Where’s Alex?

This time last year: May 24th, 2007 Thursday 8:00am
Cycle Europe Day 8: Montpellier - Tarascon, 50 mi.
Cycle Europe Day 9: Rest day in Tarascon.

Rest day today after 5 consecutive days of cycling. (Continue later, loads of time during the day.)

(Sambung… at church hall in Tarascon.)

Q: Talk about yesterday, Mr. Lee. How was it?
A: It was a mixed day. Didn’t have to deal with a lot of uphill climbs but of course that meant there was no downhills either. It was mostly flat so there was a lot of leg work.

1 of 3 major things I had to deal with was the after effects of that heat stroke I got on Tuesday. More itchy pores broke out there was almost no respite.

The other was the sunburn, although I only realise the full extent of its pain today. Thought I could help my body release some heat so I didn’t wear my longer pants, only a pair of shorts. I put sunscreen on my arms so they were okay but I forgot about my thighs and legs. Ouch! Hope they recover by tomorrow.

The third was headwinds for most of the ride. It slowed me down quite a bit by about 1-2 miles/hour. Good thing it was short trip.

Was greeted by a very friendly French girl at the hostel reception. Again, like girl next door, except she smokes, I think. Told me this morning that there were no places in Aix-en-Provence even though it was still available 2 days ago. Should have booked earlier but now I’m forced to stay in Marseille. Might be better because that’s where I want to go visit so I don’t have to spend extra on train tickets.

Hostel’s like a really old residential building, like Moon Light Bay mansion. Stone/cement flooring, wooden support beams, spiral staircase. Cooking equipment didn’t perform very well. I might have shorted the fuse because water from my pot overflowed on the electric cooker. Since my spaghetti was soggy and sticky on the outside, I binned it and ordered a La Provencale pizza at a snack bar nearby. Later that night, an older Italian was talking about watching the Champions League Final and I went to join him at the bar for a Heineken before finishing the match with AC Milan winning 2-1 over Liverpool.

Got up this morning with a shower but without breakfast until a few doors away. Some tomato paste pastry/cornish. Church nearby to note this journal. Walked slowly around town later before heading back after 5:30pm.

Back here at church at 3pm. This is the only place that’s cool enough for a rest. It’s too hot outside. It’s true what the Bible says, “You alone are my refuge, Lord.” Pianist waiting for singer spoke some French to me, asking me to continue to rest here until I was ready to go. They close at 7. Getting chilly in here. Very cooling. Hungry too. Have some bisgedi then…

Day 8 Accounts
Lunch €0.99
Snacks/Drinks €1.36
Dinner €6.00 La Provencale pizza
Hostel €24.90 Tarascon 2 nights
Beer €2.50
Total €35.75

Day 9 Accounts
Breakfast €2.00
Groceries €2.20
Lunch €2.50
Breakfast €3.50
Total €10.20

This time last year: May 22nd, 2007 Tuesday 7:20pm.
Cycle Europe Day 7: Beziers - Montpellier, 45 mi.

Hmm… my 1st week’s almost up. 9 + 1 weeks to Vincent being in London. That’s my dateline. I’m now in Montpellier after a pleasant day’s ride of about 45 miles.

I know I was tired the night before but like I said, I didn’t want to stay at a crappy hotel room at Beziers. Wanted to start slow and steady but the legs have a life of its own. They just kept on pedaling at normal pace. Although the obvious difference today is that once the muscles cool down, it’s almost painful to warm them up again. Once up, never let it down. Otherwise, you’ll feel the tiredness. Saddle sore wasn’t too bad because it was a shorter ride (less than 7 hours).

And then, there was THE ITCH!!! Started with my lower right back and slowly spread to right hand and arm, then left hand and arm, then neck, now feet. Argh!!! At first I thought it was the shirt that I washed in the basin at Beziers. But now that it has spread all over, I think it’s a heat stroke, like the one I had in Shanghai.

(Break. Chatting with Carsten from Leipzig, Germany.)
(Still itchy lah. Bath again?)

Found Lidl nearby to get some bananas, bisgedi, 2 sandwiches and orange juice. Ride started with N9, major road, uneventful. Then off we turned into D18, which was great for cycling. Quiet, fields, small towns, all except one part which had road resurfacing works and that was almost a nightmare. Arrived in Montpellier in under 7 hours, maybe only slightly after 6. Hostel wasn’t easy to find but easier than yesterday.

Cheap eats all around too. Pizza and sandwich, lots of cheese. Chatted with Carsten from Leipzig, Germany. Nice middle age fellow, social worker, trying out WOOF and does ecological farming work for free boarding at farms. In Germany, people get hired through connections. So much so that they had to legislate a law to make it compulsory to place an advert for vacancies but the norm is mostly hire through connections.

Bath again! Itchy!

Day 7 Accounts
Breakfast/Groceries €4.22
Dinner €5.00
Internet €0.80
Hostel €14.80 Montpellier
Total €24.82

This time last year: May 21st, 2007 Monday 10:00pm.
Cycle Europe Day 5: Gerona - Perpignan, 61.3 mi.
Cycle Europe Day 6: Perpignan - Beziers, 58.23 mi.

Missed yesterday because I had a good chat with Dean, booked accommodation at Beziers for tonight and planned today’s route. Too late to write after all these.

Anyways, let’s start with what I could remember from yesterday. Breakfast at Gerona, old town Gerona, was a buffet. Cereal, muffins, bisgedi, ciabatta, cinnamon roll (like ham cheen pheng only). Quite a lot in the end. A large breakfast like that was necessary to conquer the Pyrenees!!!

Today’s ride (yesterday: Gerona - Perpignan) reminded me of the driving trip from California to Camas, Washington. Getting to Figueres was relatively uneventful. Right until McDonald’s showed up at 25 miles. Perfect! Was starving. It was more downhill from Gerona to Figueres, which was worrying because it meant that I might be starting from bottom up the whole 290 metres that I saw on a Michelin map at Bayswater.

After Figueres, it really looked like some Mexican countryside. It wasn’t as big a climb as I thought it would be but it was still something. There were a lot of bordering towns near the borderless boundary. Missed the “1 km to Franca” sign thinking that there would be one “0 km” one but there wasn’t. Crossing the border was unpleasant. Too many cars up a hill climb. Touristy almost for no reason. Just shopping. Here’s where I used my one bike-push for the day.

Then came the peak! And it was some downhill ride! Wow. Could have gone really fast but the road was too narrow and winds were too strong. Pictures of Pyrenees to mark my climb was vital proof. There were still some minor climbs after that to get to Perpignan but it was fun overall. Really felt like going through the forest reserve on the way to Oregon. Zoom!!!

Found the hostel. Beautiful specky reception girl. Casino for some groceries, kebab shop for ‘American Steak’, sat and chat with Dean, who was a biker doing a European trip albeit a mini one compared to mine. Diagonal across France, Switzerland, Millau for that cool long bridge that we always see on Top Gear. Millau is a bit out of the way so I considered it as not viable.

On to today, Day 6. Breakfast was limited to only french loaf and cereal, not worth my €3.50. Started to rain a bit. But I could feel my legs getting weary early on. Saddle sore also kicked in quite fast. Route was mostly, almost exclusively N9. Long and straight. Only characterised by olive trees left and right all along the way. Stopped for some uncooked ham sandwich which was really salty. Girl also advised against buying sparkling water since she ran out of still ones. Journey was feeling very long, too many days in a row. More uphills and felt that there were less downhills, not enough. Finally, finally, finally got to the hotel.

Room was up on the 2nd floor, 3 flights of stairs. Single private room, messed the place up real quick as I unpacked. Strange lock and door, wallpaper coming off, hotel wasn’t easy to find. Plusses include privacy, close to town centre, friendly reception. One night will do though. Moving to Montpellier tomorrow.

Managed to ‘wash’ my cycling clothes to wear for a couple of days more before a major laundry for cycling pants and Japanese workshop jacket.

Tidur… spent a lot today. French McDonald’s more expensive than Spanish McDonald’s by €0.50.

There was this woman who was surprised by my ‘gentlemanly’ gesture of opening the door for her. She even smiled at be as I left after that. Hmm… and all French women are beautiful, man! La Belle…

And another thing. Dropped my satellite navigator on the road after a bump. Bag was open, I was looking at it to follow directions. Bump before a bridge, could have fallen of it into the marsh but didn’t. Cracked the display a little and scratched the back casing. Sigh… nevermind. Funny how I managed to stay on my bike!

Day 5 Accounts
Lunch €4.50 McDonald’s
Hostel €15.10 Perpignan
Groceries €3.12
Dinner €4.50 American Steak?
Internet €1.00
Total €28.22

Day 6 Accounts
Lunch €3.50
Water €0.17
Hotel €23.35 Beziers
Dinner €5.80 McDonald’s
Internet €1.50
Total €34.32

This time last year: May 19th, 2007 Saturday 10:30pm.
Cycle Europe Day 4: Barcelona - Gerona, 64.8 mi.

Got confirmation that there would be room at Gerona for tonight. Was going to come here anyway and there was already availability that was un-bookable. 120 hours ahead.

Alberg Pere Tarres locked me in! Didn’t open the garage door until 20 minutes later. I thought she said 2!!! Map of Barcelona was very handy. Charted my path the night before. Only problem was that there were too many traffic lights. Stop, go, stop, go, go, go!!!

Only 2 wrong turns and one bike push uphill all day. The bike push was up a hill that looked short but steep. Caught me at a time when I was quite exhausted. Roads today reminded me of the trip between Karak/Bentong to Sekinchan. Winding ones, highway ones, town ones. A bit of everything. Arse hurt toward the end of the journey, going to see if it will last till tomorrow.

E-mailed Perpignan youth hostel to book a night, waiting for reply. SMS to David Bozon too but the ‘cinema’ called. Some Hollywood movie, I suppose. “LOCK YOUR PHONE’S KEYPAD!!!” Could use his place as an extra day’s rest after hostel stay.

Right, going to check e-mail in the morning for reply. Pack my stuff anyway. Hill climb tomorrow. Best case estimate was 1.5% average gradient. Remains to be seen. ~ 290m climb. Half of Penang Hill, I can do “84″ of Penang Hill. We’ll see.

Had dinner with Nicholas from Edinburgh. Anglo-Swedish parents. Panini with cheese, onion, tomato and ham. He’s vegetarian though. Hmm… saw him doing yoga as well. Very very soft spoken. Can hardly hear him. Nice chap, I suppose. Wouldn’t talk about work but he’s in the bicycle business one way or another. Walks very fast. Maybe he’s a cyclist. Don’t think so. Maybe.

Played ping pong with Antonio and Camil (Camilia?), French studying Spanish. I’m a bit rusty though. Wasn’t really good to start with either. A good 1.667 years since my last game? They had a concept for round-robin. 4 players rotate to each take a swipe of the ball. Miss and you’re out! Remaining 2 play best of 5 to win ‘one life’ to be spared the axe in the next round-robin. Antonio was the best.

Already sleepy since dinner. Still a bit hungry though, not filling enough. Have some bisgedi…

Day 4 Accounts
Lunch €2.67
Orange Juice €1.29
Hostel €17.30 Gerona
Orange Juice €1.00
Dinner €4.50 Brazilian Somelias
Total €26.76

This time last year: May 18th, 2007 Friday 8:25pm.
Cycle Europe Day 3: Still in Barcelona.

Hmm… another day. Started off well enough with some uninterrupted sleep. No later returnees, no grief/disappointment from the football losing Espanyol, Barcelona against Sevilla.

Breakfast as usual but managed 2 sliced of bread extra but it probably became too much in the end. Might get extra juice tomorrow to fix isotonic drink.

Went out cycling, great cycle paths along major roads. Now I realise that almost all of Barcelona’s well planned roads are one-way. Alternating between blocks of streets. And, that the further you are from the coast, the higher the altitude becomes. So I was basically pushing my bike up and down the whole day.

First stop was the Guell Pavilions (Pabellones Guell). Incidentally, the English Guided Tour was about to start just as I arrived. A lady named Moesta was the guide. “Eeehhhhheehheehhh-xactly!!!” was what she kept saying. And I also experienced first hand the intrusion of personal space when Spanish people converse. It’s almost confrontational or intimate the way she stood so close. Hmm…

Didn’t know it wasn’t free but she charged me student rate of €2.50 (instead of €5) for explaining the background to the Guell and Gaudi relationship, showing me some old horse stables and guard rooms. Took about 45 minutes. Worth every other cent, I suppose.

Next stop, Bellesguard. Private home, gate was open but dare not go in. Highest point of the day since it was furthest from the coast.

Parc Guell was cool!!! All the mosaic tiling was very impressive. There were also wave-inspired pillars/corridors. But the bicycle got in the way of better pictures. Probably for the best. Casa Vicens looked like a private home but there was very little obstruction for pictures.

Headed back for a toilet break at the hostel before going back to last night’s restaurant for butifarra, the local Catalona sausage. Served with baguette, the pieces of cooked sausage reminded me of the meal that some Spanish/Portugese teenagers cooked at YHA Edinburgh. They mixed some sausages and eggs on toast.

Came back early to catch up with Mum and Dad on Skype and sent e-mails to try booking Girona Alberg. Waiting for reply. Spaghetti for dinner, too much sauce (260g), too little spaghetti (166g). Expenses for today:

Day 3 Accounts
Guell Pavilions €2.50
Lunch €3.20 Butifarra
Dinner €1.54 Condis groceries
Total €7.24

Total 3 days Barcelona €105.08.
Daily average ~ €35/day.
Within budget, I think?
!!! £24 !!!

This time last year: May 17th, 2007 Thursday 6:30pm.
Cycle Europe Day 2: Flight to Barcelona.

Yes, I missed Day 1 because everyone was asleep and I was too tired to write. But things went smoothly albeit slowly on the 1st day. Dough balls for breakfast (£1 only). Got to Victoria Station and while rushing to get onto next 1st train to Gatwick, left £1 coin with the trolly at the insistence of the conductor because he wanted to close the doors. Hopefully it means more to him that it did to me.

Super early arrival at the airport, super long wait to board plane. Now I know how budget airlines like EasyJet save money. By getting you onboard at the very last minute so they don’t stay too long at the airport. But left a wheelchair, forgot about it probably. Still arrived early in Barcelona though. Boring flight.

Managed to reassemble my bike without too much hassle. Bunch of taxi drivers cheering me on as I rode past them. “Vamos!” I heard one say. Straight onto what looked like a 100km/h highway. Dangerous but I managed with God’s protection. Then, TRAFFIC JAM!!! But remember, I’m on a bike so it was a breeze. With a little help from TomTom (satellite navigator) I found the hostel with no problems.

Checked in and managed to ask for 2 more nights here so I don’t have to move around. Praise God again! Oh, and this place is called Alberg Pere Tarres. Very similar to YHA Edinburgh. Bicycle attracting attention already. Parked it, move my stuff, met Daniel (Chinese American?) and went out nearby for Whopper at Burger King. “No Bacon!”

Sent a few e-mails and tidur… zzz!

Day 1 Accounts
Deposit & Booking €3.80 < credit card
Remainder 1st night €20.70
2 more nights €46.00
Whopper €3.20
Total €73.70

Didn’t get much sleep, roommates kept coming back late, couldn’t wait for breakfast to start so I kept waking up since dawn had broken. Breakfast was rationed, lady restricted my to just one bun bread. Had salami, peperoni and ham with it, plus some cereal.

Got out after changing rooms. Walked to nearest metro to get to Christopher Columbus monument at the bottom end of Las Ramblas. Walked up and took detours to see some Gaudi designs and the Market. Stopped at Carrefour for salmon sandwich and salad. In the afternoon, visited La Sagrada Familia. Worth every cent of the admission fee. Museum was the coolest. Head back to hostel to catch up with Mum and Dad on Skype before doing laundry. Not sure, maybe to Camp Nou later or 1st thing tomorrow. No ideas for dinner yet, local convenience store was closed at about 4:15pm, maybe for a siesta! Praise God, throat might be getting better.

Day 2 Accounts
Metro x2 €2.50
Lunch €3.15
Laundry €4.50
Dinner €5.30 Hot dog, pizza, chips.
La Sagrada Familia €8.00
Snack/Bisgedi €0.69
Total €24.14

I’ll list all the places I went today later, after referring to my map. Mentioned Christopher monument, Las Ramblas, La Sagrada Familia. Here’s the rest:

El Palau Guell (closed for restoration), Casa Calvet (residential, entry denied but looked interesting), Casa Batllo (very nice but €16.50!), Casa Mila “La Pedrera” (~ nice, only €8.00) and, not Gaudi, la Boqueria Market.

Still don’t think I’ve caught the full view of Gaudi’s interior design. We’ll see what God has in store tomorrow…

Route change possibility:
- check distance from Barcelona to Figueres, Carrer Pep Ventura 9.
- help shorten 2nd ride to Perpignan with possible uphill struggle.
- place is called Pension Mallol.
Nope, too far. Way too far. 85+ miles.

This time last year: May 15th, 2007 Tuesday 9:30pm.
Cycle Europe Day -1: Malaysian Hall, London.

Had just come back from sending Mum and Dad to Heathrow T3. It was a tad emotional with a little teary eye but nothing obvious. I think I miss them already.

They were here since April 6th, so about 40 days. Spent a lot of time with them driving around Britain. 3 nights at Cirencester hospitable Colin, Joan(?), and Andrew. Slept in Robert’s room. Rich… Ah Keat’s classmate @ U.

Wales was next, drive detoured to Weston Super Mare to see Aunt Siew Onn, who was very happy to see Mum, her schoolmate. Kind enough to insist on buying us lunch even though I had already paid. Possible work in future? Jump aeroplane!!!

1st night in Cardiff YHA, 2nd night in Brecon YHA (next to sheep farm!). Great get-together at Aberdare with Grace (Lee Hui), Jenny (Lee Bin), Jen and the hapless Vincent. Dad enjoyed food and his own drink.

Liverpool next, couldn’t get Lake District. Found Book Keat and took him to Burger King. He took us to Liverpool Cathedral, small little China Town, and some Asian cash and carry. We ourselves went to Albert Docks. Oh, and Boon Keat led us to Anfield too. Boring!

Edinburgh next for 2 nights. Still can’t get Lake District because of bank holiday Monday. YHA Edinburgh Central and Castle Rock Hostel (£13 only, free internet). Latter was better. Saw Edinburgh Castle and walked the Royal Mile. It was Dad’s idea to go see St. Andrews Old Course too. It was OK.

Finally, managed 2 night at YHA Ambleside. Dad liked it a lot, much better that than Windermere YHA. Major breakfast. Castlerigg Stone Circle near Keswick and Wray Castle (closed). Right next to Windermere Lake for walks.

Manchester stop for Old Trafford Stadium Tour. Coool!!! Spent night at Haworth after visiting Yam in Yeadon where his parents were around as well. Haworth YHA is a Victorian mansion in the South Pennines. Very charming indeed. Blair finally resigned…

Back to London for a few nights at Malaysian Hall to see Tan Tung and Tengku Zarina from Maybank. Great hosts again. Did Greenwich’s GMT, China Town, Trafalgar Square, National Gallery, St Paul’s Cathedral, Maybank London, and earlier, Tower Bridge, they did Westminster Abbey and Parliament on their own.

Had to put up with Mum and Dad’s antics. Dad’s more commanding. Mum’s a listener, ambitious. Dad still had some great ideas up his sleaves. Glad this is over but missing them already. More of the latter.

Told Mum before she left that I’m not as worried as when I first came to the UK when the pressure to adapt to culture, find home and work seemed immense. Now, it’s just a holiday, a nomadic one albeit. Not feeling all excited yet but feel relieved it’s finally here. Almost forgot about Sessions’ Branding and Identity course. That had been the sticking point but finally sent that e-mail requesting for leave of absense. Not much choice for them, huh?

It’s now time for complete dependence upon God. The true meaning of this trip might be an ‘out-of-comfort-zone’ experience since things have started to stagnate. But seeing Mum pray before her meal has made me think how I’ve lost almost all communication with Jesus. An encouragement, managed to find ATM card in computer bag in Crayford, Li’s house. Praise God for that too.

I think it’s time for an increase in faith through hardship. I need to grow, depend more on Him, seeking His providence while being humble about my ’so-called abilities’. Arise, Oh Spirit!!! Praise Him! Thank you, Lord, for this opportunity. Thank you.

I’m reminded today that my offering each week to church has not burdened me at all. Although the devil was playing tricks with me today, thinking how much better if you had all the other cash. Well, away Satan in the name of Jesus. Bible says worry not about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry for itself. Trust in the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. He shall provide and make us “more than conquerors!” Amen.