Having recently completed a 1300 + kilometer bicycle voyage from Montreal, Quebec to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, I was feeling satisfied but pretty tired and sore. Bev had made her way from Montreal in her black Chevy Sonic hatchback to meet up with me at the end-point of my cycling trip. Together, we had an ambitious plan to explore more of the Maritime Canadian provinces. It’s been quite the privilege to have had the opportunity to explore a good part of the world, but lately I had been having this nagging feeling in the back of my mind about discovering more of my own country. It seems that lots of people want to head off into parts unknown, far away from wherever they call home, and sometimes don't give their own countries enough credit. In my case, ... read more

I met up with Bev, and together we drove towards Chesterville, Ontario (close to Ottawa) to meet up with Fred; Beverley's Dad. He had invited us to come along with him on a road trip in the states. For months he had been working on a project to fix up one of his hot rods. We would be traveling in a white 1927 Model T. The body, hood, and the bed were all original. The car was made into a hot rod in 1965, with various components being added. The engine was a 1979 single four barrel 283 Chevy with, and had a 350 turbo automatic transmission with a Ford eight inch differential. Fred had laboriously built a roof cover made of vinyl, which had been stuffed with some sort of foam. He had hit a ... read more

Take two. After having slept in and missing my transport the previous day, I happily made my bus from Fort William, through the beautiful Scottish highlands, to Glasgow. I had a short time there to walk around, and ended up buying some foot odor spray, as my shoes were pretty much rotting away at this point with all the wear and tear, and wet weather I had endured. From there I caught another bus to the Cairnryan Ferry terminal and within an hour I was crossing the narrow strip of sea that separates Scotland from the island of Ireland. I arrived in Belfast, Northern Ireland, soon after. I caught a bus into the city center. This city of less than half a million people looked tough with the northeastern part looked quite industrial and I noticed ... read more

I had spent the previous night in Inverness, a Scottish town in the northeast of the Highlands. There were some notable churches and a castle worth seeing here, but that's not what brought me. I had a rented a new Trek mountain bike model, panniers were fully loaded with my gear and I had many kilometers ahead of me as I rode out of town following the thistle in a hexagon marker, similar to that of the West Highland Way, but this time in blue. I would be mountain bike touring across the Great Glen Way, another of Scotland's long distance trails. This one stretched 127 kilometers and links Inverness with Fort William, pretty much going from coast to coast. Initially I had planned to walk this route, but then decided cycling it would give it ... read more

The overnight bus puttered along. The guy next to me was sound asleep. A few hours earlier we had chatted about stem cells, regeneration, biomedicine. He was working on his PHd in pluripotent stem cell therapy. Never know who you'll meet on these long rides. The bus pulled into Edinburgh Station at around six in the morning. The weather was crisp and overcast. Scattered showers were abound. I walked passed Prince street and crossed the Waverley Bridge into the medieval looking old town. Edinburgh has a rich history that goes back a long time. It used to be called Auld Reek because of the putrid smell that was endemic a few centuries ago due to overpopulation and unsanitary conditions. Today it has beautiful Victorian style architecture and draws tourists from around the world. I walked towards ... read more