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The Grand Adventure

A bike trip with no end Read more

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🇫🇷 Épinal, France
The Grand Adventure Helene Rimberg
Bastille Day in Nancy
July 14 in France ⋅ ☁️ 33 °C
Also Doug’s birthday. After a late start, wind our way through quiet streets of Nancy. City seems a bit deserted. Stanislaus seems to be the founder and his presence and name is everywhere. Check out main squares and parks. Stop for birthday pastries. Head back to studio to watch Tour de France. Shower. Out for a nice meal. Position ourselves outside Fanfest to watch World Cup game but people stand in front. Opt to leave. Wander towards fireworks. Great display.Read more
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To Nancy
July 13 in France ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C
A different type of riding today. Off of the canal paths (mostly) and on roads or paths parallel to big freeway. Lots of undulating and the wind is again against us. But the sunflowers are beautiful! Finally get lunch in Toul and sit by nice cathedral. Day has gotten hotter as we finish our ride into the city of Nancy. Check in to tiny AirBnB. Walk to grocery store and pick up nice premade dinner.Read more
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Ligny en Barrios
July 12 in France ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C
Head out of our campground and ride along a dry canal bed. Great (and busy) cycle route. Go through the city of Saint Duziey and head north and up. Wind is pretty fierce and not in our favor. Have a few long ups and then cruise into Bar le Duc. Very pretty to little town and very quiet for a Sunday. Have some lunch and then finish ride along canal. Arrive at campground but can’t seem to pay with our US phone numbers. Set up anyway. Nice little campground near town of Ligny en Barrios.Read more
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Along the canals
July 11 in France ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C
Beautiful day of riding along canals on dedicated bike paths. The day gets quite toasty! Opt to deviate from our route to find a proper campground. Ride past beautiful sunflower fields in the way to Lac du Der. Check in to the campsite and go hang out by the lake.Read more
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A day in Epernay
July 10 in France ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C
Staying in place today so I’m no rush this morning. After breakfast , walk along the path into city of Epernay. Check on the cathedral before walking along the Rue de Champagne. Stop in tourist information and wind up getting a champagne tasting. Head to Chateau/ museum for a very informative visit about champagne making, history of region and chateau itself. Very hot out - stop for a cool drink. Relax in a park while a band warms up for tonight. Walk back to campsite stopping for food. Good day of being a tourist.Read more
Traveler Beautiful
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When in Champagne …
July 9 in France ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
Quick ride down the hill to small town for coffee and breakfast. Almost immediately find ourselves in the Champagne region. Grapes are abundant and vineyards and wine cellars everywhere. Continue along undulating road until we return to the Marne. Joins the V52 cycle path which goes along the Marne. As it is quite toasty stop for a dip in the river. Finish off our ride, ending in Epernay. Check in to municipal campground and then ride the path to the store. Back for a shower and then dinner. So many cyclists!!Read more
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A rough first day
July 8 in France ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
Feel somewhat rested after relatively short flight. Quickly get through passport control with my German passport and by the time Doug gets through our boxes are waiting for us. Find an outdoor spot to assemble ourselves. Manage to get out by 1:00 and eventually get out of airport. It is toasty out but not humid. See fellow cyclists almost immediately. Stop in Meaux for pastries and opt to keep going. Route becomes a gravelly path and someone opts to get on a hiking trail. Bad move. Finally pop back out but have lost a lot of time. Pick up food and finish ride up to campground. Shower, food and finally sleep.Read more
Traveler Bet they’re not as good as what you did for us. Can’t believe the look of that bike!
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Nous sommes arrivés en France
July 7 in France ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C
After a week of enjoying time with friends, we are dropped off at JFK to start our next stage. Very busy airport but we make our way through check in and TSA to lounge. Board the plane and attempt to go to sleep quickly as only a 7 hour flight. Restless sleep.Read more
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Year 3 Recap: part 2
July 1 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C
US pictures
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Year 3 recap: part 1
July 1 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C
It seems somewhat fitting that we would be ending Year 3 of this “Grand Adventure” in State College, Pa; my home for most of 4 years. We also passed through here 33 years ago on our first cross country cycle tour. Being in familiar territory, amongst friends is not how we spent most of Year 3. Rather, we experienced the joys and challenges of being a foreigner in foreign lands. Southeasts Asia was where we spent most of this past year. We rode through the sweltering jungles, alongside ancient temples, and dodged inquisitive monkeys. Communication was challenging and we attracted quite a bit of attention; being white and travelling in such an odd way. Though we had intended to continue westward, returning to Europe via Greece - the world had other plans for us. The Middle East “Operation” stood in our way and we could not maneuver around it in any safe way. Thus we were forced to make a U-turn back to Portland where we began an eastward trek across the USA.
This past year we travelled through 11 countries, cycling in all but 3 of them. We vacationed with the girls in Sri Lanka, exploring the island via Tuktuk. And we concluded the year riding across the USA; taking a more mountainous route than our 1993 journey. What’s next? We are returning to Europe; crossing an ocean for the last time ( at least as part of this adventure). Doug claims we have to hit 50 countries before we can stop: yet we shall see what the world has in store for us.Read more
Traveler Ron & I have visited here, too!
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Penn State ❤️
June 30 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C
Pack up, but leave our bikes and gear as we set off to explore PSU. Walk through the arboretum and other wooded areas I had never been before. Pop out by the stadium and east halls. Walk along the stadium and spot the All sports museum. Get out of the heat and check it out. Get a view into the stadium as well. Head to the Creamery. Continue walking amongst very familiar (and unfamiliar) buildings. So much has changed! Grab our bikes, take some photos and ride to AirBnB where Christine and John await. Get some groceries, drink some beer and catch up.Read more
Traveler ❤️❤️
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State College here we come
June 29 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
Sleep in and take our time getting ready. Only 44 miles to go to State College and we have 2 days to do it in. The lure of getting there proves powerful. Hills aren’t bad and it’s not too hot. Decide to keep going. Cruise along fields of corn. Fortunately we are able to find a warmshowers host on such short notice. Arrive in State College! Pull up to Alexa’s house just as she is getting home. Enjoy a nice dinner and chat and then go for a walk on PSU campus. Feels like being home!Read more
TravelerLove this for you!
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Onto Altoona
June 28 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
Up very early to avoid detection 🙄. Start riding, without morning coffee. Barely make it to Dilltown only to find B&B/store not yet open. Make our own coffee and have some breakfast. Feeling much better, gradually continue up along the creek. Surface is a bit soft due to all the rain. With no viable options for sleeping, continue on towards Altoona. On roads it gets much hillier. Finally hit the top and have a great down into Altoona. Check in the Super 8. Get our dinner and watch a movie.Read more
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A day of 4 trails
June 27 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 23 °C
Start the day on a typical PA pike: 4 lanes, no shoulder and very hilly. Drizzle begins and we duck under supermarket awning. Get food and hop on our first rail trail, Westmoreland Heritage trail. Meander along creek and then hit the unfinished gap. Return after 4 road miles. Next up, West Penn Trail. This begins as a nice wide trail but narrows and steepens. Take a detour before arriving at the dam. Very steep and gravel up as we transverse an island. Rain begins in earnest. Steep down and then the steps. Ugh. Manage to get down and wait out the rain in a tunnel opening. Arrive in Blairsville. Get food and hop on Hoodlebug Trail in search of supposed biker camp spots. Find the park but no camping. Raining again; duck under pavilion and eat dinner. No real options so start on Ghost Town trail. Though camping prohibited and Doug hates breaking rules, find a ditch and set up tent. Manage to stay relatively dry.Read more
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Around Pittsburgh
June 26 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C
Survive the wet night. Dry out as best as we can and continue he along our rail trail to the river. Ride along the water as we pass by downtown Pittsburgh. Very nice system of dedicated trails for the most part. Come out the other side and head inland to Monroeville. Check in to hotel as no camping options and really need a shower!Read more
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A 3 state day
June 25 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
Leaving Cadiz involves a lot of hill climbing. Decide to take a break and hop on highway. Spot a sign indicating we can’t ride on it. Get off and and recalculate. Back to cycle route 50 and down into Steubenville. Only working bridge across is again on the highway but we risk it, entering into West Virginia and quickly getting off the highway. Short ride on busy roads before hitting the Panhandle trail - a lovely rail trail that gets us into PA. Stop for food and then turn north to meet another rail trail - Montour. It starts to sprinkle just as we pull into trail shelter and little “campground”. Unfortunately for us, someone is already in the shelter. Set up quickly, and eat under cover. Rain begins in earnest and our tent seems to be leaking. Sigh.Read more
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Up to Cadiz
June 24 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
More gravel to start our day. But the road is quiet. Stop in Newcomerstown for breakfast. A very steep climb before long ride along a beautiful lake. Too late to stop and it’s clouding up a bit. Big up to the town of Cadiz (Clark Gable’s birthplace). Hey good and go in search of campground. Find park but confused where to camp. Told to just set up on the grass. Works for us and ends up being free.Read more
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Hot and hilly day
June 23 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
Doug’s Frankenstein wheel seems to be holding. Need to make up some time. Nice start on trail into Dresden. Stop for lunch and tasty ice cream. Hit steep hills soon after which causes me to regret the ice cream. Very rough road and lots of hills. Ride in Amish countryside. Final approach to Lila Lake Campground. Nice site by water though far from the bathroom.Read more
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Onto US Bike route 50
June 22 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 22 °C
Quite a stormy night but our tarping keeps us nice and dry. Quickly pack up and finish the drive to Columbus. Drop off car and load up bikes. Meander through nice neighborhoods and golf courses, trying to avoid the rain drops. Doug’s wheel is really falling apart so stop near Newark to try and get it fixed. End up in a hotel so he can McGiver it.Read more
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And we are back
June 21 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C
Return to St Louis and our bikes are awaiting us. Get a ride to the car rental to pick up our car. Found that a car was way cheaper than the train. Get out quickly to stay ahead of the storm. Doug drives us outside of Dayton where we opt to stay the night. Manage to set up before the rain hits.Read more
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Hitting the pause button
June 9 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
Managed to stay dry though morning skies look threatening. Move quickly to get the tent down and stuff under the pavilion. Fortunately the sun came out. Spend some time organizing for a pause in our journey. Today we head back to Portland to pack up my mom’s apartment. Short ride to Warmshowers host; first stopping for tasty bagels. Clean up our bikes and ourselves and relax a bit before heading to the airport.Read more
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Continuing along the Katy Trail
June 8 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
Rainy morning but we are under cover in the pavilion. Wait out the rain and go to breakfast. Tad bit full as we rode along the trail. All the water makes for slower riding. Pick up some dinner supplies and ride to Defiance. Campground is a bit flooded but able to find a dry ish spot.Read more
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A stormy day
June 8 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
While it didn’t rain overnight, it began in earnest as we were preparing to leave. Then the gods started bowling. Waited out the worst of it. First 10 miles were pretty wet with boomers in the near vicinity. Rest of the day was on and off showers. Path was slower due to the rain. We were also low on food as we had missed an opportunity to stock up the day before. Opted to not go into Jefferson City for supplies. Survived on snacks. Enjoyed the wildlife and changing scenery. Arrived in Hermann; first stop - frozen custard!! Find the city park and again set up under cover due to rain. Nice hot showers and a proper meal.Read more
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Along the Missouri
June 6 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
Early am blue skies give way to cloud cover. Back to the Katy Trail and the “hardest section”. 🤣. Cover Lard hill easily (there’s a story that involves a dead pig & greasing the tracks with lard). Quick stop at a farmers market (no produce yet) in Boonville. Cross the mighty Missouri and ride along it for the remainder of the day. Follow in the tracks of Louis & Clarke (though they were in boats). Arrive in Hartsburg. Set up in park, take sink showers and go to The Grand for dinner. Move our tent under the gazebo just in case. Watch fireflies come outRead more
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Onto the Katy Trail
June 5 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
Winds are a blowing - but at least not in our face. In order to save 10 miles, opt to ride in HWY 50 to get to our trailhead. Bad shoulder and so much road kill. Everything from turtles to armadillos to deer. Finally get to Sedalia, get some good coffee and food and arrive at the entrance to the Katy trail; the longest rail trail in the country (200+ miles). Nice surface and we zoom along under the cover of trees. See few people and only live animals including a 4 foot black rat snake. Make it to Pilot Ridge and find the city park where we can camp for free. Take a quick swim in the nearby pool.Read more
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