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Cycling through France

July - September 2016
A 88-day adventure by Lisa's adventures Read more
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  • TravelerCycling through France
    Day 1

    Day 1: Train to Paris, 28km

    July 2, 2016 in France ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    It started of being a beautiful day, sun shining and Michelle and i eager to start our adventure. The first train from the hague the Brussels was perfect and easy. We dismantled the bikes on the train and put them into the plastic bags/bike bags like I was told on the phone by customer service. Then everything went wrong. The second train was thalys to Paris. We arrived early and the train manager said no. Just no. No bikes and no English and no smile. I argued obviously since this is expensive and I triple checked that I can bring a bike on this train as long as it was In a bag, which we had. He finally said yes. So we spent the next 10 minutes frantically unpacking and dismantling our bikes, I put my bike in train, grab all our bags put them in our seat go out to help Michelle with her bike and the doors close. "What are you doing???" The train steward asked me as if I was retarded. I helping get the bike on the train.... it apparently had to go on the next train, I said no it's ready let's go! No no no. That was it. The doors were not going to be opening again until Paris. We were stuck there watching in disbelief as all our possessions and my bike sit at the station for another 30 seconds, then slide away.

    After another lecture at us by the steward, who truly could not believe my stupidity, the helpful ones arrived. "Do you have your tickets? " no of course we didn't. But we were able to catch the next train to Paris which was 30 min later and they called the train manager. When we arrived In Paris i had to run to the previous train which was getting ready to go back to Brussels and all of our stuff was there, thank goodness! We spent ages just outside the station putting our bikes together properly.

    Cycling through Paris is terrible, scary, not just from cars but also pedestrians. We made our way to the Eiffel tower and decided to treat ourselves for the first 3km of riding with an ice cream; only to find our shared wallet was empty. Michelle's was empty. And so was mine. Someone had robbed our bags while they sat in our seats. We had about 300 Euro in cash, mainly because NL does not accept visa or MasterCard.

    We were obviously devastated! But kept going, we cycled for a total of 28km today to get to the warm showers host (couch surfing for cyclists! -although I still don't feel like one yet). We are with a lovely family just outside of Paris. They gave us dinner and route ideas.

    Day 2: towards orleans. It can only better right?    Read more

  • TravelerCycling through France
    Day 2

    Day 2: 45

    July 3, 2016 in France ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Our lovely host Xavier gave us breakfast and tea. We left their house around 9/930. He had helped us plan the route for today, but warned us that there was 3/4 valleys that we needed to do before it would flatten out.

    Going down hill is really fun, we got up to 45 km/hr. But it's always a bit daunting because after going down we have to go up! We would very slowly ride up the big hills, mean while the sports cyclists would overtake us at an enormous speed! It also provided motivation, have you seen their legs? ? We stopped at the top of every mountain, for water and to wait for the other. There were so many hills, With each one getting harder and harder so we decided to stop for the night in Dourdan as our host said there was a nice castle and church and Michelle wanted a pub to watch the soccer game.

    We found a campsite just out of town and rode in with empty bikes. Stocked up on food, and explored the town. I was so tired but managed to stay awake for the game, well half of it. When Michelle realised Iceland were not going to win at half time we were allowed to leave (go France!).

    To navigate, I'm doing what my friend suggested (thanks Pieterjan!), We look on the map the day before and write down the name of the little Villages we will go through and there are signs everywhere. If there is no sign we check the gps. It's been great so far!    Read more

  • TravelerCycling through France
    Day 4

    Day 3: 73km

    July 5, 2016 in France ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We had a pretty lazy start to the day. We were still tired after a hilly ride yesterday and average sleep. We left the campsite at 12 and kept heading south through the villages. It was much easier today! Less hills and less steep hills! It's so nice riding on the really small roads with no cars and just surrounded by wheat fields. We had heaps of bugs though! Tiny flying spiders and these tiny black things, they were super annoying, pretty sure we ate a few. After about 60km we were really tired with sore bums, so we stopped in one of the bigger villages.

    We asked someone about accommodation but there is nothing, not even a campsite. We were going to wild camp but could not find a place on the way. We found an air bnb place, but he didn't reply in time and I called a warm shower host that was 12km away, but he was on holidays in south France. So after a pizza (which I later regretted) we kept heading towards orleans and la Loire. We saw a few possible places for wild camping, one was in the forest, but that was quickly ruled out as we got attacked by mosquitos before we even entered. Then we rode past a hedged square in the middle of the wheat fields. I peered through the gate and it had lovely grass and an old looking house, but i could not see anyone. We pulled over just after it as there was a field of grass, a possibly for camping. Then I heard I lawn mower, someone was home! So I went to the gate, got the attention of the guy and asked if we could camp here tonight. He said his house is not very nice but yes! He welcomed us. Thank goodness, we were so tired.

    His name is Alan, super nice guy, 46 yr old carpenter. He let us take a shower and gave us something to drink. And I got to practice my French a lot so that's good :)

    When we woke up he had already left for work, but he had left a plastic bag next to our bikes! It had 2 packets of Biscuits, 2 juices, 20 Euro (we had told him about Day 1) and a bottle of water! The generosity of strangers <3    Read more

  • TravelerCycling through France
    Day 4

    Day 4: 108km

    July 5, 2016 in France ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    We left Alan's place at about 10:30, to continue heading south to the river la Loire which has a big Eurovelo route and everyone says is amazing. We stopped in the next village to have some more breakfast and get baguettes. The boulangeries are amazing! So many delicious pastries breads and cakes! We sat by a nice river and made quick friends with the local ducks. After about 20km we found the river! Not really any need for a map now for the next few days I think as it is all fully sign posted. There are many more tourers here although we are along the few going the other direction, most people are heading to Nantes, the beach.

    This bike path is amazing, almost always flat, almost always bike only. You see the river, the farms, adorable cottages, small forests. It's really nice!

    We saw a beautiful cattle in sully sur Loire. Beautiful! And i had a raspberry gelato, delicious!

    I contacted another warm shower host which we hoped to meet at 80km but she was unavailable. So we kept going to a campsite, but not in the village we were in, so again we pushed on to reach 108km and a really nice camp site! The last 20km were tough. I'm getting sick of riding (for the day) my right elbow is sore (I broke it when I was 7, so any weight makes it hurt) mostly my muscles at the back of my heels hurt. I'm going to try adjusting my seat and handle bars, maybe Google riding posture or something. My neck was also stiff! So of course after studying tropical medicine I have meningitis. Or more likely just from being in the same position all day. I never would have foreseen these problems, the furtherst i have cycled before was 24km. The joy of being novices.    Read more

  • TravelerCycling through France
    Day 6

    Day 6: 28 km

    July 7, 2016 in France ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Worst day ever, no wait that was still day 1, second worst day. I got up to go to the toilet last night, slightly bumped the pole and SNAP! It broke in half, it's only 1 year old and a pretty good one! Luckily it had a repair metal tube so I had it fixed in 10 min, but I still need to look into insurance.

    We set off from Gien, lovely city, lovely ride along the river. We saw a canal bridge over la Loire which was also engineered by Eiffel. It was bizarre but awesome. After that we continued along a canal, Michelle was a bit ahead of me when I heard something in my back wheel. I breaked but still got thrown forward into my lady bits! After a few minutes of swearing, I checked the bike, a spoke had snapped. Two nice French guys stopped, talked to me and removed the spoke. They said it does not really matter i can ride it.

    I tried to continue but something else was wrong. My gear got stuck in the spokes, that's when I realised the whole wheel had warped. I fiddled to try and fix it, Michelle eventually came back and another two French guys stopped to help. We had the bike upside down, it was rubbing on the side of the frame and the brakes. The guys tried to make it ridable for me and gave some advice. I rode it slowly for about 1 km then the gear got caught again so we pushed it 6 km to a campsite, had lunch, no one was there so we continued to the town, tourist info was closed but it had a sign for bike repair so we walked there. Up hill. It's so hot today, which is lovely but a bit much.

    Now we are waiting for the verdict. This bike repair shop is actually a mechanic. Apparently my bike has a special wheel or maybe he just does not have any here, his French is a bit tricky to understand. Hopefully he can find one, after the first 30min of waiting with no success he is trying again. If he can't find one I don't know what to do. I can't push the bike everywhere. No one knows where a bike repair shop is, anywhere. And neither does Google.

    Omg he found one! Hopefully it's a decent one. ..    Read more

  • TravelerCycling through France
    Day 8

    Day 7: 93km

    July 9, 2016 in France ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    I can't believe it has already been a week. It's gone pretty fast.

    We had an amazing sleep, in a real bed . So cheap it was only 15 Euro for both of us. We had sent two warm showers requests the night before as well. This days ride was actually really boring. The start was lovely along canals, rivers and cute houses but after the town of belleville ( which had a massive nuclear operation ) it was just weeds on both sides, straight boring path with no tree cover so like 60km in the sun, and no tiny villages to stop or tree cover. At the end we saw a little farm just of the side so wer did stop for a juice and ice cream. The highlight of the day was the farm donkey. We asked him to roll over and he did! Big applause. Then we cheered for him to roll back, and he did! Then he got up and walked away, show was over :)

    We filled the nothingness with half songs as we can never remember the full lyrics and learning French. Once again our bums were really sore at the end! My ankle is getting better just need to be careful.

    When I stop riding for a bit I get light headed and today I needed to lie down, my friend Vincent said it's because in not eating enough so I'm trying to eat more and more. The first time I laid down for a 1 min rest I laid in a bit of a prickly weed patch. After I got up it was still stinging. I had laid in stinging needles. Genius. I'm sweaty, sun screeny and now stinging all over my shoulders.

    We arrived at another campsite as warm showers people never seem to reply. It's a nice small one. We just ditched our stuff and went to the beach on the river. The previously lovely looking sand was actually a mixture of sand mud and pebble, so no where near as inviting. But the water was warm so we went swimming which was prefect after a hot hot day. I still didn't get burnt!! I was wearing a singlet top the last two days but I'll go back to exercise tops from now on as they cover more.

    Best part about this campsite (for me, for Michelle it is probably the bacon and eggs) is that some campers bought their two cats! So awesome! They are young and had loads of fun climbing the trees and playing. They even walked them a bit. My next cat is coming camping :)

    The plaque is all along la loire. We are now at around 25 I think from the beginning of the cycle track, so today we will venture back out to making it up towards the Rhone track. Because it's flatter :)    Read more

  • TravelerCycling through France
    Day 9

    Day 8: 60km

    July 10, 2016 in France ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    I'm very disappointed to realise my bike computer over estimates our distances, I'm not sure by how much exactly but I'm pretty sure it's happening, so at the end we will have to do a big Google maps plot to find our more accurate distance.

    The tent was at a slight angle last night so Michelle did not sleep very well and today her back was spasming and was painful, so we didn't go too far. The campsite offered breakfast so she loved the bacon and eggs though. I got two small orange juices for the road. I think it was the hottest day so far. The first 2/3 days of the trip were cloudy and a bit cool, but since then it's been all sun! After living in an eternal winter in the Netherlands I'm not used to this, especially cycling through the hottest part of it.

    We saw heaps of locks today, and watched one operate, they are so call and remind me of my relos in England, he taught me all about them :)

    We continued to follow the Loire all the way to the first plaque with 0. Then we found a mini paradise on the river and swam in the lovely water! So relaxing. We had to continue for another few km to get to the campsite. The last bit was tough. Sooo hot, swimmers are really uncomfortable especially when my bum is already sore.

    We have another great view of the city Nevers just across the river from the campsite. We just relaxed when we arrived, set everything up and had lunch/dinner at 5:30/6. Michelle tends to stay up later than I do so she walks around the city or just stays in the campsite. I go to bed around 930 and listen to a book or pod cast for an hour. Last night Michelle went to a theatre acrobat thing that was on in a local park as part of an arts festival, she really liked it despite not understanding anything.    Read more

  • TravelerCycling through France
    Day 10

    Day 9: 104km (73km)

    July 11, 2016 in France ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Computer says 104km, Google says 73km
    :( so annoying as it puts my perspective of distance out. But at least i know and maybe I'll find someone who knows how to fix it.

    We left earlier today! 9:30, it was so much cooler! We had a good plan, stop every quarter for a drink. The first one was in a tiny village that we almost thought had no shops! But we found the tiny boulangerie with the locals having a chat. The second stop was in decise, we found a nice restaurant on a harbour just outside of the city so decided to have Sunday lunch. We were so out of place among the well of middle aged and elderly French crowd, two smelly, sweaty Australians. The food was great, Michelle's cocktail was more of a juice though. We were tossing up a nap under a tree or a coffee to keep us going and decided on the coffee.

    We had 37km to go, but didn't find anywhere for our last drink stop so were getting really tired by the end. The last stop was burbon lancey. So happy to finally see the camping sign! I really like that the campsites around here all have an open grass place for cyclists.

    I started to talking to an older woman with gray hair, I asked her , (in French) if she was working alone. I was a bit tired, She looked really confused then I realised and corrected myself, traveling alone! She was, and had been through massive central (=mountains!). I told her we are are to ardeche and it's super hot there, she said wisely, don't worry it will cool down soon. She was right! The next day was cloudy and cool!

    We swam in the pool then watched the soccer with the most annoying children in the world taking and playing. No one scored by full time so we left. And no noise after that so we assumed Portugal won.

    The last photo is my mouth. I think I've had tonsillitis since leaving so Michelle was trying to take a picture of them. Without success    Read more

  • TravelerCycling through France
    Day 11

    Day 11: (~37km)

    July 12, 2016 in France ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We did our laundry this morning so left a bit later than usual. And we headed out with no bike track to guide us. The first thing that went wrong was the gps told us to go on a big road, lots of truck traffic so not safe at all, so after a few kms We had to replan our route, north of the highway. This part of the ride was beautiful with tiny villages and farms with adorable little French houses loaded with flowers. The only problem was there was a lack of cafes for us to take a break, but it was not too bad.

    It was getting more and more hilly, lots of ups and really fun downs. Once we were even able to cruise to the next village! Really really nice, but after a while I got tired and sore. Then the weather turned from a bit cool and cloudy, prefect cycling weather, so raining pretty hard, we had another big hill ahead so I checked the map and found the closest camp site i could, and we went right. Stopped under a bridge for a snack and drink hoping the rain would stop. But no. Continued a bit then we saw a restaurant so we had lunch and tea. They were really nice and told us about a camping area even closer! They gave good directions, so we headed back out into the rain. We passed an awesome castle!

    In the tiny town there was a tiny camping area. I asked a guy where it was exactly and he started explaining it then I realised he was English, so we switched :) they helped translate a bit and said we can go anywhere and it's free-with a new amazing toilet block! Best shower yet. The couple invited us over for a coffee or tea In the morning before we set of as they live in the village all summer l. The joys of retirement.    Read more

  • TravelerCycling through France
    Day 13

    Day 12: I don't know 40 something maybe

    July 14, 2016 in France ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    Last night the rain had stopped so we sat outside in the sun talking and eating. When we went to bed the sky was clear and a dimming blue. But an hour later it started raining again, pretty hard too. It was windy and rainy on and of all night. We left our bikes near the tent which was a bad idea as they has blown over and some of my stuff was wet.

    I have had tonsillitis since the beginning, it was really mild at the start but every morning lately is getting worse and today was no exception. So much pain and discomfort. I was a bit grumpy as i know I have to wait a day or two to see a doctor. Michelle said I was even snoring!!

    We packed up at our usual speed, had a quick soup for breaky and went to the English couple Andrew and Sue's place for coffee, and second breakfast too. They were so nice, we sat outside and talked for a while, they had an amazing view over rolling country side. Then it rained again, so we put our bikes in their shed and went to the lounge room for another coffee.

    We set of around 1pm for Mâcon. I pushed my bike up all the hard hills, I'm just to sick and tired to be bothered biking up then and it gave my bum a nice rest. There were again some awesome down hills! At the cross roads we could go only a few km more to cluny and see a doctor today or another 20 and see one tomorrow. We decided to push on, the rest was down hill anyways with bike paths. There was even an awesome tunnel! As we rolled closer we sent warm showers requests and searched campsites. We made it to the center and had a drink when one called us back!

    Benoit invited us to stay with him and his wife. His parents were also there and surprisingly spoke English. His wife was also quite pregnant, very exciting. They were lovely and let us use their kitchen for dinner and gave us breakfast. The did tell me that all doctors will be close tomorrow due to the Bastille day, so I would have to go to the hospital, or wait until Monday (another 5 days. I don't think so).    Read more

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