France Entries
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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 ...
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Slowly, Slowly
Friday, July 31st, 2009We 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...
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On The Road Again
Thursday, July 30th, 2009We 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...
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French Lessons
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009As 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 i...
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Resting in Fontaines
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009We 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: ...
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Love/Hate Relationship
Monday, July 27th, 2009Pascale 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...
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Chalon dans la Rue
Sunday, July 26th, 2009Every 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...
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Breakfast in Bed
Saturday, July 25th, 2009Waking 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...
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Well Received
Friday, July 24th, 2009We 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 ...
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Almost There
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009Some 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...
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Navigation
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009We 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...
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Free Camp Fears
Tuesday, July 21st, 2009The 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...
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Bicycle Shop
Tuesday, July 21st, 2009I 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...
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Boys and Bugs
Monday, July 20th, 2009This 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...
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Long Lunch
Sunday, July 19th, 2009Getting 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...
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Changing Scenery
Saturday, July 18th, 2009Today 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...
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Cloud Cover
Friday, July 17th, 2009After 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...
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Perserverance
Thursday, July 16th, 2009This 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...
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Rest Day in Aiguines
Wednesday, July 15th, 2009Today 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! ...
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Gorgeous Climbs
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009After 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 ...
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River Free Camp
Monday, July 13th, 2009It 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...
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Farewell Côte d'Azur
Sunday, July 12th, 2009Holding 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 ...
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Errands on the French Riviera
Saturday, July 11th, 2009I 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 ...
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Route Barrée
Friday, July 10th, 2009As 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...
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Cassis Calanques
Thursday, July 9th, 2009Since 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...
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Kidney Stone Update
Thursday, July 9th, 2009I 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...
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This Too Shall Pass
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009I 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 ...
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Mediterranean Sea
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009Riding 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 ...
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Parade
Monday, July 6th, 2009I 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...
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Riding to Arles
Sunday, July 5th, 2009Happy 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...
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Bad Reception
Saturday, July 4th, 2009We 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...
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Resting in the Mountains
Friday, July 3rd, 2009We 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...
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Working in the Mountains
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009Today 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 ...
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Pizza & Roquefort
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009After 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...
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Finding Estelle
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009After 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....
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Too Hot
Monday, June 29th, 2009Last 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....
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Mountain Climbing
Sunday, June 28th, 2009I 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 ...
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Resupply
Saturday, June 27th, 2009After 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 ...
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Too Much Of A Good Thing
Friday, June 26th, 2009Normally 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...
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Unexpected Guests
Thursday, June 25th, 2009With 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 BikeAw...
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Our Panniers
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009With 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 t...
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Not Riding
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009Today 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 hav...
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Thank you, Dad!
Monday, June 22nd, 2009We 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 want...
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Camping Fermé
Sunday, June 21st, 2009Spirits 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 i...
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Role Reversal
Saturday, June 20th, 2009Sticking 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 b...
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Early Camping
Friday, June 19th, 2009Sometimes 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...
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Rest In Peace
Thursday, June 18th, 2009As 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 clothin...
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Sunburn
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009We 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 usu...
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Cheeseburger in Paradise
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009We 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...
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Sandy Camping
Monday, June 15th, 2009I 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 strugg...
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Ile de Noirmoutier
Sunday, June 14th, 2009We 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...
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French Coast
Saturday, June 13th, 2009The 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...
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Wine & Pizza
Friday, June 12th, 2009We 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 N...
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Return of the Sun
Thursday, June 11th, 2009This 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 o...
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Early Rising
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009The 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 to...
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Even More Rain
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009Once 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 ou...
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Chez Pierre & Julien
Monday, June 8th, 2009We 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 org...
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The Canal
Sunday, June 7th, 2009We 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...
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Free Camp & Fire
Saturday, June 6th, 2009We 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 nos...
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Sick Day
Friday, June 5th, 2009This 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...
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To Market
Thursday, June 4th, 2009There 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 ...
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Bee Museum
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009While 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 ...
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On Planning
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009Last 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 seas...
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La Sieste
Monday, June 1st, 2009This 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 bre...
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Smooth Sailing
Sunday, May 31st, 2009For 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 t...
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Bonjour France!
Saturday, May 30th, 2009We 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 e...