Ray's Travels

The last day in Belgium was spent in Brussels. We took the 1:00 pm train from Brugge after packing and saying goodbye to our friends on the barge Fenik. Not having a lot of time to sightsee, we napped and then went out to dinner. Brussels is very lively at night. After dinner we sat outside a bar to sample some of the local Belgium beer. It was a good wind-down to the trip. The flight from Brussels to NYC was without incident. It is nice to be home but it is a bit lonely without our dog Sparty.

Brugges

The view under the umbrella at night while having a beer outside a bar in Brussels.

Today we visited the city of Oudenaarde, Belgium. In the central part of the city there is a bicycle museum that is primarily dedicated to bicycle racing in Belgium. Two themes dominate all discussion of bicycle racing in Belgium. The first is the name Eddy Merckx who was one of the greatest bicycle racers of all time. The other is the Ronde van Vlaanderen (or Tour of Flanders).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronde_van_Vlaanderen

The Ronde race is run in early April. It is a one day event of about 140 miles. The real difficulty is that about 35 miles of the race is run on cobblestones. If you have ever ridden a bike on cobblestones you know that about 1/2 mile will just about rattle the fillings out of your teeth. With potentially bad weather, cobblestones, hills, and the long one-day distance it is not for the faint of heart.

The museum was new and nice. Our guide knew someone who worked at the museum so we received a very warm welcome. There was a beautiful young Belgium girl working behind the counter. She received us with unusual enthusiasm. She spoke English very well. She told us that we were the first Americans she had ever met which surprised us to no end. She also spoke several other languages. It was one of those things that just seemed hard to believe.

At the museum we signed a book that is to be given to Eddy Merckx on his upcoming 65th birthday.

A picture of me after winning the Ronde van Vlaanderen.

A neighbor or ours and a great admirer of Sparty wrote the official obit for “The Greatest Dog in the Whole World”.

SPARTACUS (“Sparty”) GINTHER, 10, MUSE AND BON VIVANT

–Not the New York Times News Service—

        Spartacus Ginther, the occasionally lively and always amusing Beagle, died on Thursday, May 13, 2010, at Hillsdale, New York. He was 10 years old.
        Spartacus, known to all and sundry in New York City and Columbia County as “Sparty”, had been in good health. On that beautiful spring day, Sparty had been running free on his property and, with great concentration, sunning himself on his deck. But he had come inside with a limp, lay down on a bed made–not surprisingly–just for him, and appeared unwell. Shortly after, he passed away at the veterinarian’s office, apparently having suffered heart failure or a stroke.
        Sparty had enjoyed a full life, or at least as full as he was interested in. His agents, chefs, valets, butlers, and an occasional trainer always attended to his needs. Which in reality were few but deep: tasty food served regularly and often; sleep: deep and long preferably on soft furniture coveted by humans and in spots blessed by warm sun; constant and deeply felt affection bestowed with gratitude by his agents and servants; and, (on occasion) exercise, even at times exercise in which he participated.
        Sparty was a dog of many talents and accomplishments. He had won the affection of countless humans in addition to his agents and servants and including chance encounters on city sidewalks. Sparty took particular pride in the bestowal of the Best In Show award in February 2008. (Or maybe he didn’t … it is not always easy to tell with Beagles.)
        Sparty’s agents, Ray and Marie Ginther, were devastated. “Sparty was the best dog in the whole world!”, lamented Ray. Marie worried that Whole Foods and Lobel’s Prime Meats might not be able to stay in business without Sparty’s patronage. “But those many shopping trips, lugging heavy bags of food home for Sparty were labors of love,” cried a tearful Marie.
        Sparty’s huge and creative sense of humor not only provided much of his adopted family’s entertainment, he inspired Matt, Sparty’s butler (also a son of agents Ray and Marie) who had developed a dry and deadpan sense of humor clearly derivative of Sparty’s. “I learned from Sparty that funny lines and funny acts are best if the speaker appears not to notice they are funny,” said Matt who is now casting about for a muse of comparable talents. “I despair of finding another as inspiring as Sparty,” he said. He and his girlfriend Emily were privileged to be at Sparty‘s bedside to be of comfort and witness his last “woof’s”.
        Tommy, Sparty’s valet and sometime trainer, (also a son of Ray and Marie) is an accomplished hockey goaltender. He credited Sparty with all his success in that sport. “I learned first from Sparty that bulk was essential. He then taught me that the most important players in many sports were the one who had to move the least. He often asked ‘Hockey centers and forwards must move all the time – but do they get fed any more than the goaltender?’ He said I could also be a baseball catcher but catchers had to go back to the bench at least nine times a game while a goalie only had to go back three times in a game.”
        Sparty began life on February 29, 2000, which technically made him only 2, but Sparty found that too confusing and, besides, did not want to miss three birthday cakes every four years.
        His first home with his agents and servants was in an apartment at the corner of Madison Avenue and 94th Street where he found many, many admirers in the lobby outside his door and on the sidewalk. However, at about the same time, another “Spartacus”, a pretender according to Sparty, took up residence in the building. As if the attempt to aggrandize his name were not enough, this second “Spartacus” was a hyperactive Jack Russell terrier – an embarrassing breed to the dignified Beagle. And not least of all, the new Spartacus had never even enrolled in Michigan State University, much less graduated from MSU as had Sparty (although as a stealth student).
        Sparty convinced his agents to move to the rarified air of a penthouse at East End Avenue and 79th Street where he spent many enjoyable days when he was not at his beloved country homes.
        Sparty was buried on that lovely country property and a memorial sunset maple tree was planted on the spot.
        Sparty is not survived by any canine offspring. In his early years he expressed regret at not being able to sire puppies, but later he confessed that they would have been competition for food and affection and would have interrupted his naps.
        His family has requested that in lieu of flowers, we all stockpile dog treats to take with us when we join Spartacus in the great beyond where he will be waiting for us with pleading eyes and his enthusiastically wagging tail!

        Thanks for the love, fella.

Flew into Paris arriving on May 13th. Everything went well. The next day we found out by phone that our dog Sparty had died of a stroke the day before. That news got the trip started on a bad note.

The weather was nice and we had a day to walk around Paris. It is as beautiful as ever.

On Saturday we meet up with the barge that we will stay on for the next two weeks. The name of the barge is the Feniks and it sails out of Amsterdam. On Sunday we start biking. We will eventually make our way to Brugges, Belgium.

We arrived in Paris yesterday. Today we received calls from our sons informing us that Sparty passed away yesterday. He was born on February 29, 2000 so he was 10 years old.

Sparty was up at our country house with our son Matt and his girlfriend Emily. It was a beautiful day, he was running free on the property and sunning himself on the deck. He came inside and started to limp. He went upstairs to see Emily (who became very attached to him) then went back downstairs. He laid down on the bed that Emily had made for him and they could tell he was not well. By the time they got him to the vet it was too late. Apparently, he had suffered a stroke or heart failure.

They buried him on the property and planted a sunset maple tree over his body so that he will always be remembered. They also planted two lilac bushes that will bloom each year around the anniversary of his passing.

Sparty was part of the family. Sparty loved the country house. He passed away without any lingering health issues. We profoundly miss him because, as we always said, “he’s the best dog in the whole world.” There was not a mean bone in his body. Everybody that knew him loved him, especially the children.

If there is a heaven for dogs we know Sparty is there.

A child from the bush watching planes take off and land at the landing strip in Vanga.

The barbed wire separates the landing strip from the area where the bush people live. Somehow, it is very symbolic to me. The bush people have a subsistence living. Yet, they watch these magical machines take off and land with people inside them. How do they conceptualize this?

At the last update we were heading into San Francisco. While the weather has been cooperating lately, I never realized how much fog and how cool it is along the northern Pacific Coast. When we set out in the morning we need long sleeves and some people are wearing jackets and leg warmers.

Here’s a day-by-day update of what we’ve been doing:

Day 13 – Petaluma, CA to San Francisco, CA – (51 miles) – While the day was short in distance, it was not a short day in time. We headed out of Petaluma and had some pretty good hills to climb before we got to the more heavily populated areas near San Fransisco. Getting through Sausalito was a challenge because of all of the turns and the traffic. We finally made it to the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a clear, beautiful day with great views of the entire surrounding area. It probably would have been a rare, perfect day except for a fire that caused a bit of a haze over the area. Getting across the bridge is a head-up experience. While there are pedestrian/bicycle lanes on both sides of the bridge, only one side is open on weekdays. It was Friday so we had to make our way through pedestrians and bicycles going in both directions. Everybody made it in safe and we had a nice group dinner at Ghirabaldi Square. I topped it off with an $8.00 sundae that tasted like it was worth it.

Day 14 – San Francisco – (rest day) – The operative word was “rest’. While I did some walking along the shore I really wanted to relax so I avoided taking on anything really touristy.

Day 15 – San Francisco, CA to Santa Cruz, CA – (85 miles) – I think this was our longest mileage day so far. We wound our way out of San Francisco. It’s helped that it was Sunday morning so the traffic was light. The Bridge was almost totally fogged in. We were thankful for the great views when we came into SF. There were some significant hills to be climbed. Most of the route was along the coast so we were treated to some magnificent ocean and shoreline views. The temperatures remained cool, which is good for biking, but no one was sunning themselves on the beaches. The surf was up but all of the surfers were wearing wetsuits. We biked into Santa Cruz which is someplace I have never been before. I was surprised to see a Coney Islands style boardwalk and amusement park.

Day 16 – Santa Cruz, CA to Carmel Valley, CA – (74 miles) – Today’s ride took along Monterey Bay and the Monterey Peninsula. Of course this made for some spectacular scenery. After a quick lunch on Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey we followed the route along the peninsula and into the affluence of the golf course around Cypress Point and Pebble Beach. The scenic road is named “17 Mile Drive” and is a toll road. While it is free for bicycles I was told that the toll is $9.25 for cars. I guess that keeps out the riff-raff.

Day 17 – Carmel Valley, CA to King City, CA – (57 miles) – The day started with an 18 mile, 2000 ft. climb. While not horribly steep (except for a few sections), 18 miles is a long time to continuously climb. It was very cool when we left the hotel but we headed inland. By the time we got over the ridge and into the valley, the heat had set in. By design we got an early start to get ahead of the heat but by the time I got in, about 1:30 pm, the temperature was in the 90’s. The valley is a major agricultural area. There are thousands of acres of vineyards and vegetable fields. Crops are being planted and harvested on a massive basis. It is impressive to see.

Tomorrow we head for Paso Robles, CA. Again there will be some serious hills to conquer and the heat will be a factor. So far I am holding up to the challenge and hope you are all doing well.

Sunrise over San Francisco.

The lone cypress.

The “Adopt-A-Highway” program is very successful at attracting volunteers.

We’re more than half way to our ultimate destination of Costa Mesa, CA. We’ve headed inland which means going from the chill of the coast to the heat of the inland areas. I have never been in this area of the country before but I was very surprised by how cool it was along the Oregon and Northern California coast. These coastal areas are vacation country but I don’t know if I would want to go to too much trouble to spend my vacation in fog, rain and chill despite it’s beauty. That’s just my impression from my short journey along the coast.

Day 11 – Ft. Bragg, CA to Cloverdale, CA – (76 miles) – Today was suppose to be one of the most, if not the most, challenging days of the trip. We were told we would be climbing over 6,000 ft. Not only that but almost all of the climb would come at the end of the day. Well, according to our calculations the climb was only about 4,400 ft. It was a tough day but not nearly as tough as the previous day. It’s interesting how you prepare yourself mentally for the challenge ahead. After arriving at the hotel it almost seemed like an easy day because it was far less challenging than the expectation. We traveled through redwood forests that were beautiful but not as awesome as the previous two days. How quickly we get jaded! The weather was good and although it was chilly in the morning, we actually got warm in the afternoon because we were heading inland.

Day 12 – Cloverdale, CA to Petaluma, CA – (70 miles) – An easy day, only 70 miles! Today we rode through wine country. Small and large vineyards were all along out route. If you see or hear of wines from the Dry Creek Valley, the Sonoma Valley or the Russian River Valley, we probably rode past the vineyards. The Korbel champagne vineyards were along our route. We are now inland and therefore heat and dehydration become a concern. It was nice to not have to wear multiple layers of clothes. However, we hear that we may be heading into some serious heat in the next week. Pick your poison!

Tomorrow we ride into San Francisco over the Golden Gate Bridge. Then we get a rest day in San Fran. I need another rest day. Not that I’m breaking down, I just need to build back up after all of these miles and all of this climbing. About 1/3 of the group will be leaving us at S.F. It is a good group of people. Everybody has a way of mixing with anybody else without conflict. It’s fun!

Hopefully, everyone gets in and out of S.F. with no problem. As tough as it is sometimes, bicycling is the greatest way to travel!

This is what budget cuts will do to law enforcement.

“Fort Bragg [NC] is one of the US’s most combat ready and active military installations.” Ft. Bragg, CA is on the Mendocino Coast in Northern CA. It is not combat ready and is located in a county who’s major cash crop is marijuana. If you ever become President and have to launch a military action, make sure the call goes to Ft. Bragg, NC, not Ft. Bragg, CA.

Now that we have that out of the way, onto an update of the Pacific Coast ride:

Day 7 – Crescent City, CA – A much needed rest day. This place is so dead that I went to the Post Office on Saturday morning to mail some stuff home and the PO was closed.

Day 8 – Crescent City, CA to Eureka, CA – (84 miles) – This started out as a challenging day. After a rest day, 2 miles out of town, we started a 1,200+ foot climb. After descending there was a 900+ foot climb. However, the pain was worth it. We biked into the Redwoods National and State forests. The giant redwood trees are awe inspiring. The weather was cooperating until about the 65 mile mark and the rain started. The last 20-25 miles were miserable. We were soaked!

Day 9 – Eureka, CA to Garberville, CA – (78 miles) – This was a very good and very interesting day. The weather was good for biking throughout the day. The highlight is that we rode about 35 miles through Humboldt Redwood State Park. It is a beautiful ride through the giant redwood trees. There is not much traffic and you can’t help but be inspired by the magnificence. The Humboldt ride now ranks at or near the top of my all time favorite bike rides. Late in the ride we passed through the town of Weott. In 1964 the town was destroyed by a flood that was caused by 33 inches of rain over a 3 day period that also melted a huge snow pack. I’m attaching a picture that may give you an idea of how much water flooded the area. The bridge of which I took the picture was underwater. Notice that the river is hardly flowing in the picture. Yet, most of the redwood trees survived the devastation. No wonder that they are so old and large. They are that hearty.

Day 10 – Garberville, Ca to Ft. Bragg, CA – (70 miles) – Today was one of our more challenging days. We had to climb to about 1,900+ feet, descend, and then do a 600+ foot climb. Thankfully, the weather cooperated. The scenery, while not as dramatic as the previous two days, was magnificent. After our climbs through the forest we went onto Hwy. 1 and after getting out of the hills and forest we were greeted with a magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean. There was no fog on the ocean, the water was crystal blue and it felt good to be alive!

Tomorrow we have the most challenging day of the tour in respect to climbing. We will do over 6,000 vertical feet (today was about 5,000 ft.). That being said, I need to get some rest.

When this area flooded, the bridge was under water.

I am doing the tour with the same company (America By Bicycle) that Marie and I used for our trip across the United States during the summer of 2007.

Today we completed our sixth day of riding (over 400 miles total). We crossed the Oregon/California border this morning. Tomorrow is our first rest day. Marie did the same tour in September of 2008. She enjoyed it so much that she insisted that I do it this year. I walked the dog last year, it’s Marie’s turn this year. The dog is happy!

Day 1 – Astoria, OR to Tillamook, OR (66 miles) – I didn’t post an update the first day because it would have just bummed everybody out. We left the hotel in Astoria an hour and a half later than scheduled due to a torrential downpour. Even after we finally left we got soaked and then ran into very heavy headwinds (20 to 35 mph) with hilly terrain. That doesn’t make for pleasant bike riding. It was just about one of the least enjoyable rides of my life. It was the longest 66 miles I can remember. After crossing the entire continent in 2007 with no rain I was afraid my luck had run out and the weather gods were sending me the bill.

Day 2 – Tillamook, OR to Lincoln City, OR (65 miles) – When we were getting to leave the hotel it was pouring just like yesterday. I was beginning to dread my decision to even do this trip. However, after breakfast it mostly cleared up and we had a pretty good day of cycling. The scenery is gorgeous, the hills are challenging but not daunting and there are sights to see along the way. Maybe this isn’t so bad after all?

Day 3 – Lincoln City, OR to Florence, OR (80 miles) – The weather gods seem to have more important business than ruining my trip. I guess they are busy in Istanbul. A lot of our journey follows highway 101 along the coast. When it is feasible we travel on less trafficked or more scenic side roads. The scenery is very dramatic and fortunately we have not had too much fog which is something that has plagued the tour in previous years. When you start a tour like this you know that you are not really conditioned enough physically. You have to tough it out and get your conditioning back. Sometimes you feel like you are surviving on ibuprofen, energy drinks, high carb snacks, Power Bars, a few bananas, and as much as you can eat at breakfast and dinner.

Day 4 – Florence, OR to Bandon, OR (82 miles) – We were scheduled to leave the hotel at 7:30 am. I woke up at 4:00 am, went back to sleep and woke up again at 7:00 am. Crisis time! I threw everything together, got the bike ready and had to leave without breakfast. It put me out of sync for the whole day. While the scenery was spectacular, I never felt good. The weather cooperated but the hills were punishing (to me) and I just never felt right. It was a combination of getting off to a bad start and still trying to get my body into the condition required for what I am asking it to do.

Day 5 – Bandon, OR to Gold Beach, OR (66 miles) – A better day but not a great day for me. Mentally I felt good but at times my legs felt dead. This is all a conditioning thing that you have to ride through but its not easy at the time. Fortunately, it was a shorter day.

Day 6 – Gold Beach, OR to Crescent City, CA 9 (65 miles) – There was suppose to be some dramatic scenery to take in early in the ride but unfortunately the fog was so heavy that visibility was very limited. There were some early tough climbs so it was a matter of slogging it out. Physically it was an up and down day for me. Sometimes I felt tired and sometimes I felt fine. It would come and go. Again, I think it my body is getting used to the rigors. I actually see these symptoms as a good thing. I have a Garmin GPS device with a heart rate monitor that tracks speed, distance, time, cadence, altitude and hear rate. At the end of the day I download the information from the device into my laptop. Over just 6 days I have been able to see how my average speed has increased, my average heart rate has decreased, my average cadence has increased and my maximum heart rate (even with tougher climbs) is lower. Maybe I am getting into better condition! Now if I can just reach that point where my body is using fat for fuel I can start to drop some unnecessary pounds.

Tomorrow is our first rest day. I need it. Sunday will be a tough ride. I am attaching a few pictures I took along the way. If you want more pictures and further details you can access the web site that our tour leader maintains. It is: Ride the West Coast – 2009