And I guess I should include wine in that subject line, since you can even help yourself in Sarlat-Le-Caneda, where we welcomed the wine and dry hotel room after getting completely drenched on the road. So wet my shoes were squishy. We have rain gear, but with this grande pluie it didn't matter. Dinner at the bistro across the street was delightful. We were famished, because in addition to the rain-drubbing, we had been unable to eat properly all day. One serious pleasure, and challenge, of bike touring in France is food. Riding 40 kilometers on coffee and a croissant has … [Read more...]
Animal spirits
This kitten made my morning yesterday in Les Eyzies Chasing his tail and playing After that we visited a PreHistoric Parc, with replicas of scenes from the daily life of Cro Magnon man. I jumped into one of the dioramas to defend this poor wooly mammoth (sorry, blurry pic--John is good at putting together bikes, not so good at framing and focusing photos). The parc was a cool way to interact with a distant time period, and it was blissfully uncrowded. Plus, there were kittens there too: Then there were random magnificent chateaux sightings, like this one along … [Read more...]
Bike-in-the-Box
If only it worked like a Jack-in-the-box and sprung out of the box put together. This is what my Surly steed looks like when it travels to France: And this is what it looks like reassembled and ready for riding: I was the sous-mechanic all morning, cutting off zip ties with nail clippers and handing John the allen wrenches. Midday, we pedaled away from Hotel Croix Baragnon and wandered into a restaurant serving crepes and cidre--cuisine we can't resist, having sampled much of it on a prior bike tour in Brittany. After that we toured the old town a bit, with plenty of … [Read more...]
Encouraging Signs
On my KLM flight: In Amsterdam's airport: … [Read more...]
Sitting in the Saddle
For years I've been watching the supreme athletes of the Tour de France pedal up the passes in the Pyrenees--and been awestruck by the scenery that surrounds them. Tomorrow, I'm heading to France with my bike (and my husband) to cycle up some of those same summits. I won't be racing, but rather, basking in the natural wisdom of mountains, the pleasurable grit of a challenge, and the daily succor of French food and wine. I'll be discovering a part of France I've never been to before. I'm not sure what I'll be moved to write about yet, but I've been thinking that if bicycles … [Read more...]