nihilism is exhausting
It was a restless night, not with thoughts of tax woes or sorrow for leaving Kyparissi, but by strange sounds coming from the mountain. Several times I was woken and sat on the balcony for a better listen, the whole village quietly asleep below me. It was ghostly, ethereal, almost human, like a beckoning whisper…
Saturday morning continued the cyclical trend of calm sunshine followed by bursts of wind and spitting rain. The TV news carried breathless reports of the flooding elsewhere on The Peleponesse, but there was still plenty of time for a swim before the hurricane arrived. While warming myself on the hot shingle, a heavy downpour arrived…
I awoke to a gusty-but-sunny Kyparissi, clouds over Mount Parnonas, and a massive breakfast. The manager, Stella, told me that I would be the only guest that weekend, as everyone else had cancelled due to the incoming storm Ianos (Janus). Not wanting to be a nuisance, I offered to forego breakfast for the next few…
In order to go further south from Kyparissi, I would need to cycle along the mountain road to Pistamata, which is considered to be the most dangerous drive in Greece. However, Storm Ianos, brewing off the western Mediterranean coast, had strenghtened to a ‘Medicane‘ and due to hit Southern Greece over the coming days, pummeling…
Up before the sun peeked over the surrounding mountains, I was intent on getting to grips with the two punctured tubes. I had the beach almost to myself and it was eye-rubbingly gorgeous. After a swim, I was approached by an elderly couple from Innsbruck, who had just arrived in their camper. Seeing my bike…
After a really enjoyable meal at Poulithra harbour, I headed back to the campsite, intent on a good night’s sleep. But I got very little. Of the majority German caravaners, several had brought large dogs for the journey, and these spent most of the night barking. At 4am I could take no more, pulled-on my…
Based on existing maps, it seemed simply impossible to take a coast road all the way to Monemvasia, so I was steeling myself for a brutal day of sustained inland climbing in oppressive 37 degree heat. I was a little annoyed with myself to have woken late on my make-or-break day. I dropped in to…
Yesterday’s breakers had given-way to a perfectly still sea, into which I ran and blindly dived, head-first into a blacmange of giant jellyfish! Luckily they weren’t stinging today. After stretches on the beach I caught up with the Sunday news and was really saddened to see that Navid Afkari had been hanged in Iran, despite…
7am, I lept out of bed and cycled over the hill for a final swim in Nafplio, then back for a fine breakfast of Greek yoghurt, oats, honey and sweet cake with coffee. Feeling good! I had a great chat with another hotel guest, Jeannette from Breda, and it would have been nice to stay…
Today’s plan was to take the unladen bike on a circuit of the hills, to include Tyrins, Argos and the Archaeological site of Mycenae. The main site is temporarily closed unfortunately, but there are other interesting ruins in the area, including the Tomb of Agamemnon. He’s the guy that oversaw the sacking of Troy. All…
I was woken by a strange whizzing sound. When I peered out of the tent I was amazed to see one of the German caravaners sweating it out on an exercise bike. This made no sense to me. If you’re going to drive all that way, why not bring a real bike? There are plenty…
In order to get to my starting point, the tiny Island of Poros, I first needed to make it to the main Greek port of Piraeus, stay overnight, then hop on the early morning ferry across the Saronic Gulf. On the Paros-Piraeus leg I couldn’t help thinking that the ferries may be a prime contributor…
The Physicist Blaise Pascal wrote: “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone“. As much as I love living in Prague, sitting around is no longer sustainable. Solo cycling presents miniscule risk of contagion, so it’s time to re-don helmet and resume my tour. The Oracle beckons! I…
When she arrived for work, I asked Ana-Marija about the name ‘Manga Hostel’ , and she confirmed that yes, she was a fan of the Japanese comic books. But broken pipes must be prioritised over art. Nevertheless, I thought it a really smart, bright, and well-run place. Ditching my bags, I took the unladen bike…
I awoke to sunshine and stunning views of heavily-laden barges struggling upstream. After a massive breakfast, I climbed back over to Beška to rejoin EuroVelo6, passing orchards to the historic village of Novi Slankamen. Shortly after, a EuroVelo sign recommended a diversion down to the river bank. It was a steep drop on bumpy path…
The rain was bucketing down on Novi Sad, so I sat outside the hostel and downed coffee while talking with a fellow guest, a Serbian merchant sailor who had spent a lot of time in Killybegs. He was finishing a bottle of gin from the night before, and was well cut, yet perfectly lucid. We…
I highly recommend the Long Tour Bike Camp in Sombor. Do make a point of staying there if you’re on EuroVelo6, or otherwise with a bike. You won’t be disappointed! Ivanka and Pretrag were incredibly gracious hosts, and provided lots of tips about cycling in Serbia, with detailed maps. Leaving this morning, my faith in…
There was a massive thunderstorm during the night, and although I was toasty in my tent, it became covered in mud. So I spent the morning drying it while sipping coffee and electrolytes. Steering towards Mohács, there was an overall excellent riding surface on type of a dyke that went on for over 35km, and…
I woke early, said my goodbyes and skedaddled. The riverside track was in poor shape, not helped by the many speed bumps. Eurovelo6 threw up a big surpise as it funnelled me into dry muddy farm track and then…nothing. I spent an hour fighting through thick undergrowth until I intersected a paved road, blood oozing…
The original plan was to leave on Friday so that I could make it to Belgrade in time to go 200 km further south to Vrnjačka Banja. I was to meet friends at the Love Festival. Work put paid to that ? Never mind, I left Prague, 4 days later, on the 6am train to…
Tuesday July 30th @ 5.30, train to Budapest then hop back on the road for a jaunt south along the Danube. Bring-on the halászlé!
I really enjoyed my time on the road, and I’m already itching to get back out there. For sure there were some tough moments, particularly the storm in Austria, but each hill bested, each town reached, just spurred me on to the next one. I had supposed that the climbs would be the hardest challenge,…
I made great progress across northern Hungary on another stunning day, getting to within 100 km of Budapest. Close to Komárno I received the sad news that the mother of a very dear friend has just passed away. May she Rest in Peace. So I am stopping here for now and travelling back to Ireland.…
The man of the house made me breakfast, apologising that his wife was away. He shouldn’t have. After stuffing myself with varieties of breads, cheeses, meats and coffee, as I left he handed me a packed lunch. What a host! Cycling conditions were perfect – sun blazing, a light breeze, birds singing and the road…
It took ages to check out of the hotel, because two busloads of German wine tasters got to reception first. Never mind, I went back into the breakfast room for a second sitting. The hotel owner kept me chatting about wind turbines, but I had to make my excuses (wouldn’t you?) and get back on…
I had a massive breakfast, so big that I needed a lie-down afterwards 😀 There was a stiff southerly breeze out, with a storm promised around lunchtime. No time to waste, I was off. As soon as I left Poysdorf I was climbing through open countryside, vineyards giving way to vast fields of sugar beet.…
After another great sleep and a roadside bike-fix I was back in the saddle. There are no yellow signs at the junction in Hnizdo, but there is a blue Austrian track sign to follow, which soon joins up with #48. I zoomed through the wonderfully named village of Slup before stopping in Jaraslovice to look…
Easter Sunday and more perfect weather. Left early towards Vranov nad Dyji, and the tough climbs of the Podyji national park ahead. The trip through the park took a roundabout route through the forest. There were some steep climbs on poor track surface, then a sharp relief down to the village of Lukov. I stopped…
A great day overall after a slow start. I was passing castle Landstejn and thought I would cheekily recharge my phone and laptop while sipping malenovka – raspberry lemonade that everyone drinks in summer. I had a garlic soup, then another. Good for the lungs apparently, and delicious. I got talking with an Austrian couple…
I was so comfortable that I slept-in. So much for the early start! On such a beautiful morning, it would have been wrong not to have a lazy breakfast while basking in the sun. So that’s what I did. After mounting my steed I held a steady pace over rolling countryside to Tucapy. Surprisingly I…
I was woken at 5am by a cacophony of birdsong, which I supplemented with porridge and strong coffee. Then back on the road, still following route #11, and with some trepidation about the coming hill climbs. But I needn’t have worried, I was in Neveklov no no time, picked up some water and went to…
…wasn’t as easy as I expected! If I had gone directly from the house I could have followed the river south and just veered of to Průhonice. But I decided to ‘start from the start’ and follow the ‘official’ route as much as possible. It begins in Central Park, which isn’t central at all –…
This is the main route of the Prague-Vienna Greenways, a network of trails through Southern Bohemia, Moravia and Austria. It’s not all dedicated cycle path, but mostly backroads and dirt tracks winding through the countryside, taking-in dainty villages, national parks, and UNESCO heritage sites. April is perhaps a tad too early to witness the countryside…
I’ve been all over Europe, but never to Greece. By all accounts I know that it is a beautiful country with a fascinating history, friendly locals and great food. I lived with a few Greek lunatics at university and I still can’t bring myself to drink another drop of Raki. Horrible stuff. But recently I’ve…
Brussels Sept 15 2017. IMO the best funk band around at the moment. Fabulous stuff! Check out their Youtube Channel…
Hobo (noun) ho·bo | \ ˈhō-(ˌ)bō 1: a migratory worker 2: a homeless and usually penniless vagabond After years of having my face buried in a computer screen I decided that I need to get out more. My job used to be involve travelling around, interacting face-to-face with real people, making friends and feeling of some practical help. But my line…
Awesome stuff! Watch for the everlasting cigarette 🙂
‘What do African rhythms, spallation neutron source (SNS) accelerators in nuclear physics, string theory (stringology) in computer science, and an ancient algorithm described by Euclid have in common? The short answer is: patterns distributed as evenly as possible. For the long answer please read on…‘ http://cgm.cs.mcgill.ca/~godfried/publications/banff.pdf
I built my first synthesizer today. Yay! Constructed from the PreenFM kit, it’s a 6-OP, 4 voice FM module with 2 step sequencers and a 12 slot mod matrix. Need to re-solder some joints but she’s alive. Alive I tells ya! 🙂 Here is the First Note.
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/35533656″ params=”auto_play=false&show_artwork=true&color=0006ff” width=”100%” height=”81″ iframe=”true” /] Raw and unpolished. Straight from the stereo outputs, using a small amount of onboard compressor. Decent basis for a track I think, and it took <5 minutes from switch-on to finish.
Latest gearlust. Think of replacing the XL-7 with an Elektron Machinedrum… Machinedrum Tips and Tricks.
"Where's the money, Lebowski?"