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The Grand Adventure

A bike trip with no end Read more

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The Grand Adventure Helene Rimberg
Volubilus
December 27, 2023 in Morocco ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
Short day ahead though we had to climb out of the valley. Passed through olive groves and then rose into barren slopes. Actually a nice change from the day before. Arrived at ancient site of Volubilis. Quite impressive. Only a few more miles to hilltop town of Moulay Idriss. Opted to done at our Riad.Read more
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Some days ……
December 26, 2023 in Morocco ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
….just aren’t that fun. Did have a lovely breakfast before riding off into a bit of fog. Route kept getting longer as we either missed our turnoffs or opted to not take them. Poverty and lack of infrastructure were very apparent. Finally make it to our hotel that was picked for convenience of location. Just a day to get through.Read more
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A Christmas ride
December 25, 2023 in Morocco ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
With no indication that it is Christmas besides the calendar, we set off up to go down. Nice mountains around us and a pretty quiet road. Arrive at the guitar castle and though a bit confused about where to go when, have a lovely meal all by ourselves.Read more
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Chefchaouen
December 24, 2023 in Morocco ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
Day spent wandering in the “Blue City”. It was painted by the Jews who fled here after WWII to reflect the sky. Beautiful alleyways and vistas from up above. More touristy though as we heard quite a bit of English.Read more
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Into the Rif Mountains
December 23, 2023 in Morocco ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
Managed to navigate out of Tetuoan much easier than we came in. A tough ride up and over the mountains but very scenic. Very green with small towns up in the hills. Last push to the hilltop town of Chefchaouen. Check in to nice apartment a bit outside of the main town. Short walk into the Medina for very nice dinner.Read more
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Tétouan
December 23, 2023 in Morocco ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
Sunshine warmed up a chilly morning pretty quickly though breakfast on the rooftop was a bit nippy. Made our way to the enormous cemetery. The pictures don’t begin to capture scope. Also found our way into the separate Jewish one. Wandered more alley ways and saw a bit of the city outside the Medina. Went to a museum depicting life in Tetuoan. Many more cat sightings. And always finding ourselves somewhere we hadn’t been beforeRead more
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Across the peninsula
December 21, 2023 in Morocco ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
Even with a relatively early start, leaving Tangier was a bit hectic. No dedicated bike lanes 😏. Smaller streets fed us into the one big road towards Tetouan. Busy road but drivers generally gave us plenty of room. One big up over a mountain range and cruised down to very large city. Somehow managed to wind up pushing bikes through main market. Find our Riad. Explore the maze line alleyways and visit cats.Read more
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Tangier
December 20, 2023 in Morocco ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
Day spent meandering along the waterfront and getting lost in the tiny alleyways of the Medina and kasbah. So many cats everywhere! Only offered hash a few times 😏 Toured a few museums including the American Legate. Apparently Morocco and US have very long history of friendship. Rain curtailed our exploration. Very nice fish dinner.Read more
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Welcome to Morocco
December 19, 2023 in Morocco ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
Another half day spent cruising along the coast - finally passing through the Straits of Gibraltar. Patiently wait to disembark and pass easily into Africa. As we landed in a different port than we had expected have to get ourselves to Tangier. Too far to go by bike so late in the day so cram into a taxi. Tad bit scary 🫣. Check into hotel and then go explore. Nice tagine dinner.Read more
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Out to sea
December 18, 2023, Western Mediterranean ⋅ 🌬 15 °C
After a bit of chaos trying to find a place to sleep, managed to get some zzzs. Spent the day reading as we passed along the coast of Spain, viewing many of the places we had been from a different vantage point.Read more
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Barcelona
December 18, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C
Spent the day walking all over Barcelona. Highlights included Olympic stadium, Cathedral, La Rambla and many Christmas lights. A last tapas dinner before heading down to ferry dock. Finally board close to 2 am.Read more
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Racing for the train
December 17, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C
Chilly morning. Pack quickly to give ourselves lots of time to get to the train station. Miss a turn and end up climbing steeply to hilltop town. Nice view but unnecessary climb. Rejoin the route and quickly cover the remaining miles. Arrive at the station with an hour to spare. Board the train to Barcelona. Evening arrival yet the bikes lanes are well protected and cover the few miles to the hostel safely. Nice tapas dinner.Read more
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A rocky ride
December 15, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
A quiet night and morning - thankfully. Great paths take us out of town to a via verde - a converted railroad path. Ride through a few pretty coastal town and then into a National Park we go. Very rough riding but very scenic and quiet. After what seemed an eternity, popped into Peniscola.Read more
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Windddyyy
December 14, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 17 °C
Windstorm during the night kept us up and threatened to take the tent down. With more predicted, opted to stay put. Day spent doing repairs and beach walking.
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Back in the saddle again
December 13, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
After a real night sleep, we are packed and ready to ride again. Well established bike lanes lead us to the EV8. Lose the path at some point and wind through marshland and over rough road for a bit. Meet back up with the route and return to the Med. Long day of riding but it’s good to be back.Read more
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And we made it
December 12, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
It a horrible night of sleep in the airport. At least we had time horizontal. More hours waiting-at least in the snooty lounge and board last plane back to our bikes. No plane issues but hit metro mechanical problems trying to get into Valencia. Finally get to the flat. Manage a quick outing to see Christmas lights lit up.Read more
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Travel - Day #2
December 11, 2023 in Switzerland ⋅ 🌧 10 °C
Made it across the pond, passing the time with movies and a bit of sleep. Arrive in Zurich with little desire to venture far. Navigate the confusing airport and settle in with food and manage to find a quiet and relatively dark spot to sleep.Read more
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The journey resumes
December 10, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C
Early morning fight to San Francisco. Left the pouring rain behind and had a nice day to walk around. Board our very big and crowded flight to Zurich and continue the journey back.
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A long journey
November 18, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C
Early morning departure necessitated an Uber to the airport. Relatively quick flight to Frankfurt. Huge airport and long walk to international gate. Board much bigger plane and we are on our way. A few movies and meals and we touch down on US soil - SFO. Take BART to Oakland and wait for flight #3 and then #4. And we are back - for a bit. More to come.Read more
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Prepping for the pause
November 17, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
Spent the morning get everything clean and settled in for a 3 week pause. We had the flat to ourselves as Dasha had left for Germany. Back out to further explore - spending time in the market and then in the uber modern arts and sciences area. Out for an ok paella meal and gelato.Read more
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Valencia …. Finally
November 16, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
Enjoy coffee looking out at the sea. Jellyfish still guarding the water - and it’s a tad bit chilly. Easy ride along a “bike highway” - so many cyclists out for a spin. Cycleways as soon as we will the city which take us almost all the way to our host Dasha’s flat. Wander the city a bit.Read more
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Back to the sea
November 15, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
Two big hills stood between us and the sea. Sadly one was a rock path. Beautifully arid and deserted countryside. Very windy windy downhill into the orange groves. For miles. Arrive at the beach too late for a swim and there were some nasty creatures.Read more
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So much fruit
November 14, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
Another day to hike. Hike along canyon and amongst fields and fields of oranges and persimmons. Beautiful waterfalls to finish the hike.
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There’s a first for everything
November 13, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Nice morning coffee and find a place to replace Doug’s chain. Gather up food supplies and head out of town. After quite a bit of clanking, his chain comes apart. Sadly discover we are missing part of the chain fixer tool. Almost 4 hours later, we are back on the road- surviving our first major mechanical issue of the trip. Perhaps there is a lesson or two to learn.Read more
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Xativa
November 12, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 18 °C
Get to ride down the canyon we came up. Though a ride with more down than up did have a bit of windy ups as we we made our way over a ridge and to the beautiful town of Xàtiva. And because it was there, had to hike up to the castle. Well worth the extra elevation. Wander into a street festival.Read more
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