July, 2009 Wild Boar G Friday, July 31st, 2009 "Tyler… TYLER!" Tara hissed at me. "Do you hear that!!?" It was still very dark outside our tent, and some large animal was making really loud noises not too far from away from us. In an ef... Slowly, Slowly G Friday, July 31st, 2009 We stopped at a huge bicycle shop, "Mondovelo" on our way out of town today, continuing our hunt for replacement skewers. No luck. I did find the cone wrenches I need to rebuild our hubs when the t... On The Road Again G Thursday, July 30th, 2009 We enjoyed our time with the l'Hostis' immensely but we were both eager to start our final leg through France this morning. The amount of time we can stay in one place without feeling restless seems... French Lessons G Wednesday, July 29th, 2009 As we make our final preparations to leave for Switzerland I wanted to recount some of the things I've learned during my time in France. I've learned… …lots of french, the vast maj... Resting in Fontaines G Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 We spent most of today writing journals (tara), programming (tyler), and lounging around at our incredibly generous friends, the l'Hostis's, house. Here are some photos: l'Hostis' Back Yard Pool V... Love/Hate Relationship PG Monday, July 27th, 2009 Pascale drove us to Dijon this morning so we could get some errands done in a big city without having to bike in it. She had meetings with clients there all day so it worked out perfectly. During t... Chalon dans la Rue G Sunday, July 26th, 2009 Every year, Chalon sur Saone becomes a mecca for artists, hippies, and actors during their five-day festival called Chalon dans la Rue (Chalon in the Street). I have somehow missed the biggest event... Breakfast in Bed G Saturday, July 25th, 2009 Waking up in a huge comfortable bed was a wonderful change of pace. We started the day in true French fashion, very slowly. We took our time enjoying the light streaming through the window, the she... Well Received G Friday, July 24th, 2009 We arrived at the l'Hostis's house in Fontaines early this afternoon, fully ready to spend a few days doing nothing, or at the very least, nothing cycle related. We get to spend our first night and ... Almost There G Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 Some days I feel like we're "sloppy" touring cyclists. An hour after we arrive at camp we've unloaded half of our panniers, making ourselves at home in what must look like disarray but is actually a... Navigation G Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009 We awoke safe and sound this morning, myself fitfully rested and Tara, bleary eyed and exhausted. Despite my best efforts to console her overactive imagination, she spent last night half-awake, drif... Free Camp Fears G Tuesday, July 21st, 2009 The sun is just dropping behind the hills of our free-camp. The wind has picked up a lot, it is easily more powerful than any I have ever experienced. It roars around the tent violently; I can even... Bicycle Shop G Tuesday, July 21st, 2009 I enter the bicycle shop alone; Tyler is propping our bikes up outside, wishing we had kick stands. As I close the door, still wearing my helmet, two days without a shower, unknown days since our la... Boys and Bugs G Monday, July 20th, 2009 This morning's camp break featured heavily in the large bug department. It is remarkable how my attitude towards insects has changed since we left home. I used to recoil at the sight of a large "sc... Long Lunch G Sunday, July 19th, 2009 Getting up early has not been our strong suit lately, and we slept through our alarm again this morning. We're pretty fast to pack up now, though, so it wasn't really a big deal. Slightly more both... Changing Scenery G Saturday, July 18th, 2009 Today was our last day in the mountains for the next few weeks. I expected we'd have an easy ride with a short pass to climb somewhere in the middle of the day and then we'd be home-free. Boy was I... Cloud Cover G Friday, July 17th, 2009 After our late start and awful heat yesterday we made sure to get moving early today. The alarm went off at 5:30 and by 6:30 we were up and packing. At 7:30 we rolled out of camp and managed to cyc... Perserverance G Thursday, July 16th, 2009 This morning did not begin well. We slept in, ensuring a full day of riding in the sweltering Provence heat with nobody to blame but ourselves. Making matters worse, just as we were leaving I reali... Rest Day in Aiguines G Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 Today we took a rest day in Aiguines and spent the afternoon wandering around the picturesque Provencal town taking in the sights. Here are some photos in no particular order! Camping l'Aigle Roof... Gorgeous Climbs G Tuesday, July 14th, 2009 After sleeping in rather late this morning we packed up our river-side free-camp and carried our belongings over to a steep embankment leading to the road. Once we were mostly prepared, we took the ... River Free Camp G Monday, July 13th, 2009 It is 2am as I write this. I have been responding to emails and working in our tent for the last several hours. Two feet to my right there is a shallow stream rythmically babbling away. Directly t... Farewell Côte d'Azur G Sunday, July 12th, 2009 Holding our brakes firmly with one hand, we waved goodbye to our friendly neighbors and carefully wheeled our bikes down the extremely steep hill leaving our campsite. Less than a kilometer away we ... Errands on the French Riviera G Saturday, July 11th, 2009 I was absolutely exhausted this morning when Tara shuffled me, squinty-eyed and stumbling, out of the tent and in the direction of the shower block. While I doused myself clean and scrubbed off the ... Route Barrée G Friday, July 10th, 2009 As we approached "Route Des Crêtes", the coastal road we had intended on riding this morning, we saw a sign that read "Route Barrée a 1000 m"—the road was closed in one kilometer due to road ... Cassis Calanques G Thursday, July 9th, 2009 Since I was feeling fine, we decided to take advantage of our perfect weather and beautiful location on the Riviera to do some site-seeing. Setting the alarm for 8AM, the plan was to wander around t... Kidney Stone Update G Thursday, July 9th, 2009 I am feeling 100% fine now, and honestly, it feels a little anticlimactic! I must've passed the stone while I was on painkillers at the hospital because haven't felt any more pain since then. Outsi... This Too Shall Pass G Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 I am awakened at three o'clock this morning to Tyler's persistent nudging. It takes a minute to cut through the haze of sleep and gain consciousness enough to realize what is happening. My beloved ... Mediterranean Sea G Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 Riding in the heat yesterday, we both latched on to the idea of having popcicles. Sadly, the opportunity never presented itself. Today while we were picking up groceries in the quaint coastal town ... Parade G Monday, July 6th, 2009 I was all packed and ready to go while Tyler was on the computer ordering Thermarest mattresses (after two days of use our replacement Exped mats are already failing). When he was done he began pack... Riding to Arles G Sunday, July 5th, 2009 Happy to leave our militant campsite this morning we set out in the direction of Arles, a city near the Mediterranean coast. A few kilometers down the road we passed the biggest caterpillar I have e... Bad Reception G Saturday, July 4th, 2009 We had trouble getting out of bed this morning when the alarm went off at 8:00. We stayed up late last night with Ingrid and Yves, talking and laughing for hours. Nevertheless, we rolled out of bed... Resting in the Mountains G Friday, July 3rd, 2009 We took the day off. For posterity is here is what happened: Laid around most of the day reading. Yves showed us how he makes bread. Finished our backlog of journal entries. Started route pla... Working in the Mountains G Thursday, July 2nd, 2009 Today Ingrid and Yves' cozy mountain home is filled with busy workers and buzzing activity. Though the heat makes it harder for us all to focus (except for Tyler of course) and though we frequently ... Pizza & Roquefort G Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 After our countless glasses of wine and shots of an unknown alcohol called "Williams" we weren't feeling our best when we got up this morning to join Ingrid and Yves for breakfast. They fed us homem...