Year 3 recap: part 1

It seems somewhat fitting that we would be ending Year 3 of this “Grand Adventure” in State College, Pa; my home for most of 4 years. We also passed through here 33 years ago on our first cross country cycle tour. Being in familiar territory, amongst friends is not how we spent most of Year 3. Rather, we experienced the joys and challenges of being a foreigner in foreign lands. Southeasts Asia was where we spent most of this past year. We rode through the sweltering jungles, alongside ancient temples, and dodged inquisitive monkeys. Communication was challenging and we attracted quite a bit of attention; being white and travelling in such an odd way. Though we had intended to continue westward, returning to Europe via Greece - the world had other plans for us. The Middle East “Operation” stood in our way and we could not maneuver around it in any safe way. Thus we were forced to make a U-turn back to Portland where we began an eastward trek across the USA.
This past year we travelled through 11 countries, cycling in all but 3 of them. We vacationed with the girls in Sri Lanka, exploring the island via Tuktuk. And we concluded the year riding across the USA; taking a more mountainous route than our 1993 journey. What’s next? We are returning to Europe; crossing an ocean for the last time ( at least as part of this adventure). Doug claims we have to hit 50 countries before we can stop: yet we shall see what the world has in store for us.Read more