terrific. First - of course - the bikes arrived. Second, Oleh from Praha Bikes was at the airport to meet us (more of this in a little bit). Third, our AirBnB apartment is amazing. Fourth, the day walking around Prague and discovering its beauty and charms. And last but not least ... The beer!

Back to Praha Bikes & Oleh. When we were thinking about cycling Prague - Vienna - Budapest, we looked at a number of bicycle tour companies that offer group rides and solo assisted rides. One of those (and the only local one) was Praha Bikes. After a few emails with Oleh, we decided to go it on our own - unassisted but ... we asked Oleh if his company would do 4 things for us:

1) pick us up at the airport. Take us to our apartment. Take the bikes in their boxes to Praha Bikes. CHECK :-)
2) store our bike boxes for 3 weeks until we return to Prague from Budapest.
3) provide one of his bike guides to lead us out of the city, and send us on the right Greenways route to Tabor, and
4) drop us with our bikes back in their boxes at the airport when we leave.

We were thrilled to see Oleh's smiling face upon arrival. (Perhaps we were just a little surprised too).

Today and tomorrow are our "tourist in Prague" days. We've discovered much of the Old City on foot, negotiating 400 year old cobblestone streets. Tomorrow is the Prague Marathon and, guessing by the number of really fit looking people that we saw today, the marathon route should be very busy. We'll likely head uphill for a visit to Prague Castle, and perhaps an organized city tour, either by boat or by bus.

All in all, 4 stars!

Prague - ready or not, here we come!

The most difficult part of planning a vacation must be wait time between readiness and departure. I think that this spring, the wait has been excruciating. Jude & I began planning this trip about 10 months ago. Not the serious ... "let's map the route" stuff, but serious ... "let's book the flights" stuff. That's when the waiting began.

Fast forward to April, and a big snowfall at Mount Washington. Big, heavy, west coast powder. The stuff that really fat skis were designed for. Also, knee twisting, ligament ripping powder. You guessed it. One ski stuck in the muck and Jude loses both her ACL and most of her MCL.

The doc's (ER physician, GP, SportsMed & Orthopod surgeon) generally agree that the bike trip, duh, likely won't happen. But, they hadn't yet met up with two determined cyclists (with non-refundable airfare). Truth is, cycling is probably the best physiotherapy that you can apply to ripped up knees. Match the cycling with a humongously expensive knee brace and, we're "good to go"!

A week from today we will be in Prague beginning our travels down the Greenways toward Vienna and then slowly along the Danube to Budapest. We will endeavour to keep our families and friends informed and as involved in our adventure as we can. We will take lots of pictures!

The Surly's are tuned up and after a ride in Victoria tomorrow, we'll box them up and leave them in the capable (fingers crossed) hands of British Airways.

Keep smiling & keep riding! More to come ...

Happy Canada Day weekend

Judy and I are off for a cycle weekend to Saturna Island with Stuart & Karen. Today's ride from home to Swartz Bay was the first time that Jude cycled past Sidney. Today will be a 50 km ride in beautiful weather. No wind!!!! 

Tons of bicycles around today. We met up with a 50 something Alaskan who has cycled down the wild frontier, traveling upwards of 100 miles per day. He's now starting his last leg from Victoria to The San Juan Islands before hitting Seattle and his flight home.

Stuart & Karen warn us that there is little if any cellphone service on Saturna, so we'll leave you with a Happy Canada Day!

Canada Day lamb roast on Saturna.

Beautiful BC!

Olympic Discovery Trail

First, a confession. On Sunday night we arrived in Port Townsend without the energy to set up a campsite (to find one for that matter). We did the next best thing and "moteled" it. We got a cycle-in motel on the edge of town. Cycle-in for Judy & I meant that we could cycle right into our room. And, we cycled right out this morning.

Here's the thing about our ride today. It was pretty much head down and grind the miles. The great thing was finding the Olympic Discovery Trail in Blye, a paved trail running 27 miles all the Port Angeles, where we caught the Coho ferry back home to Victoria. 

Distance covered today - 83 km

Saddle time - close to 6 hours

Lunch - in Sequim at the "Black Bear" 

Rating - 3 stars (medium difficulty)

San Juan Island - Whidbey Island

Amazing, amazing, amazing! Did I forget to say AMAZING!! Dinner last night was at the Duck Soup Inn (google it). We were able to walk from our campsite at Lakedale Resort to one of the most inventive, fabulous meals we've had in a long time. Sort of like Sooke Harbour House, but more casual & laid back. Obviously a 5-star recommendation.

Camping ... Well, a beautiful spot. Gear worked well. The middle of the night parties got a little annoying. I suppose that we could have joined them ...

Today's ride, about 50 km from Friday Harbour to Fort Ebey State Park. Hills, hills, and more hills. Oh, and lots of wind too. The scenery is well worth the pain!

Thanks to Starbucks for the wi-fi.

Touring the San Juan Islands

We're back in the touring saddle for a 3-day cycle through the San Juan Islands. First ride tomorrow is a short Victoria - Sidney, where we catch the Washington State Ferry to Friday Harbour (San Juan Island). Time to check out the camping gear too at Lakedale Resort

Judy & I are travelling with "Bob" the bicycle trailer. Much easier that carrying tent, sleeping bags, camp stove, etc. in panniers. (Peter & Bob on a test ride) ...