De llar a llar - Fra hjem til hjem

The start of the adventure did take place at Sant Quirze del Vallès cityhall´s. Were present My Dad, my Sister, my bro. in law, the president of the Sant Quirze Mountain Club, Enric (a journalist), Dani (one of my best friends) and some curious crew.

It was hard to say good bye, even my Mom didn't dare to come, as she is quite teary.

Well, my first cycling day was nice and quite easy. I did notice that I did not do much cycling lately, but even though I did manage to get 130 kilometers done and just in 5 hours.

Tonight I'll be sleeping in Girona, at Mariona and Xavi's place. For these of you that don't know them, Xavi and Mariona are two of my best friends and recently moved to Girona, by the old town in the city center.

The weather forecast did predict rain for today, but none of it did show up. Temperature wise... perfect and wind wise... also grand.

It was nice to get to cycle a long the Catalan coast, though the small, time ago fishing, now tourist villages.

So far I'm really enjoying my cycling, but I do miss little Viking Andreu and my princess too. I do miss my family also, but I mostly think of Andreu.

So far I could see that 150 kilometers a day are going to be just some few, so that I'll be able to do over 200.

Tomorrow I'll try to get out of Catalonia and into France, so I hope to pass, well in kilometers, the north Catalan village of Salses.

Sant Quirze del Vallès and Salses el Castell, Catalonia

Montagnac, Occitania

Xavi called today from Lyon, France, where he is going to spend the night. He is doing fine, but has some trouble finding computers where he can keep in touch. It is not like in the US where every tiny library has a computer. So, he is not able to keep us updated as often.

Day 2, 7/1/02, he ended up 9 km. south of Montpellier in France.

Day 3, 7/2/02, he spent the night in Nimes, France.

He has been doing fine, but is suffering a bit the fact that he was not in a great shape when he started... He has also had a lot of wind, some rain and sun, and was very tired when he called. But, he is enjoying and having a great time. He has not had any trouble with the bike, but his little "computer" that tracks how fast and how far he goes broke. So, he is not able to keep track of how far he goes each day. And, of course, being Xavi, he does not wear a watch either... Today he had done about 200 km., so he felt quite confident that he could keep at least a 150 km. a day average.

He complained a bit of the famous French driving and also the fact that French people reminded him of Canadians... They are very private and stick to them self. A social person like Xavi has an issue with that...

He is considering taking the boat from Kiel to Oslo, instead of from Fredikshavn in Denmark. He is really having a lot of bad wind, and does not look forward to crossing Denmark, which is as we all know completely flat and famous for being windy! He will decide when he gets closer.

So, he is doing great, missing Andreu very much, and wants everyone to know he is enjoying the trip so far.

Andreu and Siw Annie

Lyon, France

Got an e-mail from Ana Maria, Xavi's mom, today. He had called and was doing great. He had done about 200 km. so far today. She did not mention where he was, but he was going to head towards Dijon, which is strait north of Lyon (about 190 km. on the motorway, so for him something more) where he spent the night last night. Unless he got tired of the French drivers and headed shortest distance towards Germany... We'll see next time he calls, hopefully tomorrow.

Andreu and Siw Annie

Xavi just called. He is in Germany, heading for Bentzdorf, where he was planning on spending the night in a hostel. He is very tired, and his knees are hurting a bit. No wonder! This is what he has been doing the last few days:

Day 5, 7/4/02, he ended up in Langres, France, after doing about 300 km.!

Day 6, 7/5/02, he spent the night in Trier, Germany, after doing about 250 km.!

Today he did not know how much he had done, but he though he had only about 2-3 days before he takes the boat from Kiel to Oslo.

He was going to slow down now for a few days, trying to average 150 km., to give his knees a rest. He is feeling great and enjoying a lot. The weather has not been to bad, he has managed to avoid the rain so far. It is not too windy either.

He is missing Andreu a lot and is very worried that Andreu will say his first word while he is gone... I don't think he needs to worry, Andreu has 3 languages and is probably totally confused by now!

Andreu and Siw Annie

Lyon, France

Trier, Germany

Kiel, Germany

Today Xavi took the ferry from Kiel, Germany, to Oslo, Norway. He will arrive in Oslo tomorrow morning, European time. He didn't have much time to talk when he called, we had to plan for my cousin to meet him in Oslo to pick up his passport (looooong story...). I will write more detailed about the last few days next time he calls. He did tell me though that his right knee is giving him a lot of trouble, so hopefully it will do him good to be on the ferry for 20 hours, relaxing.

Andreu and Siw Annie

Last night I finally were able to get an update from Xavi. Here is what he has done the last few days.

Day 7, 7/6/02, he spent the night in Bentzdorf, Germany

Day 8, 7/7/02, he made it to Schlangen, Germany

Day 9, 7/8/02, was a hard day for his knees. He went cycling to Hannover and ended up taking the train from there to Kiel, about 210 km.. It was something he really wanted to avoid, but definitely better that having to cancel further down the line because of a bad knee.

Day 10, 7/9/02, he spent the night on the ferry going from Kiel to Oslo, Norway. He finally got to sleep quite well and for almost the whole trip, about 20h!

Day 11, 7/10/02, he made it to Gjøvik, Norway.

Today when he called me he was 20 km. south of Lillehammer. It was early in the morning there, so I don't know how far he made it.

He is really enjoying being in Norway. He has had only bad weather, though! The south-east of Norway has had a pretty bad thunderstorm and it is moving north... He is estimating a couple of weeks to get to Kirkenes. Oslo - Kirkenes is about 2,200 km. So, he should arrive in Kirkenes a couple of days after Andreu and I get there.

Andreu and Siw Annie

Well, it was not about the knees, but about an accident that I had in Germany. Nothing mayor, but quite painful. I went strait on a curb and crashed on the side of the road. The bike ended on top of my leg and a little chunk of "meat", from my right foot, ended attached to the plates shifter. It ended being quite painful for a week.

Because of the accident and the fact that Hannover was real complicated to get out of... I ended giving me a two day rest (one taking the train and the other on the ferry to Oslo), that sure I needed it! I decided not to tell my wife about the accident, as I did not want her more worried than she already was for me being away.

Oslo, Norway

Xavi called from Steinkjer today. He is doing great, and is really enjoying the trip. The weather has been nice the last couple of days, sunny with some clouds, after having rain from Oslo to Nestavoll. Here is what he has been doing the last few days:

Day 12, 7/11/02, he spent the night in Vinstra.

Day 13, 7/12/02, he made it to Nestavoll.

Day 14, 7/13/02, he continued to Trondheim.

When he called it was 9:00PM his time, but he was considering keeping on for a while still. He is getting close to "the land of the midnight sun", so he has light far into the night. I told him that in a few days he will have 24 hours of sun a day, but that does not mean he can keep cycling day and night... He has had some trouble with the road, E6, being off limits to cyclists in some areas where it becomes a motorway. It is not well marked, and the detour is not marked at all. Today he had wasted about 30 km. on a detour that just led him back almost to where he got started. He also told me that so far he has not spent any night in-house or in a bed. He is feeling great, no problems with the knee, and he is taking it a bit slower and enjoying the view. It is really beautiful!

Andreu and Siw Annie

Today Xavi called from about 30 km. south of Bognes, where the ferry to Skarberget goes from. This is a ferry you have to take to continue on the E6. He was doing ok now, but has had some rough days since Sunday. Sunday night he ate a burger, and got food poisoning! He has been quite sick since then, but was getting better today. It had actually gotten so bad that he was considering giving up the whole trip! Believe me, that is the absolute last thing Xavi would do, so he really had to feel bad! Yesterday he ended up taking the train for about 225 km. to get to Fauske. So, since last time; this is what he has done:

Day 15, 7/14/02, he decided to spend the night in Steinkjer.

Day 16, 7/15/02, he only go to Trones. He was in a lot of pain!

Day 17, 7/16/02, he spent the night in Fauske, after doing the last part of the day by train.

He has had a lot of bad weather, but it looks like the next few days will be ok. He was very wet when he called, but no one sold t-shirts! The road between Fauske and Narvik (the next major city on his route) is famous for it's tunnels. I am not sure how many tunnels that road has, but my guess is around 15... long ones! Xavi had lost count. He was quite happy about the tunnels today, because at least they gave him some shelter from the rain! One of them though did not allow cyclists, so he had to go around. 30 km. instead of 4! Xavi is estimating being in Kirkenes next week on Thursday the 25th. My dad is planning to meet him about 40 km. outside Kirkenes and do the last bit with him. We are all really looking for to see our adventurer again!

Andreu and Siw Annie

Xavi just called from Setermoen where he had spent last night. He is doing great and enjoying the trip, but he is still quite weak from the food poisoning, and is keeping a low daily average. The weather has been ok, a bit of rain, some sun and cloudy. Quite windy as well, with temperatures down to 5 centigrade, about 40 farenheit, at night time. This is what he has done the last few days:

Day 18, 7/17/02, he ended up spending the night at the place from where he called me last time; in Innhavet. This is also where he saw the first sign saying "Kirkenes"!

Day 19, 7/18/02, he spent the night in Narvik. He met some people from Spain that invited him to dinner! The first hot meal of the trip. He spent the night there with them, and in the morning they offered him clothes and food to bring. They were very nice. They were going to the North Cape, but Xavi think he convinced them to continue the trip to Kirkenes.

Day 20, 7/19/02, he spent the night in Setermoen. This is probably the most known military base in Norway, so not too many natives to see there.

Xavi is still estimating being in Kirkenes end of next week. He is hoping his strength will come back so he can increase the daily average a bit. It is early morning here (1 AM) and I am packing. Andreu and I are leaving for Norway tomorrow morning. We are really looking for the traveling to be done and to finally be in Kirkenes with our family. Andreu has an ear infection in both ears and is on antibiotics, and he is teething... Hopefully we will not have any problems flying.

Andreu and Siw Annie

Narvik, Norway

Well, the end of the trip ended being quite complicated. Siw Annie, flying from Tucson to Chicago, did not feel well at all and ended fainting. After a night at a hospital, Siw Annie ended felling worse and needed me by her side. So Siw Annie's Dad and brother drove over 1000 kilometers to find me on the road and drive me back to Kirkenes, where I took a plane early next morning to "rescue" her. So, resuming, at the end we did spend 8 days between the hospital and hotels.

The bottom line is that... the roads will always be there for me to cycle them and I just have one princess and I love her way too much.