Backups: cloudy and cloudless.

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Trip update: I am still in Old Lyme, Connecticut, visiting some cousins whom I have not seen in years, my aunt whom I have missed seeing for what seems like forever, and training in the hills by riding metric half-centuries, so that the riding will be more manageable when I resume the Northern Trek 2014. I have also been translating, writing and revising. I have even been fielding a request to present a class in July, which would test my responsiveness on the road.

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Sea story: Disappearing in Mombasa (1982).

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Mombasa gleamed under a brilliant sun. As USS Coronado tied up to the pier, the officers and crew repaired to the wardroom, mess decks and berthing compartments, where they would watch a live broadcast of the port briefing by the ship chandler’s representative and then call in questions. Continue reading →

My work on the road.

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This blog is about living and working on the road. So far, I have spent a lot of time describing roads past and present, and more than a little bit describing my life on the road. However, I have said very little about my work on the road. The “About” web page of this blog notes that I am a “freelance writer, translator, reviser, and editor.” It is the translator that pays for this crazy lifestyle that I have chosen. This week, I would like to explain a little about what that means and try to describe what the work looks and feels like. As my family used to complain, it looks like I am just “sitting at the computer all day,” so I need to invite you inside my mind. Enter at your own risk! Continue reading →

Sea story: East meets West in Karachi (1982)

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Dust. Great clouds of dust. It rises above the clumps of traffic like a column, to be blown sideways after it clears the walls of the homes lining the avenue that leads away from the Port. Then it falls into my face, my clothes, and my hair.

Sun. Blinding sunshine. Not as hot as the desert to which I was accustomed, but too bright not to wear sunglasses. Continue reading →

What to leave and what to take: testing a new paradigm.

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Trip update. The Northern Trek 2014 started on Monday with a 110-km ride to Richmond. 2014-05-12 departingI enjoyed the hospitality of Couchsurfing host Jessica on Monday and Tuesday nights, allowing me to recover from my first century ride in more than two months. Wednesday, I rode to Williamsburg (85 km), and Thursday to Norfolk (42 km), where I stayed with my niece Clara and her husband Ben for two nights. Today, I am attending a mini-reunion of friends from the US Naval Academy Class of 1969, and enjoying the hospitality of Dennis and Emily until I catch the shuttle over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel next week. Continue reading →

Sea story: My first long-distance solo ride: Naples to Rome and back (1986)

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Right after Christmas 1985, I kissed my wife and son goodbye, and flew to Naples, Italy, for my second NATO tour. Carol stayed behind to sell the house, while Daniel finished school. Continue reading →

Looking ahead: the Northern Trek 2014

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This week, instead of a sea story, I lay out the Northern Trek 2014 in broad strokes. If I will be passing through your neighborhood, I invite you to contact me off-line (freewheeling@scriptorservices.com).  Continue reading →

Keep the car or not?

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Like many Americans who live outside major urban centers, I own a car. It sits in the driveway for months at a time. 2014-04-25 jetta port bowWhen I am in Charlottesville, I only use the car to carpool or to haul our trailer. My son, Daniel, drives his car every day, so he appreciates having somebody else drive once in a while. Like the proverbial little old lady in the joke about the car salesman, I can almost say that I only drive it to church on Sundays. Continue reading →

Sea story: Valencia oranges: they really come from Valencia (1976)

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It had been cold and rainy, typical for the Mediterranean in late February, but when we pulled into Valencia, Spain, the sun came out for a while. The air was still cool, so I knew that this was going to be wonderful bicycling weather. By now, I had ridden my new bicycle in four countries. The streets of Toulon, Naples, Piraeus, Barcelona and Palma de Majorca were familiar to me. I knew almost nothing about Valencia, but from the charts I could tell that the topography by the coast was gentle. Continue reading →

Any day on a bike is a good day

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Bike Tribes (Cover)

Whether you have read Bike Tribes, by Mike Magnuson, or not, chances are you have observed that there many different types of bicyclists. Magnuson has in fact identified about 20 groupings of bicyclists, and he argues convincingly that we need to respect each other, as well as motorists and pedestrians, and learn to get along.

My point from what he writes is that it really doesn’t matter what kind of bicycle you might want to ride. No one of them is better than the other, if it is doing what the rider wants it to do. A little child on a shiny red trike is perfectly happy. A chic city girl riding in heels on her way to work would never ride a bicycle if the only thing available were a clip-equipped road bike. heels on bikeAnd pizza delivery is really not very efficient unless you’re riding a work bicycle. I have no desire to ride a mountain bike at all, but I would have to be blind not to see how much the mountain bike riders love their steeds. Continue reading →