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Hi Ruthie
10:25 AM July 4, 2000
I got your letter, thanks. I will proudly wear the
bandanna, but not here. I'm frightened of this city. While coming into
the city yesterday I got off course and had to find the university on
my own. It's probably a good thing I did. One of the lady riders was
coming in and some radicals were setting up barricades on one of the
major streets so they could have a demonstration. The rider didn't
know what was going on so she just rode through a gap in the road
block. A woman grabbed her, knocking her to the ground, breaking her
helmet and bloodying her nose. They said an armored car came through
afterwards and knocked down the barricade.
Some of us went to a pub last night where we heard
music was to be played. There were two musicians, one playing a banjo
and the other a guitar and they both sang. The volume was way too loud
and it was more like folk rock. It seemed the songs they sang were
ballads about martyrs or fighting and it looked like they were angry
about something. I didn't stay long.
Today I don't plan on leaving the campus; I
have laundry to do and other chores. If I get done in time I may take
one of those guided bus tours though. The two pictures I'm sending are
of rural Ireland and Belfast. As with Italy I think the countryside is
alright but the big cities always seem to exhibit the worst and best
of a nation.
Love, Randal Belfast, Northern Ireland
Belfast
Randal said that the ride to Belfast was truly beautiful.
Hi Ruthie July 5th, 2000
Just a brief note to say hi. We
awoke this morning early in the dorms at the Queens University in
Belfast. Breakfast started at 6:00 AM and we had to ride 3 miles
to the ferry and be there by 6:40. We arrived in Stranraer,
Scotland at 9:30 and hit the rode up the coast toward Ayr.
It was a beautiful ride; right along the coast line and fairly
flat. The people seem to be real nice. I stopped at a cafe in
Girvan and had lunch. I ordered a cheeseburger and a
milkshake. I think the burger had some pork mixed in with the beef
and the milkshake was flavored milk. It wasn't even real cold, but
it all tasted good so I was satisfied.
I think Belfast is a dangerous place and have no
desire to go back there. I could hear a helicopter all night and
this morning on the way to the ferry there were machine{gun?} toting
troops putting out fires in the street from last night. As I rode on
there was a lot of debris in the street, beer cans, rocks, wooden
pallets, and lots of broken glass. I don't know how I got through
it all without getting a flat tire. As I turned off the main
street to go to the ferry I could see more hazards in the road
ahead. I was glad to get away from there.
The bars I've gone to in Ireland to hear music are
all filled with people drinking beer. Lots and lots of beer. I
never saw anybody get drunk or anything but they sure do consume a lot
of alcohol. I think someone said Dublin had 700 pubs. But Dublin seemed
to be much more tranquil than Belfast.
I don't know how Scotland will be. We ride for four
days here before going to Norway. I'm looking forward to it.
Tim Kneeland had a meeting with all of us last night
and gave us a new schedule for the second half of the year. Russia
and Japan had been taken off the list of countries we'll be going to.
Some people got really mad and said nasty things. I felt sorry for
him. I think he has done a good job putting all this
together. The people that were the most vocal are the same ones
that go off route the most and don't ride their bikes anyway.
According to the new schedule, counting the time we
will be together in Amsterdam, I only have 96 riding days left in the
last half of the year. I want to enjoy as much of it as I can and
not complain like some are doing.
Love
Randal
Hi Sweetie
8:15 PM Thur. July 6, 2000
Today's ride would be worth a flight to Scotland to
do. We left this morning from the University of Paisley at Ayr and
started north on A79 toward Inveraray along the coast. It was an
overcast day and we had headwinds for most of it but what great
scenery. We turned inland about midday and rode along Wemyss Bay
taking a 30 minute ferry across to Dunoon. From there we
continued north along a loch ( a body of water between two mountains)
toward Inveraray. That lasted for about ten miles and then a few
miles later we were riding along another loch. We could see our
destination a half mile across the loch but we had to ride 20 miles to
get around the end of the loch and down the other side.
We are in the campground now and have just had a
great dinner. Before dinner a guy was dressed in kilts and
playing the bagpipes. There was a pay phone just a few feet away
and had there not been someone on it you would have heard some live
music from Scotland. I want so much for you to be as much a part
of this trip as possible.
Iveraray has a castle and the Duke and Duchess of
Argyll live in it and own all the land you can see for five miles,
apparently including the town of Iveraray. As I came through the
town I saw a sign for a book fair so I stopped in. It looked
like the book sale at the library. I couldn't find anything that
interested me though. I'm about half done with "Winston
Churchill and the Secret Service". I do have at least two
more books waiting in my locker for me to read so I'm in no real hurry
to find something else anyway.
Two more relatively short riding days (73 and 68
miles) and then a few days off to do some sight seeing before flying
to Norway. Today was 83 miles and I checked in at 3:45.
Love
Randal Inveraray, Scotland
Hi Ruthie
1:55 PM Sat July 8, 2000
I'm in a Bed & Breakfast just a few blocks from
the campground. That is important because most of my gear is there and
we eat our meals there. I stopped at one B&B on the way in
and they were full so the proprietor recommended this one. I
have a TV in the room, a telephone jack downstairs I can use to
connect with, and breakfast is furnished. The name is Lochaber
House run by Mrs. Anne Mullins.
On my way back here from the campground with
my computer, dirty clothes, ( there is a laundry 2 minutes walk down
the street) and some clean clothes to put on, I ran into Sharon and
Denise looking for a B&B. I told them to follow me because I
knew there was at least one more room here. So now I'm in a
single room, Denise and Sharon are across the hall in a double and
Inge, Maryka, and Gudrum are down the hall in a triple.
Today was relatively short 65.2 miles and I got an
early start. The latter part of the day the route took us by Loch
Ness. Every so often I would glance at the water but I guess
Nessie was sleeping somewhere, if monsters sleep. I did stop in
Fort Augusus and take some pictures of the canal locks and a statue of
Nessie made with live flowers.
I'll write you a longer e-mail soon, I wanted to
connect now so I could look at the site you sent me.
Love
Randal Inverness, Scotland
"Nessie" in flowers.
Randal and friend! It kind of reminds me of his dog Simon with horns. PS I asked Randal if that was a new biking jacket; his was dark red. Well was is the important word...Apparently the last load of laundry rearranged the colors of his clothes somewhat. From his description of the rest of his clothes, it sounds like a pen exploded in the washer or dryer and now his solids are all prints and his red jacket is pink! Can't wait to see him!!!
Hi Ruthie
Sun. July 9, 2000
Today is a layover day and I treated myself to a
B&B. We're in Inverness, Scotland. Inver means "mouth
of the river" so Inverness means "mouth of the river
Ness". I took a city bus tour today and checked out the
town on foot too. Did some shopping and bought a pewter
whiskey sipping cup. I'll ship it home to you, hopefully in
Aberdeen tomorrow. Inverness is a lovely town and the
unofficial capital of the Highlands. Everyone is anxious to
show visitors the real Highland heritage but you can still buy
stuffed figures of Nessie in almost every store. It has a city
center with pedestrian streets of all different kinds of little
shops for souvenirs and gifts, and food and drink
establishments as well.. It also has a big information center.
Last night I went to the Balnain House to see
"Tonight At Noon"; two brothers, Gavin and Pete
Livingstone. They played traditional Scottish music in a
contemporary style. At least that is the way it was
billed. The two brothers were the only performers and they had
their act down perfectly. Both of them seemed to be thoroughly
enjoying themselves. The instruments included two
electric organs, two acoustic/electric guitars, two electric
guitars, an electric violin, one mandolin, and an accordion.
They also used numerous bass, drum, and tone generators so at times
it sounded like there were three or four musicians instead of just
two. I think the audience including myself enjoyed the performance.
The informal and more traditional group in Dublin appealed to me
more though. After the concert I bought one of their
CDs. It was originally recorded in 1984 and re-released
on CD with two new tracks added. I'm listening to it as I
write this e-mail.
Before the concert started a lady heard me
talking to my three companions and asked me where I was from.
When I told her she said she was from SC just below Charlotte,
NC. Then two ladies sitting in the row behind me said that
they were from Va. One was from Harrisonburg and the other was from
Charlottesville.
Cycling into Fort Williams Friday afternoon I
spied a bike shop. After crossing several lanes of
traffic to get to it I asked if they could replace my rear brake
shoes. The very nice mechanic said he could get to it in about 30
minutes. One of the Odyssey riders was outside the shop
cleaning his bike with degreaser and a brush. There was also a
water hose there for washing off the dirt. I asked the
mechanic if I could wash my bike while I waited and he said
sure. As I was scrubbing my bike a man rode up on a Honda
mountain bike and had one of the mechanics listen to a
noise it was making. The rider asked me where I was riding to
so I told him about Odyssey and he told me about his trip.
His name is Brian Morris and he lives at # 11
Highgrove, Cabin Lane. Oswestry, Shropshire. Postal Code SY112YF
UK. That's in Wales. He works on a farm that has 400
acres, 80 milk cows, 300 ewes, and 250 lambs. Honda gave him the
bike because he is riding from the southern most point of the UK
which is called Lands End to the northern most point called Johno
Groates and back again, a journey of 1736 miles. He is raising money
for an air ambulance service. He hopes to raise 2000 pounds, about
$3,000 US. Brian is 56 years old but looks younger.
The bike shop couldn't fix his bike; they told
him they thought it was a bad bearing in his lower bracket. We shook
hands an wished each other well on our trips. That was Friday in
Fort Williams. Yesterday I ran into him again near the laundry
here in Inverness. We talked about the days ride and I told him
about the music concert at the Balnain House. Last night three of us
from Odyssey went to the concert and after we bought our tickets he
walked in. I said the tickets were seven pounds and after sensing he
wasn't going to buy one I gave him mine and bought myself another
one. I think he is probably on a budget but he bought me a beer. We
said our goodbyes for the second time and he invited us to visit him
when we come back, that's the reason I'm sending his address.
Tonight I went to St. Andrew's Cathedral to hear
the "Paris Opera Boys' Choir".
I'm including a picture of Brian, (that's him on
the right and Bill Garrett of Odyssey on the left), the two
brothers, (Gavin on the left and Pete on the right), and the boys'
choir.
Love
Randal Inverness, Scotland
 Gavin and Pete
Hi Ruthie
Tuesday July 11, 2000
Today was a layover day in Aberdeen Scotland.
This morning I slept in, not getting up until 8:30 AM. After
a shower I had breakfast and walked the 2 miles downtown. My
intention was to catch a bus but another Odyssey rider started
walking with me so we just kept on. I stopped on the way and
called you and just afterwards I came upon a barber shop so I got
my hair cut and my goatee trimmed.
I found the tourist info center and
checked on the local bus that would take me out west of town to a place
called Hazlehead Park; I heard there was a rose garden
there. From there I went into a grocery store and bought you
some shortbread. I also went to the art gallery and in their
shop I bought some post cards. Later in the gallery I saw
two of the original painting the postcards were copied from.
On the way to the art gallery I stopped in a third world shop and
bought you some ear rings. I went back to the info center
and bought a cook book. Then I went to a mail box place and
shipped it all; you should get it in 10 days or so.
Walking toward the bus stop I looked down a
side street and saw a cafe and decided to have lunch. I
ordered a glass of wine, a bowl of French onion soup, and garlic
chicken in pocket bread; it was delicious. The wine
was so good I ordered another glass and asked to see the
bottle; it was made in California. I couldn't help but
notice a lady sitting over by the window. She was sitting
with the light coming over her shoulder, so I took some pictures.
I did go to the park and found the rose
garden. Its name is "THE QUEEN MOTHER ROSE
GARDEN". I talked to a gardener there and he said the
peak season here is about a month away, most of these roses had
not started to bloom. They prune here around the first of
March and start spraying every other week with Nemrod T. The
garden has 60,000 rose bushes in it. Remind me to come back
here sometime in the future in the month of August.
In the middle of the rose garden was a memorial
to the 167 men killed near here on the oil platform called
Piper Alpha. I noticed around the base of the memorial there
were a number of flower bouquets. One read, "For Alex,
Love and Miss You Still". It was signed, "Always,
Alice and Kids". Above it on the memorial I
found Alex's name; he was 28 years old. Then I realized
today was July 11th, the explosion occurred on July 6th, 1988.
Love
Randal
Aberdeen, Scotland
 Sunshine on my shoulder.....  Memorial to the men of the Piper Alpha
Hi Ruthie
Wed. July 19th 2000 12:42 AM
I just found out I can get
the computer connected to the internet in my room so now I'm
inspired to write, though it's late. My roommate is sleeping so
I'm in the lobby of the Anker Hotel where we are staying.
To call Oslo a city is a discredit to it's
beauty. It should be called a garden; its people being the
product of that garden. I would say it is my favorite so far,
were it not for the high prices for everything. However, I
do realize that the 20% or so sales tax pays for the pedestrian
walk ways, the bike paths, the beautiful parks and statues and
fountains that are everywhere. It pays for day care for
children and I understand that it subsidizes the healthcare
system. The added cost probably keeps some of the
undesirables out too. Oslo has the correct balance of
everything; the harbor, the city center with pedestrian
streets with their shops and restaurants, theaters and museums,
the woods to the north that create a convenient getaway.
The transportation system is the best I've seen, the auto
traffic seems to flow without congestion.
I've been here for two days and have been
doing self-guided walking tours. The tourist information
pamphlets are full of sights to see and thing to do that could
keep one busy for a fun summer. The days are long, the sun rises
around 4:00 AM and sets a little after 11:00 PM. The
middle of the day seems to last forever. I spent some time
at a tourist information place called Use It. They bill
themselves as an information and assistance center for
backpackers. They help people find summer jobs and living
quarters. There's also tons of info too on Oslo. Their
pamphlet called Streetwise is a digest guide on sightseeing,
transportation, accommodations, nightlife, the fjords, museums,
and much more, including how to do it all on a budget. I haven't
looked at their web site but it's, www.unginfo.oslo.no/streetwise.
Now it is the next morning, my battery
started going dead last night in the lobby so I went to bed, (the
computer battery). Actually I was so wired I could hardly
fall asleep. I think it was more the fact that I got the
computer connected than anything else. You cannot believe the
difficulties associated with that. We have a phone in our room
and I tried for hours to get online with no success. I was
plugging my line into the line coming from the wall to the
telephone since it was a standard connection. I have most
of the adapters but none of them would fit the wall
connection. Finally while doing my laundry I asked one of
the other riders that I knew had a computer if she had an
adapter and she did. It worked. Apparently, and I have run
into this before, the lines between the wall and the phone are
reversed in some telephone systems. In other words my line
one is their line two, or, the polarity is reversed, but if you
go direct to the wall connection sometimes it works. There are a
whole slew of other possible problems including self-contained
separate systems that will not communicate with a
computer. I have run into that several times. Denise has
had so many problems she had her sister send her an audio
coupler, but to my knowledge that hasn't worked either.
I'm sending two pictures. One of me in the
snow as we rode over the mountains into Sogndal and the other is
one of the many many fountains in Oslo.
Love
Randal Oslo,
Norway
PS Only 37 more days
till I see you in Amsterdam. (I'm going in August to meet
Randal. We're doing a bike/barge Cycletour of The
Netherlands and then spending some time in Amsterdam.
Ruth)
 Randal
in the Snow Amazingly beautiful Norway.
(I've pasted other Norway pictures on the photo pages.
Hi Ruthie
I'm in my room getting
ready to pack for tomorrow. We ride to Halden tomorrow, still
in Norway. The day after we ride into Sweden. From
there we ferry over to Denmark then back to Sweden and then
Finland and Helsinki for a few days layover. From there we fly
to Berlin on Aug. 7th, I'm looking forward to Germany.
I didn't get much done
today. Walked down town this morning, came back and took a nap
this afternoon. It's 8:05 now and I will lay out my clothes
for riding tomorrow and pack the rest. Talk to you
tomorrow.
Love
Randal Oslo, Norway
Hi Ruthie
11:30 PM Monday July 24, 2000
I'm in the motel room in Copenhagen. I've
already tried the computer connection and it works and I've
read your more recent e-mails. Its even more expensive to
use the room phone here than in Oslo. They charge not only
for opening an outside line but also for time too.
Today was an easy ride, lots of bike
paths, even in the city. Tonight after dinner several of us
stopped by Tivoli Park. The two pictures are from there.
I miss You
Randal
 Day  Night Dear Ruthie, 7/25/2000
About 25 Odyssey riders, including
myself, went on a guided walking tour this morning. It
started at the visitors center at 10:30 AM and its guide was
an American from the New England area. His name is
Richard and he was very knowledgeable about Danish history
and added a lot of color to his comments.
Copenhagen is 850 years old, being
a fishing village before that. Today it is a very
clean and safe city. The cost of living is very high
but as in Oslo there are great benefits. Bicycles are
everywhere and so are accommodations for them. Bike lanes
are on almost all streets. Around 50% of Danes use
bicycles for their main transportation.
Cars, and the maintenance of them, are very expensive.
Because of the added sales tax a new Mercedes can cost
150,000 American dollars. Only 4 out of 10 people own cars,
so one can understand how that would effect the decision on
where to live and work. As in other European cities
though, mass transit is excellent. Buses, trains, and
subways are readily available.
Denmark has a social system that
seems very liberal. If you're down and out, no money
and no where to live the government will support you but
fully expects you to recover and get a job. With 40%
of the population receiving some sort of compensation from
the government it's understandable how the taxes are 52%.
All families with children receive money to defer the cost
of raising them.
Danes study English from the 5th
grade. They also learn Swedish and Norwegian as the
languages are similar. Some Danes, because they like
to travel, also attend night school to learn other languages
such as German and Italian. In Norway, Sweden and here
in Denmark I have yet to find a person who does not speak
perfect English.
One third of the members of parliament
are women.. There are no women serving in the military
though. Reportedly women can travel in safety here,
even at night. According to the tour guide, Danish men
like to drink alcohol but seldom does it lead to mischief or
violence. An evening of drinking is more than likely
to lead to singing, as Danes love to sing. Also 50% of
university students are women. Most Danes belong to
the Lutheran Church, (87%). Only about 2% attend
regularly. Supposedly that is going to change.
Twenty-five years ago women were allowed to become
priest. There are now more women in theology
schools than men, so as male priests retire women will take
their place and with more women priests the guide seems to
think attendance will increase.
This would be another great city to come
back to. Of course ferries run to and from most major
cities so one could stay at one place for as long as needed
and then ferry to another. Tomorrow we ride out of
Copenhagen and take a ferry to Sweden. In 5 days we
arrive in Stockholm for a layover day then on to Helsinki,
Finland for about 4 layover days. From there we fly to
Berlin for another 3 layover days.
I'll See You In 30 Days
Love
Randal Copenhagen, Denmark
The pictures are "The Little Mermaid".
The changing of the guard at Amalienborg Palace,
Copenhagen, Denmark
Those of you with Randal's full itinerary, cross off Russia. It seems that it is proving just too difficult to take the group there so they will go directly to Germany from Finland. Too bad, but Odyssey organizers had warned early on that this might be the case.
Next pages are in the August Journal
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