What can I say, welcome to France..........
5th September
In thick cloud, we had a fairly uneventful ride down to the docks in Dover, and caught the ferry over to Calais. While it wasn't raining, everything was covered in a thick grey cloak, not the sort of weather to lift the spirits to great heights. From Calais, we were going down to meet up with Squeak, a friend of mine who is one these crazy pushbike riders, who think it's fun to ride a bike up the steepest longest hill they can find as quick as they can, until they can hardly breathe, and then laugh about it. And people said we were crazy.......... At Bruay-le-Buissere, in an industrial area in the middle of flat farmland, we found a cheap hotel that was also the nights home for about fifty National Police dudes, and booked in, happy to get out of the drizzling rain that had started on the way down. A walk to the the nearby Grill for a steak and a red wine, and it was off to bed, trying to get our heads around being back in a country where everyone talks funny, and doesn't know what you mean.
In thick cloud, we had a fairly uneventful ride down to the docks in Dover, and caught the ferry over to Calais. While it wasn't raining, everything was covered in a thick grey cloak, not the sort of weather to lift the spirits to great heights. From Calais, we were going down to meet up with Squeak, a friend of mine who is one these crazy pushbike riders, who think it's fun to ride a bike up the steepest longest hill they can find as quick as they can, until they can hardly breathe, and then laugh about it. And people said we were crazy.......... At Bruay-le-Buissere, in an industrial area in the middle of flat farmland, we found a cheap hotel that was also the nights home for about fifty National Police dudes, and booked in, happy to get out of the drizzling rain that had started on the way down. A walk to the the nearby Grill for a steak and a red wine, and it was off to bed, trying to get our heads around being back in a country where everyone talks funny, and doesn't know what you mean.
One of the many war cemeteries we passed
6th September
The next morning the cloud cover was still there, and stayed until we neared Verdun, so there was not much to see. We were taking backroads, and relying on the GPS, trying to avoid the many toll roads in France. There were much quicker ways, but the tolls are expensive, and we were in no hurry. We passed a lot of war cemeteries, both British and American, all well kept and neat. After some light rain around 2.00pm, the sun finally broke through, and stayed out until we arrived at Nancy, where we called it a day after a little over 400 kms. A cheap hotel in the middle of the French version of the Bronx was home for the night, but the bikes were still there in the morning!
The next morning the cloud cover was still there, and stayed until we neared Verdun, so there was not much to see. We were taking backroads, and relying on the GPS, trying to avoid the many toll roads in France. There were much quicker ways, but the tolls are expensive, and we were in no hurry. We passed a lot of war cemeteries, both British and American, all well kept and neat. After some light rain around 2.00pm, the sun finally broke through, and stayed out until we arrived at Nancy, where we called it a day after a little over 400 kms. A cheap hotel in the middle of the French version of the Bronx was home for the night, but the bikes were still there in the morning!
A place for everything.....
7th September
Heading further south, we passed through a heap of small villages, and in this one the guy obviously didn't have a shed, so hung everything up on the wall of his house. Most of the roads were narrow single lane bitumen through farmland, but we still managed to get lost once, even with the GPS. We were heading for Belfort, where we were meeting up with Tim, who we had stayed with in Sindelfingen in Germany. Tim was on his way to Spain for a holiday, so we planned to ride together for a few days. We both arrived within about 10 minutes of each other at the hotel, so went and had a beer and a chinese smorgasbord for tea, to catch up on things. Good to have a chat again.
Heading further south, we passed through a heap of small villages, and in this one the guy obviously didn't have a shed, so hung everything up on the wall of his house. Most of the roads were narrow single lane bitumen through farmland, but we still managed to get lost once, even with the GPS. We were heading for Belfort, where we were meeting up with Tim, who we had stayed with in Sindelfingen in Germany. Tim was on his way to Spain for a holiday, so we planned to ride together for a few days. We both arrived within about 10 minutes of each other at the hotel, so went and had a beer and a chinese smorgasbord for tea, to catch up on things. Good to have a chat again.
With Tim at breakfast time
8th September
We woke up in the morning with the news that Tim was sick all night, and had decided to call off the trip and head back home to Germany. He was coming down with something, and it was probably helped by the overdose of MSG from the chinese the night before. We had breakfast with him before he left at a great Patisserie, then set off for St Claude, while he headed North East.
We had great weather for the ride, and as we travelled further south there were more and more curves on really good roads. At St Claude, we booked into a campground, set up the tent, and headed into town for some tea. After riding all over town and
We woke up in the morning with the news that Tim was sick all night, and had decided to call off the trip and head back home to Germany. He was coming down with something, and it was probably helped by the overdose of MSG from the chinese the night before. We had breakfast with him before he left at a great Patisserie, then set off for St Claude, while he headed North East.
We had great weather for the ride, and as we travelled further south there were more and more curves on really good roads. At St Claude, we booked into a campground, set up the tent, and headed into town for some tea. After riding all over town and
Big Pipe in the middle of St Claude
finding nothing open, we discovered Monday night is everybody eat at home night, so it was Maccas for tea, or starve. We chose Maccas.... We camped near a couple of bikers from the Netherlands, so had a chat to them for a while. A big thunderstorm had built up, luckily we only got the edge of it, although it did rain lightly through the night. About eight or ten German riders arrived and set up camp near us also, they kept to themselves, but did talk loudly most of the night.....
Breakfast of Champions....
9th September
We packed up camp and headed into St Claude for breakfast, fresh baked french bread, ham, and cheese. Some free hot water from the cafe, and our tea bags and UHT milk, got to be happy with that! A look around at all the restaurants that were now open (bastards), and a few pics of the town, then off towards the alps, namely the small village of Moulin, in the Vanoise National Park, near the Italian border. The roads were terrific, but hard work, as they were fairly narrow, with bend after bend climbing up into the alps. On the way we passed through the pretty town of Annecy, with its large clear blue lake, very touristy but nice.
We packed up camp and headed into St Claude for breakfast, fresh baked french bread, ham, and cheese. Some free hot water from the cafe, and our tea bags and UHT milk, got to be happy with that! A look around at all the restaurants that were now open (bastards), and a few pics of the town, then off towards the alps, namely the small village of Moulin, in the Vanoise National Park, near the Italian border. The roads were terrific, but hard work, as they were fairly narrow, with bend after bend climbing up into the alps. On the way we passed through the pretty town of Annecy, with its large clear blue lake, very touristy but nice.
The lake at Annecy
We took the long way over the Rosenlend Pass, where it started raining. Into Bourg St Maurice for some supplies, then we found the address of the guest house we had booked for two nights, about 15 kms away in the mountains. My friend Squeak was in a similar guest house about 2 kms away up the mountain, so Lyn and I rode up there to meet up with him and his other nutter mates that wanted to ride pushbikes up steep hills for fun. By the time we got there it was after 8.30, so we had to have a few drinks to catch up, then rode back down to our room around midnight, (in the rain and freezing cold!!!!), but it was a great night.
The nutters leaving near the bottom of Alp d' Huez
10th September
Squeak's 60th birthday, so Lyn and I followed them in their cars for the trip to the bottom of Alp d' Huez, and their ride to the top. This road is or was used in the Tour de France, and is a mecca for cyclists, so this test was Squeaks birthday present to himself. I can't think of anything worse........They rode 10km's to the base of the climb for a warm up, that would have finished me off. Anyway, they all had a great ride, with Squeak finishing it first and riding back down to help the others up! Fit bastard! We rode back from there along the tollway, Lyn and I going through at the same time and setting off sirens and lights, I think we have done this before?
Squeak's 60th birthday, so Lyn and I followed them in their cars for the trip to the bottom of Alp d' Huez, and their ride to the top. This road is or was used in the Tour de France, and is a mecca for cyclists, so this test was Squeaks birthday present to himself. I can't think of anything worse........They rode 10km's to the base of the climb for a warm up, that would have finished me off. Anyway, they all had a great ride, with Squeak finishing it first and riding back down to help the others up! Fit bastard! We rode back from there along the tollway, Lyn and I going through at the same time and setting off sirens and lights, I think we have done this before?
Lush green campsite at Sisteron
11th September
After adjusting the chain on my bike, (and discovering it was badly worn), we left around midday in good weather, and promptly got lost trying to avoid the tollroads. It took us nearly two hours to get to Grenoble, where it had taken less than an hour the day before. Low on fuel, we couldn't find a servo that had people to take the money, only automatic credit card operated ones that wouldn't accept our cards, so we had to go on the motorway to find one. We were lucky to coast in in on fumes. From their we continued on to Sisteron on good roads, and found a 4 star rated campsite. Fifteen euro got us a patch of rock, no toilet paper or toilet seats, no rubbish bins, and cold showers. Rating by owner!
After adjusting the chain on my bike, (and discovering it was badly worn), we left around midday in good weather, and promptly got lost trying to avoid the tollroads. It took us nearly two hours to get to Grenoble, where it had taken less than an hour the day before. Low on fuel, we couldn't find a servo that had people to take the money, only automatic credit card operated ones that wouldn't accept our cards, so we had to go on the motorway to find one. We were lucky to coast in in on fumes. From their we continued on to Sisteron on good roads, and found a 4 star rated campsite. Fifteen euro got us a patch of rock, no toilet paper or toilet seats, no rubbish bins, and cold showers. Rating by owner!
The centre of Sisteron
12th September
After a yummy tent cooked breakfast, we had a look around Sisteron, then took the backroads to Nimes. The weather was glorious, clear blue skies and warm, almost hot, but the country showed it, much drier than we had become used to. We had a nice fresh baguette for lunch, French bread is the best bar none. Although backroads, they were good, and an enjoyable ride. We had decided to treat ourselves to a hotel room tonight, with wi fi, to book some accommodation in Spain for a week or so, give us some time to get up to date with the blog, washing, maintenance, etc. We found somewhere around 5.00 pm, and had an early night.
After a yummy tent cooked breakfast, we had a look around Sisteron, then took the backroads to Nimes. The weather was glorious, clear blue skies and warm, almost hot, but the country showed it, much drier than we had become used to. We had a nice fresh baguette for lunch, French bread is the best bar none. Although backroads, they were good, and an enjoyable ride. We had decided to treat ourselves to a hotel room tonight, with wi fi, to book some accommodation in Spain for a week or so, give us some time to get up to date with the blog, washing, maintenance, etc. We found somewhere around 5.00 pm, and had an early night.
Hill top village overlooking the road
13th September
We were feeling a bit lost, another reason to spent some time in a cheap unit in Spain, to come up with a plan for the next few months. Sometimes it's hard with no direction, it feels like something is missing. We left late again, in beautiful warm weather, continuing south, and stopped for some lunch near Montpellier, at a shopping centre with a patisserie nearby. We found these usually have descent loos, and we needed to take the final liners out of the riding suits. We got all ready to go, and Lyn couldn't find her bike key. She remembered putting it on a ledge in the toilet, so went back for it, but it was gone. After a small amount of panic, and some Fawlty Towers French, we found it had been handed in to centre management. Continuing along the road, there were some very nice looking young ladies wearing not very much, at different sidetracks and reststops, must be waiting for someone........... We stopped for a break at a small village near Mouthoumet, where we met Ian, an English guy, travelling with his mother. We chatted for a while, and he told us we should go to Carcassonne, very pretty city, so we headed in that direction. The riding was over some more terrific hilly roads, but it was hard to enjoy them as we were heading straight into the sun, and passing in and out through shadows, so there was lots of one handed riding with the other hand as a sunshield. It was getting late by the time we got to Limoux, and there was a music festival on, so we decided to book into a cheap hotel, and have a look around. Dinner was in the village square at an outdoor table, cheap and good.
We were feeling a bit lost, another reason to spent some time in a cheap unit in Spain, to come up with a plan for the next few months. Sometimes it's hard with no direction, it feels like something is missing. We left late again, in beautiful warm weather, continuing south, and stopped for some lunch near Montpellier, at a shopping centre with a patisserie nearby. We found these usually have descent loos, and we needed to take the final liners out of the riding suits. We got all ready to go, and Lyn couldn't find her bike key. She remembered putting it on a ledge in the toilet, so went back for it, but it was gone. After a small amount of panic, and some Fawlty Towers French, we found it had been handed in to centre management. Continuing along the road, there were some very nice looking young ladies wearing not very much, at different sidetracks and reststops, must be waiting for someone........... We stopped for a break at a small village near Mouthoumet, where we met Ian, an English guy, travelling with his mother. We chatted for a while, and he told us we should go to Carcassonne, very pretty city, so we headed in that direction. The riding was over some more terrific hilly roads, but it was hard to enjoy them as we were heading straight into the sun, and passing in and out through shadows, so there was lots of one handed riding with the other hand as a sunshield. It was getting late by the time we got to Limoux, and there was a music festival on, so we decided to book into a cheap hotel, and have a look around. Dinner was in the village square at an outdoor table, cheap and good.
The Fort at Carcassonne
14th September
Riding up to Carcassonne in the morning, we had full intentions of being tourists, but it didn't turn out that way. First we couldn't find the Tourist info office, it wasn't where it was supposed to be, we got lost in the one way streets, with GPS telling us to the wrong way, and leading us down dead ends, and everything that could go wrong did, which ended up with two very frustrated people fighting with each other. We stopped for a cup of tea and to settle down, and got ripped off for that as well, so left without seeing much, and hating the place. Some things just weren't meant to happen. The next few hours riding were in total silence, and there was a lot of
Riding up to Carcassonne in the morning, we had full intentions of being tourists, but it didn't turn out that way. First we couldn't find the Tourist info office, it wasn't where it was supposed to be, we got lost in the one way streets, with GPS telling us to the wrong way, and leading us down dead ends, and everything that could go wrong did, which ended up with two very frustrated people fighting with each other. We stopped for a cup of tea and to settle down, and got ripped off for that as well, so left without seeing much, and hating the place. Some things just weren't meant to happen. The next few hours riding were in total silence, and there was a lot of
Ice/hail on the bikes, and the car behind
tension all round. We stopped beside the road near the top of a mountain pass, and had a drink of water, much to the amusement of a push bike rider who had just done the same thing and was heading off for the easy bit going downhill. We lay on the grass and let our emotions out, and rode away from there feeling a lot better. From there, the weather went from very warm and sunny, to freezing cold and rainy as we climbed higher into the mountains towards Andorra. We crossed the border just before it got dark, racing a storm that was building all around, with lots of lightning and thunder. A hotel appeared just as the storm hit, with rain and hail, so that was where we stayed, it turned out to be a good choice.
