Homeward bound.

morgan, hoy, bonjour, hiya, lo,

I write to you from gate 301 at the Dublin International Airport. Monday saw us smoothly through the Wicklow mountains and into the brick and bar of Dublin, our final destination. After three thousand kilometers, ten weeks time, nine liters of cider, eight ml of bay leaf liqueor, seven countries, six border crossings, five flat tires, four rough tumbles, three beautiful rainbows, two foraged mushrooms, and one lifechanging experience, it seems as though we have stopped pedaling.

It feels so natural that we head home now. After close to a year of adventuring, and no more than 2 weeks in a single place, we are ready. Ready for projects, growing and making things, and spending time with people we know and love. We will cherish all the friendly, interesting, and just plain curious people with whom we have had brief encounters. They have shaped our vision of Europe and made us feel that the world is a much smaller place than imagined.

Our bodies are tired, but our minds alert (perhaps it is all that tea that we have been drinking, keeping us up at night with grand ideas about the meaning of life). Ready as could be for a bit of regularity, but also for the constantly changing world. I think we have been training over the course of the year for LIFE. I mean, it is full of change, challenge, and cheer...no?

I have lost a few pant sizes, gained muscle, lost a bit of fear, gained a sense of empowerment, lost my need for many clothes and a bed, and gained an appreciation for nature, people's goodness, and the comforts of home we take for granted.

I hope that we will carry the many lessons learned with us and hold a new refreshed view of life for quite some time. While our lives may not be as exciting and adventurous now, we will certainly hold fast to whatever adventure we can find in everyday life. It really is all about how you view things.

And with that, we say goodbye...dear blog followers. You have been so encouraging and made us feel so special-the whole journey through. We will miss knowing that you are silently riding along with us.

Much love.

Lucy and Nate

Day 66, km 2656

"Behave yourselves boys, they're from the colonies" he declared in his thick Welsh tones. Former colonies, I thought to correct him. The one that got away. The regulars had just arrived. It was at this canalside diner tucked away amongst the twisted trees of the Welsh mountains that we took the time one cold and misty morning to have our first proper English Breakfast. A "jacket" (baked) potato filled with beans and cheese. Lucy had the more traditional and omnivorous "full breakfast"(bacon,sausage,egg.hashbrowns,beans,toast). Either way they juiced us up for a good 7 hours of riding, only stopping for a piece of cake(that Linda so graciously packed up and gave to us for free) after a mountain's worth of uphill at what probably would have been a breathtaking view had we not been amidst the clouds. After a good 45 miles we arrived at our destination, a cattery campsite, just in time for showers and dinner before the sun signed off and things got cold.
(Nate trails off...lucy starts writing)

Our days in western England and Wales have been mighty beautiful, hilly, rainy, miraculously cloudless, and friendly. The cycle path we took from London to Bristol was very peaceful and quiet-only occasionally a pleasant interruption from some friendly passersby. One father and son who lived in the area and were cyclists told us a bit of history around the county we were in--apparently the Devizes castle was deemed the most beautiful castle in the days of its birth. We also learned that the county was the least populated in Britain. The next man we stumbled upon was an......
AMERICAN!
We had yet to meet any americans on our trip, let alone cyclists! He was a funny old man-seemed he spent nearly all of his days cycling between winters resting up in Las Vegas. In typical American form he rattled off all the places he had seen-horribly mispronouncing every French place, and asking us very few questions ... It was great to meet someone from 'home' though.

We passed through Bath after a few nights spent at small farms/B and B's where we ended up being the sole campers. The ride into Bath was the most impressive of all. A misty morning slowly clearing and leaving the bright green hills in its place. Lovely old houses hovering over the village center. Mm. I liked western England.

It's funny, every new country we enter seems a bit strange at first. We just got used to the accent/language/culture/grocery stores of one place and then bam, you are now in Wales! We do slowly warm up though. In England we started off cursing the traffic and hills but found it lovely after London. Wales was a bit different. As we crossed the majestic white 2 mile bridge into the country, exactly halfway across it started to rain. It wasn't bad rain though, it was beautiful big sunset sky misty rain -and then it stopped and the sky cleared. We spent the next 2 days in sunny bliss before the day Nate referenced at the beginning of the blog. The character of Wales has continued to elude me, people here are so friendly, but apparently some western Wales folk can be a bit exclusive to foreigners. It supposedly rains all the time..but we've had some incredible sunny skies and wonderful rocky coastal views. And get this-they have more of an Irish accent than English, I would have expected more ties to Britain but who knows. Either way, I have really enjoyed my time here, I doubt I would have ever gone out of my way to see Wales if it weren't on our route...but I'm really glad I did.

I think I'll end with a (now) amusing story. It's called the day Lucy and Nate lost each other. Perhaps it is not a story, but really..how do you lose someone you are cycling with for 2 whole hours!! It was no one's fault really, just a case of good old timing and 'bad' luck.

I was cycling along, pushing hard up a hill when I did the occasional look back to see where Nate was. He wasn't behind be at the top of the hill so I waited a few minutes while I caught my breath. Hmm, I thought, maybe he is resting down there somewhere. I went back down the hill to see and he was nowhere to be found for the next mile. I frantically asked a man if he had seen a cyclist and while we conversed, I realized I might have missed a sign posted route 4 (the cycle route we are following) sign before the hill. I raced back up , heart pounding with anxiety and aerobic speed, saw the sign I missed, and took the turn. In my head, Nate must have been ahead of me so I must hurry!
What happened was this: Nate took the proper turn, didn't see me ahead and turned back and went up the hill to see if I kept going. Meanwhile, I was already back down the hill looking for him. Long story short, mapless Lucy kept on route 4 hoping to see Nate ahead. Nate rode in circles around the same spot that we lost each other for an hour, recruiting help from another cyclist and ultimately using a gas station attendants cellphone to call me. Alas, we picked a point to meet and found each other. I have never felt like that before-completely alone and really with nothing (no wallet or tent ) in a foreign country on back country roads. Gave me a fright for sure. Now it's just funny that we could have lost each other. OH DEAR! What a trip this has been.

We are now on a ferry to Rosslare, Ireland. About 3 days riding from our final destination, Dublin. We are spending a few days exploring (by foot) the Wicklow Mtns and staying at a bed and breakfast for Nate's Birthday (the 19th). We have arranged a stay with a nice couple in Dublin through Warmshowers and we will pack our bikes and fly home next Wednesday. Only after we properly sample lots of guiness and hear some Irish pub music. Shouldn't be too hard.

Take care and see you soon Americans!

N L

Chance, circumstance, and luck.

These are all things I have been thinking about quite a bit since I've been reading Malcolm Gladwell's 'Outliers'. In the book, he argues with some very famous examples (Bill Gates, famous lawyers, Joe Flom) that people whom we usually classify as super extraordinary can be broken down and seen as just a bunch of lucky circumstances combined with the ability that matches so many others. I found his book fascinating because he talks about luck but then shows that it is not this intangible thing.. Sometimes it's just having had the opportunity to spend 10000 hours becoming a master of somethng before others had the chance.

Perhaps this doesn't directly relate to anything in my life right now... But everyday we think about the chances of rain, finding a campsite, not getting a flat, or hit by a car. We think about luck a lot too- when we get to a site and it then starts raining, when we happen to choose a nice scenic route, and most recently-on our ferry ride to England.

We arrived in Le havre after a ride down the coast from Etretat ( a small town with georgous cliffs we were LUCKY to stumble upon)...and were quite early for our ferry. There are only 2 per day-5pm (5hr ferry) and 630pm (3hr ferry)... We were set for the fast ferry, and were just lounging around the foot passenger checkin until we asked if it was too early to check in. The woman tells us then that our ferry scraped a dock a few hrs ago and has a huge hole in the side-won't be sailing anywhere today. Back up 5 hrs- Nate says to me 'I had a dream last night that our ferry had a hole in it somehow, and we couldn't go today'...'Nate! Don't jinx it!!'..'When did you become so superstitious?' ...(after we saw two black cats cross in front of us earlier and I got scared)

What are the chances of that?? Well, as luck would have it ... We ended up on the 5pm ferry after a few tricky maneuvers. We were told to go wait in the car line and to hurry bc they would take people on the slow ferry but only so many would fit. After we waited for 30 mins ... They stopped taking people. Everyone got out of their cars and demanded an explanation from the poor security people. One many finally told everyone what had happened and that they could drive to Brittany and catch a ferry there...'excuse me sir, we're on bikes' ....so he told me that we could catch a morning ferry. We rode away worried because where would we stay? And what about the nice person who was picking us up late at night at the other end of the ferry and letting us stay at her house (its like couchsurfing for touring cyclists- warmshowers.org).

We ended up being 'lucky' because we went back to the foot passenger checkin and a nice security man said 'Ill get you on'...buzzed us through the forbidden entry doors... And we rode on to the ferry...without tickets even!

It seems luck is a bit like the whole psychic phenomenon where you are stunned when they say things that are true, and quickly forget when they say things that are false. I supose we are all lucky then, if we only think about the 'good' luck and forget the 'bad ' luck (as we did when we rushed on to that ferry). Gladwell's point is that there really are no outliers, just a handful of people that happen to have been born at the right time, in the right culture, with suportive families for certain opportunities to be available. It's inspiring because it means that just because you aren't famously successful... Doesn't mean you aren't as qualified...there are just so many things we don't have control over. Phew! That's a relief !

I digress. But as far as our trip goes, we have been cycling through England with a short stopover in London. The roads here are very narrow and it is a bit stressful riding with so many cars. We ended up training into and out of the center of London bc of that, probably a choice that prevented 'bad luck'. We have seen some beautiful views though-rode through a national park on the way to London and now we are following the Kennet Avon cycle route along a towpath of a river/canal. Much needed quiet stretch after busy London!

By the way, the city was really neat. We stayed with my cousin Nick (yess family, he is alive and well) in his 12 person house and had a blast. He had off work so it was a great chance for him to see some more of touristy London too. We went to 3 museums (including the science museum) which were all free and lineless=amazing. We also wandered our way to some cool neighborhoods - brick lane which has a huge indian population and amazing curry; and Camden markets which is this area along a canal with people selling everything in stalls (one free stall too that I scored a hat and a book at)...every cultural food you could imagine too! I had pizza and a burrito, Nate had a gourmet veg burger, and Nick had a fajita burrito. Well done Camden. We also wandered though beautiful parks and saw ornate things (buckingham palace and London Tower)...all between some crazy tube rides. It was great to see so much of the HUGE city and visit with my cousin all the while.

So like I said, we're breathing in this country air, enjoying car free roads, and just taking in this last leg of our journey through western England and Southern Wales. We ferry to Ireland on the 15th... Crazy that we have about 2 weeks left! Can't wait to see you all...

Goodbye and goodluck!

Lucy

(ps. I wonder how my view of luck will change in ireland...)

Pictured: church in Rouen France, fresh butter/eggs from a farm we camped at in Normandy, Us in Etretat cliffs, Camden and th doubledecka busses.

Following the Seine, with friend, 'til the end...

Day 38, km 1,860

Here's a little something for you to munch on. Okay. So, if the seeds of the various plant matter that grew millions of years ago and that got compacted underground and fossilized into one gallon of gasoline were instead the seeds of wheats and beets and other treats that we could eat and turn into man power, then we could pedal our way upwards of 900 km on just that little bit (N.Y. to D.C. and back and then halfway back to D.C.). That is, if the 38 million calories of energy stored in one gallon of gasoline were consumed food-ways and directly converted into motionpower, we could use it to travel more than 20 times further than it would have brought a car as gasoline. Is that crazy?

Meanwhile, we have found ourselves in Poses a small town in Normandy, a bit south of Rouen. We decided to pass up several other towns such as "tornadoes on the seine" and "port death", but we find it nice here. We left Paris on Monday afternoon and plan to be in England by Friday night. The French countryside is spectacular. I've found that the most beautiful and quaint villages are the ones that are accessible by no major roads and which are sometimes not even on the map. It is there that you'll find sons taking their elderly parents for walks down the silent streets, or catch a glimpse of an old women setting a table in the dining room of a half timbered house against the backdrop of that classic blue and white provincial wallpaper. It's there that the houses don't stand quite straight and the only noises loud enough to obscure the sound of hushed conversations or a woman closing the shutters as the sky grows dark is the low clanging of the church bells, for no French town is complete without it's stone church. Its in these towns that I feel like I'm beginning to see the real France. The historically famous spots of the world are quickly becoming nothing more than tourist destinations. They lose their essential charm, or brilliance, or wonder. And while I appreciate it in a way as an advancement (the way I "appreciate" how target has brought oversized clocks to the lower and middle classes), I also mourn the loss of their enchantment. So, if you get a chance, go and see the places that your tour book forgot.

Well, it is getting late and we must get our one pot dinner a'cookin. For my sake would you have a seat on your couch, hug a pillow, roast some local poultry, watch the rain from a window, sit by the fire, appreciate your motors and lights, hide under your comforter, try a new recipe and/or invite friends over?

Thanks.

N

(Pictured above: the bridge at Monet's gardens in Giverny; the mighty Seine; a beautiful Chateau we happened upon with a huge and fabulously diverse veggie and fruit garden; pre-Paris, the rainbow which preceeded a good 40+ hours of rain)

I louvre Paris.

Props to my dad on that. Anyway, as Nate dozes off after an eventful evening, thought I'd share some of Paris with you curious readers.

First off, sleeping in a bed=heaven. I will never take you for granted again oh sacred box spring. It is also really great wandering around Paris-a city Nate spent 4 months and I spent 5 days in. We know the touristy things already and don't feel that gnawing pressure to have seen it all. Instead we are just eating,walking,cycling,park-ing our way about town. We have been eating some great falafel and lebanese food since the Marais is the jewish quarter. But I must say, the best food in France is by far the bread, the cheese, and the butter-simple things really. I love waking up and prancing off to get my morning baguette down the street, smiling at the boulanger as I proudly flaunt the french phrase I have mastered, "Une baguette s'il vous plait!"

Yesterday we rode down canal st. Martin through the cute neighborhood to Boulangerie Veronique-supposedly the best bakery in Paris. Tucked in the 19th quarter, this place is small but has a wood fire oven in plain view (one of 4 bakeries in france with that kind of stove). Not to mention all organic ingredients and yeast that she starts herself. We enjoyed our baked goods at the nearby parc de butte chaumont which has a great view of the city. After this picnic feast we ambitiously rode our bikes (carried up stairs really) to Sacre Coeur.. That beautiful church that is very elevated and has an astonishing view of Paris.

We've been moonlight museuming at the D'orsay and Louvre so as to get a discount and less crowded viewing. This has allowed us to see some nice parts of paris at night too, and they really know how to light things up. The Eiffel tower flashes with lights one the hour for 5 mins, and the louvre area looks beautiful with the pyramid and feris wheel in back. And the Seine, oh the Seine! Lovely walks along its banks at night revealed that it is very popular to picnic there at night (every meter!).

Other fun things - morning markets, cycling round town, luxembourg gardens, and a lazy afternoon at Paris beach (they make the bank of the Seine like a beach in August)

Oh, and we even got to see them disassemble it tonight-a highlight for sure ;)

More pictures to come when we get to an internet café..

L

(pictured: Lucy and notre dame, Nate with eiffel, free back massages on rue moufftard, picnics, nightime louvre)

Welp, we made it.

Rode the whole way into Paris and look where we ended up!

On the road, literally and figuratively.

On the road, literally and figuratively.

Today is a new day. We have been riding through northern France for the past week and it has been so many things. I've realized that life on the road, both literally and figuratively, has its peaks and valleys... Blissful moments and times where you must push yourself to get over the hill to see the landscape behind it.

France has been quite different for us because we have been physically riding on the road here rather than on backroads or cycle paths.We now ride next to the cars (not cows) on the narrow country roads. I've had bugs fly into my eyes, nose, ears, mouth on several occasions. We've popped more roadside squats then I ever thought possible (for those of you who know Europe, you know how uncommon the WC is). We've ridden on some amazingly smooth surfaces, as well as rough gravel and sandy ones too. There has been every type of roadkill, but also some people selling homemade cheese and mussels. We have learned to take everything for what it is.

I've realized that being on the road, in a more figurative sense, means learning to find comfort in uncomfortable and unsure situations. I haven't been in the same place for more than 2 weeks since October, and we haven't slept in beds in a month. These were all choices, but if I couldn't learn to habituate to constant change I think I would go crazy. Sometimes I wonder what I will feel when I live somewhere after this year of travel. Will I be ansy or welcome the calm security. I guess I will find out. For now, I am enjoying the flux as much as I can. Meeting new people everyday, saying goodbye to people with ease, setting up our 'house' wherever we land, and not clinging to anything except the idea that everything is ephemeral. In the end, I think I am more flexible but also appreciative for all the stable people in my life.

In terms of the landscape here, there are way more hills and valleys than the Netherlands (duh). With this landscape comes hard cycling followed by blissful breezes as you soar at 30mph down into a georgous valley.

While on these winding roads, we have had our fair share of mishaps ranging from campsites to cycle routes. Our first few days in France on LF1 were long but we didn't seem to be getting too far. Turns out, the route avoids major roads at all costs. Beautiful scenery for sure. Campsites, ahhh campsites. The first one we went to, we left because he showed us to a patch of dirt behind a bunch of motorhomes that was less appetizing than camping in a field on the side of the road. The next two, however, were some of our favorites. They were small and on farms with horses/chickens/pigs/ and fresh milk! When we reached the coast, though, we cycled our hearts out trying to find a site that was not 'complet' or full... 73 miles that day.

We also, however, have had some really warm welcomes back to France that majorly offset the mishaps. For example, there have been countless thumbs up, honks in approval, and general helpfulness. A woman with her baby walking by said to him, "quel courage" about us as we rode by. The epic 73 mile day we had included receptionists that gave us directions to other sites along with helpful strangers on the street even attempting english to help us find our way. One man even stopped his car, got out, and was making sure we got on our way. And here is one that really made our day: as we slumped our stuff down at our succesful campsite , we must have looked really pathetic because our neighbors came over with meat shish kebabs and gave them to us. It was then that I nearly broke down from the day.. Out of appreciation for the goodness in people, not the exhaustion from bad circumstances and timing.

Like I said in the beginning, today is a new day. We will be in Paris by Monday and are surely looking forward to it. All of the ups and downs are just part of the ride we are on, and if you expect to ride only downhill, you're in for some hills ahead. (sorry for the cheesy metaphor)

L