This journal which I kept while on a bike trip in Europe with Marty and Adele (my brother and my middle sister)
was the first time I ever wrote a journal. My girlfriend back home (Mia) was interested in knowing what was
happening, so part of the motivation was to have something that I could send her periodically. The other reason
was that my siblings sleep at least 2 hours longer than I do, so I had to find something to do while waiting for
them to wake. (The only other time I kept a journal was during an Alaska trip, also with Marty, and again was
motivated by needing to fill the sleep time gap.) For many decades, I thought I had lost this journal, but
recently I decided to paint one of my built-in shelves, and in the process of removing everything I found
it tucked into a collection of maps that I had used to navigate thru England, France, Belgium, and Holland.

<h2>16-Jul-81 (Thur)</h2>

Our flight from SFO arrived in Gatwick this morning at about 9am (London time). After an uneventful and sleepless
flight, we finally got started around 11 after breaking the stem off one of Adele's inner tubes and replacing it
with a "new" tube which had 2 gaping holes in it. We picked up a tag-along biker, who was putting her bike together
next to us (20 year-old Angie). We biked sporadically until 5pm when we decided on our first sleeping spot of our
trip - midway between Horsham and Billingshirst, in what appears to be a large school campus and next to a hospital.
The major interruptions included stopping to patch Angie's knee after a fall, eating lunch, buying dinner in the
quaint town of Horsham, and a wrong turn which brought us back to Horsham 45 minutes after buying dinner. The
skies were cloudy most of the day with lots of drizzle and occasional hard rain. One particularly hard rain burst
convinced us not to set up our tent, so we slept under a shelter of a cement squash court building. We did have to
endure the noise of a single squash game, but otherwise, perfect piece and quiet.

<h2>17-Jul-81 (Fri)</h2>

By 6am we were already on our bikes. Rode thru Barns Green, Billingshirst, Wisbough Green, Petworth, and Midhurst
where we stopped for tea around 10am.  Here Angie went her separate way, deciding she wanted to go to the north,
perhaps tiring of riding at our slower pace. On thru Petersfield, Stroud, Langrish, East Meon, Droxford,
Corhampton, Bishop's Waltham, Betly, and finally stopping in Hedge End (near South Hampton). The map marked a
campsite there, but they only accepted RV's. No tents. We finally found a good spot by around 7pm - in the
athletic field of the elementary school. I've come to the conclusion that the sun is not very reliable here.
It was often sunny but sometimes clouded over completely in a matter of minutes. Perhaps that explains
why the Englishman look so pale.

We made a huge pot of chili using a packaged spice mix which turned out to be surprisingly spicy. We amazed
ourselves by managing to finish the whole pot. We ended our day by playing some frisbee, then setting up
our tent at 9 even though it was only just beginning to get dark. I think we will all sleep well since the
riding was pretty tiring. England is a hillier than I'd imagined, and a prettier too. Especially
interesting were the small country roads, many of which were only one lane wide. I don't know what happens
when two cars meet going in opposite directions. These roads were much hillier than the bigger roads, but
the scenery made this a worthwhile tradeoff.

<h2>18-Jul-81 (Sat)</h2>

If my writing looks shaky, it's because the ferry is bouncy. We made it to the correct ferry building in
South Hampton by 7:30am after a good nights rest despite a little rain during the night. It wasn't until
we got to the ticket counter that we found out that the Cherbourg ferry doesn't leave from South Hampton
(between 15-Jul and September) and that we would have to go to Portsmith to get the ferry to Cherbourg.
We had gotten directions from about a dozen Englishmen that knew we were going to Cherbourg, including
yesterday one travel agent gave us the departure times for the South Hampton to Cherbourg ferry!
Another interesting tidbit that we found out today is that today is the first day in 3 months that
any ferries at all were leaving from South Hampton due to a worker strike. The English have been very
friendly but they give lousy directions. (I hope we do better in French.)

We almost took the ferry to Le Havre instead, but then decided to go to Portsmith. If we biked there we
would have missed 1pm departure time, so we rode to the train station. In an hour and a half we in Portsmith.
It's nice they don't charge anything extra to bring your bike on the train or the ferry. This ferry is
a lot of fun, and it's nice to give our bodies some rest after the heavy biking.

We now are at a campsite in Equeurdreville just outside of Cherbourg. We just finished a rather expensive
meal from things bought at a specialty shop since all the grocery stores close at 7pm. I took a shower
even though the campsite's water was cold. Both Marty & Adele chickened out when they felt the water temp
even though Adele had been determined to take a shower tonight. Before bed we had a beer at a small
outdoor bar near the campsite entrance, although I had just a few sips (not being a beer enthusiast).

<h2>19-Jul-81 (Sun)</h2>

At some point during the night I started thinking about how we left the ferry. We simply road our bikes
down the wooden ramp and onto the street without stopping. I thought I remembered some official looking
desk that we rode past. Was that immigration? Were we supposed to stop so they could stamp our passports
indicating we have entered France? It that's the case, are we in France illegally and what will happen
when we try to leave France? Marty and Adele also thought our passport should indicate entering a new
country, but being Sunday, there is certainly nothing we could do about it now, so we decided to table
this worry for now.
We got up early from our rather rocky campsite and were on the road at 6:20. Since the campsite office
we couldn't pay (shucks) but we had no quilt since the accommodations where worse than the two fields
we set up our tents in previously. We were also running low on Francs since all the exchange places
had just closed when we got to France. We had converted our left over pounds to Franks on the ferry
and we will have to live on that until the banks open tomorrow. We biked back to Cherbourg, then after
getting lost several times we finally made it out of the city by Route D900. We took a short detour
to Martinvast by a route that our map labeled as a bike path but it eventually became impassible gravel.
After eating some of our leftovers for breakfast we backtracked and took D900 to Bricquebec. While
having tea at a café (around 11am) it started to rain. We bought some bread and then got food at
another market which took quite a while due to language difficulties. Adele's French is far better
than mine or Marty's, but usually none of us can understand what people are saying. It's usually
satisfying enough for me to be able to ask a question, that I don't mind not being able to understand
the answer. Everybody has been very friendly and extremely patient with our inadequate French.
On to St. Sauveur, stopping briefly under a shelter to eat some of our food (terrific bread!)
On to La Haya in steady rain and finally to Lessay. By this time (3pm) we were completely drenched
and Adele pushes for staying in a hotel. The hotel accepted our dollars ($14) for the room, since
we only had about 30 Francs left ($6). We tried to go food shopping but all the stores were closed
on Sunday afternoon. Looks like we will have to live on our leftovers.

<h2>20-Jul-81 (Mon)</h2>

Stayed up late last night and slept in this morning. After buying food (using up our last Franc) and
working on our bikes we finally hit the road around 11:40. We were disappointed to find out that
French banks don't open until around 2pm on Mondays. We took D650 & D6511 to Coutainville where we
finally got some Francs. Back to D650 and D49 to Regneville-s-Mer. Down D156, thru Montmartin,
Annoville, back on D20 by mistake to Bricqueville and Brehal and Coudeville, back on D135 (via D592)
and into Granville despite our attempts to navigate around it. Then down the coast (D911) thru
St. Pair, Jullouville, stopping at a campsite in Carolles. Adele and Marty's desire to stop every
hour to eat is staring to annoy me somewhat. I end up eating too, so I'm always full and probably
gaining weight. Today we had some hot periods and I broke out my biking shorts for the first time.
At times it was colder and rained seemed imminent, but none came. We've noticed that restaurants
are fairly expensive, so we've stuck with stores for food except for an occasional tea at a café.
Biking along the coast was fun and it was the flattest terrain we've had yet, usually gently rolling
hills except for some steeper hills near the towns. It's 10:15pm now and still plenty light enough
to write inside the tent.

<h2>21-Jul-81 (Tue)</h2>

It was cloudy this morning, so it was difficult to convince Marty & Adele to get out of bed. We
didn't hit the road until 9:45, but we still got in a fairly good day of biking. We had light
drizzle on and off all day but was rarely hard enough to warrant our rain gear. Leaving Carolls,
we biked south along D911, thru Genêts to Avranches. Here we deviated from our  somewhat sketchy
plan and headed east along  D5 and the south along D999 to St. Hillaire. (It's 10:40pm and I just
had to turn on my flashlight to continue writing.) Continuing south on D977 to D31 thru Landivy,
St. Mars, Montaudin, finally stopping in Ernée where we were lucky enough to find a campground
(quite well equipped). One thing that amazes me is how many cows there are here. We pass field
after field filled with grazing cows. Now I know why cheese is so popular here. Well we're
about to take a walk into town, so I'll sign off for now.

<h2>22-Jul-81 (Wed)</h2>

Not much in town last night, but we didn't get to bed until midnight. I stayed up until 1 so I
wouldn't be bored this morning waiting for my siblings to get up. We finally hit the road at
11:30 after having tea and croissants at a café in Ernée. We took D31 & D30 to Laval and then
attempted N162 to Château-Gontier but aborted that because of heavy traffic. We took back
roads to Bierné (D233, D20, D109, D154, D15) where I expected to find camping and Adele
expected to find a hotel. Finding neither, we continued west to Châtelain where we found
an abandoned campground that was just ideal for Marty and me but didn't suit Adele. She
went on to Château-Gontier to find a hotel after we agreed on a meeting place for tomorrow.
It was cloudy all day and just started to rain after Adele took off for her 8km trek.
We had bought a type of canned beef that we were told was a specialty, but despite all the
good ingrediants we added was absolutely vile even after cooking it to death. We picked out
the mushrooms and at them and then threw the whole mess out. Fortunately we were reasonably
well supplied and we satisfied ourselves on bread, cheese, wine, and a few other odds and ends.
During dinner a man came by with his two sons, one of which we recognized as one of the kids
we talked to in Berné. When he showed us an official looking card with his picture on it, I
thought he was going to kick us out of the field we were camping in, but actually it just
showed that he was a press agent. He managed to get us to understand that he wanted to take
some pictures for a story. I managed to answer some of his questions (our bike route, how far,
how long, etc.) but we wished we knew more French. (We usually rely on Adele.) He must not have
a lot of hot stores to cover if he came this far from his home to look for us. I guess we will
end up in some local newspaper. I now wish I game him our address to send us a copy. Despite the
rain, this is really a beautiful place. A short distance away (over 2 fences) we found a
beautiful lake with a huge mansion (picture book haunted house). Well, I'm really getting
carried away with the journal tonight, but time to sign off.

<h2>23-Jul-81 (Thur)</h2>

While Marty and I were getting ready this morning, first a lady, and then 2 men came by to
talk with us. I understood practically nothing they said but they were friendly anyway. The
men unlocked a bathroom for us, but it was too late for us to make any use of it. We met Adele
in Coudray (via D595) at 10:30 and continued very intermittently (because of occasional hard
rain) thru Daon (via D22) then taking D190 & D191 thru Marigne to Querre, and D290 to
Champigne, and D768 to Feneu and D107 into Angers. One of the things we decided to do while in
Angers was to take care of our passport problem, if indeed there was a problem. We walked into
some government office (not sure what kind) and explained our situation to them. Actually it
wasn't "we" but rather "Adele". Even though Adele's French was quite minimal, she was the only
one with enough French to have any hope of explaining our concern. Adele eventually did make
our concern clear at which point they told us not to worry since we didn't need any stamp in
our passport and we would be just fine when ready to leave the country. After some sightseeing
of Angers, it was too late to ride on to a smaller city where we could find campsites so we
opted for a hotel. 90 Francs got us a room with a hot shower in it, which we all took advantage
of before goingout on the town. Dinner was good and was fairly expensive by my standards
(160 Francs). Marty & Adele had drinks in a bar but I abstained, already high from just one
glass of beer during dinner (twice as potent as US beer). It's 1 am now so I doubt we will get
up very early tomorrow. We are definitely hoping for better weather tomorrow. 

<h2>24-Jul-81 (Fri)</h2>

It was raining when we got up, and we decided to stay in Angers for another night. We bought
some delicious pastries and as usual ate them with tea at a café. (I wonder if they look down
on such a practice.) We did some more sightseeing and some window shopping, and found a laundry
mat to wash our clothes. We ate in some restaurants and spent a lot of time wandering around
the city looking for diversions. We went to an American movie, but we left when Burt Renold's
opening line came. (It was dubbed in French). At 22 Francs each, it was good we convinced
them to give us our money back. Tomorrow we are biking out, rain or shine. My eyes will be
glad to get out of the city, which has no shortage of diesel fumes.

<h2>25-Jul-81 (Sat)</h2>

Today was mostly cloudy as usual, but we were blessed with a whole day without a single drop of
rain. Unfortunately Adele woke up this morning with what seems to be a common case of the
traveling trots. This made her very weak, and limited us to a few hours of biking. The terrain
along the Loire is the flattest we've seen and we now have the wind at our back since we are
heading east. Adele had a flat this morning and broke the valve stem off the only good spare
we had left. After many tries we were finally successful at patching her inner tube on our
only remaining spare. I hope we don't break any more tubes since I think it is impossible to
buy tubes for 28" tires in France. Our route today was first south thru les-Ponto-de-Ce
then east via D132 & D751 thru St. Jeem, Coutures, Gennes, and stopping in Saumer. While
passing thru part of Saumer we passed a large stadium full of cheering people, so we rode up
to see what was going on. It was a French military exhibition with army men running around on
motorcycles, tanks, firing cannons, and an occasional helicopter. It was so silly we climbed
the bleachers to watch for a while. We stayed at a fairly large campground near the edge of
town, right on the river. We saw 2 bikers there who had passed us on the road while we were
having lunch (2 sisters from Pasadena California). After we ate our dinner we walked into town
with them and had a few drinks at a café.

<h2>26-Jul-81 (Sun)</h2>

The sky was again full of clouds today but we only had 1 or 2 brief periods of drizzle. Adele
was feeling a little better today, so after making a good 6 egg omelet, we took off and rode
25 miles without getting off our bikes (9:20 to 11:45). We took D947 thru Montsoreau to
Candes, D7 then across the river on D749, then followed the north shore of the Loire (N152)
into Lengeâis. We had a slight wind at our backs and the terrain was very flat. When we got
to Langeâis they were having some kind of special market day, so it was so crowded we
couldn't find a café to sit down at. We finally sat at the outdoor section of a bar and
ate some bread and cheese. We continued down N152 into Tours - the biggest city we've been
to yet. As we were crossing the river on the bridge leading to the "centre ville", we
heard a gunfire like sound which turned out to e from Marty's rear tire. His inner tube
exploded at the stem and was irreparable. We took out our last spare inner tube - Adele's
original (bad when new) tube, which we were never successful at patching. But we tried again
for a few hours but we never were able to get that tube to hold air for more than 5 minutes.
We were doing this next to a big bike shop, but they were closed, like almost everything
in the city (because it's Sunday). Adele and I biked to a meeting spot near a campground
at the edge of town where we met Marty who got there by bus. I hope the bike shop opens
in the morning, but I doubt they will have 27" inner tubes, but I think a 28" tube will
work.

<h2>27-Jul-81 (Mon)</h2>

Today was definitely the best weather we've had so far and was also one of our more
eventful days. Mostly clear sky but clouded over around 6pm but remained warm enough to
wear shorts and a T shirt right up until I stopped biking at 8:30pm. The eggs were so good
yesterday we had some more for breakfast this morning. Then around 9:30 Adele and I headed
out by bike and Marty by bus again. As I was riding thru town I noticed that almost all
the stores were closed. It turns out being closed on Monday is universal for towns in this
section of the Loire. All the bike shops in the city were closed including the one where
we parked Marty's bike. I had only one sad looking used patch left, saved from our last
unsuccessful patching attempt. I made one last desperate try at patching over the previously
applied patches. I was sure it wouldn't hold, but amazingly enough it did. By noon we were
off - taking D751 to Amboise in the increasingly nice weather. The bike shops in Amboise
were also closed, but at least we were able to pick up a few patch kits from a Shell
station. While eating at a café, I pumped up Adele's rear tire because it was a little low.
Ten minutes later ... pop! The tire lost its grip on the rim causing the inner tube to blow
to pieces. A few minutes later we noticed that Marty's tire was flat (which I thought was
going to happen much sooner than it actually did). My idea was to stay in Ambroise for the
night and fix the whole mess when the bike shops opened in the morning. Adele was getting
tired of biking and all these inner tube problems were spoiling her outlook. Adele suggested
we take a t rain to Nice (SW France on the Mediterranean sea) to stay on the beach for a
few days and maybe do some biking along the coast. Marty was also in the mood for some beach
time. However I was not in the mood for a lot of train travel and I was still enthusiastic
for biking. So I decided to let Marty & Adele go to Nice on their own, and continued on
by myself. We devised a plan to meet back up in Eindhoven, Holland on 3-Aug. I think our
plan was good enough that there was a high probability we would find each other. I took
the stove, tent, and most of the mess kit. So my pack is a little heavier but I'm pretty
self sufficient and I'm looking forward to striking out on my own for about a week. As
Marty & Adele were preparing to walk their bikes to the train station we parted ways
(with no hard feelings). I rode off  around 5pm. By now there was a head wind (opposite
the usual prevailing winds) which grew stiffer as the evening progressed. I proceeded on
the north side of the river (N152) and by 6:30 I was in the large city of Blois. I ate
a little and looked around part of the town. I proceeded along the same road thru Menars
to Suévres, where according to my camping book had a fairly large campground. I must have
missed it, but I didn't bother looking very hard. I made camp in a very out of the way,
very comfortable and soft field about 1km passed  Suévres. After a good hot macaroni
dish for dinner, I set up the tent and started writing. Sorry I'm getting long winded here
but I'm starting to find the writing to be a fun diversion at the end of my day.

<h2>28-Jul-81 (Tue)</h2>

Hit the road around 7:30 ... and what a beautiful day! I don't think I saw a cloud all day.
It kept on getting hotter and by around 6pm it was almost too hot to ride. Five minutes
after leaving my makeshift campsite I passed the campground I was headed for last night.
Another few minutes brought be to Mer where I bought some bread, Chapstick and a
French-English dictionary and found a bank to convert some dollars to Francs. Up the road
(N152) to Beaugency where I went to a bike shop and bought an extra water bottle and a
spare inner tube with a presta valve. (They explained that Shrader valves inner tubes are
not sold in France.) I managed to explain that my pump would not fit on a presta valve
and he gave me a presta to Shrader adapter. Now I didn't have to live in fear of busting
an inner tube. On up the same road thru Meung and into Orleans. As usual for a big city,
my eyes began to hurt from the smog, so I decided to pass the city as fast as possible.
I followed the Loire thru the city and into Chêcy. Although the Loire was a fun river to
follow, at this point I decided to leave it and head north for Paris. I turned up D8 which
was almost deserted despite an amazing amount of home construction going on. I stopped near
Vennecy behind a row of trees to dry the dew from my tent and to lie in the sun for a while
my favorite way (i.e. a natural). After following D8 to the edge of my map to Rebrechien,
I switched to D208 and D140 to Loury (I think). There I bought food for dinner and onto
Neuville via D11, then D11 and D97 to Acqueboville. I was aiming for a campground that my
camping book said  was in Autry-sur-Juine. The directions in the book were not only
terrible, but also flat out wrong. After consulting with a few people in Charmont
(2km east on D22) I finally found the campground they named in Andonville
(5km west of D97 on D22). I was prepared and just about ready to camp  in a field again
when I found it. I was looking forward to a shower since I can't remember when my last
one was. It was about 8:30 when I pulled in and the long day in the sun has roasted me
to a crisp. (My previous tan must have faded with all the cloudy weather.) I biked at
least 103km today (62 miles) which isn't bad considering I had a headwind most of the time.
(Wow ... I just looked up at the sky ... sooo many stars!)

<h2>29-Jul-81 (Wed)</h2>

Since I stayed up late, I didn't hit the road until 9. Today was even hotter and I was
biking without a shirt almost as soon as I started. I began heading up D22 to Angerville
the D838 thru Authon to Les Granges, then D836 to Dourdan. Here I decided to finally
pick up some sun screen before I turned into a crispy critter. I asked the pharmacist
for something to "defendre contra le sol". He asked me weather it was for before or
after exposure to sun and I mistakenly said after. But eventually I managed to get what
I needed. I continued on D838 thru Limours, Les Milières, Saint Rémy, to Châteaufort.
Here there was road construction all over  the place making it impossible to continue my
planned route to Versailles. After asking directions from perhaps 5 people and climbing
a steep hill in the wrong direction, I finally  found myself in Tousses where I could
continue on D938 to Renault Buc and then by some unknown route to Versailles. I finally
found the campground after resorting to buying a map of the city which helped
enormously. The biking was fairly challenging today getting noticeably more hilly as I
get closer to Paris. I think I am going to skip biking tomorrow and go do some
sightseeing in Paris. I have to sign off now since the batteries in my flashlight are
just about to give up.

<h2>30-Jul-81 (Thur)</h2>

After making my usual omlete for breakfast, I locked my bike to the nearest tree and left
all my gear in my tent and waled to the train station - Gare des Chantiers. (Actually
Gare Viroflay was closer but I didn't notice it.) For only 4.5 Francs I was in Paris (by 10am).
From Gare Montparnasse, I walked up Rue de Rennes which eventually took me to the Seine
river. Right accross the Seine was the Louvre where I looked around for awhile. Then I
followed the Seine to Place De La Concord, then walked up Avenue de Champs Elysees to the
Arc De Triomphe. Around there I saw the office of tourism where I got a map that I needed
much more before I got it. I had been navigating by using the map I bought for biking which
only had a  few major streets marked. I also made many side trips around here to find my
big purchase of the day - an envelope large enough to mail home this journal (so far) along
with the maps I no longer needed. After asking many people, including the tourist office
staff and the post office staff, I was beginning to think they didn't make large envelopes
in France. But I finally found on in a "papeterie" right next to Gare Montparmasse). On the
way back to Gare Montparmasse I wondered a little closer to the Eiffel tower, but before
I got there I started to go more direct since my feet were feeling worn out. I probably
walked at least 20 miles today. While my body has adapted to riding a bike all day comfortably,
but walking uses different muscles. I got back to the campground in time to go for a swim in
the public swimming pool that was near the campground. I have 3 more biking days left before
I meet up with Marty and Adele in Eindhoven, I plan to go as far as I can on my bike and
then take the train the rest of the way. One of the first things I did when I got to Versailles
was to try and look up Anne & Garard (former housemates of mine and Mia's) who I believe live
in Versailles. However when I looked inside several phone booths I found that none of them had
phone books. So while I was in Paris I stopped into a post office and they had all the phone
books of the area. The extended Versailles area includes 50 or more different towns each of
which has its own alphabetical listing. I looked in some of the biggest ones and gave up when
I realized how long it would take to go thru all of them. (I had imagined surprising them by
showing up on their doorstep.)

<h2>31-Jul-81 (Fri)</h2>

I stayed up late last night again to read a newsweek magazine so I didn't hit the road until
9:15. Getting out of Versailles was a challenge since the map didn't seem to match the streets
I was on. It's also quite hilly here. I passed thru many towns on my way out of the Paris area:
Vireflay, Chaville, Sévres, St. Cloud, Suresnes, Puteaux, Courbeuoie, Colombes, Argenteuil,
Sannois, Ermont, Eaubanne, and Montlignom. The main routes I used were N185, N187, D106, D13,
and N309. It was very slow going since there were many traffic lights and I had to stop often
to figure out where I was going. Despite my worry that I would run into dangerous traffic,
there were only a few spots where I was a little uncomfortable. Anyway, I continued up N309
thru Domont to Moisselles. Then despite a route barred sign, I took the small road D9E thru
Attainville to Villiers-le-Sec. Fortunately I was able to walk my bike accross the construction
in Attainville. Then on D9 and N16 thru Luzarches to Chantilly. There was the first place today
that I found an open post office where I could mail my package. Then east on D924 to Senlis,
then up D932 thru Villeneuve and Verberie heading for Compegne where there was camping
according to my book. However, shortly after passing Verberie it starting raining lightly and
I was getting tired, so I took the first dirt road I cam to and headed into the forest
(Foret De Compigne). It's only 8:30 now, but since the forest is pretty dense, it's just
barely light enough in my tent to write. I'm stuck in the tent right now because the
mosquitoes outside are wild. I hope the calm down a little later when I go out to make my
dinner. One thing I have started to realize is that once I started traveling alone, a lot
more people come up to talk to me unsolicited. Since I'm often looking at a map, people will
come up to me to ask where I'm going and to offer their advice. They are very friendly and
sometimes will talk for quite awhile even though I'm rarely able to respond. The farther away
from Paris I get, the more friendly the interactions get. Although Paris was an exciting place
to see, it was nice to see the sky turn from gray to blue as I left the environs of Paris.

<h2>01-Aug-81 (Sat)</h2>

As soon as I got back inside my tent after making dinner last night I was treated to one of the
most fantastic thunderstorms I have ever seen. It seemed that I might be able to read inside
the tent using only the lightning as illumination. Despite the rain it was fairly warm. In fact
it was the first night that I slept naked and was comfortable with only a trace of dampness by
morning. I waited for an hour after I woke up for the rain to stop, rolled up my 5 pound tent
which was so wet it probably weighed at least 10 pounds, and proceeded toward Compiegne, which
only took about 30 minutes. Since the sky was still grey I decided to take the train to Leige
and then bike the rest of the way to Eindhoven. I was almost ready to buy the ticket when I
found out that my bike wouldn't get there until a day or two later. If my writing looks a bit
shaky it's because at the moment there are about 10 bulls eyeing me agrily about 20 feet away.
I'm counting on the assumption that bulls can't jump barb wire fences as handily as I can.
Anyway, I decided to ride on. I headed up N32 thru Ribencourt to Noyon, then up D932 thru
Guiscard to Ham then up D930 to St. Quentin. The Windsock at the airport at Roupy told me why
my progress was so slow. The tailwind I had this morning was gone and I now had a stiff
headwind. (Whew ... those bulls finally left.) In St. Quentin I found the train station to
find out if there was a  Maubeuge to Eindhoven train tomorrow. (There is at 6pm, and I should
be able to make it there by then.) The campground in St. Quentin didn't look interesting
so I headed toward Bohain (on D8) even though there are no more campgrounds along my route
for a long way. This area is all cow pastures, so it was harder than usual to find a place
to crash for the night. But about 4km past Bohain, I detoured on a little road toward
Becquignette and found a quite suitable place. Fortunately I had taken some time during the
sunny afternoon to stop and dry out my tent. (It's no fun to crawl into a sopping wet tent.)
Today was about a 100km day which was pretty good considering all my diversions (to train
stations, etc). I also went to a bank to see if I could change some money for Holland but
the bank couldn't do that (although they could convert the currency in the other direction).
I asked at the train station if you can change money on the train. I think they said that
you can't but I hope I don't have to wait for the banks to open like we had to in France.
I have 60km to do tommorrow to get to Maubeuge, so I should be able to make it there by 6pm.

<h2>02-Aug-81 (Sun)</h2>

Today overal was a pretty day, but I had my frustrating moments. I got up early, rolled up
my very wet tent and hit the road at 7:10. I had a banana for breakfast which was the only
food I had left (except for some chocolate I keep as emergency fuel). I soon got hungry, but
being Sunday, all the stores I passed were closed. I continued up D8 and D21 to le Cateau,
across D959 thru Landrecies to Marcilles where I finally found an open food store (around 9:30).
I hate Sundays in France. If you are traveling, it's rediculous! While riding thru Laudrecies
all of the sudden I see a herd of about 100 cows trotting down the street towards me, being
hearded by maybe half a dozen people on bicycles, carrying sticks. They were apparently
being led to get milked. I was scared enough that I got off my bike and watched in amazement
as they went by. (That's what I call a real cow town.) I continued up D959 thru Alnoye to
Mauteuge (at 11:30). When I got to the train station the information window was closed
(being Sunday of course) but the man selling tickets told me that I had to wait until 7:10pm
and that I would have to go thru Cologne Germany. (I think that is the same as Koln?)
and that he didn't know what time I would get to Eindhoven. I decided to wait for the train
and see how it went. (Besides the sky was still looking dark grey.) I looked for a food store
and found that none were open (confirmed by town people). Aarg ... Sunday! So I walked into
a restaurant. There were no tables left so I was waiting at the bar when a man motioned to
me that I coujld sit at their table if I liked. I accepted, and when I pulled out my dictionary
to figure out what was on the menu, he tried to explain what they had. I told him I wanted
something with french fries (which I had seen on another table) and he ordered something for me.
(It turned out to be steak and fries.) The steak was very tough, but well done the way I like,
and quite tasty. No a bad meal for 35 Francs. He asked all about my bike trip, which interested
a few people at the neighboring tables as well. He acted as an interpreter for me with the others.
For some reason I could understand much of what he said but nothing from the others. I'm not
in prime tourist biking country which explains everybodies curuiosity. I waited around in the
train station and by 4:30 I decided to buy my ticket. A new man was at the ticket counter who
told me I can't take my bike on the train, contrary to what everybody else told me. Getting
a little frustrated by now, I found a woman in the station who spoke English and she acted as
my interpreter. Thru her I found out the best they can do is to take the bike on another train
and it would get there in 3 days (probably). I told them thank you, but I can ride there faster
than that. By the time I changed back into my grubby riding clothes and took off for Belgium
it was 5:30. I figured it was going to be easier to bring bikes on trains in Belgium. The
nearest large town in Belgium was Charleroi which was 40km away. I was hoping to make it there
before dark. The plan was to meet Marty & Adele in Eindhoven tomorrow, but if I couldn't get a
train, I figured I could still meet Marty and Adele in Eindhoven on Tuesday (according to our backup
plan) even if I had to ride the whole way on my bike. I still had a pretty good headwind and the
roads in Belgium were increasingly hilly and rough. I even had to ride on a few brick roads
which are not fun on a bike. People here were very friendly when I asked for directions and many
people spoke English. By around 9pm I found a train station in Charleroi, where they tried to
direct me to a different train station. After asking many other people I finally found the right
train station. (Flashback: I was amazed how easy it was to go from France to Belgium. There was a
large sign indicating I was entering Belgium. Crossing the border, I slowed down just enough to
nod to the uniformed guard, but that was it. No questions asked and no passport needed!) The
confusion at the train station wasn't quite as bad as it was in Mauteuge. I even found most
of the workers spoke at least some English. I bough a ticket to Eindhoven despite the fact that
the man selling me the ticket didn't know which train, the route, the departure time, or the
arrival time. He told me the bike wouldn't be a problem. He let me pay in French Francs which is
all I had. It was only 80 French Franks. I finally got someone to tell me I should got to
Brussels first. When I tried to bring my bike to the gate, a non-English speaking worker
finally got me to understand that I had to go back to the ticket counter to pay more
for the bike (20 French Francs). In Brussels someone advised me to go to Amsterdam. Someone else
told me to go to Antiverpen which seemed to make a lot more sense, so I went there. I was always
able to get my bike off the train before they pulled away, so I arrived in Antiverpen intact,
with my bike. It was midnight, and there were no more trains running so I went to a hotel right
next to the train station. It was $550 Belgium Francs (about $18) for bed & breakfast. I set my
alarm for 6am which will give me about 4 hours of sleep. That should give me plenty of time to
get to Eindhoven by 12 to meet my sibs.

<h2>03-Aug-81 (Mon)</h2>

I woke up at 8:30 without ever hearing my alarm. I ate breakfast in 5 minutes and caught the 9:18
train to Roosendall, shortly thereafter caught the train to Breda. Each step of the way was getting
easier with more confidence of being right. The next train to come that was going to Eindhoven
said they couldn't take my bike. The trains that have room for bikes come at random. A half hour
later (10:15) the next train came but it also couldn't take bikes, so I was starting to get
worried. The 11:45 train was my lucky one, and I got to Eindhoven by 12:30. They said this was the
only Eindhoven train station but after looking at the city map I saw that there was another train
station - just a platform and not a major city station. However we had agreed to meet at the northern
most station, which turned out to be the small platform and Marty and Adele were not to be found.
Fortunately Marty and Adele had decided to split up so they could cover both train stations, and
Adele found me shortly after 1pm when I was trying to figure out how to get to the other train station.
Adele and I exchanged stories while we waited for Marty. They had gone from Nice to Amsterdam
(a 20 hour train ride) and stayed there for 2 days, but their bikes never arrived. So after Marty
came back from the other station we took a train to Amsterdam to check on their bikes but they
still had not arrived. In Nice they were told it could take up to 3 days at most, but here they
said it could take from 7 to 10 days! I left my bike in a storage area for only 95 cents a day
(about $0.35) and we took a bus to the same hotel that Marty and Adele had stayed at last night.
We got a nice room with a balcony, 3 beds, bathrooms down the hall, and included breakfast for
85G. Marty then slept until 8pm while Adele and I walked around and later relaxed in our room.
At 8 we all went to the train station to change money since we were completely out. Then we stood
in line for an hour at the tourist agency which is the only place to get information about the
ferries to England. Adele had to go back to the hotel, so we planned to meet at a restaurant.
It was closed when we met (11:30pm) so we started walking back to the main square where we hoped
there would be open restaurants. We walked a mile or two in the wrong direction, then finally
took the train back. We ate at a very good but cheap Indonesian restaurant which stays open all
night. The trams in the city are very good and got us wherever we were going pretty quickly.
We finally got to bed around 2am or so.

<h2>04-Aug-81 (Tue)</h2>

After a fairly good breakfast at the hotel we left our keys in the hotel office and walked to
Vondel park where we mostly just sat around and read while enjoying the sunshine. At 3pm we checked
on the bikes, but they still had not come in. This meant that we had to find another hotel which
meant standing in line again at the tourist office to make a reservation. After retreiving our bags
and finding our new hotel, Marty took a short nap while Adele and I went to dinner at a very good
Italian place. It was not expensive but had a very gruff waiter. Marty met us at 10pm at one of the
main squares where we listened to some street entertainment. Later we wondered thru the red light
district when things were really hoping. We didn't go into any of the live sex act shows since
Marty and Adele had already done that the night before I joined them. Later we wandered far and wide
to find a bar Adele wanted to try. Eventually we made it bake to our hotel at 2:30am by bus
(since the trams stop running at 12:30). It's 3am now and I'm pretty much done for the day. Marty
and Adele had gone back out - to I don't know where and are still not back.

<h2>05-Aug-81 (Wed)</h2>

The first order of business today (after breakfast of course) was to see if we could get some cash
from my Mastercard or their Visa card. Each bank kept on sending us on wild goose chases to other
banks that also couldn't help us. Finally we hit a bank that could do it. Adele couldn't find her
card and Marty wasn't carrying his passport, so it was up to me. After waiting for about an hour
they still couldn't get thru to check my credit, so I left them my card and met Adele at the
"Lauderette" where she was finishing up with our laundry. We met Marty at the train station and
found the bad news - still no bikes. Up until today, the delay in getting the bikes hadn't bothered
me since I was enjoying Amsterdam. But today's delay was starting to wear on us since we've seen
about all we care to of the city. We are also spending a lot more money than we would if we were
biking. We checked into a youth hotel to save some money. While I raced back to the bank before
it closed to get our cash, Marty and Adele went to retrieve our bags and we also took a side trip
to get Marty's right ear pierced. In the evening we all split up although Marty and Adele were
planning to meet later at one of the "recreation centers". I decided not to meet them there since
I was sure it would be too smokey for me. For lack of anything better to do I went back to the red
light distrct to see one of the live sex shows. It was worth the money, but it's something I would
only care to see once. Tomorrow we have no more chores to accomplish but haven't made any plans yet.
We will be quite dissappointed if the bikes don't come tomorrow. I would already have taken off if
I could, but we have to stick together since we don't have enough camping equipment otherwise.

<h2>06-Aug-81 (Thur)</h2>

We agreed to meet at 3pm and Adele was going to check on the bikes before then and do a little shopping.
Marty slept since he had stayed up most of the night. I bought a newspaper and walked down to
Vondel park to relax. Adele came back with the good news that the bikes had arrived. We took our
last tram ride and picked up our bikes, stopped near the station for a bite and then wandered aournd
trying to figure out how to get out of Amstersterdam. There is a bridge going north but a much
easier way was to take a free ferry about 200 yards to the other side. Then we biked north along a
winding bikepath to Edam where we stoped at a cafe for tea. We headed for a nearby campground a
little NE of Edam directly on the coast. It was a pretty fancy campground, with a restaurant that
stayed open until midnight where we ate dinner.

<h2>07-Aug-81 (Fri)</h2>

It was warm enought this morning that I took a swim - very refreshing. Since we didn't yet have any
food with us, we at breakfast at the restaurant and hit the road at 11. We followed the bike paths
north and stopped at around 6pm when we got to the northern most part of the peninsula - at a
campsite in Den Oever. We cooked a fairly good dinner consisting of shnizal, hamburger, and string
beans. [Transcribing note: I don't know what the first ingrediant is. The first two letters (sh) and
the last two letters (al) are clear but the rest of the letters are smudged and illegible].
Virtually all the biking in Holland is done on bike paths that have little or no motor traffic.
If you accidentilly wander onto any of the road where bikes are prohibited, many of the drivers
will honk at you to let you know you should be riding there. There are no hills here but it has
been very windy - directly against us of course.

<h2>08-Aug-81 (Sat)</h2>

The sky was comnpletely overcast all day which partly explains our late start for the day (11am).
We had a good ride, going east with no wind, then turning a little north into Den Helder. There were
some interesting markets in Den Helder that we walked around in for awhile. Here we were planning on
taking the ferry to the nearby island to the north to do some more biking and to camp for the night.
We eventually decided against that plan so that we might have a chance to do some more biking in
England. We then turned south, along a coastal road, thru Callantsoog and St. Maarentyee to Petten
where we stahed in a hilly, slightly overcrouded campground. We didn't cover much distance today
which again is partly attributable to the weather. We really only had about 15 minutes of light rain
but it looked threating all day. After gorging ourselves at dinner (since we had made too much as
often happens) we went down the road to a bar that had good music and was livelier than I expected
for such a small town. I got bored after an hour so I went back to the campesite to take a shower
and relax. Camping is immensly popular in this region judging from the many campgrounds, all of which
are fairly crowded. Most of the camplers herfe are either Dutch or travelers from Europe - but very
few Americans. It was a striking difference which became evident not long after leaving Amsterdam.
The number of local people who sppek English also declined sharply soon after leaving Amsterdam.
Fortuately there are still enough people who know English that is easy to find our way. None of us
knows any Dutch. It was a new experience for all of us to be in a country that speeks a completely
uncomprensible language. It would have been smart for us to at least studied up on some of the basics
of the language ... but none of us did so.

<h2>09-Aug-81 (Sun)</h2>

The weather was a little discouraging - almost identical to yesterday. Also Sunday in Holland is even
worse than in France. We couldn't find a food store open all day and we were forced to eat in
restaurants even though we were trying to slow down our spending. We biked south to Alkmaar. The city
was very dead so we didn't do much looking around. After stopping for coffee we continued south,
thru Heileo, then Castrcum, heading for Haarlem. The signs to Haarlem were quite ambiguous and hard
to follow. Part of the problem was that there were two possible routes, one of which required a ferry
ride to cross a channel. Since the distance markers used either route we once we saw that we would be
in Haarlem in 15km and then after riding a few kilometers we then saw a sign that we would be in
Haarlem in 22km. We eventually found our way there (via the ferry route). Shortly before getting there
however, Adele slipped while trying to get off her bike and hit the crossbar. She didn't feel well
after that and didn't think she should ride any more. So when we got to Haarlem we got a hotel there.
We had a very good meal at the restaurant downstairs from the hotel, and after relaxing in our room
for a few hours we left to go into town. We stayed for quite a while in a bar where we met a Dutch
guy that we played billiards with until we were too tired to play. (This was a game with only 3 balls
and no pockets.) He was quite friendly and spoke English fairly well. We asked him what the latest news
was since it's been a while since we have seen a newspaper. We were surprised to hear that the French
embacy in Iran was taken over 2 days ago. The Dutch people are very friendly, except perhaps when you
are in Amsterdam, but they seem to be somewhat shy. So we have to be fairly bold to get to know them.
The number of Americans we run accross in the more remote areas is practically nill. Most of the people
on bicycles and in campgrounds are Dutch or other Europeans.

<h2>10-Aug-81 (Mon)</h2>

Adele still wasn't feeling well enough to ride today so we decided to get to Hook-van-Hollend by train
to catch the ferry to Harwick England. After our breakfast
(which as usual was included in the price of the room) we rode to the train station. After not being allowed
on the first train, I finally got the tickets required for our bikes to be accepted. In every European train
station I have been in, the tickets for luggage are difficult to purchase. They aren't available at the
ticket counter for passengers and the place and procedure for buying them is usually obscure which caused
us to miss our intended ferry.) The train stopped in Leiden, Dan Haag, and Rotterdam where we had to change
trains to one that stopped many times before arriving at Hoek Van Holland. We got to the ferry ticket counter
at noon, which was 45 minutes after the day ferry had already departed. The next ferry wasn't until 11pm,
so we had about 11 hours to kill. There was little to do there, so we took the train back to Rotterdam where
we spent the day wandering aimlessly around the city. We also saw a James Bond movie and bought a lot of
food so we wouldn't go hungry on the ferry. At this point we only had 11 guilders left which was just enough
to experience some "panekoken" (pancakes) in a restaurant. As we were eating, a middle aged Dutch woman
came up to us with 10 guilders in her hand saying she wanted to pay for our meal. Ahe had immegrated to the
US and was back here visiting. She said our country was so good to her that whe wanted to do something for
us. She paid for our pancakes despite our objections, and talked with us for a few minutes before she had
to rush off. This encounter left us quite amazed. We took the train back to the station, then to Hoek van
Holland with still a few hours to kill which we spent over tea and coffee in the train station cafe. We
headed to the ferry early and staked out a good place where we could sleep. (We each got a couch.) We each
got at least 4 hours of sleep on the 7 hour ride which got us to Herwick at 6:30am. The crossing was
fairly rough making it a little challenging to walk around, but was fine if we were seated or lying down.
After Adele rode her bike off the ferry, she realized she was still not recovered enough to ride and decided
to take the train to Gatwick where she would rejoin Marty and me. The only problem was the $70 that we had
left wouldn't be enough since Adele would need to get a hotel. (Adele didn't have a bank card with her.) She
agreed to ride the first 17 miles toward London with us to the first big town. (We had just lost our map,
so I can't remember what town that was, but it began with a "C".) There we waited for the banks to open at
9:30 and I got 100 pounds using my Master charge card. Adele took the train from there and Marty and I took
off on our bikes. We had a slip of paper from a tourist agent that sketched out the best way to get to
London by bicycle and we managed to follow most of that route up until Brentwood (NE of London) where we
deviated for a better approach to Gatwick. The direct route was a major highway (A12) which wasn't ideal
for bicycles so we got off A12 whenever we could to follow various bike paths. This was challenging since we
didn't have a detailed map. At Brentwood we bought a detailed map of London and its surroundings which
enabled us to pick our way south alonb B186 to Tilbury where we took the ferry across the Thames River
to Gravesenel. We were amazed that there were no bridges across the river on the entire eastern side of
London even though it was only a few hundred feet across in places. The only other way besides the ferry
was a tunnel (Daltford tunnel) several miles to the west which would have required us to wait for a truck
to fill up with bikes before it would depart. Anyway, in Gravesenel we bought some food just as the
grocery store was closing and then set out to find a suitable place to crash. We headed south along Wrotham
road (A227) to get out of the city for a mile or so, and found a large public park that was about the
size of a football field, completely open and grass covered. It's 8:15pm and we are setting up our tent
despite the fact that there is a soccer practice going on in the middle of the field. This makes us feel a
bit conspicuous, even though we are off to the side and out of their way. Nobody seemed to mind that we were there.
We had heard a lot about the traffic controller strike and have heard rumors that England is not letting
flights depart to the US because of it. I hope that isn't true, but I'm thinking our flight will probably be at
least somewhat delayed. Still we will get there tomorrow evening, the night before our scheduled flight home.

<h2>12-Aug-81 (Wed)</h2>

Marty and I returned to our tent last night a little before dark, listening to the sounds of the soccer players
and later of curious people speculating about the campers in the tent. We were tired so we ignored all that.
But at around 2am we were awoken by two police officers with their headlights illuminating our tent. We could
also hear the sound of a nearby alarm. THey asked us if we had permission to camp here. We told them no, but
that the people we asked said they didn't think anyone would mind. At this point we were pretty sure they were
going to kick us out as this has happened to Marty and me serveral times on similar trips in the states. They
then said that it was really no problem, that they notice our tent and had to check us out to see if we had
anything to do with tripping the alarm at the community building on the other side of the field. They
apoligetically said we could go back to sleep and quickly left, much to our amazement. As usual, I got up
somewhat before Marty and had a little chat with a man who was walking his dog before going to work. It was
another gloriously sunny day - which from our experience here four weeks ago was something I didn't think
ever happened here. We were on our bikes by 8 or 8:30 after some fruit for breakfast. The biking was very
hilly today and Marty and I definetly got a lot of excersize, keeping a faster pace than we would have been
if Adele was riding with us. (She was usually first to need a rest). Also since it was our last day of biking
we knew we didn't need to worry about conserving our strength. We continued south on A277 thru Wrotham
(which strangely enough is pronounced "routum") and Tonbridge, then turning off on a small secondary road
shortly before Royal Tunbridge Wells, intercepting A264 (going west) thru East Grindstead and almost to
Crawley before encountering some signs which lead us to Gatwick airport. The last 1/2 mile was the only
illegal part of our route since the signs lead us right onto a motorway. I'm sure that wasn't necessary,
but I knew it would be very tricky to do it right since we had quite a difficult time leaving Gatwick 4 weeks
ago. At any rate, that 1/2 mile was one of the safest of the day since the sholder was quite adequate for
a bike. We spent the first hour or so trying (unsucessfully) to find bike boxes so we could package up our
bikes. A few hours after that we eventually became confident that they would accept our bikes as is.
Marty desperately wanted to do some laundry, so he took a bus into Harley. He said he might come back tonight,
but he might stay in a hotel and meet me tomorrow. The many stranded passengers in the airport was not a
good sign, but we were still hopeful about leaving tomorrow. Since I had just bought a book (Arthur
Hailey's "Overload") I decided to just stay at the airport and read. (26 hours later I had finished all
475 pages - a record for me I think.) I was tired by around 2am and since the airport was still full of
hustle and bustle, I found a dark grassy area outside the airport where I slept like a rock until 7:30am.
I met Marty and Adele by 9 and by 11:30 we had boarded our flight. Much to our delight, the flight departed
only about 1.5 hours behind schedule. It was sad to be leaving England since it marked the end of our
wonderful trip. I think I would have enjoyed continuing on in the same style for at least a few more months!
On the other hand I'm also excited to be on my way home.