May 26 - Creatures of Habit

It’s been said that people are creatures of habit. I find it interesting how quickly we have settled in to our routine and cycle touring habits so to speak. We awake early each morning with the rising sun. Peacefully snuggled up in our sleeping bags we coax each other up out of bed. Often we pack up in silence enjoying the bird songs of the morning chorus, contemplating the ride ahead. We strive to get a few clicks under the belt while searching for a patisserie before we continue on to a sunny spot trail side in time to brew up our morning cup of java. Without question early morning is my favourite time to ride. There is a peacefulness early in the day, and the miles seem to come easily. Perhaps I am still half asleep?

Morning dew and the odd night of rain mean we are often packing up a soaking wet tent. On good days, when the sun is shining we break midday to perform our tent drying ritual which consists of pulling the gear out of our panniers. We carefully drape the tent, fly and groundsheet over our bikes and let the sun’s rays do their work.  A wonderful system when the weather cooperates!

Throughout the day the toll of distant church bells lures us off the cycle path into small, quaint French villages. A welcome excuse to hop off the bikes, rest the legs and “walk the town.” As a closet history nerd, I find myself fascinated with the stone walls, shuttered buildings and majestic churches. The architecture is impressive to say the least. We seek out encounters with local residents and attempt to converse. Sadly our French, or lack of, limits us from meaningful conversations, but we usually share a few nods, and chuckles. I feel confident saying that we have not offended anyone to date, although time may prove me wrong.

By far our evening habits are the most refined and dare I say regimented. Once we agree on when and where to stop for the day we spring in to action. Likely thoughts of dinner and a warm bed are the motivating factors. Within seconds we have the gear off the bikes. Rob channels his inner bike mechanic and gets to work tightening the racks, cleaning chains and pumping tires. It’s amazing what can rattle loose over the course of a day. While Rob tends to the bikes I work to set up the tent. Once our chores are complete we settle in to enjoy a hearty dinner, and I am sure you will agree a well earned meal. 

I suspect these habits balance out the uncertainty of a day on the bike and provide a bit of structure to the adventure. At times structure can be comforting. One thing is certain - we are definitely creatures of habit.

Giggle of the day

One habit we need to improve is our focus, especially when it comes to following clearly marked route signage. Today, as we were approaching the small town of Marseilles Les Aubigny we started fantasizing about cold lemonade. Tired and thirsty, lemonade was the one and only thing on our minds. Our pace picked up and we literally sprinted to the town centre. Who knew that our legs could pump this hard late afternoon? Unfortunately not a single shop was open, no drinks to be had. Insult to injury we managed to lose the trail. Blinded by lemonade we both missed a clearly posted sign directing us away from town. After several wrong turns and a few errant kilometres along a gravel Dyke trail we managed to get back on track. A high price to pay for an empty glass of lemonade.

P.s. I am happy to report that Rob, “the Rock”, my Rock has successfully repaired my handlebars. I am no longer jackknifing and catapulting over the front tire. Life is good.

May 24 - Island of Loire et Cheuille

Truth be told, we have enjoyed a fantastic start to our cycling tour. Having successfully navigated our way along Eurovelo Route 3 from Charles de Gaulle airport and through Paris while completely jet-lagged and brain dead we are now sitting on the banks of the Loire River resting tired muscles and enjoying a quiet evening. 

Lunch stop on the Seine in Paris

To say the last few days have gone smoothly and according to plan would be an outright lie. We have been lost more times than we care to admit, have found ourselves on deserted trails barely the width of our tires and already flatted. [yes Rob flatted because of his mashing!]

I have experienced four wee tumbles off my bike. [English translation - I have gone completely ass over tea kettle 4 times with the bruises, scrapes and scars to prove it.] Unfortunately, the screw in my stem, which attaches the handlebars to the bike frame appears to have been stripped, causing the handlebars to swing at a 90 degree angle spontaneously during travel. This technical difficulty accounted for 3 of my falls. The 4th spill however, was a doubler. Cycling single file along a narrow bike path, Rob in the lead at the time, noticed a service vehicle approaching. Calmly calling a warning out to me, Rob pulled over to get out of the way. Unfortunately I was in a zen state just merrily spinning away, not noticing the truck or hearing Rob. To my complete and utter surprise Rob appeared directly in front of me. BOOM! We both went down hard! As the truck driver looked on in disbelief and utter amusement I did what any good Canadian would do. I channeled my best Phil Esposito curtsy and gave the fellow a wave. (For those of you wondering who Espo is, simply google Canada vs. Russia hockey classic)

Glitches aside, our route through the south of France to date has been spectacular. We have managed to follow canals, skirting numerous natural areas allowing us to enjoy quiet, secluded pathways and discover quiet camping spots. Leapfrogging pleasure boats and barges as they navigated the canal lock system became the game of the day. These engineering masterpieces were built before Canadian Confederation was even a thought.

We were greeted warmly by countless fisherman, trying their luck on the banks of the canals. I wondered how they picked their special fishing holes, but sadly my French was as strong as their English and I never was able to quite communicate my question. 

Navigating the cobblestone streets of the small country towns is always a thrill and we are looking forward to soaking up the history and ambience of upcoming villages. Tomorrow, we point east as we join Eurovelo route 6, our compass set on Budapest. Of course, we will take it one day at a time and for now hope we can get to the next campsite without taking another fall.

Giggle of the Day:

We should know better! Our cardinal rule of travel is to always have a full pantry. At least one day of food, and water to spare. Yet, here we were on the eve of our second day, striking camp without so much as a crumb in any of our panniers. Dumb yes, predictable, perhaps? Too exhausted to care we dove into our tent fighting a bad case of the hangries. Waking to the early morning sun, we broke camp and set off without even a sniff of coffee. Grumpy? You bet! As we approached the small town of Cepoy, we looked at each other with glee. Simultaneously, as if on cue, we had both detected the fragrant aroma of a pattisierre. We followed our noses to some of the best chocolate croissants this side of Paris. Bon appetite!

P.s. I would like to apologize in advance for all of the spelling errors and grammatical mistakes that you will notice should you decide to read on. In my defence Rob and I often write our blog posts, late at night after a long day on the road. Having said that, speling has always bean one of my wekneses.

Ready to Roll!

Our bags are packed and we're ready to go! On Victoria Day, our trusted carrier Westjet will transport us from Comox, BC to Paris, France to begin our five-week cycle tour following the iconic Eurovelo 3 and 6 routes. Famous (and some infamous) sections along this path are known to cycle tourists around the world. It is a thrill to be amongst this self-propelled slow-moving crowd. Let the spinning begin!

Gear assembly station

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Giggle of the day:

Packing for a cycle tour is the ultimate form of "downsizing." Careful consideration is taken before each and every piece of clothing or gear is loaded into the pannier. We have learned from experience that extra, unnecessary weight is something we are not willing to carry, especially when planning for several weeks in the saddle. Frankly, our list of "must haves" quickly condenses when we take into account headwinds, steep climbs and middle-aged legs. That being said, a certain amount of care and attention must be paid to the bicycle repair kit. Repairing a tent pole or changing a flat tire in the middle of nowhere is not much fun without the right tools as heavy as they may be. We are often asked what item we simply can't do without. Of course, I always answer chocolate and coffee, because without these essentials flat tires always make me cry. However, Rob being more practical than I, not to mention Chief Repair Guy, always makes sure our repair kit includes a full roll of duct tape. We never leave home without it!

Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together.