German GPS Fiasco

Day 1 of our 90 day European Bike Tour

Who takes 5.5 hours to cover 37km on a tandem?  We do.  For a bit of perspective, 37km is less than a marathon.  When Oprah Winfrey ran the Chicago marathon (I’m not making this up) she finished in 4 hours, 29 minutes and 15 seconds.

But all she did was follow the butts of others.  We were the only asses on our route. 

We blame our new cycling GPS.  Rule #1.  Never blame yourself.

We were supposed to be taking an easy cycle from Oberursel (near Frankfurt) to Weisbaden.  At one point, it took us up a steep, wooded  goat path. I had to follow the left side of the track, then the right, then back to the left, to keep traction for the rear wheel.  

The gradient was about 12 percent.  We stopped, after about 15 minutes of climbing.  The GPS suggested a U-turn.  Then it went blank.  Pele said, “If we turn around, I’m not coming back up here.”  Tough call.  The GPS had suggested U-turns before.  We had taken those turns.  But then the device brought us back. 

Pele meant it.  This had every fresh ingredient (with the exception of rain) for a really good meltdown.  The gradient lessened to about 6 percent.  We kept climbing.  Then we came to a junction.  There was a sign that named two towns to the left, two towns to the right.  We were on a high flat ridge in the woods.  I figured we should take the route to the right.  We could get to the next town and ask for directions.  No more cycling paths.  We would set the GPS to “road mode” and make a beeline for Weisbaden.  But there wasn't a signal.

Then we saw life.  A lone runner came towards us.  We needed to get to Weisbaden because we had booked accommodation with warmshowers.org.  It’s where cyclists open their homes to cyclists.  Our new Internet friends, Tine and Matthias, were expecting us at 6pm.  It was now 5pm.  We had been on the road since 1:30pm.  

“If you keep going in this direction,” the runner said, “you’ll be back at Oberursel.” Embarrassed and exhausted, we would have limped back up to Devin​ and Dianna Pratt​'s–where we had stayed for the previous week.  The great conquerors of Europe get spanked by a GPS.

I thought we were now 5km from our destination.  “No,” said the runner.  You have about 20km to go.  He gave us directions.  We ignored the GPS.

One hour and 45 minutes later (figure out that average speed) we reached our destination after 20 schizophrenic kilometres. I've run 20 kilometres in 74 minutes. 

Our host couple is awesome.  In 2011-2012, they cycled for 15 straight months:  Iceland, Canada, the United States and Central America.  They convinced us to buy some maps (duh!) and head northwest along the Rhine.  It’s not where we intended to go.  In fact, it’s the opposite direction.  But they said it’s beautiful.  So…the plan is to ride 80km along the Rhine and find a place to camp.  Then we’ll ride back and stay with our new friends again.  Warmshowers.org is really cool.  But don’t go to warmshowers.com, unless you’re looking for porn.  You just tried it, didn't you?

Create your own travel map - TravBuddy

Three-Week Paradise: Juara, Pulau Tioman, Malaysia

Three-Week Paradise:  Juara, Pulau Tioman, Malaysia
(March 9^th-March 27^th   2015)

by Andrew Hallam

If I ever disappear from society—to escape the rat race—you could probably find me on Pulau Tioman.  Specifically, I’ll be in the village of Juara, on the island’s east coast.  I’ve been coming here at least once a year for the past 12 years.  So what’s the appeal?

We love the people.  We love the food.  We love the beach.  We love the simple, laid-back lifestyle.  And, as is the case with most out-of-the way tropical island paradises, it’s filled with characters.   Footloose and fancy free, the expats here say no to regular jobs.  They say no to investing money for their futures.  The Americans we meet say no to filing taxes.  But they say yes to a lifestyle of sun, surf, leisure and socializing.

We stayed at Riverview for the first few days, courtesy of Richard and Simon (owners of Little Planet).  Pele was going to be working for a week with a student group coming over from the German European School of Singapore. 

She ended up really enjoying the experience.  Shortly after, our friends (Keith and Annika) brought their two kids, Kaidan and Kianna, to Bushman Resort.  

We stayed at Rainbow chalets, close by.  And we hiked to the waterfall, went kayaking, hung out at the Turtle Project area, swam and lounged about.

Shortly after they left, Pele and I took the taxi to Tekek, on the other side of the island.  From there, we decided to hike to Salang.  It took about 4 hours, mostly through a dense, rooted jungle. 

The trees were much as they are at Cambodia’s Anchor Wat.  They wrap their roots around giant boulders.

Salang is isolated, but more touristy than the rest of Tioman.  It has at least four dive shops, a decent (although not great) beach and accommodation for as little as 50 RM a night ($13.50 USD is what we paid).  Below, Andrew takes you on a 43 second guided tour of what $13.50 USD looks like.  And after viewing this it may be clear why we travel by ourselves. 

The next day, we headed back and hiked to Paya, another 2 hours past Tekek.  Wak, a local from Juara, told Pele that the only other place he’d want to live is the village of Paya.  He likes the fact that it’s smaller than Juara.  Let’s put this into perspective.  Juara has 300 residents.  Paya may be a third of the size of Juara’s population.  If that. 

The following day, before heading to the ferry in Tekek, we walked from Paya to Genting, where the road comes to an end.  The only way to reach resorts farther south is by boat.  

We had always wanted to hike the path connecting villages on the west side of Tioman.  Most of it was through jungle and most of it hugged the coastline.  Our 3 days of exploring were well worth it. 

Tioman is a beautiful island with hidden treasures. And it holds a special place in our hearts.  A place to escape the craziness of everyday life in the 'civilized' working world.  One day, who knows, we may be one of those characters you meet living the simple life in Juara. 

June 2014 - Goodbye Singapore, Hello Spain

Leaving Singapore after 15 years was going to be hard. I knew that.  So I figured an extraordinary adventure to take my mind off the sadness of leaving great friends and a country that felt like home seemed like the right thing to do.
 
It had been 16 years since I last biked along the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain and I couldn't wait to do it again.  This time on a tandem.  It turned out to be the perfect distraction for me.  And Andrew loved it, as well.  But of course, Andrew would have fun wherever he was.

For 8 days we rode along 850 kilometers of dirt paths, side roads and highways through the beautiful Spanish countryside.  We took long lunches, frequent butt breaks and chatted with anyone who had the time to entertain us.

Of course I was in heaven speaking Spanish.  And you can imagine Andrew's delight when he ordered  a 'menu del día' (menu of the day) for €10 that included enough food to satisfy even his appetite.  For me, it was the entire bottle of wine they plopped down in front of you in addition to 2 dishes, bread and a dessert.  You gotta love a country like that!

Every year thousands of pilgrims walk or bike the Camino.  Some for religious reasons, others for the 'fun' of it.   Andrew and I fell into the latter category joining the 12% of roughly 216,000 people who bike the trail.  Call us crazy, but for us this is FUN!

The best part of traveling through Spain, besides the history and architecture, is the frequency of villages, towns and cities.  You're never farther than a few kilometers to the next restaurant or hostel.

The characters you meet along the trail also spice up the adventure.  If we lived in Amsterdam we might not blink an eye at the cyclists in their 60's on fully loaded touring bikes.  Many of them had cycled from Holland just to bike the 850 kms of the Camino de Santiago.  Biking back to Holland an additional 900 kms from Spain was part of the itinerary for many as well. And you thought we were crazy!

By the end of June we had finished our first adventure and were on our way to visit family before heading to Mexico in October. Stay tuned for the next adventure.