Thursday, July 19, 2012

Unhappy Tummy

Monday July 16th
Cloppenburg, Germany
Usual mix of weather.

12:34 am
As I lay here in my tent waiting for the pepto bismal to settle my stomach I thought I'd capture the moment. It's very dark in these woods. It hasn't really been dark, this dark, much on this trip. If you'll remember, I lost my headlamp way back in Ireland at the hostel, but I haven't missed it. It's just never that dark and besides I'm asleep when it is. Except tonight. Two other nights I've had sharp stomach pains during the night. Not fun. Tonight it's different. Heartburn. Too much Nutella, I'm sure. The sell it in a tube here so I can eat it and bike. It's my caloric source:). Better than wine gums. So I do both. Guess I over did today.

So I wake up in this very dark tent feeling oh so ichy. My pepto bismal tablets are in my "repair kit" on the bike. It has bandaids, ibuprofen, glue to fix my thermarest, sewing needle, and safety pins. But Blaze is a bit of a ways away from the tent because of all the little trees and stuff in the way. How am I going to see to get there? Oh don't bother. I put my head back down. My stomach rolls some more. Light. I need a light. My phone! Sure enough. Works just fine. Find "repair kit" and headlight I had taken off Blaze the other night (when I had to move:-/). It really doesn't work well as a headlamp because it's so piercing! But it helps. So I've munched my tablets and now chatted with y'all. I'm feeling better. For awhile I had thoughts of "where in hell am I?". In the woods, in the dark, sick to my stomach, in a country I don't speak the language. How would I even get help in the middle of the night if I needed it? I wouldn't. I couldn't.

But I'm okay. Fixed myself. Inside and out. Now for 6 wonderful more hours of blissful sleep:)

10:30 am. I could not get up this morning even though it wasn't raining. Maybe because it wasn't raining:-/. But I slept and slept and listened to my book. And wanted long enough so that I could pack up in the rain! How smart was that? So instead of packing a dry tent 10 minutes ago, I'll get to pack a wet one. Again. Oh well.

I'm feeling better this morning although lethargic. Think I lost another item: iphone charge cord (got a backup, though:)). That's added to the short list this year of gloves, headlamp, red fleece hat, and outlet adapter. Not bad for forgetful me. Guess I'm doing better!

Ok, rain is stopping...time to move!



Look closely at that statue and tell me they didn't....



Same town...this is at a roundabout!

6:30 pm. Camped on the edge of a cornfield tucked a ways back off a cycle path. Thank goodness the corn is over 6 ft high and I'm hidden by it, I think.

The grocery store I found was...Aldi! They had them in Ireland too. Ok. I got some veggies. Haven't seen farmers markets since Ireland either. Or health food stores. So I asked the cashier who didn't speak much English where a cafe was. I wanted my morning coffee and some lunch. She gave me directions. I went there. No one spoke English. Got my coffee and sat down to look at the menus on the table. All were for ice cream in some form or another. Including spaghetti ice cream! I did find a crepe with fresh fruit and yogurt. That was the closest to something nutritious that I could find. Just not finding the bakeries and cafes in these towns. And no English. A word here and there. Lots of gesturing:). And I wish I remembered more from 40 years ago! A word here and there. Each day a few more are coming back.

Even though I love the paths, I took to the roads (which have paths along side) to make some time. The paths were double the distance.

I'm sitting in my tent, in the rain (surprise, surprise!) listening to music blasting on my iPod and dancing while sitting. I know my daughters will appreciate that vision:). I did it a lot while driving:). "Oh! Oh! Mom's dancing again!!". And usually I'd try to sing too. That really tortured them!

I'm having a teary evening. I think it's just all this pent up emotion needing a release and music always does it for me. Right now I'm listening to Patti Griffin (one of my favs!) "When It Don't Come Easy"

Well there's a flashing on the highway
I wonder if we're gonna ever get home
I wonder if we're gonna ever get home
tonight
Everywhere the water's getting rough
Your best intentions may not be enough
I wonder if we're gonna ever get home tonight

But if you break down
I'll drive out and find you
If you forget my love
I try to remind you
Stay by me but it don't come easy.

I don't know nothing except change will come
Year after year
What we do is undone
Time gets moving from a crawl to a run
I wonder if we're gonna ever get home
You're out there walking down a highway
And all of the signs got blown away
Sometimes you wonder if you're walking in the wrong direction

But if you break down
I'll drive out and find you
If you forget my love
I try to remind you
And stay by me but it don't come easy
But it don't come easy

So many things that I had before
It don't matter to me now
Tonight I cry for the love that I've lost
And the love that I've never found
**********************(unintelligable)
*****************
Someone who'll say what's been said before
Someone to love what you're looking for

If you break down
I'll drive out and find you
If you forget my love
I try to remind you
I'll stay by you when it don't come easy

That was a fun exercise!

Goodnight, BagLady



Many gardens have these altars with Christ on the cross. I've seen them a lot!

And here's one for ya, cigarette machines right on the street. Saw 2 of them only 50 ft apart in a neighborhood. That way, if you run out at night, you don't have to go far!



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What Do You Mean All the Business are Closed? Is This a National Holiday?

SUNday! July 15th
Sogel Germany.
Sun in morning. A first! Dry and cool all day. I'll take it!



5:00 pm
Someone forgot to tell me that Germany, on Sunday, is CLOSED! I mean all businesses!! All of them! And I didn't know that. Luckily I do have food for dinner if I have enough fuel to cook pasta. When the fuel's gone that will be it for the trip. I just have to be sure to get a cup of caffeine every morning now that I'm back on it (not to stay)...so I don't get a headache. And no more luxury of washing dishes in soapy warm water. But I only have one week of biking left. Then a few days with Heike getting my box together. Then HOME:))))!!!!! And I'm ready! The trip now has the feeling of slogging through muddy water. The joy is gone.

Back to CLOSED issue. Luckily I found public, super clean johns in the first town I came to and watered up because I don't think I would have found water the rest of the day. And maps was my other need. Couldn't get cycle route maps in Holland. I was hoping to get some from the info office today and they were CLOSED! So I limped along trying to figure out paths to Meppen, sometimes just taking the main road. A big no-no! Sometimes I'm surprised when I notice something that's just what I need: like happening to look to the left and there's a cycle path sign that I need. Or taking a break and looking up and there's a cycle path sign board with routes to all kinds of places! Being observant is not my strong point, so seeing these things just when I need them (like someone is helping me...) is almost weird. Yup, trail magic!

But they do have weddings and parades on Sunday and I saw both.



So I got back on the delightful, slower, longer, more windy, cycle paths heading roughly in the direction I need and had a very nice ride today. 45 miles or about 85 kms. I'm only 115 km from Bremen. But that's by way of the car on my map app. I figure it's another 25 kms longer by cycle path. So I think my estimate of Wed afternoon to Cornelia and Stefan's is right.

I have found the people warmer and friendlier here in Germany. They seem to try and answer my questions even though English is more difficult for them Less bikes too. Rougher bike paths, though. Sometimes just a dirt farm road.
The houses still have those extremely tall deeply slanted toughs like the Dutch. And everything, including the barns, is made of brick.

6:30 pm. Dinner done. Enough fuel. All snug in my tent with the fly open! Been quite awhile since I've done that...last night there were mosquitos....before that rain, rain, rain. And I'm 75 feet from a road, but in the woods. And they can't see me...na na na na na naaaa.!!!! Dense edge with clearing within. A bit difficult scooting Blaze in through the brush, but I persisted! I don't like hiding like this and feeling afraid of being seen. I like being ignored. WIth every car, my senses are heightened...listen...are they moving on? Hyper alert! I need to get my mojo back.



It does feel good to be done early and have time to veg: write, read, listen, go over my maps, eat, eat, eat...

So on to the next activity...whatever that is,

BagLady
p.s. excuse the photo quality. Sometimes I totally forget to take any pics with my phone and have to take a pic of a pic off my camera to have something to include in my post.


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Well Hidden!


Saturday July 14
Emlichheim, Germany
Rain...rain...rain...not raining now

I've noticed in Holland more people outdoors than I saw in the UK. And the rain doesn't slow them down a bit! Hiking and biking...all ages! It's fabulous!! And I'm not the only one cycling with an umbrella:)



This is a pic of the signposts I'm following.

This morning's ride was the kind that just fills my heart with joy. The kind that is why I love bike touring. Grey, misty morning, high 50's, tranquil farm land, smooth path, no cars...what's not to love? Only got lost in the one town I had to go through today...because the path ran into a dirt pile and construction site. But after doing all my chores and great conversation with a couple from Colorado (Jim and Janet) and their friend from Germany (memory lapse here, sorry), I cycled out in a deluge. But while stopping to ponder which way to go, read maps, read road signs, all under my umbrella, a gentleman signaled for me to come under the overhang where he was waiting out the rain. So I did. Interesting, good-looking man...a therapist I think...and he invited me to stay at his place. It was hard to turn him down, but I have a tight schedule and have kms to bike before I sleep. He agreed with Janet (above) that I am crazy for liking to sleep in a tent...certifiable! But then I knew that.

Tonight I am HIDDEN! No one is going to find a wake me! ANd I can see that there is a delightful evening out there and a gorgeous sunset and I'm tucked away deep in some woods fearing that someone will happen by. But I'm sure they won't...Pretty rough woods. Hard to get Blaze in here. TAKING NO CHANCES! I want a good and long night's sleep.

I mentioned a schedule. Yup, I have one. This is just the way I DON'T like to bike. But I want to go all the way to Hamburg so I have to set myself with km limits for each day...actually, I pick a town that I have to get near. My map app will route and calculate km...of course it's not the route I'll bike, it's the route one would drive and sometimes it goes way out of it's way to get to a highway. But I've managed to try and use it to estimate distances from here to Bremen and then to Hamburg. Then take the distance remaining every night and divide by the number of days to bike and voila! I also estimate if I should take a day or two off what would I have to do. Yesterday I went 80 kms according to my bike but only 50 by the map app...that's how much riding around because I was lost and backtracking I do, not to mention that the cycle path route twists and turns through the most delightful areas. Today was 47 kms according to map app and I don't know what the bike computer says...and I'm not getting up to go read it. Once I'm settled in for the evening, my legs freeze up and are hard to move...just like hiking. (Oh, the sun is managing to break through the trees and light up my tent...ahhhh! This is so nice. Would be a good evening to be biking:))

So I have about 175 km to Bremen where I want to be by Wed afternoon, and then leave Thursday morning to go the 140 to Hamburg. And I'm going to be back to using my map app to find the route I'm afraid. Unless now that I'm in Germany, I can find information about cycle paths. I can only hope. As frustrating as they've been to follow, they have been a delight to ride:)

Ok...beddy bye time...the bewitching hour for rousting wild campers has arrived and I'm still doing well...Yippee!!!!

BagLady



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