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Jim Cochran
Jim Cochran

Jim Cochran

📍 Portugal Read more🇺🇸Iowa City
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  • Europe 🚴🚴‍♀️ 2024
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    Ruins and Clermont-Ferrand

    September 16, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    4:57 / 53 miles / 4,300 ft. Off to Clermont-Ferrand ( pop. ~150,000 ) This is one city that we could name all along our trip that people would recognize .We were excited to reach the city as we always are, but then the craziness of rush-hour and road construction made us wish for the countryside again. We did find our way to the center of the city near the Cathedral, which was built with lava rock, so it has a black dirty limestone look. Again, the weather was not cooperative and we have been using most of our cold weather cycling gear. We try to snap pictures when the sky is blue, although we are often shivering to keep our bodies warm. We did find our way to Château de Mauzun, we took a nice hike together and enjoyed the view of the valley through the archway of the ruins. These are some of our favorite times. We enjoyed the small alleyways of Billom, FR, and again enjoyed the evening again with our Warmshower hosts Florence and Pierre. We had lesson on cheese, and home a cooked dinner. Florence and Pierre did a very long bicycle trip with their three boys many years ago in South America and Florence wrote a very nice book about the adventure. Another highlight of the day was when Lisa got on the wheel of a SDWorks pro rider, and stay with her until the top of the climb! 😀🚴‍♀️⛰️Read more

  • Europe 🚴🚴‍♀️ 2024
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    Praline Brioche and Cols

    September 15, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    4:10 / 44 miles / 4882ft. Pailhat, FR Our string of Warmshower hosts continues to be awesome. Tonight we found ourselves in a little French village named Pailhat ( pop. ~35) For the seventh day in a row the winds have not been the most favorable and have chilled our bones as they have come out the north. We cherish the moments of sunshine and keep saying, “at least it is not raining.” I never thought I would be wearing my arm warmers and every layer of cycling Gear, I brought with me, including my windproof shoe covers and my winter cap. My thin wool gloves have almost not been enough warmth many times. Leaving Veauche we had about 15 miles of flat riding and the a 12 mile climb of 4.4%. Reaching Montbrison we found the Pralus Pâtisserie Chocolaterie and bought their specialty a sweet praline brioche. We found a nice place in the sun to eat half of it, and as we sat enjoying the treat many sports cars were flexing their muscles on the many drag in front of us. We realized there was a sports car show going on and decided to wait until 1pm to ride and avoid the craziness on the roads. Lisa went back to the bakery to get another brioche for our evening’s WS host family. We continued climbing and found the ruins that are being somewhat restored of a church built around 1079. We crested two different passes, had a long descent, and one more tough climb of about 2 miles to Pailhat. During one of climbs today I saw 25% gradient on my Garmin! We were Yann and Claire’s first WS guests. They were great hosts. We got a tour of their late 1800’s restored farm house. Ate cheesy potatoes (best I’ve ever had), bread, fruit, salad, cold meats, a cheese plate of about 6-7 different varieties, homemade desserts, a liquor Yann made, and lemon balm tea and honey from their garden. Their children Ronan (13) & Eulalie (10) helped host and it was fun chatting with them and trying to get them to practice the English they had studied. Another nice night and got to bed about 10:30pm.Read more

  • Europe 🚴🚴‍♀️ 2024
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    🇫🇷🌉Crossing The Rhône🚴‍♀️🚴🇫🇷

    September 14, 2024 in France ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    5:18 / 53 miles / 5,354 ft. Veauche, FR. The day ended perfectly with an awesome meal of cheesy rice with chicken and veggies, a cheese sampling, and a gooey personal chocolate cake. Jeff, Séverine, and their kids Tom and Lou were amazing hosts. Tom. Greeted us outside the Optic2000 shop were he is an optician and immediately we were welcomed into his home which was behind the business. We had a private room and our own bathroom and shower, laundry, and we sat sharing stories of travel, raising children, education, and a bit of politics until almost 11:30 pm. 😴 The riding to Veauche, FR was not the easiest. We have heard numerous times, “The weather is never like this.” It was cold again and a lot of north wind which caused us to pedal even on the downhills. Marie-Perrie and Yves provided us a breakfast of breads, coffee, yogurt, and fruit. Then at about 9:25 AM Marie-Pierre led us about 6 miles out of La Verpillière. Chilly Saturday morning riding with low traffic led us to a small village where we found a nice sunny spot out of the wind for a break. we each had two granola bars, and we’re about ready to get back on the road when a man on a mountain bike approached us. He was on holiday from Holland, and his wife also joined us in the town center. We chatted with Ard and Miriam for about one hour as Ard treated us to a coffee. They are a super couple and we hope someday we can visit them north of Amsterdam. We crossed one of Francis major rivers, the Rhône River, in Givors about noon. The Rhône flows from the Alps in Switzerland through Lake Geneva, and then through Southeastern France into Mediterranean sea. In was still cold and windy, but the sunshine was great! Once again, long climbs, led to beautiful views over the valleys. On one of the longer climbs we joined a French junior cycling club as they were having a training day. We joined in the fun and I chased some of the coaches and enjoyed the challenge of racing to the top. This definitely helped us knock off one of our harder climbs with the bit of speed and fun. About 2 miles outside of Veauche we found a nice spot in a farm field entrance to take a break and have a snack. This is one of our favorite times of the day when we know we will make it to our destination on time and we still have a little time to relax and enjoy time together. ❤️Read more

  • Europe 🚴🚴‍♀️ 2024

    Cold + Wind + Climbs = Tough Day

    September 13, 2024 in France ⋅ 🌬 15 °C

    5:03 / 57 miles / 4,646 ft. Another early climb, the Col de l’Épine (7 miles of avg, 6.4%), cold temperatures, and rain on the descent started our day with a challenge. On the way down the pass we were so cold we stopped at a church for refuge from the chilling wind and light rain. The sun popped out occasionally to warm or chilled bones, and we enjoyed shorter climbs as they helped warm us up. We found a nice bakery and got a cappuccino, sweet treat, and baguette for later. We actually ate half the baguette in the bakery as we were warm and the bread was warm and yummy too. Lisa went to the grocery to pick up a few various cheeses for our Warmshower house that evening. Tough headwinds and crosswinds made the next 30 miles quite rough, but we got a bit of reprieve on a bicycle trail that was sheltered by trees near the end of our day. The houses have changed from Alpine style to large farm houses, and the crops from grapes and fruit trees to mainly corn. The cool air, scenery, corn, and farms, give it a feel of Iowa and the smell of the oncoming fall. We had a nice evening with our Warmshower hosts. Marie-Pierre and Yves they provided us a nice private bedroom with a bathroom, a hot dinner of chicken shish kebabs, rice, and a tomato,onion, and squash sauce. After dinner, we sampled various cheeses, had some digestive tea and chocolate. Lisa and I were both exhausted and fell asleep right when we hit the bed. Another amazing Warmshowers family!Read more

  • Europe 🚴🚴‍♀️ 2024
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    Resting, Walking, & Cleaning Bikes

    September 12, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Our rest day in Chambéry was spent with a relaxing morning in the Airbnb. Then we took about a 5 hour stroll in the city center. Eating lunch at a kebab shop, buying bread and baked goodies for tomorrow’s breakfast, and a bit of gourmet chocolate for an evening snack. On the late afternoon we gave the bikes a good cleaning (amazing how dirty the were.) and wrote some postcards. We are headed toward Plum Village, France, A Buddhist center for mindfulness founded by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, about 466 miles in the next 8 days for another rest day. The next 5 days we have Warmshower hosting. Excited to see what lies ahead. 😀🚴‍♀️🇫🇷🚴😀Read more

  • Europe 🚴🚴‍♀️ 2024
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    🇫🇷🍇🚴Rest Day Ahead CHAMBÉRY🚴‍♀️🍇🇫🇷

    September 11, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    5:35 / 64 miles / 5,040 ft. Chambéry, France. The Savoie Region 🇫🇷. On the recommendation of Jeff Barnes “Rock” our day would end in Chambéry, France where he used to live and do a lot of riding. A cool morning on the mountainside started with a 5 mile climb of a gradual 4% gradient after our staple breakfast of yogurt, granola, bread, coffee, and a bottled smoothie. Also, I have become addicted to these little sweet muffins that are kind of like Twinkies without the filling. 🤤 The climb, had us warmed up quickly, and again we loved the views over the valley and of the jagged mountains in the distance. The cows continue to greet us with their giant bells, and the sharp steeples that are present in every small Alpine village are a treasure hunt for our eyes. We both like to ring our bells on our bike whenever we spot one and point it out to each other. At mile 14.71 we hit our 1,000 mile mark. 🙃 It was a beautiful day and there were a lot of workers out in the vineyards harvesting the grapes. We rode behind a tractor for about 2 miles that was pulling a wagon full of green grapes. It was the first time I had ever drafted off a tractor pulling grapes. 🚜🍇🚴🚴‍♀️. The traffic was a little heavier as we approached the city, but as usual I had routed by a grocery store so we could get supplies for our Airbnb. We loaded up on supplies for dinner and breakfast. During the last couple of miles, it started to rain and it was getting cold. Getting to our Airbnb was a bit challenging as the key box was located at a different address, and you had to watch a YouTube video to try and find it. Definitely a bad idea for a cyclist that is wet and ready to be done for the day. We eventually got into the Airbnb, and both took nice long hot showers. The view from our place was overlooking Chambéry, and we could not stop looking out over the balcony at the city and mountains as the sun was starting to set. We made some appetizers, had a wonderful pasta dinner, and enjoyed some of the. Savoie Region wine. 😀Read more

  • Europe 🚴🚴‍♀️ 2024
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    🏔️🇫🇷🐄Climbs, Cows, and Glaciers🚴🚴‍♀️🏔️

    September 10, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    4:58 / 49 miles / 6,630 ft. Near Saint Gervais-Les-Bains, France. Boris and Karine have the quietest family. Lisa and I slept in the open loft above the kitchen, and Karine and the two boys were up about 6:30 eating breakfast and getting ready for school. I think they left about 7:30, but we didn’t hear a peep and slept in until about 8:00. They left us everything we needed for breakfast including some fresh apricot juice from a near by orchard. Boris came back to the house a bit before 9 AM and we chatted with him for quite a while. As we were loading our bikes and lubing our chains, Boris was cleaning both my bike and Lisa‘s bike, this was SO nice! We always find it hard to leave our Warmshower hosts when we have made such a nice connection. We knew we were going to have a beautiful day ahead, but also some tough climbing. We had a nice 5 mile warm-up through the valley, and then we hit our first climb of the day which was 6.2 miles of an average gradient of 10.2%.😵‍💫 The Col de la Forclaz. It’s always fun looking back at the valley below to see how high we have climbed. We felt we were being cheered on by the cows and their bells as we climbed through the crisp mountain air toward the sunny sky. At the pass we took a rest in a grassy field, and absorbed some sunshine. After our break, there was a 4 mile descent which led into our second climb of the day. Col des Montets was 4.7 miles long with an average gradient of 4.7%. Near the top of the col we could see the snowcapped peaks of some of the higher mountains in the Alps, and Mont Blanc, the highest peak of the Alps. From the pass we cruised down to the touristic town of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc. We decided to put on our casual shoes and take a stroll through the city center and grabbed some supplies for a picnic. We found a place in the sun where we could see the glaciers of Mont Blanc. This was Lisa’s first time seeing a glacier. After lunch, we continued onward with the stunning view of the glaciers on our left side. We never tire of the sites of the Alps; old churches, Alpine houses, cows, farms, sharp mountains, cold streams, villages in the valleys and high on the mountain sides,and too much to capture in writing or pictures. Again, we ended the day with about a 2 mile climb to our cute Airbnb on the mountain side. We made baked potatoes in the microwave for dinner and topped them with fresh olives and some various cheeses. I was thinking it would be funny for me to make a cookbook for bicycle touring. Also, some type of shopping list for when you get to a grocery store and you are a tired and hungry cyclist.Read more

  • Europe 🚴🚴‍♀️ 2024
    11

    🇨🇭Rain & Headwind, another GREAT day!

    September 9, 2024 in Switzerland ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    4:12 / 48 miles/ 1450 ft. Fully, Switzerland 🇨🇭. I got up about 7:30 AM to say thank you to Brian again before he went off to work. We both had a good nights rest, and we knew, even though there pass was behind us, the day was still going be a tough because of the rain and headwind. Lisa slept in a little bit later, but we both joined Marji for breakfast and coffee at about 8:30 AM, and then the departed about 9:15 AM. We can’t say enough about how great our evening and morning was Brian, Marji, and the kids. Our destination for the day was Fully, Switzerland and another Warmshower stay. Even though the weather was not cooperative, the ride was still beautiful. We rode up onto the hillside through the vineyards that were full of purple and white grapes, ready for harvest, found a waterfall that somehow I did not route us by, rode through pear and apple orchards that were luscious with ripe fruit, and Barron apricot trees that had already been harvested. We also rode along the Rhone river that was raging with glacier water and heavy rain water. We stopped at a bakery and grabbed some sandwiches for lunch, and found a place under a tree out of the rain to enjoy our picnic. the temperature was cold, but we had enough clothing to stay warm. Karine our Warmshower host sent us a couple of nice videos explaining how to get into their house if we arrived before they were home. Just as we were retrieving the key from the mailbox, her husband Boris showed up and greeted us with a big smile! We talked with Boris for about an hour before taking the shower. Then when Karine came home, Lisa and her took about a 45 minute walk with the dog into the vineyards on the hillside side. Karine, Boris, and the boys filled our night with stories, great food, and laughter. Another truly amazing connection with our hosts and Lisa and I Couldn’t stop talking about how wonderful experience it was and how we were sure we would be close friends if we lived in the same area. more stories to come about this, but too long to explain in writing.Read more

  • Europe 🚴🚴‍♀️ 2024

    🇮🇹🚴⛰️Simplon Pass⛰️🚴‍♀️🇨🇭

    September 8, 2024 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    A tough ride over Simplon Pass into Switzerland through rain, cold, and noisy traffic led us to a perfect evening at our Warmshower home. Brian and Marij with their children Leann (14) and Steven (12) are a truly multi-international family. The Marji is from Belgium and only speaks Flemish to the kids, Brian is from Connecticut and speaks English with them, and in school they learn in German. The kids have 3 passports (Belgium, USA, and Switzerland), and they think they have been to almost 20 different countries so far. We share a rice, carrot, and chicken dinner with apricot sauce for dinner. After dinner we ate apple cake and Lisa and I taught them the card game “dimes.” A truely delightful evening! Simplon Pass was about 18 miles of climbing with tunnels and quite heavy traffic. We started the day about 8:00am to hopefully beat the traffic, but it didn’t really work. One savior was there was a lot of construction which led to large waves of traffic which we would pull over and let pass us, and another good thing was no trucks on Sundays! The rain and cold got worse at the top and we stopped for a warm snack at a restaurant near the top. We also put on dry clothes and almost every piece of warm cycling clothes we had for the descent. The descent was cold! For the first 4 miles we were shivering 🥶 so badly our bikes were shaking under us. Once we got into the valley of Switzerland 🇨🇭 it was a bit warmer and we found a place near the city center to reward ourselves with a large plate of fries. 😀Read more

  • Europe 🚴🚴‍♀️ 2024
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    Riding Up the NE Valleys of Italy

    September 7, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    3:56 / 42 miles / 3050 Ft. Mozzio, IT. 🇮🇹 Stunning views as we approach the Italian-Switzerland boarder. Our AirBnB was another climb of 2 mile of about 8%, but well worth it. We brought some take-and-bake lasagna from the grocery store below, and had a picnic style dinner looking over the valley below, with the jagged mountains to both sides. Tomorrow we cross into Switzerland.Read more

  • Europe 🚴🚴‍♀️ 2024
    11

    🐄 Medieval Village and Cattle Drive 🇮🇹

    September 6, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    4:51 / 54 miles / 3780 ft. Gravellona Toce, Italy. A normal breakfast in our Airbnb of yogurt, banana, smoothie, granola, and coffee. We were staying about two blocks away from a historical medieval village, so we explored that within the first couple of minutes of our morning ride. As we rode on, we approached a road that was blocked by a man and his car. He was holding a long pointy stick, and just watched us as we rode around him and down the road we needed to take. We continue down the Long narrow road toward the sunrise and saw some strange commotion ahead. Lisa and I both realized it was a large herd of cattle being driven down the road towards us. with nowhere to escape, we had to make a quick U-turn and ride back down the road to let the cattle pass. It was definitely quite a site, and a bit of a scare! Beautiful riding today in the lower mountains and getting spectacular views of the valleys below. We stopped for lunch at a cute little place of the mountains, and the owner made us some various things to share, including a small lasagna. After lunch, we went to a quite touristic area, Lago d'Orta, Italy. We had a cappuccino, wrote some postcards, and enjoyed looking out over the lake at the San Giulio island. In the late afternoon we arrived at our Airbnb, which was a cute apartment with a loft and an Alpine feeling to it. After cleaning up, we went out for pizza again, we just couldn’t resist!Read more

  • Europe 🚴🚴‍♀️ 2024

    🚴‍♀️Escaping the Rain and Turin🚴

    September 5, 2024 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    5:02 / 61 miles / 1526 ft. Candelo, IT 🇫🇷 It was a super rainy morning in Turin.
    We Took the advice of our Warmshower host Oliver and decided to take it easy in the morning and rest for a bit to see if the rain would let up. About 11 AM. The radar looked good, and it seemed like we would have a four hour window without rain. Lisa and I navigated the tricky trails and busy streets out of Turin to finally reach a more peaceful countryside. About 25% of our route was gravel today, and the gravel is nothing like Iowa! Huge potholes filled with water and giant baby head sized rocks. Also, they just throw smashed up bricks into potholes to try to fill them. We dodged puddles, and navigated the flat route to make it to our Airbnb with only stopping for a couple of bathroom breaks and no rain! 😀As we arrived a bit early for check-in at our AirBnB we stopped by a café for a beer and a spritz. We got to talking with the lady who is working there and she recommended the best pizza place in town , as we were talking the owner of the pizza place walked in, and I promised us a reservation at 7 PM. The pizza that evening was the best pizza I ever had, and we also enjoyed some local white wine.Read more

  • Europe 🚴🚴‍♀️ 2024
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    Touring in Turin, IT 🇮🇹

    September 4, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    A rest day cruising around Turin. Cappuccinos, cafe, markets, and trying to not get hit by a car. 😂 A relaxing day, and now at a Warmshower host outside the city center.

  • Europe 🚴🚴‍♀️ 2024

    Cruising to Turin, Italy 🇮🇹

    September 4, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    5:38 / 63 miles / 2265 ft. Turin, Italy. 🇮🇹 A peaceful morning and breakfast at the hotel Cicapuy. The owner confirmed there are 6 residents of the town in the summer and 5 in the winter, with more dogs than people. 😂It was mostly sunny down hill riding to Turin. We explored the town of Susa, which became part of the Roman Empire around the late 1st century BC. We rode around a Roman amphitheater and enjoyed the Arco di Augusto. We sat for about 45 minutes having a cappuccino near the city center, and enjoyed watching other tourist and many motorcycle groups. Riding into Turin was extremely hectic, in the city does not have the best network for cyclist. When we reached the heart of the city, we stopped for a famous Italian spritz. After our cold drink filled with luscious ice cubes, we headed to our Warmshower host, Jolien’s, flat. As Jolien finished up work, we cleaned up and got ready to head out for pizza. We each had a plate sized pizza, and then went backto hit the hay early. Another beautiful day.Read more

  • Europe 🚴🚴‍♀️ 2024
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    ITALY! 🇮🇹⛰️🚴‍♀️🚴❤️

    September 2, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    5:12 / 52 miles / 6300 ft. Thanks to a route shift from Abraham way back in Barcelona, we find ourselves in a super small village called Puys, Italy. We had about a 2 mile climb of an average grade of around 10% to reach our bed and breakfast. Puys may have more dogs in town than people. It is a super peaceful, little village way up in the mountains. A lot of climbing again today. We started the day with cool temperatures and light sprinkles. We knew the day was going to be difficult so we kept our stops short. We had a bit of a longer stop for lunch and a walk around an historical part of briançon, France. We both love riding in the mountains, the cool air, the long climbs, and the fastest descents.Read more

  • Europe 🚴🚴‍♀️ 2024
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    Longer Climbs as we Approach Italy 🇮🇹

    September 1, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    4:27 / 45 miles / 5,400 ft. Mount-Dauphin, France. We are sitting in our hotel room, looking at the low clouds in the mountains, and listening to the gentle rainfall. It’s hard to believe we are slightly chilly, after a couple of days ago I thought I was going to die of heat exhaustion.Read more

  • Europe 🚴🚴‍♀️ 2024
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    A Long Day to Gap, FR 🇫🇷🚴🚴‍♀️

    August 31, 2024 in France ⋅ 🌩️ 27 °C

    6:04 / 73 miles / 4600 ft. We knew I had a long day ahead so we set the alarm for 7 AM, and were on the road with Mélanie leading us out of Manosque a bit after 8 AM. Olive trees, vineyards, and harvested lavender fields were replaced with apple and pear orchards, large, drying sunflower fields, and an occasional cornfield. With the irrigation of the orchards, we could feel the moisture level changing. Also, as we are approaching the mountains, the air is smelling better and it is a bit cooler. In the morning we had a nice little break, where a couple was singing some old time French tunes karaoke style in the town center. Lisa bought a lavender essential oil. We sat for a while and enjoyed a drinkable yogurt and a few snacks . Then our keeping our break short we pushed onward. Sisteron, FR is a beautiful town with a citadel high on the rocks and a picturesque rock mountain across the river where we could see people climbing on the steep vertical face. We had one more nice little stop at a roadside oasis and enjoyed some crisp ravioli and tourtons with various fillings such as, spinach, potato, and cheese. The owner was super excited to talk with us and treated us to a couple of free apples and a free coffee for each of us. We arrived in Gap to nicely decorated streets from the Tour de France, and stopped for a cold beverage at a small bicycle shop. After enjoying our beverages, we found out we were less than one block away from our Airbnb. We got checked in, cleaned up, secured groceries for breakfast, and then took a walk near the cathedral. Lucky we decided to take a stroll because we found a delicious pizza restaurant near the city center, and Lisa and I shared a pizza and a beer. After our dinner, we walk back to the cathedral and they had it lit up with some nice green LED lighting. A perfect day and evening! 🥰 (Had some good tailwind today. 😀)Read more

  • Europe 🚴🚴‍♀️ 2024
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    Fields of Lavender and still Recovering

    August 30, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    55 Miles / 4126 ft. Cavaillon, FR. We are still not 100% and Lisa further away than myself. We were lucky to be riding amongst huge fields of post harvested lavender fields, and the aroma was often still present. A special treat was a tractor pulling a huge stock of lavender in their wagon and we rode behind it for a km or so. It is getting more mountainous, and our eyes are always drawn to the hilltops with beautiful château or steeples. The air is still very dry, and the soil has no moisture in it. We also are intrigued by the white snails that are all over signs, plants, trees and anything they find themselves to attach to. We made it to our Warmshower hosts at 6 PM, enjoyed a delicious barbecue and lots of laughs and stories in their garden. Again, these special moments are why we enjoy these trips so much!❤️ Tomorrow is going to be a tough day, but with some help from our Warmshower hosts, they have alleviated some of the climbing and reduce the miles a bit.Read more

  • Europe 🚴🚴‍♀️ 2024

    Maybe Recovered?

    August 29, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    43 miles / 2660 ft Cavaillon, France. We asked for a late checkout from our Airbnb and got enough courage to hit the road at noon. I’d say I felt about 75% ok and Lisa about 50% or less. We rallied our energy to push on through the arid climate with 90°+ temperature. The beautiful windy roads and change landscape, along with the dry warm breeze on our skin kept us motivated to push on. Also knowing we had a Warmshower family of 8+ years waiting for us with private room, laundry, and meals provided offered more incentive to push on. We could feel the Roman empire influence of the region as we rode by many ruins. Olive orchards and vineyards are almost as frequent as Iowa corn and soybean fields. A long climb brought us to Château des Baux-de-Provence (check it out on Google it’s amazing!) We could have spent hours here, but with our late start only had about an hour. Our WS family greeted us at the home on the quiet outskirts of the town of 26,000 pop. Xavier, Bastien (17), & Joaquim (12) were perfect hosts while mom, Cécile, was away for work. A great evening of snacks, cold drinks, ratatouille, cheeses, dessert and herbal tea, was followed by a nights rest in our own private camper in their backyard. Definitely a boost to our spirits after our sickness. WS is such a special experience!Read more

  • Europe 🚴🚴‍♀️ 2024
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    Not the Rest Day we Anticipated

    August 28, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    Lisa got sick in the night and we both laid around almost the entire day. Trying to nurse our fragile stomachs back toward healthiness. A lot of vitamin beverages, an electrolyte drink mix we got from the pharmacy, yogurt, crackers and a bit of sweet bread. We did eat a bit of pasta and potato for dinner. I am at about 72 hrs since first signs of sickness and Lisa about 48 hrs. The Airbnb (part of a 13th century castle) doesn’t have A/C so we laid in the dark bedroom with the fan blowing on us 90% of the day. We forced ourselves to take a 30 minute walk in the afternoon, but that drained most of our energy. Hopefully we can ride on tomorrow.Read more

  • Europe 🚴🚴‍♀️ 2024

    Had to take the Train to Arles.

    August 27, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Too sick to move in the morning. Our Airbnb hosts were kind enough to let us stay way after check out, and help us book a train to Arles. Lisa has been my hero! It was a short ride to catch the train and then a short ride to our Airbnb, where again I collapsed into bed. Trying to get hydrated and had a bit of applesauce. Rest day tomorrow.Read more

  • Europe 🚴🚴‍♀️ 2024

    Beautiful Morning Followed by Agony

    August 26, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    62 miles / 1260 ft. Montpellier, France. A beautiful morning, followed by sickness in the afternoon. I’m not sure if it was something I ate or dehydration (most likely, the uncooked shellfish🤮). The last 5 miles took us about two or three hours to complete. Lisa took care of me while I laid curled up beside the bicycle trail vomiting . A lot of concerned bikers and walkers offered to help and brought me some cold water. This is the first time I have ever been this sick on tour. Hopefully it only lasts 24 hours (now going on 48). I should have known better than to eat raw shellfish! Lisa navigated the last 5 miles to Montpellier with me following her wheel closely. When we arrived at the Airbnb, I collapsed into the bed. Most of the later part of the day is a blur, quiet sure I had a fever. Lisa was a hero and most likely I would have need an ambulance if it wasn’t for her.Read more

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