Bike Tracks

Cardwell to Flying Fish Point

Day 271 on the road

It was a short night for me, I am still not used to Aussie time. I wake up a little later each day but still can’t sleep in until 5 a.m. Perhaps by the time we go north to Japan I will be on Aussie time, but then I will be in yet another time zone.

I woke and was ready to start the day at 4 a.m. The people occupying the tents surrounding me were surprised to hear the Microsoft Windows sound as I booted up the computer. What else was I supposed to do in the dark for 2 hours? So I wrote until the battery went low, wasting no time.

We were camping on an athletic field, being hosted by the Cardwell Lions Club. Those guys sure know how to put on a meal and a breakfast. We had several choices of meat for dinner and when we didn’t finish all of it at night, they reconstituted it for breakfast in addition to the normal fare. It was Aussie hospitality we will all remember.

Leaving camp in the morning one of the fellows remarked that we were on a “hurry-up vacation.” No kidding! If he only knew how we felt, “hurry-up vacation” indeed! Australia is country #42 for me this year.

Back on the road, I suffered through 60 more miles of sugar cane fields, only today we began seeing banana plantations too. The Highway 1 was not only boringly dull, but very busy with tractor trailor trucks going at such high speeds they sometimes propelled me forward in their jet stream. If only it was for longer than 2 seconds!

My favorite road antidote of the day came from Theresa and Susan. Poor Susan had a flat tire. She had her bike up side down and the wheel off. Theresa came riding by at the same time 2 trucks transporting a mobile home in 2 halves came speeding by. The wind from the truck knocked Susan’s bike over. Now at this point in the road the shoulder was none existent or the shoulder that was available was at the bottom of a very deep ditch. As her bike fell, Theresa said “your bike fell.” Susan thinking it fell over said, “no problem.” But as she turned to her bike, she couldn’t see it. She said to Theresa, “where is it? It was here a minute ago!” The bike had fallen all the way down the ditch!

This would have be a hilarious video for “Candid Camera” but the humor was lost when Susan told me her derailleur was destroyed in the fall. That was an expensive breeze the truck caused.

I met a bike tourer today going the opposite direction. He is on a self supported trip to Tasmania, about 5000 kilometers away. Most of the time he stays in Backpacker Hostels, but he was carrying a tent, just in case he wanted to stay outside. I was amazed at what he was doing, then I remembered, I’m doing something similar. I’m just not self-supported right now. Next time I go I will be. But then next time I go it’s going to be on a BMW, or maybe a sailboat.

The best part of my day came only 5 kilometers from camp. I visited Thompson’s River Crocodile Farm. The farm was also a reserve with kangaroos, ostrich, snakes, etc. I arrived just in time to see the Crocodiles have their daily feeding of pig. They are amazing creatures, the stuff nightmares are made of!

The owner Mitch was a jokester who truly enjoyed his work. He delighted in telling stories and teasing folks. At one point he was telling us how fast a particular crocodile was, he opened the gate to throw in a chunk of meat and instead of throwing it forward he through it backward towards Anthony’s feet. At the same time he slammed the door shut. The look on Anthony’s face was priceless!

Each Crocodile has a name and a distinct personality. The one consistent trait of each beast was how terribly scary they are. I was in awe, every time they opened their mouths to eat. Why on earth anyone would get in a cage with such a beast is beyond me. But then Mitch seemed to know when he was safe, it was always just after shoving a hunk of pig into their gapping jaws. After which he would scratch their heads with a plastic rake. Crocodiles like their heads and body scratched. Humm, I don’t think I’ll be doing that anytime soon.

These are the two year old crocodiles waiting to be chosen of the few who get to breed. The rest will have a future in the luggage industry. (P.S. this photo is dedicated to my Zachary who as a young child was scared of the alligators who lived in Colorado (?) Hi Zack!)

Anthony was trying to get the joey to pop it’s head out. If you look closely you can see the Joey’s foot.

These rakes are the remains of crocodile back scratchers.

Sydney to Townsville (flight)

Day 269

Airplane flight #10 this year was a short and sweet one. We boarded late morning and within two hours landed in Townsville which is in Queensland, north of Sydney along the beginning of the Great Barrier Reef.

Al the Alien got to sit up in first class since there was no room for him in coach. I really didn’t care for the smug grin on his face as the flight attendant carried him up to the front of the plane. It was rather annoying to have to sit there in coach, squished in the middle. I guess it helps being cute!

Getting off the plane the difference in temperature was noticed immediately. It was tinderbox dry, the area was parched brown from the sun. Unlike Sydney where it rained a little everyday, here I could tell it had not rained in a long time. Off came a few layers of clothing, summer was back! Actually it’s only spring here, but to me it felt like summer.

In Townsville we stayed at the Sun City Caravan Park. It was small and rather inadequate for the group. There were tents littered everywhere, between the RV’s already in the park and lined along the road going in. Many riders opted for a hotel room, they just weren’t ready to get back with the program. Besides, the Olympics are still on it’s hard to unplug from civilization just yet.

I was a good girl and put the tent up, figuring “cold turkey” was the way to get back into the grind. It had been 16 days of sleeping in real beds from Amsterdam, Cologne, Canberra to Wollongong. Now we were in for a long stretch of camping for the rest of Australia and the duration of Japan. After this we ship our camping stuff to New Zealand and sleep in beds throughout Southeast Asia.

Day 270

“Back on the road again” kept spinning through my head as I rode the route today. It was a long, monotonous ride of 167 kilometers through nothing but sugar cane fields and forest. The road was flat, Florida flat with so little interest, I became fascinated with the road kill. What I could identify was so unusual, reptilian type baby dinosaurs, Wylie Coyotes and the Roadrunner squashed flat just like in the cartoon and tons of snakes, big long nasty snakes. The land must have been full of live animals to have this many dead ones on the road. Looking as hard as I could, I never got to see them.

Interesting road kill…what is it?

The locals are interesting. Australians drive like maniacs with a mission. It is such a paradox because when they get out of the car, they are the nicest, friendliest people you ever want to meet and they love Americans. Why they drive as aggressively as they do, I can only surmise. The roads here are so incredibly boring. There are signs all along the road to “break up your drive, rest” and “stop for free coffee.”

I was riding through a small town when a lady came running out to me to ask me what we were doing. She was overwhelmed with excitement to hear our story. She then proceeded to tell me about the big mountain range we would be passing over. Great.

Later I had a truck driver at the filling station ask me if I was ready to “climb the pass?” Of course I told him yes, while thinking all the time, I wasn’t looking forward to it.

The road we were on was headed north. Looking at a map would show it was the closest road to the ocean, but it was so far from shore due to the jagged coastline of Australia. It’s such a shame that the road cannot follow the water, but then the mileage would probably triple or worse, because it doesn’t go straight. To the west, the road was lined with mountains stretching as far as the eye can see. I didn’t think we would have to cross a mountain pass, since we were headed due north up the coast. As least we wouldn’t be crossing one today. But when another person mentioned “the Pass”, I began to believe them.

At about 129 kilometers into the day, I came upon “the Pass”. It was funny because even though I knew I was climbing, it was such a gradual climb, an annoyance. At the last point, maybe 200 meters from the “summit” the climb got steep, I downshifted. Before I knew it, I was on the summit. Looking behind me, I could tell we were high, but it wasn’t that high. To the locals who ride the Florida flat road then have to slow down because the 18 wheelers creep up the hill, it must seem like a big deal. To me after riding over some of the most significant “passes” in the world, this was merely a ride back home to the top of my street in Highlands Ranch.

Once again proving, “everything is relative!”

I loved this sign, it got my attention on a hot day!

Sydney during the Olympics!

Australia decided to throw a party and the world has shown up! Sydney is alive with excitement. The Olympics started 5 days ago and it seems the whole world is here to see the games. Downtown is all dressed up with flags and fun. Street mimes and entertainment go on all day and half the night. It’s not even necessary to buy tickets to a venue, there’s so much else to do, including watching the event live on big screen TV’s on the streets!

We were having such a good time, enjoying the sites of Sydney, we didn’t get in line for Olympic tickets until after 2. When we got to the ticket center, the line was so long and a man with a trash can was standing at the end of it telling people the line was 4 1/2 hours long, they would be closed before we could get through. He directed us to another line in a different part of town. He told us to check the board to be sure we could get tickets for what we wanted to see.

We did. There was nothing left that either of us cared to pay money (and lot’s of it) to see. As I was walking away a gentleman offered me tickets to see the Gymnastics finals at $285 each! (that was the list price, how or why would he do that?) Ouch! I was not interested in paying that kind of money for something I could see better on TV. Besides, I was a little apprehensive about purchasing counterfeit tickets. The risk was too great. We passed on that opportunity too.

Olympics or not, I want to see Sydney, I’ve never been here before and my favorite thing to do is people watch, so why not just do that without paying the fee?

We did do something rather unique and exciting. On Friday night we did Sydney’s most popular tourist action tour and climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge. It was an interesting thing to do, we had to don technical gear and be led by a guide. We traversed the catwalk, then climbed the arch of the bridge to the summit. We did it at night, on purpose because we wanted to see this magnificent city all lit up. It was worth it.

The scariest part for me was during the training when they were talking about what we were going to do. The whole process was so involved. We were required to schedule a time to go and show up 1/2 hour prior to that time. Our group gathered in a TV room where a video talked about what we were going to do. Then a young lady came out to speak to us and take us into an interior room where we all had a breathalyzer test done. (My first!) Next we traveled to another room and were given jump suits that zipped up the back. They had no pockets or any hanging parts that might cause us to get tangled up in something. Larry was wearing sandals, the young lady asked what size shoe he wore and then brought him a pair of Nikes to wear as sandals were a no-no. Then we were required to remove all jewelry, coins and anything else that was not part of our bodies, putting all of this into personal lockers.

For the next stage we were introduced to our Climb Leader, who proceeded to show us how to get into the climbing belt and attach ourselves to the guy wire that would keep us from diving into the deep blue harbor. Once we hooked up, we went for a practice climb in the studio, just to see how we did, climbing up a ladder and onto a ramp, that was rather wobbly. Our Climb Leader asked us if we could feel the ramp swaying, we did. He said the bridge didn’t sway that much, so if we could stand this, we would be OK on the bridge.

From the ramp, we went to another room to be fitted with headsets, so we could hear the Climb Leaders commands and tour comments while in the wind. They also provided us with a headlamp, stocking cap, handkerchief and fleece. With all this preparation, I was beginning to feel a little apprehensive. I hadn’t signed up to climb Everest, I just wanted to talk a little walk over the arch of a bridge! I felt maybe I had signed up for something more than I imagined.

Larry could see I was not exactly comfortable. His words were comforting, if not convincing at the moment. I don’t mind heights, but I do HATE grates on heights. When I’m showing Lodo Lofts, in Denver, there is one property that has 8 x 10 foot patios that are made of that nasty grate material. I stepped out on one once and got spooked. Now I make sure I avoid them. So I asked myself, “why are you going out on a grated catwalk?” Ok, so I decided the best way to handle this is to not look down.

Just the same, my stomach was full of butterflies when we started the ascent to the bridge. As first we walked under it, then up onto it via the catwalks used by the builders and/or painters. Once on the bridge we had to climb up a ladder section that was 4 lengths high. This section was the only time I was completely alone. We were not allowed to have more than one person on a section at a time, therefore we were spread out. It was scary at first, then I began to enjoy the solitude of climbing. The cars were speeding by below me and a train even passed, shaking the entire structure with it’s weight and speed. I hesitated, waiting for the train below me to pass. It was a cool feeling, knowing I was up there where most people never get to be. I loved it.

Sydney is a huge city, the view at night is nothing short of spectacular, . The harbor is exceptionally busy with the Olympics, there were dozens of cruise ships in the harbor being used as floating hotels for the Olympic committee and guests. Larry and I enjoyed watching the changing colors of the Opera House, they ranged from white to blue, purple, green, yellow and pink.

We were surprised to learn the flame in the Olympic caldron was visible, even though it was many miles away. Our Climb Leader gave us an excellent tour of the city and took digital photos of us with the city lights in the background. When we finished the climb, we were treated to our photos, label pins and even a certificate to hang on the wall. It was quite a professional production, they thought of everything. It gave us another memory to store in our heads.

Larry and I spent a quiet day watching the Olympics on TV and reading. Sunday morning early he left on the Airport shuttle to go home. Luckily, just before he was to leave, Al the Alien showed up. Finally my two favorite guys get to meet!

Commuting to Sydney and the Olympic games

Days 264-268

The University of Wollongong Campus East Housing will be our “home” for the next five days. Larry and I have been assigned a dormitory room. There is one bed with a trundle bed on the floor, it’s better then Bunker 42 and a whole lot cheaper than a hotel in Sydney during the Olympics! The main problem is the amount of time it takes to commute to Sydney. A train ride takes two changes and 2 1/2 hours to get to downtown. It’s a real pain to go back and forth, so we will be planning our days better.

The Aussie’s are bursting with excitement. Their athletes are bringing home the medals and all over we hear the cheer, “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi!” We hear it on the commuter train, the TV all around the college campus. The excitement of the fans must be inspiring to the athletes for they are making and breaking records for the motherland as never before.

Not to be outdone, the Odyssey riders have made up a cheer too. Our cheer goes like this, “Odyssey, Odyssey, Odyssey, Oink, Oink, Oink!” It is our team eating cheer. We have earned it.

The cafeteria at the University of Wollongong has taken excellent care of us. Thank goodness, for there is nothing else to do in Wollongong!

Odyssey went to Gouldburn, we went to Bateman’s Bay

Day 262

We are on the road again, on the road to Sydney. Larry rented a great big station wagon and I do mean big! After riding around in miniature European cars for so long, I forgot how good a big car can feel. Australia is such a big country with so many wide open spaces, they don’t worry about the size of vehicles. Big is OK!

One thing that we have noticed are the huge bumper (cow catcher) add ons to the front of their vehicles. The ‘roo problem is fairly significant. Drivers must protect their vehicles from damage, therefore the ‘roo bumpers. So far we have only seen a few kangaroos. The first live one was in someone’s yard. She kept her distance but let me photograph her and her joey. I kept begging her to come closer to me, but she just wouldn’t co-operate. Later we had a ‘roo hop in front of the car off in the distance. Yes, they have kangaroos here in Australia.

Our trek from the interior at Canberra to the coast went through many changes of scenery, all very beautiful. The country is very hilly with huge ranches or stations as they are called here. I love the way the ranches have prairie with trees. We also passed through forests so thick they had a jungle feel about them. We enjoyed pointing out the different types of birds unknown to us.

The coast is so jugged the road cannot follow it. In order to get to the ocean, you need to go down a side road perpendicular to the main road. Once there we found magnificent unspoiled beaches where the forest ended. I suppose at one time my home state of New Jersey once had beaches like this, before the trees were all cut down. It is so refreshing to see that Australia has such beautiful beaches.

I watched this gorgeous guy groom himself on a rock then fly away. A pelican’s beak is amazing. They blow it up and sort of turn it inside out when they yawn.

The Australians are doing fantastic job of winning medals in the Olympics. Everywhere we go folks are thrilled about the games and want to know if we are planning to go. I enjoy watching the games on TV. My view is better and it sure is cheaper. Just the same, we will be trying to take in at least an event or two.

Watching the games in the home country is another experience. We never get to see the Americans win, unless by chance. The Aussie’s are covering all their medal races and not ours, understandably so. We grab the morning paper to get the medal count. That’s all the news we are getting here in rural Australia. Sometimes the coverage sounds like it’s the world against the U.S.A.

As Americans we take more for granted than we realize.

Larry helped me find the luggage and put my bike back together. To fly, the bikes have to have the peddles removed and the air out of the tires. We worked together to get it ready, then I left him (he doesn’t have his bike this time) and started off for the Carotel where we would be staying for 2 nights.

The RAAF Policeman escorted us off base, leading a string of bicycles 2 abreast. We were all tired and feeling a little fuzzy and most difficult of all we once again have to ride on the left side of the road. There was a stiff headwind, it made my ride seem so long. I had forgotten to unload the computer and all the extra stuff from my panniers so I was carrying additional unnecessary weight. Oh well it was only 16 kilometers to the Carotel.

My first impressions of Australia was it’s remarkable beauty. It was spring here. The cherry and apple blossoms were in full bloom. Tulips and daffodils were lining the road. It felt very strange to have spring again, it was just fall!

The road kill was interesting too. It breaks my heart to say this, but my first kangaroo sighting was of a huge dead one alongside the road. It looked to have been hit by a car recently. Then there were several others in various stages of decay. The kangaroo problem is obvious by the front bumpers people put on their cars. They have huge grillwork like “cow catchers” on the front of the trucks and SUV’s. I also passed by a nasty looking dead dingo too.

The flora and fauna of Australia are so very different. The birds were extremely loud. I usually don’t hear the birds when I’m riding, but today they were coming in loud and clear. I was thrilled to see different trees and flowers unfamiliar to me.

We were riding through horse country. In one field there were 5 young horses just running back and forth. they looked to be teenage horses just out showing off their beauty. I had never seen horses play together like this before. I also noticed so many of the horses wear blankets, to protect them from the cold wind.

Today was not necessarily cold, but the wind was strong. Later I found out that it was actually the first warm day in the area this spring. The locals were out in their short sleeves soaking up the sunshine. I was warm riding, but then I was going uphill, into the wind, carrying 20 pounds of excess.

Cresting the hill finally before my last turn onto Federal Highway, I felt on top of the world. The expansive view was of Canberra in the distance with hills and mountains on the horizon. My work was done, it was all downhill from here.

Weeeee! Downhill is good!

Checking in I got our room assignment. We were to share a “bunk house” with 10 other people. That sounds good, only if you are totally wiped out or if you are under 25. I knew Larry would not like it. Just the same I reserved us the only double bed in the room. Big deal it was located right next to 5 bunk beds with absolutely no privacy. This was a flop house. I would rather sleep in my tent, any day!

I was right. Larry arrived a little while later. He took one look at the room and said, “I have reserved a hotel room in town, where would you like to stay?”

The hotel room was great. It had only one bed but the best part about it, it had a MODEM! We got to watch the Olympics from the comfort and privacy of our very own room. It was wonderful.

Canberra is the Nation’s Capitol City. It houses the country’s Parliament House, War Memorial, Embassies and government related buildings. The city is new looking having been built in recent history. There is a man made lake giving the area a very nice look. All in all I think the Aussie’s have done a great job.

We are here just in time to see their celebration of spring flowers called “Floriade”. There are one million flowers all blooming “on cue” for the festival.

We found a delightful winery just prior to the town of Murrumbateman, it was a winery of the same name. Once inside we were treated to a Gallery of local artist’s renderings. After awhile a gentleman by the name of Duncan Leslie came along and offered us samples of his vine. He had an interesting group of champagne, white and red wine.

Duncan shared with us some of the processes of growing and picking the grapes. His antidotes were interesting and amusing. We found ourselves listening intently, the wine industry is rather fascinating. For instance, Duncan had a fabulous wine that we would think of as “port”. Since he is prohibited by the National Wine Board from calling his wine by a name used by wine makers in other countries, he called his vintage “starboard”.

It was a wonderful way to spend and afternoon. We purchased 4 different bottles of his wines, wishing we had room for more. They were special because we know they had been tended with the love and care, only a small vineyard could provide.

Landing in Canberra

Day 260 traveling the world

We landed just after sunrise, after seeing 6 movies, eating 5 meals (kind of) and taking numerous melatonin (natural sleeping pills). It was a long flight.

Just prior to arrival, one of the flight attendants opened all the overhead baggage compartments and sprayed the plane for bugs. They said it was a harmless spay, but we should cover our faces just as well. Welcome to Australia!

It was a matter of interest to learn that we were the first DC-10 to ever land in Canberra’s airport. We would be processing at the RAF terminal adjacent to the airport. They are not an international airport and were not equipped to handle a group of our size all at once. We were told that we could exit the plane only after all the luggage and bikes had been removed, and then only 5 rows at a time. It would take up to 2 more hours before the entire plane would be vacated!

As soon as the doors opened a quarantine officer boarded. His job was to interview us to see what sort of food stuff we were bringing into the country. They have so many rules and fears that it took a pamphlet to cover all of them. He was a jolly gentleman and performed his job with such jest, he had us all laughing. When he found a “contraband food” the owner was given a choice to either consume it or relinquish it. When the owner decided to consume it, he patiently waited for them to finish before he would move on to the next person.

Larry and I had anticipated this routine, so we made sure we had eaten all of our food stuff prior to landing. The only thing we had was a bottle of Mosel wine. Of course even though this was not contraband, the officer did joke that he would share it with us.

So far, if Australia is as warm and friendly as these folks at the airport, I can tell we are going to love it here.

As we exited the plane, a dog sniffed us. I felt sorry for the poor dog having to sniff the bunch of us after we had been traveling for a day and a half. What a nasty job! He was a drug sniffing dog, just doing his job. I’m sorry to say, he sniffed one of our group and sat down. This particular rider was carrying some marijuana into the country. This being a no-no, the rider has now been bumped from the trip and has to appear in court in a few weeks.

I can’t imagine what the rider was thinking.

When we signed up for the trip, there was no plan to go to Sri Lanka. The flight from Germany had just been booked recently and we needed a place to go to refuel, we got to visit Columbo, Sri Lanka for a very short time.

After flying for 9 hours, we all welcomed the opportunity to get off the plane to stretch our legs. We were shuttled into the airport via buses and given boarding passes. We would not have to clear customs nor get our passports stamped. We were just allowed to go spent our money! And that we did!

Even though Columbo’s airport is an International it was very small, and surrounded by jungle vegetation. The air outside was so hot and thick with humidity, the air conditioning of the airport terminal was very welcome. I fear this was just a small sample of what to expect when we get to Vietnam and Thailand in a few months.

The Cologne Cathedral is one of the largest in all of Europe. Even after all the cathedrals we have seen on the trip, this one beckoned us to visit. It’s tall spires could be seen from a long way off. Inside was very impressive stained glass and arched stonework. Unlike others, this cathedral had the feeling it was a working church. Hundreds of people were there not just to sightsee, but to worship.

It’s our last full day in Germany, we are done with seeing Europe, it’s time to move on. The anticipation level of leaving this leg of our adventure has us bored with whatever else our surroundings have to offer. We spent the last day lounging around the hotel, just waiting for the time to come to leave. Our noses stuck in respective books, drinking Mosel wine.

We say “good-bye” to the gear trucks. They are leaving our world and we will not see them again. The trucks were parked in front of the terminal at Cologne International Airport so we could empty our lockers. Normal airport traffic had to go around us, while we got our stuff out.

Tomorrow will be the “longest day.” We leave for the airport at 8:30 p.m. repack the gear and take it through security. After which we sit and wait until 11:00 p.m. when we can begin to load the plane. That was the plan.

The plane was late getting fueled, but that was the good news. At least we had fuel, after all the blockades prohibiting gas from being delivered, we didn’t mind waiting. Time seemed to drag, we stood in line to pass through security, then immigration then to get on the plane. We finally got settled and took off at 1:15 a.m. It had already been a long day and our flight of 22 hours had just begun!

Australia, here we come!

Day 4 (off route) Netherlands to Germany

We stayed in Cologne, but didn’t want to be in a big city, so we drove down the valley to Mosel River Wine country. I had been there 2 weeks before and loved it. I wanted Larry to see it, so off we went. By this time we were only about 2 hours away.

I was right about Larry liking the area. He loved it. Of course what’s not to love about a beautiful mountain surrounded river with tons of interesting river traffic.

The Germans are masters at bridge building. This huge structure not only crosses a river but an entire valley as well. Note the top of a double tractor trailor crossing the bridge. It gives the size more relevance.

It felt good to find a quiet place where we could check in by 3 in the afternoon! After the past few days we and especially Larry was ready to stop. Cochan was the perfect place to do this.

We drove to the town of Cochan and found a cute hotel on the river. Cochan as this picture shows is a busy little place.

[flickr album=72157605933964207 num=35]

Day 5

We needed to get back to our “prepaid” hotel waiting for us with the Odyssey group on the outskirts of Cologne. We had the entire day to get back, so we planned to visit the castle of Burg-Eltz on the way. It is a wonderful castle accessible via a 45 minute hike through the woods.

Our interior tour of the castle was interesting, but no pictures were allowed. I can only relate that the interior was done very well, giving the castle a warm, lived in feeling. In one of the state rooms there were moose antlers hanging on the wall with the inscription “Alaska 1903”. One of the Barons was a hunter.

In the same room there were miniature canons, all lined up in a row. At first I thought they were meant to be toys, but they were made of iron and very heavy. Our guide informed us they were “salesmen’s models”. I chuckled never considering that a canon salesman needed a model! Who would ever think to collect such a thing!

Here is some interesting feudal trivia. The spiral staircase always go in a clockwise spiral for a reason. It was not just to save space, but to favor the defender, who could wield his weapon freely with his right arm, while the aggressor was hampered by the central spindle. Guess all the “south paw” sword bearers had to do kitchen duty, since they didn’t fit in with the architectural defense design of the castle.

All over the world, soldiers salute their superiors in much the same way, hand stretched rigid, index finger touching the forehead, just above the right eyebrow. How did it start? In feudal times it was customary for a knight to identify himself to his superiors and friends by lifting the hinged visor on his helmet. He did so with the outstretched finger of his right hand. Thus the origin of “the salute!”

Knights in suits of armor were so heavily encumbered they needed to be lifted onto the horse via a block and tackle. Once knocked off, they are powerless to defend themselves.

It was an expensive form of defense too. A full suit of armor would set a knight back 45 cows!

Our tourist day turned out to be a good one. We were getting ready to leave the castle grounds, when Larry informed me, he couldn’t find the car keys! I helped him check his pockets, he had so many of them and sure enough, the car keys were not on his person!

We started to reconstruct his steps before the hike and decided the keys were left in the trunk of the car. He had gone back to get his camera and left them there. My heart pounded. In the trunk was my precious computer and 3500 pictures of the trip. I didn’t care if someone stole the car, I just didn’t want to lose my computer!

We walked back through the woods to the car, it seemed to take forever to get there. When we finally got back, the keys were in the trunk, just where he left them. It was our lucky day! Had we been in a busier area or in a different country or if he had not backed the car in, we may have been walking back to Cologne, or at least the train station. Whew!

Reluctant to leave just yet, we had a light lunch at the cafe. Before jumping in the car, we purchased two bottles of wine for the road or rather the 22 hour flight to Australia. Who needs sleeping pills when you have Mosel valley wine!

Day 6

It is the last day in Europe, we leave the Etap Hotel tonight at 11:30 pm for the airport in Cologne. Originally we were scheduled to fly out of Amsterdam, but the Amsterdam airport couldn’t accommodate TK&A. We were told the airport is too busy to let us take up all the time required to load the plane. So they sent us to Cologne, Germany about 4 hours away. For the group it was a bus ride, for Larry and I in the borrowed rental car, it was a snap. We were already in Germany, thanks to the IBC convention!

As usual there are political events that are causing many people including the Odyssey riders some problems. The truck drives across the European Union are pulling off blockades to protest the high cost of taxes on gasoline. (It’s a modern day Boston Tea Party!)

To date, the blockades have crushed the people in England, causing schools to close and people to hoard food to the point of rationing. It is really a mess. Two days ago the truck drivers shut down the entire city of Brussels. We are concerned that they will shut down Cologne and we will be without gas to get to Australia.

The gear and the bike trucks got caught in the blockade coming in from Amsterdam. They took until 7 pm to arrive here, a mere 4 hour drive. They were so late in arriving at camp, the staff had to sent the riders on the bus and wait to load all of our bikes by themselves.

I feel the tension rising. We are all concerned about the aircraft that has been chartered to take us to Australia. As Larry refers it is “you ain’t never heard of it, airlines”. At our last meeting someone questioned Tim about it and it’s safety record. Tim responded he wouldn’t get on a plane he didn’t think was safe. Of course Tim is not getting on this plane, he left for Hong Kong 2 days ago. The schedule we all had in our hands at the time the question was asked and answered stated exactly that. Tim’s answer held no comfort for the concerned!

I guess that’s why it’s called Odyssey.