Well, it has been an adventurous few days since last we updated. Today we find ourselves in the little sea side village of Sete. Three years ago we road through Sete and found it to be absolutely darling but on that trip all we did was stop to eat lunch on the cliffs overlooking the meditierranian. But this trip we knew we wanted to stay longer.
But how did we get here.....A wonderful ride down down down out of the pyreenes to the town of Lourdes where we hopped the first train to the coast! We arrived in Perpignan at 7:30pm rode around, got lost, found our way to the center ville and a really great hotel. Went to a very late dinner in the historic area. Probably our best meal at a restaurant this trip! Had ice cream at 11:30 qt this adorable sidewalk cafe and then back to the hotel where we fell into bed and a very restful night of sleep.
The following two days consisted of cycling IN TO the most incredible winds. At times it was all we could do to keep the bikes upright, but we were determined to make it to the ocean! We made it to Cap De Adge yesterday but it was a very long day. 67miles of head winds, very busy roads, canals that were like cycling on a donkey trail, and finally the old city of Adge. As I said, it was a very long day in the saddle and arriving into town that late in the day, tired, hungry, and just a little cranky we checked into a hotel!
A great little town is Adge! Our room overlooked the town center and live music filled the air. When we opened our window it was like having box seats to our own personal concert. A great dinner and we retired to bed.
This morning we set our sights on Sete. An easy 20 miles down the coast with the wind at our backs!!!! We finally made it around the bend so the wind would be at our backs!
No camping in Sete but we found a reasonable hotel right on the water and walking distance to all the happening areas of town. The beaches here are so beautiful and the water is emerald green. The contrast of the beautiful white sail boats against the green of the water is surreal.
We spent the afternoon laying by the pool for just a short time and then it was off the the Lavarie. (thats french for laundry mat) It feels soooooo good to have the laundry done. It had been over 5 days since we were able to do any laundry. Did I mention that we each only have 3 days worth of cycling clothes. The past 2 days have not been pretty!
But now the laundry is clean and we are in an absolutely beautiful area with nothing but blue skies in the forecast with mild winds. We will be at the beach tomorrow for a much needed and well deserved day relaxing in the sunshine and doing absolutely nothing!
Oh I almost forgot. Our camera died. ARGH!! So until we buy a new camera no new pictures. We will get those that we do have downloaded but until we get to a bigger town we won't be able to purchase anything. We should be in Montplier in 2 days and hopefully will pick one up then. Sherry has a friend that lives in Montplier that we will be visiting.
It is late and Bob is already sound asleeep so I too will say goodnight. Sweet dreams to all of you!
Sherry and a sleeping Bob
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Col Du Tourmalet
It is a beautiful sunny afternoon in the Pyreenes. We are enjoying a well deserved cold beer as we just finished cycling the grand daddy of them all the Col Du Tourmalet!!!
12 miles up and 4500ft of elevation gain!
But let me back up two days to Sunday. We left our wonderful little chambers and set our sights on getting to the base of the Col Du Soulor. Well the plan changed slightly. Once we finally made it to the base of the Col we had cycled 30miles but felt good so we decided to go halfway up the Col to a little town that we were told had a nice Gite. So up up up we went. The town was further up than we expected and by the time we finally got there it was only 6milesto the top.So we just kept on going......up up up up. By the time we finished the day we had cycled 55miles and 5750 feet of elevation gain!!!! And all of this with all of our gear. I have to say that climbing the Col was by far the most difficult thing I have EVER done. Bob was amazing as usual but even he said that it was probably the hardest climb he had ever done also.
But the views were amazing!!!! When we had less than 1KM from the top we had a great white Pyreenes dog made us stop so he could bring his heard of sheep across the road. It was truly magical!!!
Yesterday we rode to the town of St Sauveur at the base of the Col Du Tourmalet. This morning we woke to beautiful blue skies! We cycled to the top of the Col without any of our gear. After climbing the Col Du Soulor with all of our gear this climb was pure enjoyment! The entire climb was filled with beauty and the sounds of cow/sheep bells ringing in the surrounding mountains.
It was almost surreal. I felt like I was a character in a walt disney movie. The peace and tranquility that washed over me as I climbed that mountain was like an out of body experience. (is that too much) Sorry but I just don't know how else to describe it!
So that is my take on the previous few days. We will get the pictures downloaded hopefully by tonight. And I'll let Bob continue this entry so he can share his experience;
Bob here, I have to admit that sitting here in the sun in the middle of the Pryenees is as amazing as riding in them. Well, maybe it is the combination of riding them and then enjoying a beer in them that makes it spectacular. This is one of those moments that you dont want to end!! The beauty here is incredible and hard to describe. If youhave watched parts of the Tour De France you definitely get a feel for it.
I feel very lucky right now and I am not taking this day for granted!!
Wishing everyone the best,
Bob and Sherry
12 miles up and 4500ft of elevation gain!
But let me back up two days to Sunday. We left our wonderful little chambers and set our sights on getting to the base of the Col Du Soulor. Well the plan changed slightly. Once we finally made it to the base of the Col we had cycled 30miles but felt good so we decided to go halfway up the Col to a little town that we were told had a nice Gite. So up up up we went. The town was further up than we expected and by the time we finally got there it was only 6milesto the top.So we just kept on going......up up up up. By the time we finished the day we had cycled 55miles and 5750 feet of elevation gain!!!! And all of this with all of our gear. I have to say that climbing the Col was by far the most difficult thing I have EVER done. Bob was amazing as usual but even he said that it was probably the hardest climb he had ever done also.
But the views were amazing!!!! When we had less than 1KM from the top we had a great white Pyreenes dog made us stop so he could bring his heard of sheep across the road. It was truly magical!!!
Yesterday we rode to the town of St Sauveur at the base of the Col Du Tourmalet. This morning we woke to beautiful blue skies! We cycled to the top of the Col without any of our gear. After climbing the Col Du Soulor with all of our gear this climb was pure enjoyment! The entire climb was filled with beauty and the sounds of cow/sheep bells ringing in the surrounding mountains.
It was almost surreal. I felt like I was a character in a walt disney movie. The peace and tranquility that washed over me as I climbed that mountain was like an out of body experience. (is that too much) Sorry but I just don't know how else to describe it!
So that is my take on the previous few days. We will get the pictures downloaded hopefully by tonight. And I'll let Bob continue this entry so he can share his experience;
Bob here, I have to admit that sitting here in the sun in the middle of the Pryenees is as amazing as riding in them. Well, maybe it is the combination of riding them and then enjoying a beer in them that makes it spectacular. This is one of those moments that you dont want to end!! The beauty here is incredible and hard to describe. If youhave watched parts of the Tour De France you definitely get a feel for it.
I feel very lucky right now and I am not taking this day for granted!!
Wishing everyone the best,
Bob and Sherry
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Pryenees baby!!!!
Okay, we are climbing each day now and loving it. The climbs are all worth it as the views are incredible. It is absolutely amazing how green these mountains are.
We biked 45 miles out of St Jean de Luz to St Jean Pied-de-Port and climbed over 4000 feet. St Jean Pied-de-port is a huge hiking and cycling starting point for the Camino De Santiago, aka the road to Santiago. There are people here from all over the world beginning hiking and cycling adventures. We stayed at a hostel with many other hikers and had a great meal and conversation about our adventures. It was a magical evening.
Today we biked 60 miles and again over 4000 feet of some incredible scenery. We are exhausted tonight and just finished a meal of red beans and rice that Sherry cooked over the camp stove. Treating ourselves again tonight to a real bed in a chambres hotel. Basically someone who lends out one of their bedrooms for the night and makes you breakfast in the morning. All for the sum of 50 euros.
The Tour De France came right thru here two days ago and we road some of the same roads as they did, only at 1/5 the speed!!!
We are still heading towards the Col Du Tourmelet. Probably get there in two days time.
Okay Bob is now drinking various wines and appertifs with our host at the Chambres and it doesn't look like he is going to ever finish blogging! So goodnight for now. We are setting our sights on the Col du Soulor tomorrow but it has been two days of big climbs already so we will see. But it is good to have a goal!
Check back in a few days to find out where we are....
We biked 45 miles out of St Jean de Luz to St Jean Pied-de-Port and climbed over 4000 feet. St Jean Pied-de-port is a huge hiking and cycling starting point for the Camino De Santiago, aka the road to Santiago. There are people here from all over the world beginning hiking and cycling adventures. We stayed at a hostel with many other hikers and had a great meal and conversation about our adventures. It was a magical evening.
Today we biked 60 miles and again over 4000 feet of some incredible scenery. We are exhausted tonight and just finished a meal of red beans and rice that Sherry cooked over the camp stove. Treating ourselves again tonight to a real bed in a chambres hotel. Basically someone who lends out one of their bedrooms for the night and makes you breakfast in the morning. All for the sum of 50 euros.
The Tour De France came right thru here two days ago and we road some of the same roads as they did, only at 1/5 the speed!!!
We are still heading towards the Col Du Tourmelet. Probably get there in two days time.
Okay Bob is now drinking various wines and appertifs with our host at the Chambres and it doesn't look like he is going to ever finish blogging! So goodnight for now. We are setting our sights on the Col du Soulor tomorrow but it has been two days of big climbs already so we will see. But it is good to have a goal!
Check back in a few days to find out where we are....
Thursday, July 22, 2010
More rain today!
Well we are still in St. Jean De Luz. It rained throughout the night again but the sky this morning actually looks a little less dense. We decided to pack up our stuff and ride into town and find a hotel for the night. The weather is supposed to clear by tomorrow. Yesterday when we were in town we found it to be such a cute place we figure we might as well take advantage of it rather than spend another day in the drizzle.
We are in a really little but very nice hotel that is right in the heart of the town. Lots of pedestrian traffic and very few cars. (the roads are too narrow even for the little cars they have over here) So you would think that we would be out walking and exploring.
Well when you spend your nights sleeping in a tent, having to walk to the bathroom which is up the road and only having a shower that is one temperature and has a button to turn it on and only runs for 15 seconds per push............you will understand when I tell you that we both took very long and very hot showers, went to the bathroom on a toilet that actually has a seat on it and toilet paper and are now relaxing on a nice soft bed. Bob is actually taking a nap! This might be heaven!
Having said all that we do plan to explore this adorable town and even treat ourselves to a nice dinner.
Even with all the rain these past few days have been really nice. We both feel that our legs are finally getting stronger and we are looking forward to the pyreenes mountains. St Sebastian is not going to happen for us this trip. It was just turning into too much of a logistical task and after looking at the France map for the pyreenes we decided to stay in France. There are more choices for roads that will take us to the mediteranean and it will also give us the opportunity to cycle several of the more famous/infamous Cols AKA mountain passes which are part of the Tour De France. We have our sights set on the Col Du Tourmalet!
Viva La France'
Bob and Sherry
We are in a really little but very nice hotel that is right in the heart of the town. Lots of pedestrian traffic and very few cars. (the roads are too narrow even for the little cars they have over here) So you would think that we would be out walking and exploring.
Well when you spend your nights sleeping in a tent, having to walk to the bathroom which is up the road and only having a shower that is one temperature and has a button to turn it on and only runs for 15 seconds per push............you will understand when I tell you that we both took very long and very hot showers, went to the bathroom on a toilet that actually has a seat on it and toilet paper and are now relaxing on a nice soft bed. Bob is actually taking a nap! This might be heaven!
Having said all that we do plan to explore this adorable town and even treat ourselves to a nice dinner.
Even with all the rain these past few days have been really nice. We both feel that our legs are finally getting stronger and we are looking forward to the pyreenes mountains. St Sebastian is not going to happen for us this trip. It was just turning into too much of a logistical task and after looking at the France map for the pyreenes we decided to stay in France. There are more choices for roads that will take us to the mediteranean and it will also give us the opportunity to cycle several of the more famous/infamous Cols AKA mountain passes which are part of the Tour De France. We have our sights set on the Col Du Tourmalet!
Viva La France'
Bob and Sherry
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Rain Rain Rain
Our plan was to spend today as a day off to lay on the beautiful beaches of Saint Jean De Luz. A quaint little seaside town just south of Biarritz. Of course mother nature had different plans. So here we sit in a very very nice hotel bar in St Jean having a bottle of wine and using the WIFI connection. And no we are not staying in this very very nice hotel our campground and tent are awaiting our return if it ever stops raining long enough for us to make it the 4 miles back there without getting completely soaked. When we left camp this morning the skies were very gray but it had rained sooooooooo much throughout the night that we were thinking that there couldn't possibly be any moisture left in them. How wrong we were!
A recap of the previous days
July 18th 70 miles from Cenac to Parentis En Borne:
Our longest day in terms of miles cycled but one of our best days! The combination of roads and paved bike trails offered a great variety and made it feel like we were really making forward progress throughout the day. The weather was perfect, we never made any wrong turns and the wind was mostly at our backs. The perfect cycling day. Camped near a beautiful lake (see pictures) Sat on the banks of the lake to have a little wine before returning to the campground for dinner at the little restaurant. The music being played was all american/english and we sang along to the familiar tunes to the dismay of the French people around us. Although the small children seemed to be entertained.
July 19th 72 miles from Prentis En Borne to Seigosse:
Our second long miles day. The entire 72 miles we were on a paved cycling path that wound its way through the forest. It was like riding a mountain bike only on a paved single track. I would say that about 75% of the trail was in excellent riding condition but the other 25% was very rough going. Bob handles those situations better than Sherry! Sherry starts to get a little cranky and very tired of being bounced around and holding on to the handlebars for dear life while the fillings in her theeth are coming loose. But Bob he just keeps going and going and is even smiling! Although if he could see Sherry's expressions he might not be smiling quite so much! But all is good and by the end of the day a good cry in the shower Sherry was good. We went out for a lovely dinner and sat on the beach and watched the sun set on the Atlantic Ocean. (now that is something you can't do in the U.S.)
July 20th 45miles Seigosse to St Jean De Luz
Today we got our first look at the Pyrenees! And that also means it was our first day of any meaningful climbing! But with the sun over head and smooth roads with beautiful views and cute little towns to cycle through it was a glorious day! We are staying here for 2 days. We are not entirely sure where we are going tomorrow. The weather will have a lot to do with our decision. We would like to go to St Jean Pied De Port which is the starting point for the Camino De Santiago. It will also be a day of climbing in the pyrenees. If the weather clears then we will head that way. If it continues to rain we will go to St Sebastian, Spain which is a short 20 miles from St Jean De Luz. We will make our decision in teh morning.
It is now 2pm in France and it looks like the rain might stop for a little bit. So long for now and hopefully the next time you hear from us we will be in a small mountain village in the heart of the pyrenees!
Bob & Sherry
A recap of the previous days
July 18th 70 miles from Cenac to Parentis En Borne:
Our longest day in terms of miles cycled but one of our best days! The combination of roads and paved bike trails offered a great variety and made it feel like we were really making forward progress throughout the day. The weather was perfect, we never made any wrong turns and the wind was mostly at our backs. The perfect cycling day. Camped near a beautiful lake (see pictures) Sat on the banks of the lake to have a little wine before returning to the campground for dinner at the little restaurant. The music being played was all american/english and we sang along to the familiar tunes to the dismay of the French people around us. Although the small children seemed to be entertained.
July 19th 72 miles from Prentis En Borne to Seigosse:
Our second long miles day. The entire 72 miles we were on a paved cycling path that wound its way through the forest. It was like riding a mountain bike only on a paved single track. I would say that about 75% of the trail was in excellent riding condition but the other 25% was very rough going. Bob handles those situations better than Sherry! Sherry starts to get a little cranky and very tired of being bounced around and holding on to the handlebars for dear life while the fillings in her theeth are coming loose. But Bob he just keeps going and going and is even smiling! Although if he could see Sherry's expressions he might not be smiling quite so much! But all is good and by the end of the day a good cry in the shower Sherry was good. We went out for a lovely dinner and sat on the beach and watched the sun set on the Atlantic Ocean. (now that is something you can't do in the U.S.)
July 20th 45miles Seigosse to St Jean De Luz
Today we got our first look at the Pyrenees! And that also means it was our first day of any meaningful climbing! But with the sun over head and smooth roads with beautiful views and cute little towns to cycle through it was a glorious day! We are staying here for 2 days. We are not entirely sure where we are going tomorrow. The weather will have a lot to do with our decision. We would like to go to St Jean Pied De Port which is the starting point for the Camino De Santiago. It will also be a day of climbing in the pyrenees. If the weather clears then we will head that way. If it continues to rain we will go to St Sebastian, Spain which is a short 20 miles from St Jean De Luz. We will make our decision in teh morning.
It is now 2pm in France and it looks like the rain might stop for a little bit. So long for now and hopefully the next time you hear from us we will be in a small mountain village in the heart of the pyrenees!
Bob & Sherry
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Pictures!
We just finished downloading, organizing and labeling all of our photo,s. You can see them on flicker by clicking on the link which is on the righthand side of the blog page!
Hope you enjoy them.
We have had a lovely 2 days of rest and rejuvination. Although we did ride 30 miles today while touring the wine country but without all the gear it was much less work. Tomorrow we are back on the road. Lots of open country between us and our next stop which is approx. 70 miles away. Hopefully not too many hills or too much wind but either way it will be beautiful and still a better day than a day at work.
Bob & Sherry
Hope you enjoy them.
We have had a lovely 2 days of rest and rejuvination. Although we did ride 30 miles today while touring the wine country but without all the gear it was much less work. Tomorrow we are back on the road. Lots of open country between us and our next stop which is approx. 70 miles away. Hopefully not too many hills or too much wind but either way it will be beautiful and still a better day than a day at work.
Bob & Sherry
Friday, July 16, 2010
Cenac, France
It has been an amazing few days. I'll begin by listing our miles and destinations:
July 13th - 3 miles via cycling - 150 via train to Royan
July 14th - 16 miles via cycling - 5 miles via Ferry to Sou lac-Sur Mer
July 15th - 50 miles via cycling to Lacanau
July 16th - 51 miles via cycling to Cenac (55 miles for Bob because I sent him to the Patiserie)
The train ride from Redon to Royan was a lot of fun. Bob of course gave me a ribbing over getting us to the train station 2 hours early. (I was nervous) But the train ride went very well and we met two lovely couples who spoke better english than we did french. We spent the 4hr train ride chatting about things to see in France and sharing each others various stories of mis-adventures.
Once in Royan we found a great campground and set about some much needed house keeping. Since we are both currently unemployed and on a tight budget I (Sherry) thought I would save money by putting all of our clothes into one washing machine. Well it seemed like the prudent thing to do at the time. Until I sent Bob to retrieve the items and he told me how nice my gray bra and gray shirts, socks, underwear looked. The new BLACK cycling shorts I had purchased faded and turned all of my white, pink, and blue things a lovely shade of gray. Argh!!!!! I just can,t win when it comes to clothing this trip!
But bad laundry aside we had a relaxing time in Royan. Walked down to the beach and watched the children playing and the many surfers.
We spent the next night in Sou-lac Sur Mer just a short ferry ride and 16 mile bike ride from Royan. July 14th is Bastille Day which is France's independance day. The campground wasn't great but all we needed was a place to rest our heads. (It is really nice that we can both roll with the punches) We went into town which was alive with activity. Music playing people everywhere and the streets crowded with all sorts of merchants selling their "bargains"
We made our way to the beach opened a bottle of wine and sat on the beach! What better way to spend Bastille Day.
We woke the next morning, July 15th to sunny skies! Yippeeeeeeeee! It is amazing what a bright blue sky can do for ones disposition. 50 miles to Lacanau which is a sea side village was absolutely wonderful. The entire 50 miles we rode on a designated PAVED bike path! The path took us through a forest which reminded me of riding in tahoe. The beach in Lacanau is really BIG! It goes for miles and miles and the waves are some of the biggest I have ever seen! At one point the lifegaurds stated blowing whistles and shouting for everyone to "get out of the water" not much after that this HUGE wave came in and swept everything off of the beach!!! Luckily we were back far enough that we were not affected but lots of people who had ignored the warnings had their stuff swept out to sea. It was pretty impressive and I even had a nightmare lastnight about a tsunami!
So now we are up to today, July 16th. Yet another great day in France. Sunny clear skies when we woke but by the time we got around to riding it was partly cloudy. Not to worry, it was just a nice cloud cover for our 51 mile ride to Cenac. I can't say enough about the simply amazing bike system that we have found here in France. Our ride today was once again on a PAVED bike trail. The trail system includes directional road signs just like you would see if you were driving in a car! And did I mention that we had the wind at our back the entire 50 miles! It just doesn't get much better than that!
Bordeaux was our first stop today. A big city but very interesting. A stop at the tourist office allowed us to get our bearings and find a nice Gite to stay in for the night. We are approxi,ately 14km from Bordeaux in the town of Cenac. We are the very first guests to stay at the new Gite! If I understood the manager, Paulina, correctly the Gite was purchased by the towns people. It is adorable! And everyone in town seems very excitted to have us staying here. People keep walking by to say "bonjour" One of the neighbors even stopped in to invite us over to her house!
We are enjoying an evening indoors. Tomorrow we are going to go wine tasting! We will be staying here for 2 nights!!!
That is all for now. I know that we keep promising more pictures and I think tonight and tomorrow we may actually be able to get them down loaded. It is a slow and painful process.
Having a wonderful time in France,
Love
Bob & Sherry
July 13th - 3 miles via cycling - 150 via train to Royan
July 14th - 16 miles via cycling - 5 miles via Ferry to Sou lac-Sur Mer
July 15th - 50 miles via cycling to Lacanau
July 16th - 51 miles via cycling to Cenac (55 miles for Bob because I sent him to the Patiserie)
The train ride from Redon to Royan was a lot of fun. Bob of course gave me a ribbing over getting us to the train station 2 hours early. (I was nervous) But the train ride went very well and we met two lovely couples who spoke better english than we did french. We spent the 4hr train ride chatting about things to see in France and sharing each others various stories of mis-adventures.
Once in Royan we found a great campground and set about some much needed house keeping. Since we are both currently unemployed and on a tight budget I (Sherry) thought I would save money by putting all of our clothes into one washing machine. Well it seemed like the prudent thing to do at the time. Until I sent Bob to retrieve the items and he told me how nice my gray bra and gray shirts, socks, underwear looked. The new BLACK cycling shorts I had purchased faded and turned all of my white, pink, and blue things a lovely shade of gray. Argh!!!!! I just can,t win when it comes to clothing this trip!
But bad laundry aside we had a relaxing time in Royan. Walked down to the beach and watched the children playing and the many surfers.
We spent the next night in Sou-lac Sur Mer just a short ferry ride and 16 mile bike ride from Royan. July 14th is Bastille Day which is France's independance day. The campground wasn't great but all we needed was a place to rest our heads. (It is really nice that we can both roll with the punches) We went into town which was alive with activity. Music playing people everywhere and the streets crowded with all sorts of merchants selling their "bargains"
We made our way to the beach opened a bottle of wine and sat on the beach! What better way to spend Bastille Day.
We woke the next morning, July 15th to sunny skies! Yippeeeeeeeee! It is amazing what a bright blue sky can do for ones disposition. 50 miles to Lacanau which is a sea side village was absolutely wonderful. The entire 50 miles we rode on a designated PAVED bike path! The path took us through a forest which reminded me of riding in tahoe. The beach in Lacanau is really BIG! It goes for miles and miles and the waves are some of the biggest I have ever seen! At one point the lifegaurds stated blowing whistles and shouting for everyone to "get out of the water" not much after that this HUGE wave came in and swept everything off of the beach!!! Luckily we were back far enough that we were not affected but lots of people who had ignored the warnings had their stuff swept out to sea. It was pretty impressive and I even had a nightmare lastnight about a tsunami!
So now we are up to today, July 16th. Yet another great day in France. Sunny clear skies when we woke but by the time we got around to riding it was partly cloudy. Not to worry, it was just a nice cloud cover for our 51 mile ride to Cenac. I can't say enough about the simply amazing bike system that we have found here in France. Our ride today was once again on a PAVED bike trail. The trail system includes directional road signs just like you would see if you were driving in a car! And did I mention that we had the wind at our back the entire 50 miles! It just doesn't get much better than that!
Bordeaux was our first stop today. A big city but very interesting. A stop at the tourist office allowed us to get our bearings and find a nice Gite to stay in for the night. We are approxi,ately 14km from Bordeaux in the town of Cenac. We are the very first guests to stay at the new Gite! If I understood the manager, Paulina, correctly the Gite was purchased by the towns people. It is adorable! And everyone in town seems very excitted to have us staying here. People keep walking by to say "bonjour" One of the neighbors even stopped in to invite us over to her house!
We are enjoying an evening indoors. Tomorrow we are going to go wine tasting! We will be staying here for 2 nights!!!
That is all for now. I know that we keep promising more pictures and I think tonight and tomorrow we may actually be able to get them down loaded. It is a slow and painful process.
Having a wonderful time in France,
Love
Bob & Sherry
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Royan
Bon Jour
We are now in Royan France. We decided to take a train south to the beach just west of Bordeaux. We were seeking better weather as it became rainy and cool. Sherry made sure that we we made it to the train station 2 hours before we needed to be there, thank you very much for the 6 a.m. wake up call!!! The train ride went without a hitch but it made us nervous putting all that stuff on the trains. We met a couple of other touring cyclists and they were helpful too. It is nice that we have the option of getting on a train if we get tired of an area.
So, we are in Royan, we packed the tent up today and got ready to ride the coast of France. Well, it started pouring rain!! No good for the homeless americans who cannot speak French! Fortuantely we are still at the campground all pack up but sitting in the club house waiting out the storm.
We plan to head to wine country tomorrow and spend a few days enjoying the wine.
Just want to tell those folks at Pariter that I am not really missing work. It is sad to say that I rarely think of the returns project or redeposits or any of the deadlines!!! Thanks Jim and Franciso for covering everything while I am gone.
The skies are starting to lighten and we hope to catch a ferry across some bay here in a little bit. The nice thing about this computer, besides staying in touch, is that I can go to weather.com and get a satelite image of what to expect. I expect clearing soon!!
Cheers from France and I hope everyone is truely doing well back home. We are having a wonderful experience here but we do miss our family, friends, and co-workers.
We are now in Royan France. We decided to take a train south to the beach just west of Bordeaux. We were seeking better weather as it became rainy and cool. Sherry made sure that we we made it to the train station 2 hours before we needed to be there, thank you very much for the 6 a.m. wake up call!!! The train ride went without a hitch but it made us nervous putting all that stuff on the trains. We met a couple of other touring cyclists and they were helpful too. It is nice that we have the option of getting on a train if we get tired of an area.
So, we are in Royan, we packed the tent up today and got ready to ride the coast of France. Well, it started pouring rain!! No good for the homeless americans who cannot speak French! Fortuantely we are still at the campground all pack up but sitting in the club house waiting out the storm.
We plan to head to wine country tomorrow and spend a few days enjoying the wine.
Just want to tell those folks at Pariter that I am not really missing work. It is sad to say that I rarely think of the returns project or redeposits or any of the deadlines!!! Thanks Jim and Franciso for covering everything while I am gone.
The skies are starting to lighten and we hope to catch a ferry across some bay here in a little bit. The nice thing about this computer, besides staying in touch, is that I can go to weather.com and get a satelite image of what to expect. I expect clearing soon!!
Cheers from France and I hope everyone is truely doing well back home. We are having a wonderful experience here but we do miss our family, friends, and co-workers.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Redon, France
Well we finally dug into the coffiers and purchased a new computer! So if we can manage to hold on to this one we should be able to keep the blog updated on a more consistant basis. Just a note....because the computer is purchased in France it has a french key board and the spell check is all in french. So please bear with us and our poor typing skills and spelling!
July 9th St. Malo 35 miles
The ride from Lemont St Michel to St. Malo was again a pituresque ride along the coast line. We made this short day so we could spend time exploring St Malo. A walled city it was built in the 11th century and then added on to in both the 12th & 13th centuries. We walked the entire wall which is approx. " miles around. On the ocean side the beaches are beautiful white sand the consistancy of sugar. Lots of families were enjoying the beautiful sunshine and warm waters. The views from the wall were spectacular and the pictures don't begin to do it justice.
We set up camp next to a french family of four who were also cycle touring. Get this, Mom, Dad, Big sister who is 2 1/2 and baby brother who is just 3months old. We were very impressed!!! There trip was for 6 days cycling no more than 20 miles a day and all of it along river or canal paths. They were a lovely family!!
We will let the pictures of St Malo tell the rest of the story.
July 10th 67 miles Montreuil Sur Ille
A long day of riding along the Canal d'ille et rance. A nice change from cycling on the roads the canals have great crushed limestone paths. This particular canal was built by Napolean as a was to move goods through France during the revolution. The paths next to the canal were established because they harnessed horses to the bardges to pull them down the river. Pretty cool! So now they have all these beautiful canals with cycling paths along them so you can get almost anywhere on a canal. No Cars!!!!
We met an Austrailian couple who have been cycle touring throughout France for many years they are the ones that pointed out the canal for us. A lovely couple just babies really. She is 77 years old and her husband is 81!! They had been cycling through France since May 1st. They were headed toward Normandy.
July 11th Bourg-des Comptes 50 miles
Just a stop on our way to Redon. Sundays are a difficult day to ride. The French people truly value Sunday as a day of rest and to be spent with family. Which we think is great but makes cycle touring difficult when no stores,restaurants etc. are open. Sundays always seem to creep up on us and we are never prepared. But next Sunday we will be! Anyway we pulled into town tired and hungry, set up camp and made our way into a mostly deserted town. We went to the local Bar which was the only thing open. No food but they did have cold beer!!!! We did a little partaking of the local brew and then to our glee the pizza shop opened up at 8pm yum yum.
Back to the campground and snuggled into bed we listened to the rain lul us to sleep.
July 12th Redon 45miles
Pulled into Redon after a gruiling 45miles of head winds. Both of us tired and dirty we treated ourselves to a hotel!!! A hot shower that does not turn off after 30 seconds, a mattress that doesn't need to be inflated and electricity! Life is good!
We are going to down load a bunch of pictures. I doubt that we will get them all captioned but you can still enjoy them.
Love
Bob & Sherry
July 9th St. Malo 35 miles
The ride from Lemont St Michel to St. Malo was again a pituresque ride along the coast line. We made this short day so we could spend time exploring St Malo. A walled city it was built in the 11th century and then added on to in both the 12th & 13th centuries. We walked the entire wall which is approx. " miles around. On the ocean side the beaches are beautiful white sand the consistancy of sugar. Lots of families were enjoying the beautiful sunshine and warm waters. The views from the wall were spectacular and the pictures don't begin to do it justice.
We set up camp next to a french family of four who were also cycle touring. Get this, Mom, Dad, Big sister who is 2 1/2 and baby brother who is just 3months old. We were very impressed!!! There trip was for 6 days cycling no more than 20 miles a day and all of it along river or canal paths. They were a lovely family!!
We will let the pictures of St Malo tell the rest of the story.
July 10th 67 miles Montreuil Sur Ille
A long day of riding along the Canal d'ille et rance. A nice change from cycling on the roads the canals have great crushed limestone paths. This particular canal was built by Napolean as a was to move goods through France during the revolution. The paths next to the canal were established because they harnessed horses to the bardges to pull them down the river. Pretty cool! So now they have all these beautiful canals with cycling paths along them so you can get almost anywhere on a canal. No Cars!!!!
We met an Austrailian couple who have been cycle touring throughout France for many years they are the ones that pointed out the canal for us. A lovely couple just babies really. She is 77 years old and her husband is 81!! They had been cycling through France since May 1st. They were headed toward Normandy.
July 11th Bourg-des Comptes 50 miles
Just a stop on our way to Redon. Sundays are a difficult day to ride. The French people truly value Sunday as a day of rest and to be spent with family. Which we think is great but makes cycle touring difficult when no stores,restaurants etc. are open. Sundays always seem to creep up on us and we are never prepared. But next Sunday we will be! Anyway we pulled into town tired and hungry, set up camp and made our way into a mostly deserted town. We went to the local Bar which was the only thing open. No food but they did have cold beer!!!! We did a little partaking of the local brew and then to our glee the pizza shop opened up at 8pm yum yum.
Back to the campground and snuggled into bed we listened to the rain lul us to sleep.
July 12th Redon 45miles
Pulled into Redon after a gruiling 45miles of head winds. Both of us tired and dirty we treated ourselves to a hotel!!! A hot shower that does not turn off after 30 seconds, a mattress that doesn't need to be inflated and electricity! Life is good!
We are going to down load a bunch of pictures. I doubt that we will get them all captioned but you can still enjoy them.
Love
Bob & Sherry
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Le Mont Saint-Michel
It has been a busy few days since last post. As we left Omaha Beach we spent much of that day hugging the coast line. It was absolutely breathtaking! The weather was georgous and the winds mostly at our backs. (what more can a cyclist hope for)
We turned south at Grandcamp-Maisy and rode to Saint-Lo. Lots of climbing once we left the coast. It was either up or down but the country side and little towns that we rode through easily took our minds off of the hills. It is just so beautiful and gives you a sense of peace. St Lo was a very very busy place and a little overwhelming. After spending the prior 5 days in quite areas the big city is a bit nerve wracking. To make things even more unsettling there was no camping. But again the French people stepped up to the plate! The tourist office called a cycle tourist who lives in St. Lo and he invited us to make camp in his garden. Daniel and his daughter made us feel very welcome. We spent a lovely evening talking about the differences and similarities of our two countries, practicing our french and their english and making good friends. We slept well, had a great breakfast sitting in the garden with our new friends and got on the road.
Our destination for the day.....Le Mont Saint-Michel!! Another glorious day with winds mostly at our backs but again a LOT of hills!! In the first 30miles we climbed 1000ft! By the end of the day our thighs were burning or should I say MY thighs were burning. Bob is like the Ever Ready Bunny he just keeps going and going. Our route took us through the town of Avranches which, thank you very much, sits at the TOP of a mountain. The final climb to town was over 3 miles long with the final 1/2 mile registering 10-14percent grades.
Le Mont Saint-Michel is the most amazing thing I have ever seen and Bob feels the same way. We had not heard of it before but it is considered the most visited place in all France. If you have not heard of it we encourage you to look it up on the internet. abbaye Du Mont-Saint Michel. Built in 1100 it sits majestically at the edge of the ocean all alone. Surrounded only by water and sand. The timming of our visit was perfect. Durring the month of July the Abbaye is open to visitors until midnight. We rode our bikes out last night after dinner. The road to the Abbaye is approximately 2km and the whole way you are gifted with the spectaculat view of the town/abbaye illuminated by the setting sun!
We continue to meet new people every day. Last night we shared our dinner with a cycle tourist from San Sebastian, Spain. Urtzi is a school teacher. He teaches englis to 4 & 5 yeart olds. We thought it was cool that we met a teacher who is teaching english to spansih children and Bob daughter teaches spanish to english children. Urtzi invited us to visit him when we get to San Sebastian!
We turned south at Grandcamp-Maisy and rode to Saint-Lo. Lots of climbing once we left the coast. It was either up or down but the country side and little towns that we rode through easily took our minds off of the hills. It is just so beautiful and gives you a sense of peace. St Lo was a very very busy place and a little overwhelming. After spending the prior 5 days in quite areas the big city is a bit nerve wracking. To make things even more unsettling there was no camping. But again the French people stepped up to the plate! The tourist office called a cycle tourist who lives in St. Lo and he invited us to make camp in his garden. Daniel and his daughter made us feel very welcome. We spent a lovely evening talking about the differences and similarities of our two countries, practicing our french and their english and making good friends. We slept well, had a great breakfast sitting in the garden with our new friends and got on the road.
Our destination for the day.....Le Mont Saint-Michel!! Another glorious day with winds mostly at our backs but again a LOT of hills!! In the first 30miles we climbed 1000ft! By the end of the day our thighs were burning or should I say MY thighs were burning. Bob is like the Ever Ready Bunny he just keeps going and going. Our route took us through the town of Avranches which, thank you very much, sits at the TOP of a mountain. The final climb to town was over 3 miles long with the final 1/2 mile registering 10-14percent grades.
Le Mont Saint-Michel is the most amazing thing I have ever seen and Bob feels the same way. We had not heard of it before but it is considered the most visited place in all France. If you have not heard of it we encourage you to look it up on the internet. abbaye Du Mont-Saint Michel. Built in 1100 it sits majestically at the edge of the ocean all alone. Surrounded only by water and sand. The timming of our visit was perfect. Durring the month of July the Abbaye is open to visitors until midnight. We rode our bikes out last night after dinner. The road to the Abbaye is approximately 2km and the whole way you are gifted with the spectaculat view of the town/abbaye illuminated by the setting sun!
We continue to meet new people every day. Last night we shared our dinner with a cycle tourist from San Sebastian, Spain. Urtzi is a school teacher. He teaches englis to 4 & 5 yeart olds. We thought it was cool that we met a teacher who is teaching english to spansih children and Bob daughter teaches spanish to english children. Urtzi invited us to visit him when we get to San Sebastian!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Omaha Beach; Normandy
We made it to the beaches of Normandy. They are incredible. The American cemetery is truely amazing and very moving. A big thank you to our grandparents generation who truely helped to change the world.
We were going to go back to Catherines in Evrecy but we think we will instead try move on to St Mont Michelle tomorrow as the weather has been incredible.
We are both incredibly happy to be doing this trip.
We were going to go back to Catherines in Evrecy but we think we will instead try move on to St Mont Michelle tomorrow as the weather has been incredible.
We are both incredibly happy to be doing this trip.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Ava Ashby
I just got to see photo's of Ava being born. She is so cute and looks a lot like her big brother. Ava was born on July 1st 6lbs 14oz, 20inches long. Mom, Dad and big brother Gavin are doing well. They took Ava home on Saturday!
I am truly blessed!
I am truly blessed!
Monday, July 5th
We are getting ready to leave Evrecy and head to the Normandy beaches. Should be there this early evening. We plan to camp there for 2 nights and then come back to Evrecy for 1 night on our way south.
It has been really nice staying with Catherine and Gilbert and they have been so good to us!!!
Viva France
It has been really nice staying with Catherine and Gilbert and they have been so good to us!!!
Viva France
Sunday, July 4, 2010
our French Angel
We are so thankful for our French Angel also known as Catherine Lejard. We first met Catherine on our last trip to France and have kept in contact with her over the years. Catherine read about our mishap in Paris and sent me an e-mail inviting us to come to her home. So here we are in Evercy, France!
Since our last post we have had wonderful days and nights!
Giverny was so beautiful! We toured through Monet,s Gardens. It was as if we were strolling through one of his paintings. I felt like I was Alice in Wonderland and I had gone through the Rabbit hole. Truly a magical place.
After leaving Giverny we road to Les Andelys. This town is noted for the 800 year old Castle which over looks the town. It was built in 1196! Our camping spot was right below the castle!
The next moring we woke to our first day of rain. It had rained throughout the night but stopped in the morning just long enough for us to eat breakfast and start packing but then the rain started again and we took shelter under the club house awning at the campground.
But the day was not a complete washout. The rain stopped by noon and we headed out. We made good progress despite the late start and cycled 50 miles to the town of Brionne where we again found a lovely campground. The ride into town was very beautiful. The tourist office in the prevous town told us about a multi-use path. The path was very tranquil and at the end of a long day of cycling through 98 degree heat the cover of the forest was a welcome respite. Of course the Tourist person failed to mention that once we left the path the road up to the town and camping was very very very steep. The altimiter on my bike computer registered 14% grade! I wasn,t sure which was going to go first my legs or my lungs. Bob is riding very strong and I am grateful for his draft.
We also met more nice French citizens in our travels. All of the tourist offices have been very helpful and on the hot days the businesses we have gone into to ask for water have been amazingly accomadating. I hope that the tourist offices in the US are as nice to foreigners.
So tonight we are with our French friend, Catherine and her family. I am going to try to get some pictures downloaded before we leave tomorrow. We are headed to Omaha Beach tomorrow. I donùt know when we will have our next opportunity to blog but hopefully it won't be too long. We are safe and beginning to enjoy ourselves again and look forward to our many adventures ahead;
Since our last post we have had wonderful days and nights!
Giverny was so beautiful! We toured through Monet,s Gardens. It was as if we were strolling through one of his paintings. I felt like I was Alice in Wonderland and I had gone through the Rabbit hole. Truly a magical place.
After leaving Giverny we road to Les Andelys. This town is noted for the 800 year old Castle which over looks the town. It was built in 1196! Our camping spot was right below the castle!
The next moring we woke to our first day of rain. It had rained throughout the night but stopped in the morning just long enough for us to eat breakfast and start packing but then the rain started again and we took shelter under the club house awning at the campground.
But the day was not a complete washout. The rain stopped by noon and we headed out. We made good progress despite the late start and cycled 50 miles to the town of Brionne where we again found a lovely campground. The ride into town was very beautiful. The tourist office in the prevous town told us about a multi-use path. The path was very tranquil and at the end of a long day of cycling through 98 degree heat the cover of the forest was a welcome respite. Of course the Tourist person failed to mention that once we left the path the road up to the town and camping was very very very steep. The altimiter on my bike computer registered 14% grade! I wasn,t sure which was going to go first my legs or my lungs. Bob is riding very strong and I am grateful for his draft.
We also met more nice French citizens in our travels. All of the tourist offices have been very helpful and on the hot days the businesses we have gone into to ask for water have been amazingly accomadating. I hope that the tourist offices in the US are as nice to foreigners.
So tonight we are with our French friend, Catherine and her family. I am going to try to get some pictures downloaded before we leave tomorrow. We are headed to Omaha Beach tomorrow. I donùt know when we will have our next opportunity to blog but hopefully it won't be too long. We are safe and beginning to enjoy ourselves again and look forward to our many adventures ahead;
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Greetings from Giverny, France
Oh boy where do we begin...........
The flight was very nice (business class). Landed in Paris at 7:30am. After retrieving our luggage we had the good fortune to be stopped by a Customs Officer (Sylvie) Once she decided that we were harmless she proceeded to help us find a place where we could assemble our bikes, a place for us to dispose of the boxes, add provided us with a hand drawn map that would guide us on the least dangerous route out of the airport. Syvie has small children and we gave her one of our cards so we hope they see this post and will give their ,other a BIG hug for us.
We cycled 30 miles to St Leu Desserent; A lovely little town outside of Paris situqted right on the Seine River. We stayed at a campgroud just outside of town that had a beautiful swimming pool. The weather could not be any nicer. It has been in the low 90's with beautiful blue skies; So yes we layed by the pool. It was a very long day for us as we were awake for over 24hrs. We fell into the tent at around 8:30pm and were both sound asleep by 8:35pm.
We slept so soundly that we did not hear the Scum Bags that stole the B.O.B. bag during the night! The bulk of Sherry's riding clothes; all of her rain gear etc and worst of all the COMPUTER!!!!! Very very upsetting!!!!!! I suppose we got all the bad luck items out of the way and should have smooth riding ahead.
Even though bad things happen someone usually comes along to restore your faith in mankind. The woman at the Local Toursit Office was very helpful in giving us access to the internet to change passwords etc and while we were there another French woman heard our story and offered to let us stay in her house for a few days until we could get things sorted out: It was a very generous offer but we chose to lick our wounds and cycle on...........
Wednesday we cycled 30 miles to Auvers S Oise. This is where Van Gogh spent his final years. We walked the town this morning and visited many of the places where he did his most famous paintings. It was very cool: They had copies of the paintings on signs right next to the object or view of that particular painting.
We got on the road around 12:00 and made it 50 miles to Giverny. This is the town of Claude Monet. It is so beautiful and quaint we decided to treat ourselves to a B & B. Tomorrow we will visit/tour Monet's gardens.
The weather continues to be beautiful although at one point today the thermometer on the bike registered 103 degrees! But since all of Sherry's rain gear was stolen by the Scum Bags we are not comlaining.
So all is well and we are settling into a pattern. Not sure where we will be tomorrow or when we will be able to post again. Congratulations to Sherry who is now the Grandmother of Ava Nicloe Ashby who we are pretty sure was born today at around 7:30am.
Thank you to everyone who has sent us posts. It is really nice to hear from everyone.
Keeping the rubber side down,
Bob & Sherry
The flight was very nice (business class). Landed in Paris at 7:30am. After retrieving our luggage we had the good fortune to be stopped by a Customs Officer (Sylvie) Once she decided that we were harmless she proceeded to help us find a place where we could assemble our bikes, a place for us to dispose of the boxes, add provided us with a hand drawn map that would guide us on the least dangerous route out of the airport. Syvie has small children and we gave her one of our cards so we hope they see this post and will give their ,other a BIG hug for us.
We cycled 30 miles to St Leu Desserent; A lovely little town outside of Paris situqted right on the Seine River. We stayed at a campgroud just outside of town that had a beautiful swimming pool. The weather could not be any nicer. It has been in the low 90's with beautiful blue skies; So yes we layed by the pool. It was a very long day for us as we were awake for over 24hrs. We fell into the tent at around 8:30pm and were both sound asleep by 8:35pm.
We slept so soundly that we did not hear the Scum Bags that stole the B.O.B. bag during the night! The bulk of Sherry's riding clothes; all of her rain gear etc and worst of all the COMPUTER!!!!! Very very upsetting!!!!!! I suppose we got all the bad luck items out of the way and should have smooth riding ahead.
Even though bad things happen someone usually comes along to restore your faith in mankind. The woman at the Local Toursit Office was very helpful in giving us access to the internet to change passwords etc and while we were there another French woman heard our story and offered to let us stay in her house for a few days until we could get things sorted out: It was a very generous offer but we chose to lick our wounds and cycle on...........
Wednesday we cycled 30 miles to Auvers S Oise. This is where Van Gogh spent his final years. We walked the town this morning and visited many of the places where he did his most famous paintings. It was very cool: They had copies of the paintings on signs right next to the object or view of that particular painting.
We got on the road around 12:00 and made it 50 miles to Giverny. This is the town of Claude Monet. It is so beautiful and quaint we decided to treat ourselves to a B & B. Tomorrow we will visit/tour Monet's gardens.
The weather continues to be beautiful although at one point today the thermometer on the bike registered 103 degrees! But since all of Sherry's rain gear was stolen by the Scum Bags we are not comlaining.
So all is well and we are settling into a pattern. Not sure where we will be tomorrow or when we will be able to post again. Congratulations to Sherry who is now the Grandmother of Ava Nicloe Ashby who we are pretty sure was born today at around 7:30am.
Thank you to everyone who has sent us posts. It is really nice to hear from everyone.
Keeping the rubber side down,
Bob & Sherry
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