Day 17 - Day 1 for the newbies
Bike shop at 9am to get some last minute items, food from Carrefour, brief section of major motorway while drivers honked at us, and then we were off. What an amazing day of riding, the weather was absolutely perfect. We had a flat road along a river that runs from the coast into Pau, the snow capped Pyrenees towering on the horizon, and clear skies all day.
Stayed at some "Camping Municipal" in Pau, nobody was there so we had a free night for our first day on the road. It was a great way to start as a new group, we shared Corona's for dessert while I iced my achilles with frozen caulifowers. Such a great way to end your day.
On the horizon
the great Pyrenees stand tall
as we admire
Day 18 - The day I get my first pilgrim stamp
Today was reminiscent of the first half of the trip, waking up in the rain, an hour long coffee break in the early afternoon, and plenty of ups and downs. Weather aside, this area of France is stunning, with rolling hills all around and these quaint French towns dotting the countryside.
When climbed up a wall of a hill to get into Auch, Amy tipped over half way up because it was so steep. I shamelessly tried to charm the locals in hopes that we could find a place to sleep and tonight we were in luck. I started speaking in French to an older woman, and within a few minutes she was parading us through town, stopping to get her friends in their local shops, and making phone calls to find us somewhere to sleep. I love Auch. Lots of French was spoken very quickly, not really sure what they were saying but we were told to wait somewhere for David. He was going to be there in 10 minutes.
David, a 36-year old priest came out of a beautiful three story building in the middle of town, ushered us in, showed us maps, beds, showers, a kitchen, a balcony overlooking the city and the cathedral... wow. We were speechless. He helps pilgrims that are walking/riding the Camino of Saint Jacques and he just so happened to be in town that night. It was incredible.
Dale is happy
The Cathedral
I truly believe
one appreciates things most
after the struggles
Day 19 - Auch to Lauzert
Took advantage of our kitchen and made some omelettes for breakfast. So good. Beautiful roads today, a bit flatter, and also much nicer weather. Today brought us closer to the parts of Southern France that we had been hearing so much about, I was really looking forward to the days ahead of us.
Nice lunch break
I had another one of those blissful moments as we were riding along a ridge in the middle of some rolling fields. It's pretty amazing that we are out here and we are really lucky to have the chance to spend four weeks in the middle of our academic year biking around Europe.
Rolling countryside
with towns on top of the hills
and miles between
View from our campsite
Day 20 - Cracking the 1K barrier
Dale and I hit our 1,000 mile mark as we descended into Cahors in the morning. We had a gorgeous ride out of Cahors along a river, and then we turned North and headed through a valley with beautiful cliffs on both sides and tiny little French towns that looked like they were straight out of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. It was amazing.
We decided to have a nicer lunch since our diet of nutella, peanut butter, honey and apples was starting to wear our stomachs. We stopped at Carrefour, bought some deli meet, baguettes, cheese, and chips. It might have been one of the best lunches I ever had.
Amy decided to take a nap after lunch
We had some bike trouble with Amy's front derailer, so we picked a town nearby on the map and hoped that they would have a bike shop. The town we chose was Rocamadour, and we had no idea what we had in store.
We had a few good climbs, some windy roads, and then we crested a hill and saw this:
Excuse my language, but holy shit. Rocamadour is my favorite place that we passed through over the entire trip. It's incredible.
It's also so much cooler when you are not expecting it. Amy was being a little bitter and making funny comments about how other touristy people didn't deserve to be there since they flew in and took cars to get there. Apparently they don't appreciate it enough...
No bike shop. But I didn't care. There is one nearby in Soullac that we will be able to hit in the morning.
A new perspective
things pass slowly as we ride
soaking it all in
Day 21 - April 10th - Hot
Some hot and hilly riding in the afternoon really wiped us out. We spent a good deal of time trying to find a church for a Saturday night mass or one nearby that we could stop at the next morning. Everyone was very helpful and we ended up camping in St. Germaines les Belles, about 30 miles from a nice cathedral in St. Leonard de Noblat.
A nice sign to see
Le soleil, a friend
forgotten. Relentless beams
draining but so nice
Day 22 - We get tired
Rode the 30km to St. Leonard de Noblat for a 10:30 mass. Amy and Bianca enjoyed a service while Dale and I enjoyed coffee and a boulangerie. We hit a pretty serious headwind in the afternoon and we were all more wiped from yesterday than we realized. The sun can be draining.
Lunch naps
I also have started losing sleep because my stomach is pretty messed up from all the food we've been eating. We have been eating more than 10,000 calories every day, and there isn't too much variety in the food groups. My body is not happy with me.
We decided to cut things short and we stopped at 4:30 at a campsite on a little lake. i took an hour long nap on the group, had an early dinner, and went to bed around 8 o'clock. I needed it.
I've started to notice that Amy sleeps everywhere she can
We enjoyed a nice sunset on the lake, eating oreos and not really saying too much. It's the little moments like those that make these trips so great. It's nice to have time to stop and reflect and all that you've been doing. THings are simple and life is good.
Sunset on a lake.
Your own. Alone to enjoy
the moment's beauty
Day 23 - Big day, getting close to Paris - 90+ miles
It felt unbelievably nice to sleep yesterday. We had decided to work hard during the morning and afternoon to make up for slow riding yesterday. We worked well together for about 80km to bring us into La Chatre. We made our way to one of the less remote roads of central France and we were able to book it for about 40km and make it all the way to Isoudon. The roads have become more like veins connecting the isolated and somewhat dying industrial centers of France. Not the greatest night of sleeping as campsites have started to become less frequent. At least it didn't rain.
Arrive in the north
Endlessly straight roads push through
empty open fields
Day 24 - Another big day to Orleans
A fairly boring day of riding, a bit of a headwind, mile after mile where the road never turned even the slightest. I really can't remember too much of the day, I think I just zoned out and pedalled hour after hour. I was ready to get to Paris having left the beauty of the South.
We ended up stopping in the university of Orleans to try to use their computers and it was the most out of place I have felt this entire trip. No luck with internet, oh well. It was raining so we decided to splurge on "Tex Mex" dinner in Orleans. I had an amazingly refreshing Guinness and a big salad. My body thanked me.
Over three weeks now
since I've been in my own bed
the road becomes home
Day 25 - So close to a day off
A leisurely ride, a stop for lunch in Malesherbes, some faffing around, and we arrived in Fontainebleau to stay with a family friend in Thomery. Great place to sleep, five kids, beautiful house, laundry, warm dinner, a shower. It's amazing how much you appreciate these things after three weeks of such low standards of comfort.
Amy finds a place to sleep
Home for the night
Night in Thomery
A warm meal and beds for sleep.
Big thanks to our hosts
Day 26 - Commuter train to Paris
Hopped on a 30 minute train that brought us into central Paris. We learned the hard way how stressful it can be to try to ride in and out of big urban centers. We did not want to mess with Paris traffic.
I was pretty excited as we rode towards the Eiffel Tower, something I'd had in mind as a serious landmark to reach since we began riding through France. More because of it's geographical location than any actual significance of the monument. It was nice, but honestly, not that nice. I really don't like touristy places and I was pretty bothered by the swarms of people. I was wishing we were back on an empty road in Southern France. We got our standard photo in front of the tower, and then went to check into our hostel for the next three nights.
Dear Paris tourists,
please go away for a while
so I can relax
Day 27 - Day off in Paris!
My opinions of the city improved a bit today. It was a bit overwhelming to be thrown into a sprawling urban center after so many days alone on the road. There were many museums that I was really excited to see and despite the drooling tourists with their cameras blocking the galleries, I still had a great time.
The four of us decided to split up and do our own thing. We needed some time away from one another.
First, obviously, the Louvre. Was there when it opened at 9:30 to avoid the crowds. The Louvre is unbelievable, I was absolutely blown away by the collection of art in the miles of galleries. There were rooms that were filled floor to ceiling with weeks of art history classes, I couldn't believe it. I couldn't help grinning when I was in the room with many of the Gericault and Delacroix paintings from revolutionary France. The Raft of the Medusa is SO cool. Definitely my favorite thing in the whole museum. I was also pretty blown away by the David and Ingres room. Some seriously impressive pieces of art. Didn't bother trying to see the Mona Lisa, couldn't be less interested.
Went to the Touilleries garden after buying some lunch goodies from a supermarket. Shacked up in a chair next to a fountain and read for about three hours in the sun. It was exactly what I wanted.
After some reading I was eager to go see the Turner exhibit at the Grand Palais, having missed it when it was at the Tate in London. Turner is incredible and it was a very well organized exhibit. Really really happy that I went to this.
Drank some wine in a park, went out for some sushi and crepes, and called it an early night.
Day 28 - Another day in Paris
Split up again for the day, each of us having our own agenda for what we wanted to see and do.
I started my day at the Musee d'Orsay, another incredible museum with a ridiculously impressive collection of impressionist/post-impressionist paintings. For me, the most impressive painting in the whole gallery was Courbet's Burial at Ornans, an enormous realist painting of a rural burial scene. So cool.
Followed that with a visit to the Rodin museum, one that I was eager to see and had heard great things about. Rodin is amazing and the museum is set up in a great way. I took an hour long nap in the Rodin garden and then moved to the Luxembourg gardens for afternoon wine and cheese with some Williams friends who were in Paris for the year.
Went to a mass in Notre Dame in the evening, cooked dinner with a friend of Dale's from home, and had another early night. Really started to enjoy myself in Paris once I found the right things to do.
Notre Dame
No haiku's for these days.
Day 29 + 30 - Making our way to Dieppe
We took another commuter train to Cergy, just north of Paris, and started heading North towards Dieppe to catch an evening ferry on the 19th. Moved along quickly, realized that we were making great time, and took an early night. Made it to Dieppe around lunch time, and pushed our way through the crowds of people at the ferry terminal trying to finagle their way onto a boat since the volanic ash had messed with everyone's flights.
Real happy I was traveling by bike. So much easier when you don't have to rely on other people and public transportation. Though, as I noticed, biking isn't always the most efficient means of travel.
Amy takes another nap
The ferry was nice, I finished reading Wanderer. It felt like an appropriate time considering our trip was coming to an end. We were about 130 miles away from Oxford when we got off the ferry at 9pm, and we were determined to make it all within the next 24-hours. We rode about 20 miles through some heavy mist along the southern coast of England and threw up our tents in a field on the side of the road.
Riding on the left side of the road was terrifying.
Day 31 - Back to Oxford!
We woke up with the sun at 6, had a quick breakfast, and were on our bikes by 7. We shed layers as the sun rose and started to get really excited. Oxford was so close.
It's pretty hard to describe the feeling that I had this day. It was probably the best weather we could have ever asked for - about 60 degrees, clear skies, light breeze. Not the England I remembered. I was probably smiling like an idiot for the entire ride, trying to hold back and not ride too fast knowing that there were over 100 miles to be put in before we made it back. We saw our first sign for Oxford after passing through Reading, took a short break, and then coasted in the last 20-30 miles.
Riding up through the center of Oxford and pulling into the the Exeter quad was an incredible moment. Absolutely worth the nights I slept in wet clothes on piles of hay and the days I had to fix my bike in the pouring rain. You don't feel that way when the going is easy and you don't have to work very hard. I don't know what else I can really say, it's something you have to do for yourself to know what I'm talking about. The four of us definitely knew what everyone else was feeling. We didn't have to say very much.
What an incredible month. Something I will never forget and something that I would recommend to anyone who has the time and the desire.
Time for Trinity Term,
MBG
Congratulations Mike! Your ride was quite an achievement! Thanks for blogging about it.
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