Bicycling from London to the Lorelei.

Hector Mireles, May 2001

This May, I did the same thing as legions of other people in the new world.   I visited  the old world  - England, Holland and Germany to be exact.

 I know...I know!   Big deal!  I mean...those places aren't exactly listed in the State Department's list of dangerous places to visit.  I was admitedly late for the more interesting events in those places, which all happened 300, 100 and 50 years ago.   Nope!   In May of 2001, not a a single V-2 rocket landed in London, no paratroopers landed in tulip-laced fields in Holland, and the most passionate speach that the German Chancellor made, was when he was describing a goal made by the Schalke soccer squad in its victory over the Berlin team.  Those Krauts have actually really become quite soft!

In fact, this whole site wouldn't even be worth the space on this server, if I had not made the trip on a bicycle.

Those of you who know me, know the significance of Germany in my life.  You may also know that my grandfather was an aircraft mechanic during the war.  Well I wanted to travel the same distance on my bike, as those US planes flew back during the now-unfathonable events of WWII.   Along the way, I wished to cross the legendary, "bridge too far" in Holland and ride up the Rhine all the way to the very heart of German Folklore.  You might say that I was heeding a certain Wagnarian call to arrive victoriously into the Rhineland.    My destination there, was the famous curve on the Rhine, known as the "Lorelei".  Rhineland legend has it that a heartbroken maiden threw herself from the cliffs on the banks, and returned as a ghost to beckon the sailors which negotiated the periolous curves and currents of the river there.   She has been blamed for counless shipwrecks throughout the ages.

As if that weren't dramatic enough,  I had even more theatrical reasons to take this 640 mile trip.   I felt like I was fulfilling some sort of destiny...kindda like a lone cowboy on his faithful steed.  Yeah... that's it...except that I was traveling east with the sun to my back.   Sounds cheezy hu.  You know...the cowboy character really isn't all that bad.  He gets the bum rap for being kindda thick-skulled, gun-slinging, uncultured, unshaven, and a little too loud about bein a 'merkin.   But you gotta admit, there exist several good things about the cowboy image which are rightfully associated with the new world.  A cowboy is self-sufficient, hard working, courageous and reliable.    He can even be polite and charming, like Rex Stetson on Pillow Talk or Hoss on Bonanza.    Well if you know my famliy, then you've probably already heard stories about "El rancho Mesas Coloradas".  It was in that tiny Valhalla of the Mexican Sierra Madre, that my brothers and sister got our greatest examples of bravery, humility and kindness.

It wasn't my first time to Europe, and I'm certainly not the first American to make such a trip.  For me,  it was all about the timing.  In the years following the second world war, two generations of Americans before my own, could rightully celebrate a glorious undisputed moral and economic high-ground in the world.  And there were times during the cold war, when political leaders turned to the White House for guidance.  That time has definately passed.  As you may or may not know, our nation's current administration is doing quite poorly in the international political arena. It's the other cowboy image which our current leadership projects to the world.

But I figured that since the US is the world's greatest contributors to ozone-depleting CFC's,  this bicycle trip could - sort of - make up the difference...a little bit. I mean, even if my trip does constitute a tiny fraction of the energy consumption of one competitor in this year's National Monster Truck rally, I'd be doing my part to close the gap for America. At the time of this writing, Lance Armstrong is doing even more.

But at a more basic level, bicyling is just plain fun.   There is no better way to really appreciate the gradual geographical differences in the terrain.  In a place like Europe, you can really see the cultural distinctions unfold around you.  A bicyclist can traverse miles quick enough to really make the scenery interesting, yet slow enough to really let it sink in.   Although you're not exactly always traveling along the more celbrated sites, you experience the place in a more realistic way.  The fact that you are rubbing shoulders with other cars in traffic, (and an occasional garbage truck) means that you are not just observing the place, but being part of it.  On a bike, you can stop anywhere and as often as you wish.  You are neither pedestrian nor traffic and the wind on your face is a great feeling.  You just have to keep your mouth closed, when riding through flying bugs.

I hope that these pages can begin to describe some of the wonderful experiences I had on this trip. To this day, one month after my voyage, I frequently stop and smile at precious moments that I experienced on this trip.   I apologize for the quality and quantity of the photography, for that was not the purpose of my voyage.   But I hope that you can appreciate the simplicity of the trip through the following photographs, and perhaps make such a trip yourself...on a bicycle.