FrostyWooldridge's Blog

By Frosty Wooldridge

"Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to

cherish each moment, because it will never come again. What we leave

behind is not as important as how we have lived." Captain Jean Luc

Picard, Starship Enterprise

In a blink, the spokes, once reflecting the dawn's early light in the

"Land of the Midnight Sun' in Norway fall silent in the garage after

covering 3,500 miles from the highest city in Norway to Athens, Greece.

My bike, Condor, is back at his usual spot hanging on the ceiling

awaiting the next great ride. My friends Gary, Denis, Bob and I rolled

our bicycles across the European Continent this summer in one of the

great bicycle rides on the planet. All is quiet upon our return.

However, the memories and 3,500 pictures remain fresh in our minds. How

can you describe so much laughter and amazing moments?

I can still see all four of us meeting in Alta, Norway on a cool evening

at the airport. Laughing, smiling and enjoying great expectations! We

unpacked the bikes and wrenched them together and locked on the panniers.

The next two weeks saw us riding with a never setting sun through the

incredible mountains and fjords of Norway. Our campsites included some

amazing moments up high or down low and always near a snow field or

waterfall. One night down on the beach of a fjord, we parked all four

bikes on both sides of an old oar boat. Then, cooked dinner under

soaring snowfields blazing white in the evening sun. We rode through

reindeer land, Viking territory and in the land of the cuckoo bird. That

crazy bird became our morning alarm clock, "Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo."

After two weeks of perfect weather and exquisite moments, rains hit and

for seven days, we rode in rain, cold rain, wet rain, and miserable rain.

We suffered, well, not suffered, yes, the more I think about it, we

suffered, but didn't die suffering, but it wasn't that much fun! At one

point, I saw the look on Bob's face, a novice at long distance riding,

and despair glommed all over his countenance. He was soaked from head to

foot, nose to toes, front to back, butt to feet, up to down--as we all

were. He said, "Just shoot me. Just take me out of my misery and shoot

me." Well, we didn't shoot him and he pedaled onward. In fact, he got

to liking the rain, and as time wore on and the rain drops splattered

everywhere, he said, "I love the rain, I want more of the rain, just give

me rain so I can ride in it." And, so it rained. Bob cried and none of

us smiled in the face of that daily rain and the pounding on our tents

at night. But then, the rain stopped. Amen! We rode south never to

see another drop of rain for the next two months. But no wonder the

Vikings were so tough because it rains all the time in Norway.

Denmark runs flat as a pancake with windmills and wind turbines, farmland

and nice people. We stopped into a 150 year old, still operating,

windmill that stood along the road. Man, it smelled of history and

ghosts from the past. Gary ate his way through the pastry shops of

Europe, and Denmark, by far, is the world's best pastry provider! Every

pastry shop included eclairs, doughnuts, chocolate to die for, cakes,

cookies, and an unending presentation of fabulous baked goods. We

stuffed ourselves andburned it off as we pedaled down the highway. We rode the North

Sea Cycle Route and then, into Germany.

Well, it's all flat and very nice and neat and clean and a lot of people

and the feudal system and castles and amazing rivers and people. We

followed the Rhine River and enjoyed our friends Uwe and Claudia, and

Hans and Erika. We discovered 3,000 year old cities, 2000 year old

churches, fantastic wines and food, and well, so much fun. Thanks to Uwe

and Claudia for their taking us to old churches and Eslingen. Hans and

Erika showed the best of Karlsrhue and Weingarten and lakes and music and

concerts and, well, Erika entertained us with her songs and playing her

accordion. Hans took me swimming in his favorite lake and we met their

friends. Way too much fun.

We pedaled to the source of the Rhine River at the Bodensee and into the

Alps of Switzerland where we once again climbed high mountain passes.

Oh, and never to forget the most amazing 35 kms down hill of Splugen

Pass which is like riding down through a can of angleworms with so many

twists and turns and tunnels and we met and rode with Anneke, Jan and

Marlose from Holland and laughed and danced on the highways where

history sprinkled wars, crusades and cathedrals of ancient times. We

passed dozens of touring riders from all over the world. We met Anja and

Harold. We loved our new friends on recumbents who proposed marriage on

the top of Splugen Pass...bravo Kors Jan and Ada! Thank you Pat and

Gunnar for your hospitality during the storms in Norway.

Chiavenna, Italy started our tour in Italia as we moved through the Roman

Empire in Venice and Florence with their statues and paintings and

exquisite architecture. We saw where Da Vinci worked, played and created

as well as Michael Angelo Buonorotti and we visited my brother in law

Bob and Pierina where he is an artist. Michael Angelo's David is as

fantastic as One can imagine. We visited Volterra and other walled

cities. We walked in the canals of Venice and the gondolas. We tried to

prop up the leaning tower of Pisa. We pedaled into Rome and saw the

pope and visited St. Mark's amazing cathedral and all the statues and

buildings and the Roman Forum. We walked where Caesar walked and Alexander the

Great and visited where St. Mark was killed and where Caesar was cremated. We sat at

the Fountain of Trevi and threw a coin over our shoulders and made wishes. We stood in

the Cistine Chapel to see where Michael’s man reached forward to touch the finger and

breath of life of God.

We visited the Coliseum where one million men lost their lives in 200

years of gladiator games all quiet now and mostly non violent tourists

visit that 60,000 seat structure. We walked on the one road, Via Sacra,

that led into the heart of Rome and we walked where all the great

historical figures walked. We walked where Caesar, Brutus, Pilot, Aurelius and other

Roman greats walked. Pretty heady experience to read about them and

then, walk where they walked 2000 years ago. And finally, in Rome, I was

able to see Gian Lorenzo Bernini's 'Rape of Persethanie' a piece that I

saw in the Humanity Books in college and finally, I got to see it and

touch it in the Borghesse Galleria in Rome. Truly, I felt so blessed to

see such a fantastic work of art along with so many other great pieces of

art.

We will always remember as we ate lunch in a park in Cremona, Italy

across from the Teatro Bar and Grill that two Italians walked across the

street with a tray holding bucket of ice and a chilled bottle of wine and

glasses and they uncorked it and said, "Welcome to Italy." You know, it

was one of those 'moments' that remains in your heart forever and, gives

hope for the future of humanity. We enjoyed many such moments like that

all across Europe.

At one point, we visited a mass grave site in Italy near Anzio of soldiers from America and

Britain who died in WWII. Most of them were 19 to 24. I wept at the tragedy. We slept

above the cemetery that night. That morning, I thanked all of them and then, it hit me to

invite them to ride with me that morning in the early sunshine in the hills of Italy. So, I led a

group of 520 spirited bicyclists out of their graves and onto a morning ride. And you know,

they yelled and cheered at what fun they were having on that special morning. I cried a lot

that day.

As you can imagine, we pedaled through the past. We rode our bikes

through Tuscany. We pedaled up and down the vineyard covered hills

and sweated across rivers and camped on cliffs above valleys. One

particular village stood on a high hill and was walled off over 1200

years ago. It is absolutely amazing riding into a city that is hundreds

of centuries old with people still living in brick houses from so long

ago. As I labored into the village and past the walls, I came upon a

fountain. I poured water from the fountain onto my head in the hot sun.

Amazingly, a tall church stood behind me when I heard children singing.

I walked up the steps and walked inside a fabulous church 1200 years old

with a children's choir singing. I sat down in a pew that was sat in by dozens of

generations and listened to the songs rise to the rafters of that old church. I can't begin to

tell you how touched I was by 'spirit' that day in that cathedral on a hill.

We loved the Italians who cheered us and applauded our journey, and,

well, I could write a book about the ride, and in fact, stay tuned. We

left Rome filled with history and grandeur and hit the coast and caught a

ferry from Ancona to Patras, Greece. We rode though the dry, hot, olive

grove-covered mountains to the Oracle of Delphi and that was amazing.

Their culture stands as magnificent in the times of Socrates, Aristotle

and Plato. We were SO touched by history in those buildings and statues

and museums. We pedaled on to Athens where we walked on the Parthenon

and discovered ancient ruins and visited the museums and ate Greek food

in a restaurant overlooking the Aegean Sea. Greece is the cradle of

thought. I now have statues of Hercules on my memory shelf along with

the leaning Tower of Piza and a gondola and other memories.

Now, back home, our lives pace to the humdrum of life, the daily grind,

the 'normal' deal of work and movies and friends. But for the

summer of cycling, we carry extraordinary moments in our hearts and minds.

And, boy oh boy, do our legs feel like we could power up a mountain

leading all the way to the moon!

I thank Bob, Gary and Denis for sharing this amazing adventure.

For 2009, we shall bicycle the entire profile of the ‘boot’ of Italy! Yahoo!

Frosty Wooldridge has bicycled 100,000 miles across six continents and six times across the USA. You may enjoy his books: "HANDBOOK FOR TOURING BICYCLISTS"; "BICYCLING THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE: SLICE OF HEAVEN, TASTE OF HELL" and "BICYCLING AROUND THE WORLD: TIRE TRACKS FOR YOUR IMAGINATION" www.frostywooldrige.com