Thursday, August 11, 2011
Short and sweet
Not much internet time, so here goes: Hopefully my Achilles has healed up enough to let me do one last trip on this tour: I am riding to Champery, renting a mtn bike, and getting my rear on some righteous Swiss trails before 2011 UCI Worlds are held there. And then, the final stretch back to Geneva and then, whoa, the USA. Woot!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
The L word
That's loneliness.
When I set out to do this trip, I thought "I ought to go for as long as possible since airfare is the highest cost". Then I thought "I need a challenge. Hmmmm.....I'll go alone!"
Then I thought, "I'll make so many new friends, I've always been able to strike up a conversation."
What I didn't realize?
That if everyday you move onto a new town, as one does when cycle touring, this means that those conversations are only ever a day long. You never develop depth of relationships.
I'm learning that this is a different style of travel, the kind where you see true acts of kindness from people. These are the acts that are bestowed on a traveler, someone you most likely will never see again. Already I have been the recipient of so much goodwill that my breath stops in my throat to think about it. I doubt I will ever be able to repay what I have been so cheerfully given. And if it takes a little loneliness to be able to see this side of humanity, well, my family and friends are only a phone call away.
When I set out to do this trip, I thought "I ought to go for as long as possible since airfare is the highest cost". Then I thought "I need a challenge. Hmmmm.....I'll go alone!"
Then I thought, "I'll make so many new friends, I've always been able to strike up a conversation."
What I didn't realize?
That if everyday you move onto a new town, as one does when cycle touring, this means that those conversations are only ever a day long. You never develop depth of relationships.
I'm learning that this is a different style of travel, the kind where you see true acts of kindness from people. These are the acts that are bestowed on a traveler, someone you most likely will never see again. Already I have been the recipient of so much goodwill that my breath stops in my throat to think about it. I doubt I will ever be able to repay what I have been so cheerfully given. And if it takes a little loneliness to be able to see this side of humanity, well, my family and friends are only a phone call away.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Freedom is a bicycle (and having no idea if I am breaking the law)
My first day of proper touring! Remember when you were 14, and your bike was your independence? You could ride over to your friend's house, go to the movies, buy candy bars that your mother didn't approve of? Well, I am getting that same feeling now. My bike is freedom from being stuck on some bus schedule, or limited to only where a train stops. I can ride up many of the narrow streets that are prohibitive to cars, and take advantage of both the roads and the cycle routes.
Of course, I have no idea what the road signs say (I keep getting confused by the weird turning lights for cyclists...and the crazy flashing white bar that I think has something to do with the train?) But I haven't been arrested yet, or even sworn at by drivers, so I will take that as a good start.
Of course, I have no idea what the road signs say (I keep getting confused by the weird turning lights for cyclists...and the crazy flashing white bar that I think has something to do with the train?) But I haven't been arrested yet, or even sworn at by drivers, so I will take that as a good start.
Friday Night in Geneva (and adventures in typing on a french keyboard)
It is now Saturday the 25th here, and my lesson of the day is "take cues from everyone else". While Geneva is a VERY international city, and it seems english is spoken almost universally, French is the language of choice. I had the nice lady at the lost baggage couter teach me how to say "I do not speak french"....which is all I know how to say. But even just saying "bonjour" gets me far. People have been extremely friendly, and I àm doing my best not to look too garishly american.
Hence the taking cues from everyone else. Like yesterday when I ordered what was actually the only thing in the menu at the awesome little restaurant on a breakwall in Lake Geneva. Not that I knew it was the only thing on the menu until later....I was just copying what the guy before me had done. It struck me then that life is much more interesting when you allow yourself to follow the flow rather than attempting to dictate everything.
Oh, and my friday night? I had a beer with an Irishwoman who works in Saudi Arabia whom I met at the hostel.
Hence the taking cues from everyone else. Like yesterday when I ordered what was actually the only thing in the menu at the awesome little restaurant on a breakwall in Lake Geneva. Not that I knew it was the only thing on the menu until later....I was just copying what the guy before me had done. It struck me then that life is much more interesting when you allow yourself to follow the flow rather than attempting to dictate everything.
Oh, and my friday night? I had a beer with an Irishwoman who works in Saudi Arabia whom I met at the hostel.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Geneva at last!
Brief out of necessity. So I will just me and my bike made it and I am off to go check out the UN!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Welcome!
A hoy, Lianna Miller here. I'm taking off early tomorrow morning for Europe. I've got 56 days, a bicycle, and I've done approximately zero planning (doh!). I'll arrive in Geneva, Switzerland, and will either be making a beeline for Les Gets or Cortina D'Ampezzo to do some sweet trail riding. Want to see how all this lack of planning turns out? My goal is to post short and post often, so keep checking in!
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