Author Archives: Ray

The last day in Belgium was spent in Brussels. We took the 1:00 pm train from Brugge after packing and saying goodbye to our friends on the barge Fenik. Not having a lot of time to sightsee, we napped and … Continue reading →

Today we visited the city of Oudenaarde, Belgium. In the central part of the city there is a bicycle museum that is primarily dedicated to bicycle racing in Belgium. Two themes dominate all discussion of bicycle racing in Belgium. The … Continue reading →

A neighbor or ours and a great admirer of Sparty wrote the official obit for “The Greatest Dog in the Whole World”. SPARTACUS (“Sparty”) GINTHER, 10, MUSE AND BON VIVANT –Not the New York Times News Service—         Spartacus Ginther, the … Continue reading →

Flew into Paris arriving on May 13th. Everything went well. The next day we found out by phone that our dog Sparty had died of a stroke the day before. That news got the trip started on a bad note. … Continue reading →

We arrived in Paris yesterday. Today we received calls from our sons informing us that Sparty passed away yesterday. He was born on February 29, 2000 so he was 10 years old. Sparty was up at our country house with … Continue reading →

A child from the bush watching planes take off and land at the landing strip in Vanga. The barbed wire separates the landing strip from the area where the bush people live. Somehow, it is very symbolic to me. The … Continue reading →

At the last update we were heading into San Francisco. While the weather has been cooperating lately, I never realized how much fog and how cool it is along the northern Pacific Coast. When we set out in the morning … Continue reading →

We’re more than half way to our ultimate destination of Costa Mesa, CA. We’ve headed inland which means going from the chill of the coast to the heat of the inland areas. I have never been in this area of … Continue reading →

“Fort Bragg [NC] is one of the US’s most combat ready and active military installations.” Ft. Bragg, CA is on the Mendocino Coast in Northern CA. It is not combat ready and is located in a county who’s major cash … Continue reading →

I am doing the tour with the same company (America By Bicycle) that Marie and I used for our trip across the United States during the summer of 2007. Today we completed our sixth day of riding (over 400 miles … Continue reading →