Cycling on my mind II

Last night I finished watching 'Long Way Round', the Ewan McGregor & Charley Boorman TV series that documented their motorcycle trip around the world. It's an inspiring story and interesting to see how the two of them maintained their friendship and sense of adventure during the most demanding times. One would expect problems on such a trip, but what do you do when your bike breaks down in the middle of Mongolia or when you encounter uncrossable rivers in Siberia? I highly recommend the DVD set (would make a great gift) to anyone who would like a little adventure from their couch. Hats off to Claudio von Planta who was the invisible third motorcyclist who followed the pair with a video camera. It was disappointing to see him ignored in the video since he was such an essential part of the trip.

The video also inspired me about my upcoming cycling tour. I've tentatively booked a month between May and June to cycle from St. Gallen to Stockholm via Basel, Dusseldorf, Bremen, Hamburg, and Copenhagen. My rough estimate is 2000km which I believe I can do in 30 days. I'm still working on my packing list and last weekend I got a great deal on eBay for an MSR Zoid 2 tent. I still have lots to plan and purchase!

Following this ride I will be back in Switzerland for the 2006 Tour de Schwiiz.

Deja Vu & Bern

Last week was great. A fortunate coincidence brought many good friends to St. Gallen whom I hadn't seen for a long time. The week was full of drinking beer and catching up on times. We all got together one night and visited Baracca and Tankstell which are two bars we used to frequent. It was deja vu and so were the hangovers. I hope it's not two years before we do this again.

Over the weekend I was in Bern for a birthday party. I had some time before and after to wander the city and take some photos (link). Most interesting were the Baerengraben bear pits just outside the old town. My Lonely Planet guidebook reads, 'Undoubtedly the bears in this 150-year old pit are well cared for, but animal lovers might not approve.' It should also be stated that the pits are no different than any zoo exhibit. The bears are used to humans and can be fed with food purchased from the nearby kiosk. We also visited the famous Berner Munster that my great-aunt photographed for a book published in 1938. In 2004 we searched here for a geocache that we couldn't find. This time we found it. The view from the tower was stunning.

It's Sunday night and I'm tired. This last week felt like a vacation and that tomorrow it's back to the old routine. This week will be interesting with live music on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. With this warm weather I may try getting out for a bike ride.

schwiiz.org

I decided to use schwiiz.org to host some of my favourite photographs from my main photo gallery. I recently discovered the SimpleViewer flash application that does a beautiful job of presenting a photo album. I customized it to for basic navigation and integration with DAlbum. Check it out!

Fun in the Sun

It was fun weekend in the sun. On Saturday morning I joined friends for a snowshoe hike from Klewenalp to the Brisenhaus SAC hut. We were above the fogline and this provided a gorgeous and unique view over the alps. We overnighted at the hut and continued the next day to Niederrickenbach. The hike was only 10km but included some steep climbs and very steep descents.

Cycling on my mind

I've been daydreaming about the summer bike tour and I’m wondering if six days will be enough. I remember meeting a cyclist in Iceland who was cycling around the island for two months. 'Wow!' I thought, 'I should do that!' Then recently a friend showed me the online journal of somebody who cycled from Florida to Alaska. Again, 'Wow!' I keep dreaming of doing something like this. What am I waiting for? I’m in the best physical condition of my life! It's time! Stay tuned.