Monday, July 09, 2007
Back in Zurich
Shades of the last tour... We had a couple of glorious days in Italy, and rode across to Austria in a day with 3019 meters of climbing in only 80km (Jaufenpass and Timmelsjoch). Then on the next day it started raining as we reached the top of Silvretta, and we made the descent in a massive downpour. It was amazing to see steam come out of the road as the water hit it (it had been so hot!). We managed a 172km day that day into Bludenz. The next day, the rain got too bad, so we took a 2 hour train into Zurich (for 40 Euros per person), and worked from the office. We'll rest up again today and take off again for some more riding on Wednesday.
This tour is so far shorter than my last tour. Only 1277km and 27778m of climbing, so there's no hope of repeating my last tour's numbers. But it's been quite enjoyable, and I think my companions have loved it too. I'll try to get some pictures up today.
This tour is so far shorter than my last tour. Only 1277km and 27778m of climbing, so there's no hope of repeating my last tour's numbers. But it's been quite enjoyable, and I think my companions have loved it too. I'll try to get some pictures up today.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
You only hear from me when its bad news...
That's very natural on tour. Bad weather means I get stuck at an internet cafe. Good weather means I'm riding. I didn't talk about how pretty mendelpass was, or what a fantastic meal we had at Hotel Gran Baita. I didn't talk about the day we descended Garvia, which felt like dropping out of the sky from on top of the world on twisty mountain roads. I didn't talk about Stelvio's fabulous hotel.
All that will wait for the final trip report, so stay tuned...
All that will wait for the final trip report, so stay tuned...
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Stuck in Canazei
Our luck has finally run out. After days of being able to ride every day (even when a thunderstorm caught us on Costalunga pass), we finally hit a day where we were stuck in due to rain. We attempted to ride up to Passo Sella, but freezing rain and hail (of the stinging kind) literally drowned our hopes.
The forecast tomorrow is for partly cloudy weather, so we'll make another attempt!
The forecast tomorrow is for partly cloudy weather, so we'll make another attempt!
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
In Chur
We explored the Melchtal route that Jobst wrote about, as well as Grosse Scheidegg and the Lauterbrunnen valley. Its been very pretty, but it rained later yesterday, as well as in the afternoon today, slowing our progress. We are now headed into Italy... Tomorrow is a 2 pass day, and the day after that we should be able to get a good start on the Stelvio. If we are lucky, we shall get it over with before it rains again. This is easily the wettest European tour I've been on, but it's also been very very pretty. I am looking forward to exploring places I've never been.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Many lessons learned...
First of all, don't depend on Swiss Air to be on the ball about getting you lost luggage back to you. They told us we'd get it delivered today at 11:00, but at 10:30 still hadn't called us. We ended up going out to the airport (since we had effectively zero mobility, this meant a Taxi to downtown).
Arriving at the airport, we discovered that the the bike boxes had been incredibly torn up. Mike's Saddlebag and Handlebar bag, which had been packed with the box, had dropped out of the box (or been stolen --- SwissAir filed it as a stolen item). With all that done, we now had 4 bikes, but only 2 sets of pedals, 2 complete set of touring gear, and not nearly enough cycling clothes (especially for Mike, who's so tall that he has a hard time fitting our stuff). What was especially dumb was that I'd forgotten my set of allen wrenches
The rest of the afternoon was spent by Mike and Roberto shopping for gear. There was no question that we wouldn't make any progress today, so my brother and I rode around the Zurichsee, and bought stuff for dinner. We also fixed up our rear wheels, which had gotten some impact damage (a first for me from shipping bikes in cardboard boxes, but seeing the condition of the boxes, I'm not too surprised).
Finally, it appears that Roberto's baggage (with his saddlebag) has shown up, so he's making an airport run to pick up his baggage.
Tomorrow, we'll head over to Sarnen via train and start our first full day of riding. I hope we'll have better luck riding than with flights.
Arriving at the airport, we discovered that the the bike boxes had been incredibly torn up. Mike's Saddlebag and Handlebar bag, which had been packed with the box, had dropped out of the box (or been stolen --- SwissAir filed it as a stolen item). With all that done, we now had 4 bikes, but only 2 sets of pedals, 2 complete set of touring gear, and not nearly enough cycling clothes (especially for Mike, who's so tall that he has a hard time fitting our stuff). What was especially dumb was that I'd forgotten my set of allen wrenches
The rest of the afternoon was spent by Mike and Roberto shopping for gear. There was no question that we wouldn't make any progress today, so my brother and I rode around the Zurichsee, and bought stuff for dinner. We also fixed up our rear wheels, which had gotten some impact damage (a first for me from shipping bikes in cardboard boxes, but seeing the condition of the boxes, I'm not too surprised).
Finally, it appears that Roberto's baggage (with his saddlebag) has shown up, so he's making an airport run to pick up his baggage.
Tomorrow, we'll head over to Sarnen via train and start our first full day of riding. I hope we'll have better luck riding than with flights.
Morning Update
My brother arrived with Good News. He saw our bikes and their boxes at the airport. But they wouldn't let him sign out the bikes, so we have to wait for the delivery, which could take up to 11am. Unfortunately, there's still no sign of Roberto's saddlebag.
Friday, June 22, 2007
A bad start...
We started off with US Airways refusing to supply us with bike boxes. So I ran over to the United Airlines counter and bought 3 boxes. Cost $30. Then there was an amazing delay on one of our legs (into and out of Philadelphia). That cost 4 hours, causing us to miss our connection in Munich.
Then when we got to Zurich, my saddlebag arrived, but none of the bikes did, and neither did Roberto's lugguage. So we are stuck! Hopefully, we'll get everything tomorrow. Otherwise, this tour will start with us all buying new bikes!
Then when we got to Zurich, my saddlebag arrived, but none of the bikes did, and neither did Roberto's lugguage. So we are stuck! Hopefully, we'll get everything tomorrow. Otherwise, this tour will start with us all buying new bikes!
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Guinness Storehouse Review
So I'm in Ireland for a couple of weeks, for work mostly. In between the bouts of bad weather and other whatnots, I've been doing a bit of city touring. Dublin is a fairly interesting city, and one of the highlights of it is that its the birthplace of Guinness.
So as part of the city tour, I wanted to visit the Guinness Storehouse....I guess its best to start from the beginning.
First you have to get there, not terribly difficult, just take the bus or the Tram and you're there soon enough. The second part is mostly the line. Its a bad adage that Queuing is an English artform, but it doesn't make it any less true. I must have stood in line for over an hour in the rain before I could have the pleasure of forking over 14 Euros (about 18 USD) so I can visit the Storehouse.
There's really not much to say about it. You can see the pictures I took of it over here...The whole museum is split up into about 7 levels but only the first 3 has any substance, there's a bit of a video section which is interesting but not very interactive. Its also a self-guided tour but it feels substantially lackluster compared to say, the Heineken Factory...which is not only cheaper, but has a more substantive option.
The end of the tour of course ends with you enjoying a pint of Guinness. You also get a fairly lame souvenir, a keychain with a drop of Guinness embedded in it, so that "you may never go thirsty again"...
I'm not sure if there's anything I can say that will convince anyone who likes beer to not go, but lets just say that you'll probably get everything you want to know about Guinness out from Wikipedia, and that you can get a much cheaper pint of Guinness than 14 euros. The store in the storehouse is free to visit and might not be a terrible idea, but you can probably find everything you want in the city center with no need for a lineup.
Still...its a tourist trap, and as a tourist in Dublin, I felt obligated to go. =)
So as part of the city tour, I wanted to visit the Guinness Storehouse....I guess its best to start from the beginning.
First you have to get there, not terribly difficult, just take the bus or the Tram and you're there soon enough. The second part is mostly the line. Its a bad adage that Queuing is an English artform, but it doesn't make it any less true. I must have stood in line for over an hour in the rain before I could have the pleasure of forking over 14 Euros (about 18 USD) so I can visit the Storehouse.
There's really not much to say about it. You can see the pictures I took of it over here...The whole museum is split up into about 7 levels but only the first 3 has any substance, there's a bit of a video section which is interesting but not very interactive. Its also a self-guided tour but it feels substantially lackluster compared to say, the Heineken Factory...which is not only cheaper, but has a more substantive option.
The end of the tour of course ends with you enjoying a pint of Guinness. You also get a fairly lame souvenir, a keychain with a drop of Guinness embedded in it, so that "you may never go thirsty again"...
I'm not sure if there's anything I can say that will convince anyone who likes beer to not go, but lets just say that you'll probably get everything you want to know about Guinness out from Wikipedia, and that you can get a much cheaper pint of Guinness than 14 euros. The store in the storehouse is free to visit and might not be a terrible idea, but you can probably find everything you want in the city center with no need for a lineup.
Still...its a tourist trap, and as a tourist in Dublin, I felt obligated to go. =)
Monday, May 28, 2007
Review: Banjo Brothers Handlebar Bag
Someone on the Rivendell mailing list recommended the Banjo Brothers handlebar bag to me. I found it at Calhoun Cycles for $20, and decided it was worth the risk. The main attraction to me was the side straps that attach to hooks mounted on the fork's eyelets (hooks are provided with the bag) which lend the bag extra stability.
The hooks mount on easily with a socket wrench and a philips head screw driver. My brother had it on his bike for 3 months and it never came loose, but I'd loc-tite it anyway for a long trip. The straps end in a triangle that loops around the hooks, which I thought was pretty clever: past bags I've seen have straps that end in a hook that hook directly into the eyelets, and woe unto you if the strap were to snap or you were to miss the eyelet: the hooks would fly all over the place.
The mesh bags on both sides of the bag are just about right. Enough for a digital camera, and a phone on each side. The space is ample for what I want to do when I'm traveling, and the zippers seem well-made. I did not test the bag for water-proofness, but I'm going to seal stuff that must stay dry with zip-lock bags if it rains.
The big minus that's really obvious is that the bag velcros to your bars, and leaves little room for you to hold the tops of the bars, if that's your favorite position for climbing. Perhaps the Nitto Lamp Holder 2 will solve the problem. That's a costly solution, however.
The hooks mount on easily with a socket wrench and a philips head screw driver. My brother had it on his bike for 3 months and it never came loose, but I'd loc-tite it anyway for a long trip. The straps end in a triangle that loops around the hooks, which I thought was pretty clever: past bags I've seen have straps that end in a hook that hook directly into the eyelets, and woe unto you if the strap were to snap or you were to miss the eyelet: the hooks would fly all over the place.
The mesh bags on both sides of the bag are just about right. Enough for a digital camera, and a phone on each side. The space is ample for what I want to do when I'm traveling, and the zippers seem well-made. I did not test the bag for water-proofness, but I'm going to seal stuff that must stay dry with zip-lock bags if it rains.
The big minus that's really obvious is that the bag velcros to your bars, and leaves little room for you to hold the tops of the bars, if that's your favorite position for climbing. Perhaps the Nitto Lamp Holder 2 will solve the problem. That's a costly solution, however.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Review: 1001 Nights of Snowfall and Other Fables
After my last review of Bill Willingham's Fables, I found as many back issues as I could and read all of them, including the hardback, 1001 Nights of Snowfall.
1001 Nights of Snowfall fills in a back story. Snow White petitions the Arabian legends to form an alliance against the adversary. The individual stories are entertaining, but none of them stack up against the series proper.
The series past volume 3 gets even better. We learn, for instance, who the adversary is (it's someone you've heard of, and it's a surprisingly logical move). We find a happy ending for Snow White and the Big B. Wolf. We thrill to the adventures of Little Boy Blue, and the perhaps hapless self-promotions of Jack Horner. The stories are entertaining, interesting, make a lot of sense, and have the taste of the whimsical that make all fairy tales special. (Come now, any story that reintroduces you to the three blind mice has got to be fun!)
Highly recommended. It's worth paying Amazon.com prices for this series.
1001 Nights of Snowfall fills in a back story. Snow White petitions the Arabian legends to form an alliance against the adversary. The individual stories are entertaining, but none of them stack up against the series proper.
The series past volume 3 gets even better. We learn, for instance, who the adversary is (it's someone you've heard of, and it's a surprisingly logical move). We find a happy ending for Snow White and the Big B. Wolf. We thrill to the adventures of Little Boy Blue, and the perhaps hapless self-promotions of Jack Horner. The stories are entertaining, interesting, make a lot of sense, and have the taste of the whimsical that make all fairy tales special. (Come now, any story that reintroduces you to the three blind mice has got to be fun!)
Highly recommended. It's worth paying Amazon.com prices for this series.
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