PLEASE SUPPORT MY RIDE BY MAKING A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE CONTRIBUTION TO the Parkinson's Disease Support Network of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. Follow this link:
http://www.pdsnoki.org/
Fundraising Goal: $9,000, or $9 per kilometer!!!
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SUN SUN SUN!!! Today was the kind of day that reminds you why you bicycle. It was a long ride -- the longest yet, by a small margin -- but the road was great and fast, the people friendly and, most importantly, there was sun!
I woke at the Nameji guest house and saw the sun out my window, but intentionally didn't look so as not to jinx my luck. I had breakfast with my Estonian neighbors downstairs and they were very nice. They told me their son lives in Salt Lake City and sells books at the university bookstore there. In the cold morning sun, this guesthouse turned out to be quite cute. I pet the nice puppy a little, took some photos and hit the road.
I went back to my little internet cafe on the outskirts of the town, got another blog entry in and then headed south to the Lithuanian border, via the Via Baltica exclusively. That, the cold air and
the fact that I had a very long ride ahead to Panevėžys had me concered that it would be a miserable day. It was so far from miserable! The sun changed EVERYTHING and made this a great ride.
Just before the Lithuanian border, I stopped to spend the last of my lats at a gas station. I filled up my water bottle with bottled water, since the water at the guest house smelled a little off, and with my remaining 1 lat I got a big old piece of chocolate-coated marzipan (sorry to make you jealous, Mom -- I know you love it). I figure, what could be better for bursts of cycling energy than sugar, nut paste and chocolate!?
At the Lithuanian border, this time there was actually a guard, and again the two flags side-by-side. I didn't know what the protocol was, so I just slowly cycled through and they didn't seem to care. I then stopped for money and new telephone card for Lithuania. Speaking of which, my new number in Lithuania is +370 648 857 10. I then stopped at the roadside place for some lunch, which was delicious. I saw the waitress bring someone else some borshch, so I asked for that and the shashlik (lamb or beef shish kebab) they were grilling out front. She told me I really didn't want the borshch, but rather the meatball and sour cream soup, which she herself had made. I took her suggestion and was glad I did. And like EVERYTHING good in this part of the world, there were generous amounts of fresh dill added, which I love.
Then it was an all out 65 km dash for Panevėžys. I made very good time and just soaked up the sun. Plus the Via Baltica again was flat and had a very wide shoulder so I was in cycling heaven. I saw another war monument on the Latvian side, but this one was in Latvian, so I couldn't read it. I also saw a windmill, a bus stop named Martini, a lot of typical Lithuanian wood sculptures and a beautiful apple orchard.
I am now in the town of Panevėžys and there's not much here. I booked a place at the Hotel Panevėžys in town. It is called a "renovated single", but when I got to the place it turned out to be the
old Soviet hotel and it looks very sad, rundown and dingy. I didn't even make it to their reception desk; I passed a new and clean hotel on the outskirts of town and they promised me a room for 29 euros, so that may be my destination instead. Tomorrow, I have to decide whether to really push things and go to all the way to Kaunas (120 km) or just go most of the way. I will probably do the latter.
Vitals on the ride:
Distance: 59 miles (total 320 miles)
Route map: http://veloroutes.org/bikemaps/?route=21284
Soundtrack: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Live Alive (great cycling music); Blood, Sweat & Tears, Live and Improvised (sensing a theme here?).
http://www.pdsnoki.org/
Fundraising Goal: $9,000, or $9 per kilometer!!!
---
SUN SUN SUN!!! Today was the kind of day that reminds you why you bicycle. It was a long ride -- the longest yet, by a small margin -- but the road was great and fast, the people friendly and, most importantly, there was sun!
I woke at the Nameji guest house and saw the sun out my window, but intentionally didn't look so as not to jinx my luck. I had breakfast with my Estonian neighbors downstairs and they were very nice. They told me their son lives in Salt Lake City and sells books at the university bookstore there. In the cold morning sun, this guesthouse turned out to be quite cute. I pet the nice puppy a little, took some photos and hit the road.I went back to my little internet cafe on the outskirts of the town, got another blog entry in and then headed south to the Lithuanian border, via the Via Baltica exclusively. That, the cold air and
the fact that I had a very long ride ahead to Panevėžys had me concered that it would be a miserable day. It was so far from miserable! The sun changed EVERYTHING and made this a great ride.Just before the Lithuanian border, I stopped to spend the last of my lats at a gas station. I filled up my water bottle with bottled water, since the water at the guest house smelled a little off, and with my remaining 1 lat I got a big old piece of chocolate-coated marzipan (sorry to make you jealous, Mom -- I know you love it). I figure, what could be better for bursts of cycling energy than sugar, nut paste and chocolate!?
At the Lithuanian border, this time there was actually a guard, and again the two flags side-by-side. I didn't know what the protocol was, so I just slowly cycled through and they didn't seem to care. I then stopped for money and new telephone card for Lithuania. Speaking of which, my new number in Lithuania is +370 648 857 10. I then stopped at the roadside place for some lunch, which was delicious. I saw the waitress bring someone else some borshch, so I asked for that and the shashlik (lamb or beef shish kebab) they were grilling out front. She told me I really didn't want the borshch, but rather the meatball and sour cream soup, which she herself had made. I took her suggestion and was glad I did. And like EVERYTHING good in this part of the world, there were generous amounts of fresh dill added, which I love.
Then it was an all out 65 km dash for Panevėžys. I made very good time and just soaked up the sun. Plus the Via Baltica again was flat and had a very wide shoulder so I was in cycling heaven. I saw another war monument on the Latvian side, but this one was in Latvian, so I couldn't read it. I also saw a windmill, a bus stop named Martini, a lot of typical Lithuanian wood sculptures and a beautiful apple orchard.
I am now in the town of Panevėžys and there's not much here. I booked a place at the Hotel Panevėžys in town. It is called a "renovated single", but when I got to the place it turned out to be the
old Soviet hotel and it looks very sad, rundown and dingy. I didn't even make it to their reception desk; I passed a new and clean hotel on the outskirts of town and they promised me a room for 29 euros, so that may be my destination instead. Tomorrow, I have to decide whether to really push things and go to all the way to Kaunas (120 km) or just go most of the way. I will probably do the latter.Vitals on the ride:
Distance: 59 miles (total 320 miles)
Route map: http://veloroutes.org/bikemaps/?route=21284
Soundtrack: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Live Alive (great cycling music); Blood, Sweat & Tears, Live and Improvised (sensing a theme here?).
2 comments:
I am finally catching up with your blogs on the weekend. Panevėžys is the town my mother's family is from. Small world indeed! My father's mother was from Kaunas. My parents and sister went back a few years ago and had little luck finding relatives.
Ginny, I am just seeing this comment -- this is very exciting! You know, when I was in Kaunas, I mentioned to the folks at the tourism office that I knew one Lithuanian-American (you) and they said your name sounded very classically Lithuanian to them, for what that's worth.
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