Thursday, August 27, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Munchen and the End
August 25, 2009 (Connor's 22nd Birthday!)
Just woke up in Orleans. We arrived here around 1PM yesterday. The ride from Tours on Sunday was probably the best weather we have had all trip. It felt like a crisp, fall day in the morning, and then Indian summer in the afternoon. About 20 clicks into the ride, I started seeing signs for the chateau at Cheverny. This is where the famous water lilly paintings were done by Degas. Having plenty of time to get to Orleans we took a detour. Once we got off the main road along the Loire River, the countryside got a lot more interesting. We got to Cheverny around 2PM and toured the chateau and the grounds. I would say the hilight for both of us was visiting the dog kennel. They keep about 50 French hounds for fox hunting. The smell was a little strong, but we are both missing our dogs at home, so we go nuts whenever we see any. It is kind of interesting that the chateau is privately owned. The family lives in the upper part of the right side of the chateau. The husband and wife were married there in 1994 and they have three children. I cannot believe the tourist money does any more than defray some of the operating costs of the place. I would say he is more than "nuvoue riche"!
We biked on to just south of Chambord and camped. The next day we biked into Chambord. I imagine this is where they make Chambord liquor, which tastes like an alcoholic berry pancake syrup. The chateau there is beautiful, too. We took pictures of the outside but did not stop. Continued biking to Orleans and arrived around 1PM. It is a beautiful city. I am not sure how big it is, but it has an interesting tram system. Very few cars in the city. The statue of Joan of Arc is right in the middle of the city.
We hop on our train to Paris in an hour and then catch the TGV to Munchen, where we will arrive at around 9PM. I found a place called Tent City about 6 clicks from the train station where we can camp. It looks like a huge outdoor hostel. It should be interesting.
This brings the biking portion of the trip to an end. I just broke another spoke yesterday for a grand total of 5 broken spokes, two flats, one destroyed rear derailleur, and one destroyed chain. Jordan had no flats and no broken spokes. The only work I had to do on her bike was minor adjustments after she would crash. It is ironic that the only serioius bike mechanic problems (derailleur) happened on the very first day of biking. One other bike maintenance task I did on the Italian Riviera was rotate my front and back tires. The back was getting pretty worn, which is normal since most of the weight is on it. All in all, pretty lucky in this regard.
Some pratical tips... Three pieces of equipment were crucial. The GPS (Garmin with Europe chip) was fantastic once I got the hang of it. About the only time it had serious problems was when you were in cities that had confusing roads. It would sometimes lead you in circles. In those cases, I would hit the out button to see a wider area on the screen, and then just bike in the general direction I wanted to go. The GPS came in very handy when choosing campgrounds. We used it to see where the closest restaurants or grocery stores were in relation to available campsites. I am looking forward to future versions which access the web and let you actually see more information about the sites in question. We would often use the GPS in conjunction with the next crucial piece of equipment to make our choices...
The netbook computer, although we could have done the trip without it, was a great piece of equipment to have. As mentioned previously, we would use it to check on ratings of hotels, campgrounds, restaurants, train schedules. But one of the best aspects of having it was the ability to communicate with people back home. We met a lot of interesting people on this trip, but there were some lonely points, too. It was always a high point of the day to find free WiFi (usually at McDonalds) and get on-line. It obviously was necessary to keep the blog updated in pretty much real time. I ended up getting the Dell Mini, refurbished, for about $260 (based on a recommendation by Chuck Shull, who really researches his purchases!). I also purchased a "sleeve" for it and a plastic case designed for bathing supplies (from The Container Store) to insure that I kept it dry. It was always in my handlebar bag.
The last crucial piece of equipment was our lowly cargo net begs from LL Bean. I originally decided to get these because we were only allowed two pieces of checked luggage per person on the plane. Our bikes were one of these, so I needed something strong and light-weight to carry our bike bags, tent, sleeping bag, etc. The cargo net bags were perfect. What I did not count on was how handy they were when we started travelling by train or checking into hotels. Most of the trains make you remove all panniers from the bike and then hang it vertically from the front tire. Since the amount of time you have to board a train is very short in most cases, unloading all our gear from our bikes and putting it in our cargo bags made entry and exit from trains much easier.
Another thing I highly recommend is hooking up with any friends you can while travelling. The second day of the trip, we had dinner with Ben Gifford and his mom, Klaudia Shaw. We had a great time seeing familiar faces in England. Next, we spent several great days in Paris at Paul and Danielle Zilk's home. It was great being joined there by Rob and Cheryl Crim and their kids, Haley and Jack. Lastly, we rolled into Lugano, Switzerland after rough biking in the Bavarian Alps and squatted for a full week with Vic Rush and his boys, Jordy and Keenan.
But the big thing we learned is the same thing Dorothy learned in the Wizard of Oz... There is no place like home! Barb, Connor, and Donna Madlener are meeting us in Munchen in a few days for a tour of eastern Europe. I wish Ian could have made it, too, but he is going to spend this time on Hilton Head watching Aslan, Wrigley, and Hallie. We are really excited to see them. Then it is back to the good old US of A! I may post some more on this blog of the eastern bloc portion of the trip, or I may not. Au Revoir, Arrevederchi, Auf Wiedersehen, So 'long, Good Bye!
Jordan and Mark
Just woke up in Orleans. We arrived here around 1PM yesterday. The ride from Tours on Sunday was probably the best weather we have had all trip. It felt like a crisp, fall day in the morning, and then Indian summer in the afternoon. About 20 clicks into the ride, I started seeing signs for the chateau at Cheverny. This is where the famous water lilly paintings were done by Degas. Having plenty of time to get to Orleans we took a detour. Once we got off the main road along the Loire River, the countryside got a lot more interesting. We got to Cheverny around 2PM and toured the chateau and the grounds. I would say the hilight for both of us was visiting the dog kennel. They keep about 50 French hounds for fox hunting. The smell was a little strong, but we are both missing our dogs at home, so we go nuts whenever we see any. It is kind of interesting that the chateau is privately owned. The family lives in the upper part of the right side of the chateau. The husband and wife were married there in 1994 and they have three children. I cannot believe the tourist money does any more than defray some of the operating costs of the place. I would say he is more than "nuvoue riche"!
We biked on to just south of Chambord and camped. The next day we biked into Chambord. I imagine this is where they make Chambord liquor, which tastes like an alcoholic berry pancake syrup. The chateau there is beautiful, too. We took pictures of the outside but did not stop. Continued biking to Orleans and arrived around 1PM. It is a beautiful city. I am not sure how big it is, but it has an interesting tram system. Very few cars in the city. The statue of Joan of Arc is right in the middle of the city.
We hop on our train to Paris in an hour and then catch the TGV to Munchen, where we will arrive at around 9PM. I found a place called Tent City about 6 clicks from the train station where we can camp. It looks like a huge outdoor hostel. It should be interesting.
This brings the biking portion of the trip to an end. I just broke another spoke yesterday for a grand total of 5 broken spokes, two flats, one destroyed rear derailleur, and one destroyed chain. Jordan had no flats and no broken spokes. The only work I had to do on her bike was minor adjustments after she would crash. It is ironic that the only serioius bike mechanic problems (derailleur) happened on the very first day of biking. One other bike maintenance task I did on the Italian Riviera was rotate my front and back tires. The back was getting pretty worn, which is normal since most of the weight is on it. All in all, pretty lucky in this regard.
Some pratical tips... Three pieces of equipment were crucial. The GPS (Garmin with Europe chip) was fantastic once I got the hang of it. About the only time it had serious problems was when you were in cities that had confusing roads. It would sometimes lead you in circles. In those cases, I would hit the out button to see a wider area on the screen, and then just bike in the general direction I wanted to go. The GPS came in very handy when choosing campgrounds. We used it to see where the closest restaurants or grocery stores were in relation to available campsites. I am looking forward to future versions which access the web and let you actually see more information about the sites in question. We would often use the GPS in conjunction with the next crucial piece of equipment to make our choices...
The netbook computer, although we could have done the trip without it, was a great piece of equipment to have. As mentioned previously, we would use it to check on ratings of hotels, campgrounds, restaurants, train schedules. But one of the best aspects of having it was the ability to communicate with people back home. We met a lot of interesting people on this trip, but there were some lonely points, too. It was always a high point of the day to find free WiFi (usually at McDonalds) and get on-line. It obviously was necessary to keep the blog updated in pretty much real time. I ended up getting the Dell Mini, refurbished, for about $260 (based on a recommendation by Chuck Shull, who really researches his purchases!). I also purchased a "sleeve" for it and a plastic case designed for bathing supplies (from The Container Store) to insure that I kept it dry. It was always in my handlebar bag.
The last crucial piece of equipment was our lowly cargo net begs from LL Bean. I originally decided to get these because we were only allowed two pieces of checked luggage per person on the plane. Our bikes were one of these, so I needed something strong and light-weight to carry our bike bags, tent, sleeping bag, etc. The cargo net bags were perfect. What I did not count on was how handy they were when we started travelling by train or checking into hotels. Most of the trains make you remove all panniers from the bike and then hang it vertically from the front tire. Since the amount of time you have to board a train is very short in most cases, unloading all our gear from our bikes and putting it in our cargo bags made entry and exit from trains much easier.
Another thing I highly recommend is hooking up with any friends you can while travelling. The second day of the trip, we had dinner with Ben Gifford and his mom, Klaudia Shaw. We had a great time seeing familiar faces in England. Next, we spent several great days in Paris at Paul and Danielle Zilk's home. It was great being joined there by Rob and Cheryl Crim and their kids, Haley and Jack. Lastly, we rolled into Lugano, Switzerland after rough biking in the Bavarian Alps and squatted for a full week with Vic Rush and his boys, Jordy and Keenan.
But the big thing we learned is the same thing Dorothy learned in the Wizard of Oz... There is no place like home! Barb, Connor, and Donna Madlener are meeting us in Munchen in a few days for a tour of eastern Europe. I wish Ian could have made it, too, but he is going to spend this time on Hilton Head watching Aslan, Wrigley, and Hallie. We are really excited to see them. Then it is back to the good old US of A! I may post some more on this blog of the eastern bloc portion of the trip, or I may not. Au Revoir, Arrevederchi, Auf Wiedersehen, So 'long, Good Bye!
Jordan and Mark
Munchen and the End
August 25, 2009 (Connor's 22nd Birthday!)
Just woke up in Orleans. We arrived here around 1PM yesterday. The ride from Tours on Sunday was probably the best weather we have had all trip. It felt like a crisp, fall day in the morning, and then Indian summer in the afternoon. About 20 clicks into the ride, I started seeing signs for the chateau at Cheverny. This is where the famous water lilly paintings were done by Degas. Having plenty of time to get to Orleans we took a detour. Once we got off the main road along the Loire River, the countryside got a lot more interesting. We got to Cheverny around 2PM and toured the chateau and the grounds. I would say the hilight for both of us was visiting the dog kennel. They keep about 50 French hounds for fox hunting. The smell was a little strong, but we are both missing our dogs at home, so we go nuts whenever we see any. It is kind of interesting that the chateau is privately owned. The family lives in the upper part of the right side of the chateau. The husband and wife were married there in 1994 and they have three children. I cannot believe the tourist money does any more than defray some of the operating costs of the place. I would say he is more than "nuvoue riche"!
We biked on to just south of Chambord and camped. The next day we biked into Chambord. I imagine this is where they make Chambord liquor, which tastes like an alcoholic berry pancake syrup. The chateau there is beautiful, too. We took pictures of the outside but did not stop. Continued biking to Orleans and arrived around 1PM. It is a beautiful city. I am not sure how big it is, but it has an interesting tram system. Very few cars in the city. The statue of Joan of Arc is right in the middle of the city.
We hop on our train to Paris in an hour and then catch the TGV to Munchen, where we will arrive at around 9PM. I found a place called Tent City about 6 clicks from the train station where we can camp. It looks like a huge outdoor hostel. It should be interesting.
This brings the biking portion of the trip to an end. Biked over 2,000 clicks. I just broke another spoke yesterday for a grand total of 5 broken spokes, two flats, one destroyed rear derailleur, and one destroyed chain. Jordan had no flats and no broken spokes. The only work I had to do on her bike was minor adjustments after she would crash. It is ironic that the only serioius bike mechanic problems (derailleur) happened on the very first day of biking. One other bike maintenance task I did on the Italian Riviera was rotate my front and back tires. The back was getting pretty worn, which is normal since most of the weight is on it. All in all, pretty lucky in this regard.
Some pratical tips... Three pieces of equipment were crucial. The GPS (Garmin with Europe chip) was fantastic once I got the hang of it. About the only time it had serious problems was when you were in cities that had confusing roads. It would sometimes lead you in circles. In those cases, I would hit the out button to see a wider area on the screen, and then just bike in the general direction I wanted to go. The GPS came in very handy when choosing campgrounds. We used it to see where the closest restaurants or grocery stores were in relation to available campsites. I am looking forward to future versions which access the web and let you actually see more information about the sites in question. We would often use the GPS in conjunction with the next crucial piece of equipment to make our choices...
The netbook computer, although we could have done the trip without it, was a great piece of equipment to have. As mentioned previously, we would use it to check on ratings of hotels, campgrounds, restaurants, train schedules. But one of the best aspects of having it was the ability to communicate with people back home. We met a lot of interesting people on this trip, but there were some lonely points, too. It was always a high point of the day to find free WiFi (usually at McDonalds) and get on-line. It obviously was necessary to keep the blog updated in pretty much real time. I ended up getting the Dell Mini, refurbished, for about $260 (based on a recommendation by Chuck Shull, who really researches his purchases!). I also purchased a "sleeve" for it and a plastic case designed for bathing supplies (from The Container Store) to insure that I kept it dry. It was always in my handlebar bag.
The last crucial piece of equipment was our lowly cargo net begs from LL Bean. I originally decided to get these because we were only allowed two pieces of checked luggage per person on the plane. Our bikes were one of these, so I needed something strong and light-weight to carry our bike bags, tent, sleeping bag, etc. The cargo net bags were perfect. What I did not count on was how handy they were when we started travelling by train or checking into hotels. Most of the trains make you remove all panniers from the bike and then hang it vertically from the front tire. Since the amount of time you have to board a train is very short in most cases, unloading all our gear from our bikes and putting it in our cargo bags made entry and exit from trains much easier.
Another thing I highly recommend is hooking up with any friends you can while travelling. The second day of the trip, we had dinner with Ben Gifford and his mom, Klaudia Shaw. We had a great time seeing familiar faces in England. Next, we spent several great days in Paris at Paul and Danielle Zilk's home. It was great being joined there by Rob and Cheryl Crim and their kids, Haley and Jack. Lastly, we rolled into Lugano, Switzerland after rough biking in the Bavarian Alps and squatted for a full week with Vic Rush and his boys, Jordy and Keenan.
But the big thing we learned is the same thing Dorothy learned in the Wizard of Oz... There is no place like home! Barb, Connor, and Donna Madlener are meeting us in Munchen in a few days for a tour of eastern Europe. I wish Ian could have made it, too, but he is going to spend this time on Hilton Head watching Aslan, Wrigley, and Hallie. We are really excited to see them. Then it is back to the good old US of A! I may post some more on this blog of the eastern bloc portion of the trip, or I may not.
Au Revoir, Arrevederchi, Auf Wiedersehen, So 'long, Good Bye!
Jordan and Mark
Just woke up in Orleans. We arrived here around 1PM yesterday. The ride from Tours on Sunday was probably the best weather we have had all trip. It felt like a crisp, fall day in the morning, and then Indian summer in the afternoon. About 20 clicks into the ride, I started seeing signs for the chateau at Cheverny. This is where the famous water lilly paintings were done by Degas. Having plenty of time to get to Orleans we took a detour. Once we got off the main road along the Loire River, the countryside got a lot more interesting. We got to Cheverny around 2PM and toured the chateau and the grounds. I would say the hilight for both of us was visiting the dog kennel. They keep about 50 French hounds for fox hunting. The smell was a little strong, but we are both missing our dogs at home, so we go nuts whenever we see any. It is kind of interesting that the chateau is privately owned. The family lives in the upper part of the right side of the chateau. The husband and wife were married there in 1994 and they have three children. I cannot believe the tourist money does any more than defray some of the operating costs of the place. I would say he is more than "nuvoue riche"!
We biked on to just south of Chambord and camped. The next day we biked into Chambord. I imagine this is where they make Chambord liquor, which tastes like an alcoholic berry pancake syrup. The chateau there is beautiful, too. We took pictures of the outside but did not stop. Continued biking to Orleans and arrived around 1PM. It is a beautiful city. I am not sure how big it is, but it has an interesting tram system. Very few cars in the city. The statue of Joan of Arc is right in the middle of the city.
We hop on our train to Paris in an hour and then catch the TGV to Munchen, where we will arrive at around 9PM. I found a place called Tent City about 6 clicks from the train station where we can camp. It looks like a huge outdoor hostel. It should be interesting.
This brings the biking portion of the trip to an end. Biked over 2,000 clicks. I just broke another spoke yesterday for a grand total of 5 broken spokes, two flats, one destroyed rear derailleur, and one destroyed chain. Jordan had no flats and no broken spokes. The only work I had to do on her bike was minor adjustments after she would crash. It is ironic that the only serioius bike mechanic problems (derailleur) happened on the very first day of biking. One other bike maintenance task I did on the Italian Riviera was rotate my front and back tires. The back was getting pretty worn, which is normal since most of the weight is on it. All in all, pretty lucky in this regard.
Some pratical tips... Three pieces of equipment were crucial. The GPS (Garmin with Europe chip) was fantastic once I got the hang of it. About the only time it had serious problems was when you were in cities that had confusing roads. It would sometimes lead you in circles. In those cases, I would hit the out button to see a wider area on the screen, and then just bike in the general direction I wanted to go. The GPS came in very handy when choosing campgrounds. We used it to see where the closest restaurants or grocery stores were in relation to available campsites. I am looking forward to future versions which access the web and let you actually see more information about the sites in question. We would often use the GPS in conjunction with the next crucial piece of equipment to make our choices...
The netbook computer, although we could have done the trip without it, was a great piece of equipment to have. As mentioned previously, we would use it to check on ratings of hotels, campgrounds, restaurants, train schedules. But one of the best aspects of having it was the ability to communicate with people back home. We met a lot of interesting people on this trip, but there were some lonely points, too. It was always a high point of the day to find free WiFi (usually at McDonalds) and get on-line. It obviously was necessary to keep the blog updated in pretty much real time. I ended up getting the Dell Mini, refurbished, for about $260 (based on a recommendation by Chuck Shull, who really researches his purchases!). I also purchased a "sleeve" for it and a plastic case designed for bathing supplies (from The Container Store) to insure that I kept it dry. It was always in my handlebar bag.
The last crucial piece of equipment was our lowly cargo net begs from LL Bean. I originally decided to get these because we were only allowed two pieces of checked luggage per person on the plane. Our bikes were one of these, so I needed something strong and light-weight to carry our bike bags, tent, sleeping bag, etc. The cargo net bags were perfect. What I did not count on was how handy they were when we started travelling by train or checking into hotels. Most of the trains make you remove all panniers from the bike and then hang it vertically from the front tire. Since the amount of time you have to board a train is very short in most cases, unloading all our gear from our bikes and putting it in our cargo bags made entry and exit from trains much easier.
Another thing I highly recommend is hooking up with any friends you can while travelling. The second day of the trip, we had dinner with Ben Gifford and his mom, Klaudia Shaw. We had a great time seeing familiar faces in England. Next, we spent several great days in Paris at Paul and Danielle Zilk's home. It was great being joined there by Rob and Cheryl Crim and their kids, Haley and Jack. Lastly, we rolled into Lugano, Switzerland after rough biking in the Bavarian Alps and squatted for a full week with Vic Rush and his boys, Jordy and Keenan.
But the big thing we learned is the same thing Dorothy learned in the Wizard of Oz... There is no place like home! Barb, Connor, and Donna Madlener are meeting us in Munchen in a few days for a tour of eastern Europe. I wish Ian could have made it, too, but he is going to spend this time on Hilton Head watching Aslan, Wrigley, and Hallie. We are really excited to see them. Then it is back to the good old US of A! I may post some more on this blog of the eastern bloc portion of the trip, or I may not.
Au Revoir, Arrevederchi, Auf Wiedersehen, So 'long, Good Bye!
Jordan and Mark
Monday, August 24, 2009
Musings on the Metric System
August 24th, 2009
Musings on the Metric System
Jordan and I just completed a very enjoyable ride from Tours to Orleans, via Cheverny and Chambord. As the clicks melted away on a beautiful Sunday (yesterday) under an azure sky and perfect temperature, I began to think about the kilometer versus the mile. The first thing that hit me was how much easier it is to bike a kilometer versus a mile, since there are 1.6 of them to each mile. One of the benchmarks of an accomplished rider is doing a CENTURY... 100 miles. I have to confess that it has been many years since I have done a century. No matter what kind of shape you are in, they are draining. Now, a METRIC century is something else entirely. I can set out on a Saturday morning, put in a metric century (i.e. 62 miles), and be back home for the second half of a Buckeye game with my feet propped up and a cold PBR in my hand!
Next, look at the silly components of a mile... 1,760 yards, 5,280 feet. Now the kilometer... 1,000 meters, 100,000 centimeters and you can keep on going to millimeters if you want to. Don't even get me started on the English system of land measurement, namely acres and even hectares. What the hell is a hectare?
There is a sweet rhythm to the metric system. Since I am from Irish/Scottish stock, maybe our non-rhythmic system explains my inability to dance.
There is only one unit of measure that I respect in our system. When you go to get beer in America, we sell it by the case. How many beers in a case? 24. How many hours in a day? 24. Coincedence? I think not!
Can you tell we are getting to the end of the trip?
Musings on the Metric System
Jordan and I just completed a very enjoyable ride from Tours to Orleans, via Cheverny and Chambord. As the clicks melted away on a beautiful Sunday (yesterday) under an azure sky and perfect temperature, I began to think about the kilometer versus the mile. The first thing that hit me was how much easier it is to bike a kilometer versus a mile, since there are 1.6 of them to each mile. One of the benchmarks of an accomplished rider is doing a CENTURY... 100 miles. I have to confess that it has been many years since I have done a century. No matter what kind of shape you are in, they are draining. Now, a METRIC century is something else entirely. I can set out on a Saturday morning, put in a metric century (i.e. 62 miles), and be back home for the second half of a Buckeye game with my feet propped up and a cold PBR in my hand!
Next, look at the silly components of a mile... 1,760 yards, 5,280 feet. Now the kilometer... 1,000 meters, 100,000 centimeters and you can keep on going to millimeters if you want to. Don't even get me started on the English system of land measurement, namely acres and even hectares. What the hell is a hectare?
There is a sweet rhythm to the metric system. Since I am from Irish/Scottish stock, maybe our non-rhythmic system explains my inability to dance.
There is only one unit of measure that I respect in our system. When you go to get beer in America, we sell it by the case. How many beers in a case? 24. How many hours in a day? 24. Coincedence? I think not!
Can you tell we are getting to the end of the trip?
Saturday, August 22, 2009
On to the Loire Valley
August 21, 2009 Train from Cassis to Aix-en-Provence via Marseilles
Yesterday was a total beach day. The beach was just like the one in Rhodes, Greece that I was at three years ago. Instead of sand, there are round pebbles. Our feet have toughened up pretty well, so it was no problem dealing with it. The water was surprisingly cold. It was actually very refreshing. There was a nice shower between the beach and the town of Cassis, so we could get the salty brine off of us.
We walked back to the campground, which was a two click climb up a steep hill, and got back around 6:30. After showers and a couple beers at the campground pub, we started thinking about what we should do for dinner. The pub was not putting on a meal like they did the previous night, and we really did not feel like walking back to Cassis, and then back up the two click hill. We noticed people with pizza boxes, so we figured there had to be a pizza place in the other direction. So, about 8:30PM we started walking that way, following the scent of garlic and pizza crust. We had gone about half a click and did not see any promising signs. Then I spotted what looked like an RV on the side of the road with a bunch of cars around it. Jordan could read the sign on the side and it said PIZZA! We walked up to the RV and it was a mobile pizza shop. The oven was right behind the cab of the RV. It was a husband and wife team. They spoke no English, but we we able to communicate to them that we wanted two pizzas, a SUPREME and a ROYAL, whatever the heck they were! She said something that made me think it would be a while. Then she held up all 10 fingers. I figured 10 minutes was no big deal, so I said "Oui' Oui, madamoselle (sp?)". We waiting about half an hour when Jordan said, " Do you think she meant 10 o'clock?" Damn! She was right again. I said we did not have many choices at this point. Jordan walked back to camp and I waited until the pies were done, around 9:45. They were worth the wait... Delicious!
We just transferred trains in Marseilles. I am glad we did not ride into this city. It really does not look that attractive, and I have heard that there are seedy areas. I have already called a campground near Aix that has a pool.
August 22, 2009
When we got off the train in Aix, we decided to purchase tickets for Angers right away. The spots for bikes often fill up quickly, so we did not want to be left stranded. Our tickets got us there by way of the TGV to Lyon. The TGV is the bullet train, but it has a special station that was about a 20 click bike ride from Aix. The ticket guy said it was a pretty hilly ride. Since our train left at 8:30, we decided to look for a place to stay close to the TGV station. We found a little hotel (Auberge?) just a couple clicks from the train station. Before riding to it, we decided to have lunch in Aix. It is really a neat town that I have been to before with Barb. Additionally, Heather Campanelli, who I used to work with, spent some time studying here. She loved it here.
Lunch was fantastic... Jordan got a big salad and I got a rump steak, which we then went halvesie on, followed by gelato. I would have liked to have spent some more time strolling around Aix, but it was still hot as hell. We hopped on our bikes about 4PM and rode to the Auberge. It ended up being a fairly easy ride, which surprised Jordan since the ticket guy had warned us about a lot of up and down. It kind of reminded me of when we biked across the USA. In the Tetons we ran into a group of guys going from East to West. They told us that the Appalachian mountains were much tougher than the Rockies. A few weeks later when we got to the Appalachians, we could not believe how easy they were. We flew up them. The point is that whatever terrain you hit first on a long bike ride seems like the toughest, because you are not "road-hardened" yet. I still remember the Oregon Coast and the Cascades being the toughest. They really were not tougher than the Rockies. We just encountered them first.
The Auberge was rated two stars, but it was much better than that. It had 12 rooms, and I think they only had a few vacancies. The dinner we had there was fantastic, with all sorts of little niceties... foi gras sample, sorbet, and a little mini dessert after the main dessert, which was poached nectarine with ice cream and whipped cream. Oh, the main course was dorado (sp?) with rissoto.
We got up early today and rode to the TGV station. If you have never ridden the TGV, it is an interesting experience. I think the train travels around 200 MPH, but I am not sure. The only time you get the feeling that you are moving fast is when you go into a turn. To keep the train on the track, the turns are banked fairly steeply. You can really feel the centrifugal force when you go into one of them. We got to Lyon in about two hours. Our layover was supposed to be 5 hours, which really started to weigh on my mind. I went up to the ticket office and started asking about different options. I considered going to Nantes, but that would have taken even longer. Then I looked at going to Tours. We decided to take a train there which left at 12:39PM. We should get there by about 5:15. There is a campsite abvout 6 clicks from the train station, right on the Loire River, which is exactly where we want to go. I am a little sorry that we are not going to bike the section from Angers to Tours, but I did not want to waste half the day in the Lyon train station. We will continue biking past Orleans if we have time, or we will just go to Munich from there.
Yesterday was a total beach day. The beach was just like the one in Rhodes, Greece that I was at three years ago. Instead of sand, there are round pebbles. Our feet have toughened up pretty well, so it was no problem dealing with it. The water was surprisingly cold. It was actually very refreshing. There was a nice shower between the beach and the town of Cassis, so we could get the salty brine off of us.
We walked back to the campground, which was a two click climb up a steep hill, and got back around 6:30. After showers and a couple beers at the campground pub, we started thinking about what we should do for dinner. The pub was not putting on a meal like they did the previous night, and we really did not feel like walking back to Cassis, and then back up the two click hill. We noticed people with pizza boxes, so we figured there had to be a pizza place in the other direction. So, about 8:30PM we started walking that way, following the scent of garlic and pizza crust. We had gone about half a click and did not see any promising signs. Then I spotted what looked like an RV on the side of the road with a bunch of cars around it. Jordan could read the sign on the side and it said PIZZA! We walked up to the RV and it was a mobile pizza shop. The oven was right behind the cab of the RV. It was a husband and wife team. They spoke no English, but we we able to communicate to them that we wanted two pizzas, a SUPREME and a ROYAL, whatever the heck they were! She said something that made me think it would be a while. Then she held up all 10 fingers. I figured 10 minutes was no big deal, so I said "Oui' Oui, madamoselle (sp?)". We waiting about half an hour when Jordan said, " Do you think she meant 10 o'clock?" Damn! She was right again. I said we did not have many choices at this point. Jordan walked back to camp and I waited until the pies were done, around 9:45. They were worth the wait... Delicious!
We just transferred trains in Marseilles. I am glad we did not ride into this city. It really does not look that attractive, and I have heard that there are seedy areas. I have already called a campground near Aix that has a pool.
August 22, 2009
When we got off the train in Aix, we decided to purchase tickets for Angers right away. The spots for bikes often fill up quickly, so we did not want to be left stranded. Our tickets got us there by way of the TGV to Lyon. The TGV is the bullet train, but it has a special station that was about a 20 click bike ride from Aix. The ticket guy said it was a pretty hilly ride. Since our train left at 8:30, we decided to look for a place to stay close to the TGV station. We found a little hotel (Auberge?) just a couple clicks from the train station. Before riding to it, we decided to have lunch in Aix. It is really a neat town that I have been to before with Barb. Additionally, Heather Campanelli, who I used to work with, spent some time studying here. She loved it here.
Lunch was fantastic... Jordan got a big salad and I got a rump steak, which we then went halvesie on, followed by gelato. I would have liked to have spent some more time strolling around Aix, but it was still hot as hell. We hopped on our bikes about 4PM and rode to the Auberge. It ended up being a fairly easy ride, which surprised Jordan since the ticket guy had warned us about a lot of up and down. It kind of reminded me of when we biked across the USA. In the Tetons we ran into a group of guys going from East to West. They told us that the Appalachian mountains were much tougher than the Rockies. A few weeks later when we got to the Appalachians, we could not believe how easy they were. We flew up them. The point is that whatever terrain you hit first on a long bike ride seems like the toughest, because you are not "road-hardened" yet. I still remember the Oregon Coast and the Cascades being the toughest. They really were not tougher than the Rockies. We just encountered them first.
The Auberge was rated two stars, but it was much better than that. It had 12 rooms, and I think they only had a few vacancies. The dinner we had there was fantastic, with all sorts of little niceties... foi gras sample, sorbet, and a little mini dessert after the main dessert, which was poached nectarine with ice cream and whipped cream. Oh, the main course was dorado (sp?) with rissoto.
We got up early today and rode to the TGV station. If you have never ridden the TGV, it is an interesting experience. I think the train travels around 200 MPH, but I am not sure. The only time you get the feeling that you are moving fast is when you go into a turn. To keep the train on the track, the turns are banked fairly steeply. You can really feel the centrifugal force when you go into one of them. We got to Lyon in about two hours. Our layover was supposed to be 5 hours, which really started to weigh on my mind. I went up to the ticket office and started asking about different options. I considered going to Nantes, but that would have taken even longer. Then I looked at going to Tours. We decided to take a train there which left at 12:39PM. We should get there by about 5:15. There is a campsite abvout 6 clicks from the train station, right on the Loire River, which is exactly where we want to go. I am a little sorry that we are not going to bike the section from Angers to Tours, but I did not want to waste half the day in the Lyon train station. We will continue biking past Orleans if we have time, or we will just go to Munich from there.
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