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Jim Cochran
Jim Cochran

Jim Cochran

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  • Jim CochranJim & Lisa’s 2019 TourTraveler

    Arlon, Belgium

    June 23, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    A relaxing morning in Luxembourg City. We left the hotel at 11:00 AM. We at breakfast in the hotel room and enjoyed sleeping in. We casually toured around the city center and eventually found an event with free food, beverages, and a fun band that was hosted by the Luxembourg government / military. At 4:00 PM we headed to Arlon, Belgium. Our host Seb took us to a local street stand for traditional Belgian fries with gravy and cheese. I also had a deep fried sausage thing and Lisa had a veggie burger. After dinner Lisa and I took a short walk and we returned to Seb’s for a taste off Maitrank (a traditional drink made from bad white wine, oranges, sugar, and a special leaf only found in May. Only three days of riding left, and the weather forecast is for heat! 22.5 miles /1090 ft / 1487 total miles.Read more

  • Jim CochranJim & Lisa’s 2019 TourTraveler
    1

    Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

    June 22, 2019 in Luxembourg ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    National Day (eve!) We were up and ready to go the earliest yet (6:45.) Our goal was to be in Luxembourg City by 2:00pm for the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace, which is the official start of the National Day festivities. Light rain delayed our start until about 8:00 AM. Once on the road we had smooth riding and made it to our hotel in LC, and got to the changing of the guard in time. The evening was fun filled with, street food, dance parties every 50 meters in the city center, a torchlight parade, and a fireworks synchronized to the military bands music. It was an awesome day!Read more

  • Jim CochranJim & Lisa’s 2019 TourTraveler

    Saarbrücken, Germany

    June 21, 2019 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    We had a nice breakfast with Joseph and Pascal, and then visited the lesser-known Mount Saint Michel of France. Lisa and I crawled through a special cavern at the historical site, more stories to come about that later. One of our main destinations for the day was the Citadel de Bitche (yep, It is actually pronounced “bitch”, Which is pretty hard to say when talking to people.) Bitche was a nice view from a distance, but they wanted €10 to enter, so we passed on that. We had a nice picnic lunch and then proceeded towards Saarbrücken, Germany. Near the end of our day we found a wash/bath house, with some of the coldest water I have a ever soak my feet in! Lisa and I, played around trying to stand in the water for 20 seconds, but it was so painful, but refreshing too. Our couch surfing host, Tom, had an amazing set up for us. Our own bedroom, our own bathroom and shower, and a barbecue and fire to celebrate the equinox. He invited some friends to share the evening with us, and it was a very memorable night. Lots of climbing today! We crossed back into Germany And had fun standing on the board-line 65.8 miles/4350 ftRead more

  • Jim CochranJim & Lisa’s 2019 TourTraveler

    Saint-Jean Saverne, France

    June 20, 2019 in France ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Threatening skies with a lucky outcome of no rain led to another great day of cycling. Our main sight was Rocher de Dabo (a small church perched on a mountain top.) The morning riding continued through vineyards, and included a stop under a cherry tree for a snack. We also discovered a local street market in Obernai, where we each got some sunglasses and had a delicious cappuccino, a chocolate croissant, and a potato hashbrown patty. Our long climb to Rocher de Dabo was well worth it and we picnicked at the top. The rest of the day was easy with long downhills and canal riding. In Saverne we walked through the Main Street and then rode about 5 miles out of the larger city to Joseph and Pascal’s home. The little village of nearly 600 people is quite and graced with a beautiful cathedral from the 12th century (the oldest in the region.) After a dinner of pasta with spinach and mushrooms, salad, bread, and cherry pie we took a walking tour with Joseph to the cathedral, as the sun was starting to set. 67 miles / 3700 ftRead more

  • Jim CochranJim & Lisa’s 2019 TourTraveler

    Villè, France

    June 19, 2019 in France ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    A hot day of cycling brought us through the rout de vin (white wine area of the Alsace region of France) We continued to be awed by the beautiful steeples appearing over the vineyards as we approached every village. We climbed to Chateau de Koenigsbourg and had a magnificent view of the valley bellow. Along descent from the chateau and some more riding along vineyard brought us to Tabitha and Yannick’s house in Villé, France. Yannick’s dad (André Zimmermann)was a famous Tour de France rider in the 60’s and helped teammate Jacques Anquetil (5 time tour winner). It was motivating to here about Tabitha (France triathlon national champion for 20-25 age group) and Yannick’s passion for travel and adventure. The fed us a delicious typical French meal with an organic salad from the neighboring farmer’s garden. We had a great sleep in the house they are remodeling that has a scenic view over the valley de Villé. 69 miles / 3000 ft.Read more

  • Jim CochranJim & Lisa’s 2019 TourTraveler

    Freiberg im Breisgau, Germany

    June 17, 2019 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Returned to Germany and rode through the southern part of the Black Forest. A tough climb led to a long scenic descent to Freiberg. Our hosts Martin and Elisa (originally from Argentina) cooked a delicious cheesy/mushroom pasta for us. We sat on the balcony chatting until dark. Lisa saw a cute fox today and we took a mid-day hike in the Black Forest. We stopped at a little microbrewery in town and one of the owners (Julian) happened to be there and let us buy a few beers even though they weren’t open, Thanks Martin and Elisa for giving us you bedroom, we had an awesome night of sleep!Read more

  • Jim CochranJim & Lisa’s 2019 TourTraveler

    Samstagern, Switzerland

    June 13, 2019 in Switzerland ⋅ 🌫 18 °C

    A hard day of cycling, but amazing scenery and sunshine! After a quick breakfast, we hung around Tanja’s flat to charge my phone which failed to charge overnight. On the road at 8:45, and in Liechtenstein by 9:00. We used an ATM to get some Swiss Franks as both Switzerland and Liechtenstein don’t accept the Euro. Our ride through Liechtenstein was only about 4 miles. Crossing the Rhine River we entered Switzerland. We had a steep climb which gave us picturesque views over the valley of Liechtenstein and back toward Feldkirch. We continued to Samstagern riding along the Obersee and stopping at The Brewery Factory in Jona. A beautiful ride over a wooden walk bride led us to the south side of the Obersee/Zürichsee and a 2 mile climb to the Krüsi. Caroline offered us some sparkling water and we cleaned up as Caroline offered to do our laundry. A great dinner of a tofu/vegetable/lentil mixture and chocolate cake was eaten in the patio overlooking the valley surrounded by the Swiss Alps. We had fun talking until about ten with Caroline and her husband Marcel. 61 miles/4,300 ft.Read more

  • Jim CochranJim & Lisa’s 2019 TourTraveler

    Feldkirch, Austria

    June 12, 2019 in Austria ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    Early departure led us on our attempt of Silvretta Pass. After 26 miles of mostly up hill we were greeted with a road closed due to an avalanche and rain. We took the detour riding through the clouds and reached on of our highest points of the trip. The descent was cold and had 19 switchbacks. We stopped at a shelter because we were cold (lunch) and I had to stop a couple of times because my hands and arms were tired from braking. As we descended the clouds and rain broke for a sunny ride into Feldkirch. Tanja met us after work, and we shared s nice dinner of salads, meats, cheeses, and bread at her flat. To bad we could met her husband. They had a 6 month journey not too long ago and it was fun to hear some stories from Tanja. 70 miles and about 4000 ft of climbing, which seemed like more! Tomorrow Liechtenstein and Switzerland.Read more

  • Jim CochranJim & Lisa’s 2019 TourTraveler

    Landeck, Austria

    June 11, 2019 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    A quick breakfast and good-bye with Thomas, and on the road by 8:20 AM. We road 23 miles to Kühtai pass. It was a beautiful and tough climb with 20% grade at points. High winds and snow still in piles on the ground at the top. The decent was fast, sunny, and had many switchbacks. We stopped for a picnic. Later on the decent we encountered cows blocking the road. We road in the sun to Landeck and our staying alone for our first night since leaving the B&B in Mol, BE. We ended the day with a grocery store meal in our hotel room, one of our favorite traveling meals! Possible rain tomorrow on the way to Feldkirch. 56 miles and 6,600 ft of climbing today.Read more

  • Jim CochranJim & Lisa’s 2019 TourTraveler

    Innsbruck, Austra (Rest day #2)

    June 10, 2019 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Breakfast of homemade rolls, cheese, jam, honey, and coffee. Lisa and I then rode the last 11 km of the 2018 road cycling world championship course. Which included the infamous Höttinger Höll climb over 20% grade in parts, lucky it’s only 2.9 km. We spent the afternoon with Thomas getting a tour of the center of Innsbruck, relaxing, and sharing stories. The day was completed with dinner at a traditional Tirolean restaurant in the Innsbruck center. No more rest days from here on.Read more

  • Jim CochranJim & Lisa’s 2019 TourTraveler

    Innsbruck, Austria

    June 9, 2019 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Christophe guided us to a different route to Innsbruck in the morning. The clear blue sky gave us magnificent views of the alps. We had a picnic lunch near a small waterfall and some adventurous trail ride the led us to a fast decent to the valley of Innsbruck. Our Couchsurfing host Thomas and his daughter Miriam met us at a small cafe to guide us to their flat. Dinner was a delicious salad and spinach dumplings. We shared stories until nearly midnight. Another wonderful day. We are loving the mountain riding!Read more

  • Jim CochranJim & Lisa’s 2019 TourTraveler

    Munich, DE (Rest Day #1)

    June 7, 2019 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Traditional Bavarian breakfast of white sausage (weisswürst) and white beer at Hofbräuhaus with Nico and Camile. Spent time being a tourist in the late morning and early afternoon. Lunch at a biergarten in the English Garden Park. Later Camile brought a picnic to the park. Great rest day with awesome hospitality!Read more

  • Jim CochranJim & Lisa’s 2019 TourTraveler

    Munich, Germany

    June 6, 2019 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    A cooler day, perfect for riding. We rode 70 miles and ended with a beautiful ride along the Isar River to Munich. We are spending a rest day here with Nico, our warmshowers guest from two years ago. It was great to reunite with him.Read more

  • Jim CochranJim & Lisa’s 2019 TourTraveler

    Ingolstadt

    June 5, 2019 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Another sunny day. We rode about 70 miles with mostly a light headwind. Ended in the beautiful city of Ingolstadt (home of Audi), DE. Went to a traditional Bavarian Biergarten with our host Meike and Herbert. They will head out on a 16 month bicycle tour in September! A great evening with lots of story sharing.Read more

  • Jim CochranJim & Lisa’s 2019 TourTraveler
    1

    Nuremburg, Germany

    June 4, 2019 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    A special castle visit and tour of Bamberg in the morning. Rode along the river to our host Jocelyn’s. Had awesome Italian food for dinner. It was hot and dry again today. Only about 45 miles today.

  • Jim CochranJim & Lisa’s 2019 TourTraveler

    Bamberg, Germany

    June 3, 2019 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Stefan led us for about 40 miles! It was great to have a guide. Lisa and I enjoyed the rest of the day with a few quick stops. Had a nice evening at our Warmshower host. Another great day!!!

  • Jim CochranJim & Lisa’s 2019 TourTraveler

    Hof, DE

    June 2, 2019 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Another beautiful day with lots of hills and sunshine. We ended the day with dinner at a traditional Biergarten and a nice evening sightseeing tour of Hof with Stefan.

  • Jim CochranJim & Lisa’s 2019 TourTraveler

    Neussen, Germany

    May 30, 2019 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Our longest day is out of the way! Almost 85 miles. Slept in the yard in a giant tent of Peter and Susi’s historic home. Mosquito net, candlelight, and LED x-mas lights for a romantic accent.

  • Jim CochranJim & Lisa’s 2019 TourTraveler

    Ulrich's Werder, DE

    May 29, 2019 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    We met Ulrich (2017 Warmshowers guest) in Potsdam after returning the car in Berlin. We had a great evening with Ulrich and Heidi. Dinner was at quiet Italian restaurant. It was so nice to see Ulrich again and finally meet Heidi.Read more

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