The Netherlands

A beautiful day of riding yesterday, we crossed the border from Germany into the Netherlands; arrived in Apeldoorn around dark for a nice dinner on a patio in the downtown area; and slept in a park. It rained. Things got wet. But we got the tent up and made it out alive.

We're going to Amsterdam today.

The Villa Part II

If you were to take HWY 475 into the small town of Rheine Germany, about 2km from the city center, or zentrum, you would pass a small side street that leads to a the storage site for a construction company. But before you got to the site, tucked away behind thick brush and a cherry blossom tree, there lies The Villa. The true charm of the place, besides the people you find you there, lies in the back yard.

Rheine lies on the Ems River, and there is about 150 yards between the back premises of the villa and the Ems. In between is a beautiful green area - I'm gonna quote the one and only Kate Svec here from an email she wrote me just a couple weeks ago because it explains the beautiful green area I'm talking about.

"The green fields you were riding through adjacent to the river are what's referred to as a 'riparian zone.' The nutrients carried along by the river make for a lush, thriving ecosystem adjacent to the water - hence the intensely green grass. in the U.S. this would be prime real estate. in europe its prime recreation space to be conserved, not developed."

So there you have it folks.

The most important thing you do at the villa is chill. Whether it be in the back or in the common area inside that has a woodburning stove. We watched two movies - Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Changeling. Both were good and worth a watch.

We helped construct and install an above ground pool today in the back - another place to chill. It was exactually quite an impressive project.

We also went to a park called Huenborg, that featured a Stonehendge type structure that dates back centuries. We chilled there too.

Most importantly, however, has been the kindness shown to us by our host especially, Tamai. But also by two new friends Ina and Nadya. Thank you, thank you, thank you. We hope to return the hospitality and friendship should any of you ever make it to the USA.

Steeple to Steeple through the Big Yellow Fields

Germany has been, based purely on the elements, the best riding we've seen all trip.

Today was an especially awesome day and we have just reached our destination - Braunschweig. The title of this entry makes two references. First, as it got pretty hilly today, our approach to each town was such that, as we would be riding uphill, the church steeples in each town were the first thing we would see. Thus, we rode from steeple to steeple. Second, there were these enormous fields of yellow flowers that would roll through the countryside as far as the eye could see. I mean acres and acres of bright yellow fields people.

Once we got to Brauschweig we headed into the city center where we found an open square, surrounded by trees and on the one side a big, old church. The square had tables and chairs that you would expect to see in a nice restaurant. But they are simply here for the people to more fully enjoy the public space their town has to offer. Absolutely awesome. So we are drinking beers and making food here on the main square off the main strip of the town.

Bike tours rule. Spread the word.

The Chilla Villa

We are at The Villa (Rheine, Germany) as its known by the Tamai, the sole permanent resident and his band of merry men and women that work to continuously upgrade the place. Today, for example, Will and I helped them construct and install an above ground swimming pool. The Villa resembles many of the hostels weve stayed at in many ways - people always coming and going, a party place and a general hangout, as well as where we sleep.

We came to know Tamai when we were sitting on one of the many bridges that crosses Rheine. We started talking and got the invite to come hang out at his place. That was 3 days ago. I have some more general reflection, about Rheine, Berlin and Germany generally, but given my limited time at the moment, that will have to wait until the next entry. Thanks for tuning in.

Also, Tamai is a really great photographer - there is a facebook album from our time here called John and Will - its posted on my profile and the pictures are much better quality than what our jpeg camera can do. If you like the photos, check out more of his photos from all over the world. They are really good and worth a look. The website is in German but its simple enough that you can manage. www.tamai.de

Austria to Czech Repub with guest blogger, Mike Kneafsey

Tim Lankford aka BT (Big Tim) and I (Mike Kneafsey) left O'Hare as excited as two kids on the trip to join up with John and Will Lankford and do one leg of their 5000 mile incredible bicycle journey across Europe to raise money for disadvantaged young men's education. Next stop London where we had a layover before our next flight to Vienna. The layover was long enough to meet with my cousin Jim Kneafsey. He was born in Ireland and now lives in London. He met us at the airport. It was a short meeting, unfortunately, before boarding the plane for Vienna. We arrived in Vienna and were met by John and Will. They immediately took out a bicycle chain and cut a bracelet size length to go around each of our wrist.---The Empowerment Bracelet--- which both of them were wearing. It symbolizes the reason for their trip which was to raise money for these young men. I must say when you spend a week on a bicycle and sleep in hostels at night you really get to know the people you are with. John and Will were a joy to be with and very determined young men. Their parents Tim and Sally have good reasons to be proud of them.

We un-boxed our bikes and assembled them and boarded a train into the old town of Vienna.It was our first afternoon in Vienna and it was raining. We had checked the weather forecast and had anticipated at least a few days of this weather but someone's prayers were answered because it was the last day of rain we saw during our trip.

We checked into a hostel in the old town of Vienna, cleaned up and went out for our first beer in Austria.

On our 2nd day in Vienna we got up early, had breakfast and headed out for a day of sightseeing. I had a friend who was with the Jewish Museum. Her name was Dr. Felicitas Heimann and she was director of the Museum. She was very happy to see us. We had a private tour of the Museum and a lecture which everyone enjoyed.

Day 3 We took off on our 1st day of biking heading toward the Czech border. The hills were more challenging for BT and I but we toughed it out.

It was a great trip and John and Will were very accommodating for the two old men they had under their charge.

Its also a trip I will remember for a long time because of John, Will and Tim. Thanks for including me.

Between Dresden and Berlin

We did a night ride tonight and it was awesome. Last night we were in Riesa and spent a good portion of today there.

So the ride tonight... It definitely wasn't our first night ride but it was definitely the best. Several reasons... 1) the traffic was really mellow and Germans (at least in my experience) are really respectful of bikers 2) the road was really well paved 3) there was no moon but the stars were incredible 4) the temperature was perfect 5) the distance was perfect - 36km, which we did in about 1.5hrs. 6) I had a cup of coffee before the last section of the ride.

For the day section of the ride we rode along the Elbe River which was, to our surprise, some of the best riding we've done so far. The Elbe is considerable in size, one of the major rivers in Europe, I think. Anyway, there were well-paved bike paths on both sides that would occasionally stray from the river bank, leading through small towns, often times consisting of no more than 20 homes, many of which had sheep, goats, cows, chickens, etc. Given the recent Easter holiday, nearly all the homes had those plastic easter eggs hanging from small bushes and trees in their yard. Also on both sides of the river were farm houses, independent from the towns, spaced sporadically along the river banks. But perhaps the coolest part about the Elbe River is how green the fields are that it runs through - that lush, thick green grass that will be 6-foot high come August. Another cool thing, bridges across the river were rare, very rare - rather there were small docks every several miles that had a small boat to transport people the approx 60 yards to the opposite shore.

Vienna Prague Final Reflections

This is Tim writing again on the plane ride home. I wanted to capture a few more thoughts about the trip on paper while not struggling with typing on a blackberry.

John did a great job of leading us through a variety of passageways including:, bike paths, county and country roads, highways and sidewalks, farm lanes and dirt roads, and even a snow lined loggers trail near the Czech boarder. As we biked along, we could not go very far without seeing one of two things; deer stands (for hunting deer) and religious shrines. There were all kinds and sizes (of saints, crucifixes and many of the Blessed Virgin) and looked like they have been there for a long time.

Riding through the countryside, small towns, and villages was delightful and even peaceful. It was amazing how pristine the homes and farmsteads were. There is obviously an engrained cultural pride of neatness in this part of the world. You could easily see differences in the affluent versus the more humble abodes, but not when it came to being neat and tidy.

A highlight of the trip was the magical element we got from experiencing the beautiful surroundings on a bike. As John has mentioned before and Harry Wray, one of his professors from Depaul, so aptly describes in his book “Pedal Power,” you just see the world differently on a bicycle. The natural flow and randomness of our riding order had us taking turns leading and lagging and haphazardly pairing up in all possible combinations when we were in the more remote areas. This allowed for wonderful conversation and an ability to share the environment together.

I wanted to note Will’s quip to Mike Kneafsey, who is one hundred percent Irish. What do you call Irishmen in the Czech Republic? Chex Mix.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to US Empowered Foundation, especially while we were on the trip. It was inspiring for all of us when we would learn of those donations via blackberry updates. FYI Will received an email from a guy he met in Vienna saying he was so inspired by John and Will’s trip that he was telling everyone he met about it, leaving their blog address on bulletin boards in all the hostels where he was staying, and planning a ride of his own to raise money for charity.

In closing, I came away with even greater respect and admiration for John and Will and the monumental task they are undertaking. This is an experience they will remember forever and an affirmation their ability to accomplish whatever they set their minds and hearts to.

Spring Time

We've made it to a small town called Riesen that's approx 30m NW of Dresden.

After leaving Prague a few days ago, we spent the first night in Usti nad Labem, CR, which was a very pleasant small river city. As cool or cooler than the town itself was the ride in, mostly because the road we took followed the river. On the banks of the river there were houses - sometimes scattered and sometimes clumped together - that went on for miles. It was also flat and the weather has remained gorgeous. Everyday it gets greener and greener.

In case I haven't mentioned it, spring time came to Central Europe a week ago. Two things worth noting regarding the floral explosion we have experienced... These yellow bush-trees (perhaps Forsythia) are without a doubt the most beautiful things yellow that I have ever seen. At times we've been riding and seen clusters of them, but other times you could look out into a huge meadow and there would be just one that brought the entire landscape to life. The second thing, these white flowered bushes that smell incredible. I mean, they are just so white and smell so good. I think that overall, the highlight of spring's arrival has been looking out into the fields and seeing all the new greens, whites and yellows. And, of course, not being cold.

Austria to Czech Republic

This is Tim writing, as we relax after lunch beside the Vltava River with a beautiful view of the Charles Bridge and skyline in Prague, to keep my promise to John to make a blog entry. Helicopters are around as Obama arrives today. My entry covers our last night in Austria to our first nite in the CR. After a great days ride (though cloudy and cool) we pulled into Waidofen an der thaya (on the Thaya River) where we spent our last nite in Austria. The town set high on a steep hill which made for Mike and I being a little anxious. We did not like hills especially in the second half of the day. In keeping with our tradition we went to the platz (town square) and just gazed a bit and got our legs. Then one of us would happenstance pick a local to inquire about possible places to stay. This afternoon led us to a family gasthaus beside the town church. After check in and hot shower we met for a beer as we usually did on the ground floor where the gasthaus always had a restaurant and bar. We would then take a walk and scout for a place for dinner to get us out and about, sometimes seeking ideas from locals other times our own pick. This nite we ended up in a place called Tell on a group hunch. The owner (Stephan Kaintz) took a liking to us and personally waited on us because he spoke great english. The food was fabulous and one of our best meals starting with Steve's homemade pizza and then the house dish of chicken and vegetables in a sauce to die for. When we were leaving Steve insisted on buying us a beer and joining him and several of his friends. It was a treat leading to us getting a lot of local color and the recipe for the chicken dish and sauce. We learned about tall shrines (two to three stories) in every platz. Many were built at the time of the Black plague. Will remained with Steve and friends late into the morning and made some friends he thinks will visit.

The next days ride was cool and cloudy weather again in the morning, but on que with an email from Catherine sending sun vibes from Madagascar, blue skies and sunshine arrived in the afternoon. We stopped for lunch in a little village close to the Czech border. While eating the owner summoned us back to our bikes where through hand language and evidence we learned Will's rear tire blew out. (A blessing we weren't flying down a hill or in the middle of no where). The owner took us to his shop where he had tools, compressor and even a better tube fit that he swapped with us and refused to take anything for his efforts. After lunch we arrived at the CR/AUS border. The gateworks took you back in time picturing many armed guards but everything was wide open and barely anyone around spare two elderly guys removing snow stakes for the season. We motioned for one to take our picture under the border sign which lead to a lively discourse (none in English) where he proudly made it known he had biked once several thousand k's around eastern Europe. We got big smiles and kindred spirits as we motioned for him to join us.

The CR welcomed us with some great downhill rides. We spotted quite a few deer and rabbits (that seemed nearly as big as the deer) along the way. Later in the day after facing a number of uphill slogs we stopped to rest by a little cemetery to some of Will's backpack guitar music. To our delight the next crest led us to a downhill coast all the way into our destination of Jindrichv Hradec. J Hradec was a bustling town where we saw the most people since leaving Wien. Will had gotten the name of a place to stay from Steve the nite before but they were booked which led us to the Grand Hotel on the platz. Mike wanted to mail some things back which involved quite an ordeal. (We later learned from George Nussbaum in Praha a great joke about a Czech and a genie that shed some light on the situation). J Hradec was a prosperous castle town with a scenic lake, river and moat. John and I discovered a stork in its monster nest high atop a chimney. A broken english recommendation and parrot sounds led us to our dinner spot that nite. (Can you say parrot in czech). It was really tucked away but so well worth it for the great food and way that it took us to see the sites.

I am typing on the bberry (John is great to be writing many of the blogs on the berry) in our hostel sun morn in Prague. We are waiting to go to Mass at Tyn Church in Town Square. It is a blessing to be here with John and Will. Trip of a lifetime and our foursome has been most enjoyable with John as leader and navigator, Will as music, bike repair and Chillmaster, Mike as banker and lodgemaster. Many Thanks to you guys. Hope Sally can make it over to join you for a leg. TTFN

Vienna - Prague

Vienna to Prague has been an especially awesome portion of the trip. It has been so because of the two individuals - my dad and Mike Kneafsey - that joined us for the 175-mile journey. We spent a day and a half in Vienna, 4 days riding, and 3 full days in Prague. For the first half of the trip the weather was fair, cloudy and cool. For the second half of the trip it was gorgeous, and this past weekend in Prague has been the nicest of the year - 70 and sunny.

Budapest-Vienna

From Budapest we enjoyed the beginning of what has become a stretch of great riding days.

The first stop was the cross border community of Komarom (Hungary) and Komarone (Slovakia). They are divided by the Danube. It was cool and it was mellow and we stayed the night in a Pensione that was way to expensive but it was late and I was cold. The highlight of the day was following the Danube river, but not really being able to see it for most of the time, and then coming around a stretch of hwy and seeing the points where the river really got wide.

We left early the next morning and headed for Bratislava. It was a beautiful day. Once we arrived, we made our way to the Backpacker Hostel, which was awesome. It was a friday night, so their restaurant was bumping. We had no trouble meeting people and wound up out at an authentic Slovak restaurant and the food was bomb.

The 40 miles to Vienna can really be broken into 2 parts. The first was when we were headed just slightly southeast, but mainly east. The second part we were headed more northeast. And with 30-40mph winds straight out of the south the difference was enormous. On the first part, to avoid being blown off the road (which was inevitable) we would lean into the wind with our whole body and the weight of the bike. And when cars would drive by and momentarily block the wind, the whole bike would radically swerve in the opposite direction that we were leaning. Intense. And then the second part of the ride was a breeze.

Hungary Part 2

The ride to Budapest featured more fierce headwinds. Boo! But once we arrived we were thrilled to be there for 2 nights with an entire day to explore.

Budapest has two sides, Buda and Pest, and they are divided by the Danube River. Several large, beautiful bridges provide crossing points.

It was super easy finding our most awesome hostel as it was right in the heart of the city. The main streets form rings around the city center. After checking in, we took some time to collect ourselves after a week of really intense riding. We grabbed a beer at one of the coolest little hipster coffee houses that reminded me of a place I'd be if I were back home. It was filled with students, some studying, some drinking, and all smoking.

We cooked dinner that night and made a hostel friend - Janeen the Machine, a Canadian gal from Vancouver out doing the travel thing solo. The three of us went out to a bar that had been recommended to us by several people. It was somewhat reminiscent of a huge old bomb shelter, concrete floors and dimly lit.

Our full day of exploring was a little chilly but the sun was out. On bikes we did a loop around the whole city, across the river into Buda and then back to Pest. The city was easy to navigate and very bike friendly. The high point of the day was the visit to the Turkish baths, in which we floated effortlessly for a couple of hours. The main pool was outside, encircled by beautiful, white buildings with pastel roofs.

Hungary Part 1

We crossed the border into Hungary after a day of riding into fierce winds. The stretch from Belgrade to Bratislava was by far the toughest of the trip. All about the wind. The first thing we saw in Hungary was a bike path.

Szeged was the first Hungarian destination, and we got there that first night. We found accommodation at a small pensione. The thing I want to mention about Szeged is that it was probably the most bike friendly city we've been to in Europe. It featured a huge percentage of what the bike movement calls 'complete streets' - those not designed solely for the car, but also for bikers, pedestrians, public transportation. We hung around Szeged for the morning and then began the journey to Kecskemet, the first leg of the 2 day bike to Hungary. Once again, all about the wind.

We made it Kecskemet late and when we discovered that our campground didn't open for another week, we rode back into the city center and found a little pensione/pizza place. The town was mellow with a nice downtown area that we visited briefly that night.