KitKats

In the Orkney Islands off of the northern Scottish Coast they use "Mainland" to designate the principal island of the archipelago. We have just finished a wonderful six-day R&R in Stromness, Mainland, Orkney. This was meant to be a rest, for sure, from our End-to-End push, but it also provided good times, adventure, fellowship, and wonder. We even did a little bit of cycling. This use of "mainland" is only one of many differences that the Orcadian way of speaking has from ours. The language is influenced by the many years that the islands were ruled by the Norwegians. For one thousand years Orcadians spoke Norn, a variant of Old Norse. Today they speak their own brand of Scottish English, with a large number of words derived from those old Viking days. They use "peedie," for ... read more

The northern coast apperars as we leave the idyllic Strath Naver valley. As we approach the end of the ride, Scotland continues to throw its weather at us. Wind is the dominating force everywhere and may be our strongest memory of Scotland. Wind turning huge wind generators lined on hills. Wind churning the waves to froth on the shore. Wind blowing handfuls of wool from sheep as they graze undisturbed in their pastures. Wind in our faces as we push the pedals to make it down a hill. Huge gusts of side wind that turn a down hill run into a test of skill. Wind driving sleet and rain into our faces. Wind that sucks the breath from our bodies and throws it back in our faces. And sometimes even wind at our backs sending us ... read more

"How 'bout them Seahawks?" We could tell as soon as we were greeted by Norman McDonald that he was a character. He was a Lewis lad - the Isle of Lewis being the northern most of the Outer Hebrides. He was a font of valuable information. We had already been told that the black pudding from Stornoway was the best, but only Norman could tell us why. Ox blood instead of pig's blood. That's the secret. He also knew exactly where to send us for dinner and where to go afterwards to meet the local, or possibly national, expert on Scotch whiskey. Not only was his friend Mike probably the most knowledgable man in the world about Scotch - he was also a former kicking coach for the Seattle Seahawks. This was an opportunity not to ... read more

I've heard vicious rumors to the effect some of you dear readers are under the impression that we've had horrible weather and suffered incredible trials and that our trip has been one obstacle after another. Not true. We are having a great time. We are feeling stronger every day and we do smile and we do laugh often. Really. Of course, we know that nobody really wants to hear about the good times - how boring! What we (meaning you and I) really hunger for are those miserable times, those times when surly reigns supreme, when mother nature laughs at our expense and we doubt our capabilities and wonder why the heck we decided to do this adventure anyway. So, in order to satisfy your lust for those kind of adventures I present an account of ... read more

As we crossed the North York Moors we spied a glimpse of the North Sea and coast far below us. A day later we could touch the sea in the town of Whitby where Captain James Cook apprenticed and began sailing. Having visited the beach in Hawaii where Cook's career ended, we were fascinated by the museum in the house where he studied by candlelight at night in his attic room. Whitby is also the location in Bram Stoker's book where the ship carrying Dracula's coffin crashed and the bat flew ashore. We managed to pass up the Dracula museum on the boardwalk but we didn't skip the pub advertised to have the best fish and chips in England. We followed the coast north along a bike route called Coasts and Castles, seeing restored castles and ... read more