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Well, this morning I looked my calender and decided that if were to get up north this summer it would have to be soon. I looked at the airfares to northern Michigan…ugly. So given the break in the race schedule, we (Andrea and I) decided to pack up car with the bikes and her dogs and head north. My family is distributed around Lake Michigan, so I had to make some choices. My brother lives in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin…only about 700 miles away (yikes!). My mother lives up in Marquette, Mich (a further 250 miles).

My dad lives in Midland, Mich (my hometown) on the west side of the lake… I had to make some choices. Even though it had been years since I had been back to Midland, my dad was just down here in May, so the trip will be up to Fond du Lac, and then on to Marquette (with a side trip to my grandparents in South Range, Mich). All in all, there will be two mega driving days involved and about 2,250 miles in total probably. With gas running $4+ up north, it will be a pricey trip.

What will be good is getting a chance to ride up north… Taking the dogs will definitely make the trip interesting…

Just driving around Knoxville last night, we found the Bent Fork III biker festival at the World’s Fair Park… We didn’t spend much time there, but managed to snap a couple of photos of Golden Dome thing, some UCW wrestling, and a way to work out some anti-UF frustration… (UT just lost bad to the UF earlier yesterday.)

59-20. Yikes.

Drove the Tennessee State TT course today (outside Maryville)…. the course is twisty and scenic 17.5 mile out and back course. It has some hills, but it clearly a fast course. It was rainy, so we decided to just drive it instead of riding it.

Clearly this guy took this corner a bit too hot. I wonder if he was on the way to rescue someone. I guess whomever called for assistance was cursing AAA right about then.

It looks like it has dried up for tomorrow, so there will be less to worry about riding this course at 25+ mph.

Well my trip is coming to an end, flying back to Memphis on Sunday. Paris was interesting and expensive…. It probably always was, but with the dollar seeking new depths ($1.35 ~ 1 euro), everything seems a bit more expensive….

Our stay at the Champs-Elysee Marriott was disappointing in the lack of amenities that were common at other capital city Marriotts (Berlin & Prague) that I have stayed at it… No lounge for breakfast, instead just a 22 euro-29 euro buffet on offer. I took a stroll to the local Brioche Doree to get some eats on the relative cheap…

On our last day, there was the military parade to remember the end of WWII. They celebrate this on the 8 of May. The Russians celebrated the 9th of May (Victory Day) in Estonia without event. I hope all the turmoil surrounding the bronze statue in Tallinn will just pass given the suitable relocation to the war cemetery. As for Russia’s reaction, I think / hope they will just get over it. I think it will be better for everyone.

After two nights on Les Champs, we moved on to the Explorer hotel for our assault on Disney. As always I hate traveling without a car because it always takes a bit of time to find the reasonable options to get provisions (I think they are hidden on purpose). The first night meant 6 euro drafts at the hotel…the second night we discovered the Casino market at the RER station by the Disney village. I was never so glad to pay 2 euro for a 1/2 litre of beer and soda….

As for the Euro Disney park, it was okay. I went on Space Mtn 2 and the Indiana Jones, Temple du Peril rides myself. The space mountain ride was mostly dark but it was a wild ride….I really like the fast pass system they have at the park. For both rides, when I returned at my appointed time (usually about an hour after getting the “fast pass”), the wait was mostly walking though the barriers and then waiting about 2 minutes maximum. Much better than the last time I went to a amusement park (it has been a long time…).

Upon arrival back in Tallinn, first we were surprised to get a brand new car from Sixt. I have gotten a low mileage car before for a rental and bought two new cars myself, but 17 km must be the lowest rental mileage car I have received….a nice new Avensis wagon (lots of pressure, any damage would be obviously from me)… also, on the drive back to Kohtla-Jarve, I finally saw one of the 9 (8?) Laane-Virumaa wind power stations operating. They have been working on these on the highway just inside the border of Laane-Virumaa (east side) for what seems like a year. Thursday was the first time I actually saw one in motion… I have seen now several articles on how foreign investment is trying to drive Estonia from the dirty oil shale (which they have) without increasing their dependence on their eastern neighbor’s natural gas….

[AVENSIS] [WINDPOWER]

The things that I face upon return to Memphis are two fold. One returning to work with the jet lag associated with a late Sunday return (always fun). Secondly, I have been off the bike for two weeks and have only been able to run 2 times during that time. My weight is in check, but I have less than two weeks to the Edgar Soto stage race Memorial Day weekend. I hope I can get back where I need to be for this 4-day stage race. I hope this trip will leave be rested and with a 1-1/2 weeks of riding I can come back on form. I guess I will see…….

Well a week has past and the only real lasting effect of the tension in Estonia seems to be the temporary ban on sales of alcohol in stores. You can still buy a drink in a bar or a restaurant, so it is not a total prohibition, just probably (?) a way to prevent over-indulgence on the (relatively) cheaper beer here. Most 1/2 liter bottles of local beer can be bought for as low as 7 eek up to about 11 eek (Estonian kroons, or crowns. 15.6 eek = 1 euro, currently 11.5 eek = $1.00.) The ban had been partially lifted, but not in the Russian dominant county of Ida-Virumaa (where I am right now). Anyway, it hasn’t been too much of a hardship, although one aspect I like about Estonia is trying the wide variety of Estonian, Russian, and other beers available. The selection is amazing, although all the beers are not….

With my week of work in the can, I now can move into my vacation mode. The plan is to go to Paris for a couple of days. We plan to stay somewhere luxurious first (burn up some Marriott points earned on the road) and then someplace that I can afford to pay my way at….

A snowy photo in Kohtla-Jarve from earlier in the week:

The way to K-J

I have been to Estonia over 25 times in recent years, but this time had a bit more drama than most. (Referring to the Estonian government’s decision to move a Soviet WWII memorial from the city center to a military cemetery and resulting anger from the Russian community. BBC story) I arrived on Saturday, 4/28 when everything was mostly calm after two nights of protests turned to riots in Estonia’s capital, Tallinn. I don’t work in the capital, I am out in the mostly Russian north-eastern part where there was some tension on Saturday night, but not it seems mostly gone. Although I am sure that there are still people mad on both sides of the issue.

As for me, I don’t have a strong opinion on this matter. This is even despite knowing basically only Russians here in Estonia. The way that the government handled the matter (suddenly in the middle of the night) just prior to the May holidays (May Day and Victory Day, 5/1 & 5/9) was inappropriate. However, the rhetoric from the Russians against the government (calling them fascists and SS, etc) cheapens the Russians’ case. From most reports, it seems like the violence was not isolated to Russians, but included some Estonians as well. But no matter who all was responsible for the rioting/looting, it seems clear that it was nearly completely detached from the actual matter. Anyway, I hope this mess will pass. The Estonian government has moved the memorial and will soon have the graves relocated. What will happen after that I don’t know.

On a more positive note, I took some photos to show some natural beauty of the northern coast of Estonia. Here is one showing the deep blue of the Baltic Sea (Gulf of Finland).

Contrasted by the unnatural hills formed in Kohtla-Jarve by oil shale mining.

The weather turned cold and we are going into May with a light cover of snow.

Starting it off with a link to my previously built sub-websites…..
Links:
Cycling Website

Travel Website