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The French Ride
  • Bruce Dimon
  • Bruce Dimon

The French Ride

After a few days in Paris to shake off the jet lag, I'll rent a motorcycle for 15 days and ride through the Alps down to the Riviera and back. Read more
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  • Bruce DimonThe French RideBruce Dimon
    The hotel pool transformed with gravel and plants into an eco-friendly alternative to pool chemicals
    Mur des Fusillés (Wall of Those Who Were Shot)

    Chapelle-en-Vercors

    September 16, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    This courtyard of a destroyed farmhouse in the town of La Chapelle-en-Vercors is called Mur des Fusillés (Wall of Those Who Were Shot). It is where 16 civilians were shot as reprisal for their refusal to tell the Germans where the resistance fighters were.

    My hotel is in Chapelle-en-Vercors. Unfortunately, it's too windy and cold to take a dip in the pool. They turned their pool into a natural habitat of sorts. It started out as a regular swimming pool and they added gravel and plants to make it look like a pond. They say they don't need a whole bunch of chlorine and other chemicals to keep it clean.    Read more

  • Bruce DimonThe French RideBruce Dimon
    Named for the machine to lower logs into the valley below
    Looking towards the Combe Lavale. There's a cliff behind that fogThe explanation of the "machine"

    Col de la Machine

    September 17, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 48 °F

    On this side of the Vercors Massif are steep cliffs that were impassable until the Combe Lavale was built in the late 19th century. So what did the loggers do before then? Without a road, the loggers built a machine to lower sacks of charcoal to the valley below. They pulled on the ropes by hand and they used it until Napoleon built his Imperial Road in the early 19th century.

    When I saw the thick fog, I stopped for a coffee, hoping that it would dissipate. It didn't.    Read more

  • Bruce DimonThe French RideBruce Dimon
    Fog so thick, I could not see to be afraid.
    Zoom in to see two vans in a stand-off.One van backed towards me so the other could go.A lot of houses way down there

    Combe Lavale

    September 17, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F

    The fog did not let up until I went through the Combe Lavale. I watched two vans have a brief stand-off until the one who was closer to the start of the one-lane road backed up to the wide part. If i could have seen through the fog, I would have realized how high the road was. Scary.Read more

  • Bruce DimonThe French RideBruce Dimon
    Near Rencurel

    Near Rencurel

    September 17, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F

    I rode through scenery like this for an hour. This valley would have merited a photo every 100 yards back in the states, but here it's just more of the usual.

  • Bruce DimonThe French RideBruce Dimon
    Another pass, another picture

    Col de la Porte

    September 17, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F

    I stopped here for lunch and the serving was too big for me to finish. I did not stop to take pictures of every pass I crossed because there were so many.

  • Bruce DimonThe French RideBruce Dimon
    The ride is over at Aix-les-Bains

    End of the Ride in Aix-les-Bains

    September 17, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    I should not be melancholy in a beautiful French town on a lake in the mountains. I just returned my motorcycle to The French Ride and walked to the hotel. The riding is over. Tomorrow is a train ride and the next day is a flight home. This trip has been everything I wanted it to be. The only problem is I've been away from my wife for too long. Only two more days until I'm home.Read more

  • Bruce DimonThe French RideBruce Dimon
    A crepe and an Espresso at Café du Soleil

    The Last Night in France

    September 18, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F

    My last meal in France was in Ferney-Voltaire at this café. I had been here eating so much that I decided just to have a crepe and a cup of espresso. I savored it because who knows when I'll return to France?

    I enjoy the country and the French people. I like their passion for their culture and their enthusiasm for sharing it. Hey, I love my country but I prefer their food. I like how kind they are when they tell me my accent is good. (It's not!) Most of all, I like how different they are from Americans because I love new experiences. Vive la différence !    Read more

  • Bruce DimonThe French RideBruce Dimon

    Geneva Airport

    September 19, 2024 ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F

    I'm sitting at the gate with 2 hours to kill and nothing to entertain me but the Wi-Fi and a power outlet. I'd like to have one more cup of good European espresso but that's not going to happen. Vacation is over.

    As I munch on an expensive Swiss chocolate bar, I'm thinking about the new adventure in front of me. My job from now on is to take care of my wife and my home. Oh yeah, the dog too. It's strange that there's no employment to return to, but I certainly have a lot of jobs waiting at home. The nice thing is that those jobs are for the benefit of me and my family.    Read more

    Trip end
    September 19, 2024
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