The couple that cycles together...

[Letyrides]

Saw this in the Local section of the paper today. A couple is taking an extended honeymoon by cycling the Americas from Alaska to the Southern tip of S. America.

http://www.ocregister.com/news/bear-...-austria-south

If you see a pair of bicyclists around town this week, perhaps with an Austrian flag over a handlebar, give a friendly wave to Markus and Heidi Dangl.
Married in February, the Austrians are on what you might call a prolonged honeymoon. On June 11 they left Anchorage, Alaska, with a goal to pedal 15-17,000 miles to Ushuaia, Argentina – the southern tip of South America.
This week – 5,000 miles into a journey that often doesn't follow a straight line – the Dangls are relaxing at the San Clemente home of Charlie Wahrman and Victoria Garrett. The Dangls are nurses from St. Pölten, Austria. A co-worker there happened to be Charlie Wahrman's cousin.
So now, after exploring Alaska, Canada and five western states, the Dangls have fallen in love with San Clemente. Monday, they head south to Tijuana to traverse Baja California, take a ferry to Mainland Mexico and continue south through Central and South America.
Arrival at Ushuaia? Possibly Nov., 2008. Then back to nursing in Austria. A few words with Markus, 30, and Heidi, 28:
Why this:"We like to travel. We like to bicycle. It's the best combination you can do."
Prior experience:"We only made day trips. We hadn't any experience with touring … or camping. The longest day trip we made was about 100 miles."
Why the Americas: "It's a historic route, Pan Americana. You can see so many different cultures and so many different landscapes."
Getting in shape:"We trained about three years for this."
Affording it:"We saved 4-5 years. We sold everything."
Mishaps:"In 5,000 miles, one broken rim, one flat for me, and Heidi had a few more flat tires … I think five or six."
Close calls:"Oh yes! I think especially the Californian car drivers don't like bicyclists. I don't know why. We had some near experiences with the cars. But we are here! We're still alive."
Funny stuff:"We have a tree called Dangl Tree in Wyoming. There was a ceremony where they planted trees, and we were at this park … we were the attraction there … a town with 500 people."
On life:"We met many nice people. We didn't have any bad experiences. We were invited to breakfasts. We stayed at houses. In Canada, we got coffee from the officer … at the border."
Surprises:"We didn't think that there were so many hills in the United States. It's deserted, and windy, and so many hills. Many mountains. It was a tough way for us."
Crossing deserts:"At one stage we carried about five gallons of water with us because there was, for 100 miles, nothing."
Frightful camping?"Not really. We had some places near the train tracks where you thought the train is coming though the tent. Most of the time we stayed at campgrounds."
Furry critters:"The bears were near our tent, about three feet, and we didn't know that it was a bear. We thought they were playing children. We almost crashed into a bear because they were sitting on the street. The bear was so scared for us. He ran away, because Heidi was also scared from the bear, and he crashed into my back. We didn't see the bear. It was a little downhill, on a curve, and we thought there were no bears, because we (hadn't) seen no bear in Canada or Alaska for almost six weeks, and we thought it was a joke from the Canadian Tourist Bureau … 'you have to be careful for the bears.' Then suddenly we almost crashed into one."
Favorite places:"Mt. Robson in Canada. The Ice Fields Parkway … Jasper, Banff. We liked very much Yellowstone and, of course, the Grand Canyon. And this place also. San Clemente. It's like in Heaven."
Back to careers in Austria:"The next thing we want to do is to cycle around Austria because we know our country not so good!"
Keep track: www.2roadrunners-on-tour.at

[El Salt]

Originally Posted by Letyrides

Close calls:"Oh yes! I think especially the Californian car drivers don't like bicyclists. I don't know why. We had some near experiences with the cars. But we are here! We're still alive."

Ahhh, yes...

That's just sad (but so, so, true).

[guero]

I wonder if they are related to Officer J. Dangl?