My Almost-Daily 10 Mile Ride

Ventured back onto the Prairie Path today, Saturday, to resume my almost-daily route.  Not the best day for my after-crash ride.  It's quite busy on weekends.  A couple of times some cyclist was on my tail and left side before announcing ("Passing on your left"...c'mon riders....learn the rules of the bike path....announce as you're coming up not when you're right there.  Some didn't even announce.)  And since my collision with the woman who had no mirror on her bike nor looked over her shoulder before turning, I am very sensitive to that now.

Usually when they do that (after I jump out of my skin from the scare) I politely yell (can one "politely yell?") "Announce, please!"  Damn.  I mean someone has to teach them!

That aside, it was a pleasant ride.  Until the stretch of path with all the cracks and bumps.  Just when I was ready to let loose with some of my favorite frustration words, bam!  I'm on this section of path that is repaved and my bike is gliding like a skater on ice!   Whoa, I had no idea that in the time I was recuperating from my crash, Dundee had repaved its portion of the path!  Thank you, Dundee!

Now we just need to get Algonquin and Crystal Lake to follow suit.

Taking it easy, after 5 miles, I stopped at the Measuring Cup cafe in Dundee for breakfast.  This is a great little eatery, very popular with cyclists, especially on weekends.  They have the best scrambled egg and cheddar cheese panini!  I took my crossword book (gotta keep the mind sharp now that I'm not working), had a nice breakfast, and rode the 5 miles back.  All in all, a good morning.

(Click photos to enlarge)

Great Destinations

(Check it out:  Chicago is #2!  But I could've told you how great Chicago is!)

Posted on June 24, 2010 - by Janice

Women Traveling Alone Part II – Great Destinations

This is the second in a series of posts specifically for women solo travelers. The first post, Women Traveling Alone Part I – 10 tips offered ideas that make travel for a woman easier. They were based on personal experience. You’ll also find tips from others in the comments to the post. This time, the theme is great destinations for women solo travelers – especially first-timers.


I find it relatively easy to answer questions about how women can get the most out of the solo travel experience. I find it a bit more difficult to suggest where they should go. After all, I haven’t been everywhere.

So, in this post I share with you some of my favorite destinations that I also think would be great for solo travel novices. To broaden out the perspective and identify more great destinations for women, I also offer the results of a little crowdsourcing I did using Twitter.



Great destinations for women traveling alone – a few of my favorites:

Most of my recommendations for women traveling alone for the first time are places where English is spoken, or, it would not be surprising to find someone who speaks English. Being able to communicate in your own language is helpful – especially if you are a newbie.



Here’s my list:

•The Lake District – if you are at all outdoorsy – or even if you’re not – the Lake District is a fabulous place to visit for it’s natural beauty and local charm. It’s easy to see why this area was the inspiration for much of Wordsworth’s poetry. Walking by day. A pint at the local pub by night. It’s a perfect solo travel destination.

•Chicago - I love New York City but it is almost too obvious for a list like this. I recommend Chicago for it’s fabulous downtown, waterfront, architecture, great use of the river, cycling, arts scene, blue/jazz scene, sports traditions… and they have a wonderful free greeters program to introduce you to the city as well.

•Amsterdam – Amsterdam is a city rich in history, fresh with pop culture and on the leading edge of social change. It is a place where women, pedestrians and cyclists are all respected. Yes there’s the red light district but it’s also very family friendly. Unlike Paris which is a city to look at, Amsterdam is a place to infiltrate – at least that’s how I felt when I was there.

•St. Remy & Arles, France – I absolutely love France and the part of France I love the most is the south near Arles and St. Remy de Provence (they are about 30km apart). Arles is the bigger city with a Roman arena. St. Remy has roman ruins as well though smaller. The area is famous for inspiring Vincent Van Gogh who lived there from 1889 to 1890, a year of intense productivity of master works. It’s beauty lies in the landscape, history and French countryside charm.

•Cross Canada by Train – Traveling coach across Canada is a fabulous experience for a woman traveling alone. On route, you make friends, pick up a card game, have cocktails at 5pm… In first class where people have bedrooms its not quite as social. Traveling coach is very communal. If you’re worried about sleeping upright for three nights well, it can be done. A carry-on is the same height as the seats so a perfect extension if you’re lucky enough to get a double. But, we can make do with what we have. Beside me a lovely couple from Newfoundland sat and slept side by side for four days.

Great destinations for women traveling alone – recommendations from Twitter.

•New Zealand – it’s safe, very friendly… simply spectacular all around. CarolineAttack.

•Japan, Thailand, Vietnam… – I think Buddhist countries in general are good bets for women traveling alone zoezolbrod

•Thailand and Malaysia were great for solo women travelers as well! cbrodzky

•Chile – I was mostly in cities, but it felt incredibly safe & ppl were helpful. That said, I’ve traveled to ~15 countries alone… I should add also that the hostel scene in Santiago is amazing (lots of women staffers at CheLagarto, where I stayed) jilliancyork

•Australia was a great place to start as a woman solo traveler. I went there for 4 months. Then 3 months in New Zealand. MissAlisa75

•Netherlands – Top pick 4 solo women travelers is Netherlands/small, English spoken,women there considered equal 4 a long time- most imp! Journeywoman

•Seoul – is my recommendation for you; this city is probably one of the safest places to stay and look around. Experience thousands of years walking around old palaces. And You should try temple foods. medicomm

•Singapore, Australia and Baguio in Philippines are perfect places for first time solo women travellers prime_sarmiento

Biking as Transportation

Been reading some interesting biking blogs lately, as it is fast becoming my passion.  Not racing, just biking.  Despite the fact that a woman crashed into me on the bike trail two weeks ago and I ended up with bloody and purple palms, a sprained left hand, and scrapes, bruises and swelling from my knee down to my ankle --- and this on the knee I've already had two surgeries!  Thank goodness, it appears nothing is damaged inside.

Since the bruises are gone, the swelling almost completely down, and my left hand partially healed, I've jumped on the bike again.  Have to ride kind of one-handed, as the injured hand can't really grasp the handlebar, just rest on it for balance.

But I decided to stay off of the trail yesterday and instead, inspired by one of the blogs, do my errands around town on my bike.

Off I went.  And I have to say, it was fun!  Being on my bike makes me feel like a kid again.  And I like it so much better than walking for exercise, because (1) you cover more ground and see more stuff and (2) no matter how hot it is, biking always generates a little breeze.

So now I'm thinking, "Hmmm, is there a cute little town somewhere like mine, on a lake like mine, but where everyone bikes for local transportation?  I'd like to live there!"  Yeah, probably somewhere in Europe.  Oh, well, it's fun to dream.

(Click to enlarge photos)

Breakfast in town

Little diner with mostly locals as patrons

A stop at the bank and the library to return some DVD's

And along the south end of the lake to the bike/walking path of the neighborhood I used to live in.

Stranger Danger - Pt. III

Posted on June 19, 2010 - by Janice

Solo Travel Stranger Danger Part III – Recognizing Danger

Parisian taxi drivers are known for overcharging. Watch the meter and ask questions if the price doesn't sound right.

This is the third post in the three part series on solo travel stranger danger. Part I emphasized the kindness of strangers. Part II told a cautionary tale of an experience I had in Paris that was very dangerous. Today, we delve into strategies for recognizing potential danger so that it can be avoided. .

Let me start by continuing on [a prior post], Caught in a Con Game.

After I phoned my friend’s friend in a panic and lost all my money, I hopped into a cab and made my way to her place – she said she would pay the fare. On route, the cab driver started flirting. In my limited French I explained that, no, I didn’t want to spend the next day with him. And I explained why. Oh, he wanted to show me that the men in Paris could be wonderful. I still refused. Then, when we reached my destination, he tried to charge me double what was on the meter. My friend came out to pay for me and tore a strip off him for trying to rip me off.

We really have to be careful. So, how can one recognize dangerous situations so that they can be avoided? Here are some ideas.

Take note of how you feel.

•Follow your gut. When your Spidey senses tingle, pay attention. Malcolm Gladwell studied the potential of an intuitive response in his book BLINK: the power of thinking without thinking. Here is a very good summary. It’s from a review by Barbara MacKoff on Amazon.com:

The key is to rely on our “adaptive unconscious”–a 24/7 mental valet–that provides us with instant and sophisticated information to warn of danger, read a stranger, or react to a new idea. Gladwell includes caveats about leaping to conclusions: marketers can manipulate our first impressions, high arousal moments make us “mind blind,” focusing on the wrong cue leaves us vulnerable to “the Warren Harding Effect” (i.e., voting for a handsome but hapless president).

•Don’t be rushed into making a decision – whether its a purchase, transportation, accommodation…. If you feel rushed you won’t be thinking clearly. Rushing causes confusion and poor decision-making. Unsavory characters know this and use it to their advantage.

Read the obvious red flags

Being aware of your surroundings and how people are acting is critical to your safety.

•Recognize the signs of a bad area: poor quality buildings, poor lighting, closed stores, few people, no families wandering around just people of one gender or generation.

•Recognize the signs of an unsavory person: contradictions in their story, difficulty maintaining eye contact, making inappropriate demands

•Services that don’t look legitimate: as person on the street offering a great exchange rate for money, unofficial accommodation offers, gypsy taxis.

Know the common scams before your travel.

Watch out for people:

•Posing as police, showing fake ID and asking to see your wallet for counterfeit currency. Scam.

•Giving you something apparently free such as a bottle of water or a flower and then demanding payment. They can be very difficult to say no to but you have to. They’ll demand payment as soon as the item is in your hands.

•Taking your picture for you and then demanding a fee.

•Spilling ice cream on you or causing some other distraction so that their partner can pickpocket you.

Fox and Obel

(Click photos to enlarge)

The gourmet grocery store down the block from my city place is one of my favorite places to have breakfast or just sit and people-watch.  There's a little cafe along the street to watch people passing by and another in the back on a canal that leads out to Lake Michigan.  Both are nice to spend time in.

 And now the new park is finished with benches, a water feature, a dog park, and some lawn expanse for kids to play frisbee.

Absences

Just a note posted to say I've been lax about blogging lately, because I've been fighting strep.  For the last few weeks, I've had days where I've been tired, taken two-hour naps (I don't nap!) and had a sore throat (all since the flu I had late May) yet I've had some days where I've felt energetic enough to bike 10-20 miles.  It has been very confusing.

I finally went to my doctor and was diagnosed with strep.  How odd.  Haven't felt that sick.  On meds now and hoping I'm up and running in no more than a week. 

Meanwhile, I'll try to find something to post about.

Caught in a Con Game -- Pt. II

Posted on June 12, 2010 - by Solo Traveler

Solo Travel: Stranger Danger Part II

Caught in a Con Game

(This is part II in the series on Stranger Danger. Please have a read of June 6th's post. It shows the wonderful, magical, positive side of strangers in five short stories.)

I was almost taken in Paris. If I had been, I would not have had a Liam Neeson to save me.

This is a story of firsts. My first time in Europe. My first really solo travel adventure. And my first – and last – time being caught in a con game. It was 1985, I was 27 and I really should have known better.

My trip began in Paris where I spent my first days tripping around the city with fellow hostellers – men and women. I felt safe and confident. On the day I was to leave for Salzburg, I felt the same way. I was to take an afternoon train so I stored my backpack in a locker at the Gare de L’est station around noon then went across the street to look over a menu outside a restaurant. A man approached and checked it out as well, we chatted and went in to spend lunch together. No big deal. Meeting and hanging out with people in Paris seemed pretty normal at this point.

While we were eating, a man at another table leaned over and asked for a light for his cigarette. The fellow I was with (let’s call him John) provided it and we all got chatting. It turned out that we were all heading to different cities in Austria.

The other man (I’ll call him Peter) got up to leave and casually mentioned that he had to pop into a bank to pick up the Austrian Schillings required to enter Austria. This was before Euros and was news to me. Assuming that this was a detail I missed, I joined the two men and went to get my money changed.

The bank we went to couldn’t change our money. It is only with hindsight that I realize that it was likely a commercial bank. I didn’t even know of their existence then. From this point on, my life took a very dangerous trajectory that fortunately ended well. My choices at each step may suggest that I am a stupid woman but I’m not. I was, however, very naïve. I reveal my failings here to save others as they travel.

A con game is all about gaining the confidence of the mark – in this case, me. The end objective is different with every con artist but the process is pretty well the same. Prey on a human frailty such as vanity, greed or naivety, gain the person’s confidence, then get what you want from them. The thrill of the con is often as important as the results.

After being unsuccessful at the bank, the three of us set out for an Austrian restaurant which John knew. He was sure that the owner would exchange our money so that we could continue our travels. We positioned ourselves at a café across the street from the restaurant. I went to the restroom and took money out of my money belt, went back to the table and gave it to him. Peter gave him cash as well.

As John entered the restaurant across the street, Peter asked how long we had been traveling together. To his apparent shock, I said we weren’t travel mates – that I had just met him.

- But you’re my insurance he said.

We both sat back and waited anxiously to see if he had taken off with our money. John returned and gave our money back saying that he had failed. Confidence earned.

We then went to another Austrian restaurant on the Champs Elysees and repeated the process. This time John returned with Peter’s money exchanged, but there had not been enough for both of us. He again, gave me back my money. Confidence confirmed.

Peter wished us luck and continued on his way. John and I then headed for the west bank where we would try once again. I know. You’re thinking how crazy I was, but it actually seemed pretty realistic. They were pros!

The day was getting on. This time when John went to get the money exchanged, he returned and said he had to leave it at the restaurant but that we could return in an hour to get it. Naturally this made me anxious. We went for dinner across the street to wait it out.

At dinner, he mentioned that we had missed the train and would have to stay overnight and that we could share a room. I refused and he got angry. When I moved to leave he settled down. After doing this dance a couple of times, I pulled out a photo of my two-year-old son. He looked at me, stunned.

- How old are you?

It was not a good scene. I left him and looked for phone booth to call a remote connection I had in the city. The booth was occupied. I knocked. I got the one minute hand signal and the person’s back. I looked and saw John watching me. I went to the other side of the booth and pounded on it furiously. The man eventually left in a huff and I called. Once it was clear that I was talking to someone, John took off – with my money of course.

Long story short, I grabbed a cab and went to my contact’s home. She said that had John been successful, I would have been on route for the white slave market. Is that the case? I’m not sure. But I certainly wasn’t going on any holiday.

The details of that day are indelibly marked in my memory. What saved me was the fact that I stayed in a public place. While I was significantly poorer in the end, I was left with my life – and a lifelong principle for solo travel:  Public is always safer than private.

That trip lasted another 7 days. I criss-crossed Europe by train, as far as Budapest in the east and Amsterdam to the north, and many points in between. As I did, I told the story to as many women as possible. Now, I write a blog on solo travel in which safety is a major theme.


My note:  Articles like these are why I love this blog, Solo Traveler, and repost them with full credit to the author, here.

And remember my post of February 11, Why I Travel Solo?  Go back and read at the end of that post my own personally naive story of my Paris incident I now suspect was more than an Algerian wanting a green card!  I was probably very lucky, too.