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France Entries

Wild Boar

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 effort to put Tara's mind at ease, I reassuringly told her...

Slowly, Slowly

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 time comes though; I'd forgotten to buy them befor...

On The Road Again

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 to be getting smaller and smaller the longer we ...

French Lessons

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 majority of it when we stayed with a french family for 5 day...

Resting in Fontaines

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: ...

Love/Hate Relationship

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 the hour-long car ride, she pointed out numerous w...

Chalon dans la Rue

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 of the area each time I have come here. This ti...

Breakfast in Bed

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 sheep baaing and cocks crowing outside, content in t...

Well Received

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 day here alone thanks to the generosity of Tara's...

Almost There

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 finely tuned system of organization. In the mor...

Navigation

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, drifting in an out of vivid nightmares of our stealth...

Free Camp Fears

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 feel it creeping under our groundsheet, lifting ...

Bicycle Shop

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 last laundry and covered with sweat and road grime,...

Boys and Bugs

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 "scary" bug. Now my instinct is immediately to find...

Long Lunch

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 bothersome was that Tyler's tire, which he thought he...

Changing Scenery

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 wrong! Instead of easy cycling we battled fierc...

Cloud Cover

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 cycle an easy 40 kilometers in the blissful cool of ...

Perserverance

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 realized my rear tire was flat. After tearing everyth...

Rest Day in Aiguines

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! ...

Gorgeous Climbs

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 opportunity for one last frigid dip in the pond. ...

River Free Camp

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 to my left, Tara is sleeping with her mouth wide o...

Farewell Côte d'Azur

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 had another day of Riviera cycling ahead of us. ...

Errands on the French Riviera

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 last bit of sleepiness, Tara packed everything an...

Route Barrée

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 work. In typical Provence fashion, the work was supposed...

Cassis Calanques

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 town and go hiking in the famous Calanques, or Med...

Kidney Stone Update

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. Outside of some general tenderness, everything seems t...

This Too Shall Pass

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 partner, who is always in perfect health and gene...

Mediterranean Sea

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 of Martigues I spotted a bag of "Mickey's Mr. Fre...

Parade

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 packing his bike and discovered that one of his panni...

Riding to Arles

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 ever seen. It was neon green and speckled with bi...

Bad Reception

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 and stumbed into the shower to start the day. T...

Resting in the Mountains

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 planning for Italy. Went for...

Working in the Mountains

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 stop to wipe the sweat dripping down our forehead...

Pizza & Roquefort

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 homemade seeded bread with jam and honey and cups of t...

Finding Estelle

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

After breakfast I walk over to our friendly Dutch neighbors and offer them our three leftover eggs. The sun is beating down and by the end of the day they will likely be rotten or at least inedible. They take them happily and bid me good luck. A...

Too Hot

Monday, June 29th, 2009

Last night as we arrived in camp we were unable to check in. Like at so many French campsites we've encountered, the reception office was closed when their signs clearly indicated it should be open. We cycled through and made ourselves at home fo...

Mountain Climbing

Sunday, June 28th, 2009

I am getting pretty good at hill-climbing these days. The sight of a looming hill is demoralizing at times, but at least it's familiar. After all, it isn't like we're in the mountains… right? I have a confession: a heavy dread has been weighing ...

Resupply

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

After our non-stop adventuring yesterday, I was ready for something simple and familiar. On our way out of camp we both commented that we were looking forward to an uneventful day of pedaling. Our ride wound up being an endless series of hills un...

Too Much Of A Good Thing

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Normally I am the designated alarm-clock enforcer, making sure we don't hit snooze too many times before actually getting moving at a nice early hour. This morning, though, I was exhausted and could barely keep my eyes open when I told Tyler he wo...

Unexpected Guests

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

With three blissful days of rest behind us we bid farewell to Bluesoleil Campground and started our trek southeast to Estelle (just outside Millau). We are hoping to reach Ingrid and Yvves of BikeAway by Monday. It'll require riding 70+ kilomete...

Our Panniers

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

With a wonderfully empty day ahead of me, I decided to do something productive before settling in for a relaxing afternoon of reading. Our panniers have started to get slightly funky and today was the day to clean them. Getting right down to work...

Not Riding

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

Today was the second in our three day rest at Bluesoleil campground in Rouffignac. While I feel incredibly fortunate to have gainful employment on our trip I am really, really looking forward to having a rest day (someday) that isn't filled with p...

Thank you, Dad!

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

We have been biking 80-90 kilometers a day lately; quite a bit more than our usual 50-70. When the phone rang last night, we picked it up and were greeted with the cheerful voices of my parents wanting to chat. Relieved to be home, but tired and ...

Camping Fermé

Sunday, June 21st, 2009

Spirits were high this morning. With another budget-boosting free evening under our belts we cheerfully broke camp excited about the prospect of finding a nice place to rest for few nights. It is incredible how the possibilities of a new day on t...

Role Reversal

Saturday, June 20th, 2009

Sticking to our early rising plan we set the alarm for six o'clock. By seven we were up and moving, albeit very slowly. We sometimes joke that we feel like Wall-E in the morning, stumbling out of bed, bumping things, not quite able to operate our...

Early Camping

Friday, June 19th, 2009

Sometimes the hardest part of cycling around the world can be simply getting up in the morning. Actually, I think this is true for accomplishing just about anything in the simple sense that you must first get moving to do it. Today the alarm soun...

Rest In Peace

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

As I was making crepes this morning, Tyler was bustling around, busily stowing things away in our panniers. Normally I stuff my bolster-sized clothing bag and one of the Downmats into my own clothing pannier, but for some reason this morning Tyler...

Sunburn

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

We somehow neglected to wear sunscreen yesterday. When we awoke this morning we were both very… crispy. Subconsciously hoping to somehow make up for our folly we both applied twice as much as usual before departing on what would be another day fu...

Cheeseburger in Paradise

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

We shook out our sand-infested belongings and left camp this morning to explore the island we had just spent two nights on. In search of almond croissants for breakfast, we headed to the bakery with high hopes. Unfortunately they hadn't made any....

Sandy Camping

Monday, June 15th, 2009

I think it was around 4am when I clumsily stumbled out of the tent. Half dressed, barely conscious and feeling like an overtired toddler home from a long road trip, I grabbed our rain fly and struggled in my daze to figure out which end was up. W...

Ile de Noirmoutier

Sunday, June 14th, 2009

We didn't roll out of our loud (but fun) vacation park until noon. The plan for the day was to bike for a little bit and then set up camp right away, having all afternoon and evening free. As usual, the day didn't go according to plan—this time i...

French Coast

Saturday, June 13th, 2009

The alarm sounded at 6:30 AM and Tara bounded out into our 'stealth camp' to start the day. Ever concerned about someone showing up and saying "You can't be here", she wanted to make it look like we'd just stopped for breakfast as early as possibl...

Wine & Pizza

Friday, June 12th, 2009

We left to cycle the last bit of the canal into Nantes today. As we rounded our first corner the path abruptly stopped. A man operating a nearby lock laughed at us and said there were two ways to Nantes from there—swim across the lake, or take a ...

Return of the Sun

Thursday, June 11th, 2009

This morning brought a welcome change to our lives—the sun! We quickly uprooted our tent and belongings from the spot we'd chosen last night under the trees (hiding from the rain) and moved into one under the blaze of the morning sun. We happily ...

Early Rising

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

The alarm went off at 6:30 AM. Its incessant beeping mingled nicely with the sound of rain falling heavily against our tent. Oh rain. We've been meaning to start earlier for at least a week and today was our first run through. In good spirits w...

Even More Rain

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

Once again, the day began with rain. For a change, we were dry and so was our gear. Thank you Pierre! We spent the morning taking advantage of the many amenties we have taken for granted all of our lives: hot showers, electricity, a gas stove th...

Chez Pierre & Julien

Monday, June 8th, 2009

We awoke to the standard drumming of rain against our tent this morning. Yesterday Tyler steeled himself against the downpour, getting soaked to pack the bikes, while I stayed dry getting things organized from inside the tent. This morning, I was...

The Canal

Sunday, June 7th, 2009

We awoke at 6:30 AM to the sound of a downpour pelting our rain-fly through the cover of our forested free-camp and the beeping of my optimism from the night before. I reached out from the warmth of our sleeping bag, flicked the alarm clock off an...

Free Camp & Fire

Saturday, June 6th, 2009

We went to bed feeling sick. Huddled together, we tried to fall asleep but were unable to drift off over the cacophony of our own hacking, coughing, sneezing, and trumpet-like nose blowing. Our nostrils completely blocked, we lay with our mouths ...

Sick Day

Friday, June 5th, 2009

This morning Tara and I woke up feeling like death warmed over. My throat was so sore I could hardly swallow and Tara's nose continued its crusade of running like a leaky facuet. We laid around for an hour or so moaning to each other about our va...

To Market

Thursday, June 4th, 2009

There is nothing like fresh french bread with butter and honey or a big glob of nutella (chocolate-hazelnut spread) to start the day off right. This campsite is so great, we decided to stay another day. The owners have a beautiful vegetable garde...

Bee Museum

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

While breaking camp we decided today was a good day for music. At home hardly an hour went by that music wasn't playing unless we were asleep. Out here we rarely listen to anything but the endless symphony of nature sounds going on around us. As...

On Planning

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009

Last night we stayed in one of France's wonderful municipal camp sites. It is such a relief knowing that we can find a campsite in almost any town! This particular site had just opened for the season and we were the only people there. We enjoyed...

La Sieste

Monday, June 1st, 2009

This morning we had fresh bread delivered to our tent! We hungrily tore pieces from our "miche" and dunked them in butter and honey while Tara explained to me about the regulations in France for bread making. They're only allowed four ingredients...

Smooth Sailing

Sunday, May 31st, 2009

For breakfast I made eggs and we enjoyed them over tasty mugs of warm milk and honey. Our fellow campers told us "bon appetit!" as we were eating :) Afterwards as Tyler packed up I taught him how to say each item he put away in French. One of hi...

Bonjour France!

Saturday, May 30th, 2009

We boarded the ferry at midnight and immediately felt like we were on some sort of cruise ship. There were boutiques featuring fancy perfumes and chocolates, and a voice came over the loud speaker enticing children to buy a giant chupa-chups (loll...