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  • Karen Figholland-belgium-franceTraveler
    the peacock spent most of its time in the hole in the roofGarageI wonder how many buildings this old have solar panels

    auberge le valle du sel

    June 8, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    the local "campground" was lovely - a rustic bed and breakfast in what seemed to be the ruins of a very old compound or village, with camping allowed in the yard. the cats were friendly, the chickens and peacock were loud, and the buildings were gorgeousRead more

  • Karen Figholland-belgium-franceTraveler
    I forgot to take a picture so I stole this one off the internetMe pretending I didn't have the shittiest morning everView of the cathedrale from the train station. It looked reasonably bikeable!I biked from all the way over there!

    Laon

    June 8, 2018 in France ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    After a full morning of riding in traffic, and also falling off my bike and hurting my leg a little when trying to ride on a dirt road to stay out of traffic, and getting swarmed by these tiny beetles everytime I stopped which was truly making me crazy, I was like, hey, this is supposed to be vacation. 165 miles in three days ain't nothing to be ashamed of. I bought myself lunch and a train ticket to Paris.

    There's a national railway workers strike going on so I had a few hours to kill before the next train. I decided to bike up a small mountain to see the local medieval buildings. Totally worth it!    Read more

  • Karen Figholland-belgium-franceTraveler
    Ice Dragon enjoying the view of the French countryside

    le train

    June 8, 2018 in France ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    Ice Dragon (my bike - yes, that's its name, don't laugh - never mind, it's ok to laugh, it's ridiculous) and I felt a little bad taking the train during a strike, but we had no choice. No one in France drives a pickup so we couldn't even hitchhikeRead more

  • Karen Figholland-belgium-franceTraveler
    The 1am lights. Personally I prefer the classic look

    333 miles later

    June 8, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F

    Met a couple korean girls at the hostel who were leaving soon to go see the Eiffel tower, which apparently does a mini light show at 1am. Well, I wanted to go to bed because I am the World's Worst Tourist, but I'm glad that I didn'tRead more

  • Karen Figholland-belgium-franceTraveler

    Notre Dame

    June 9, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    I'm glad I went to the cathedral in Laon because Notre Dame de Paris was PACKED and I had no interest in being in those kind of crowds.

    So instead of going inside, I stood in the square and watched people let PIGEONS land on them.

    Wtf? Do these people not have pigeons where they come from? I just kept thinking "skyrats skyrats skyrats...."    Read more

  • Karen Figholland-belgium-franceTraveler

    Ville-d'Avray, France

    June 10, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    Sundays are the best day for biking. I passed no less than THREE farmers markets and yes, I stopped at every one. Flaky, warm, buttery pain (bread) au chocolat. Delicious, crispy, burn-your-mouth hot potatoes. And, a sausage so scrumptious I forgot to take a picture.Read more

  • Karen Figholland-belgium-franceTraveler

    Not the scenic route

    June 10, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    Today was a much-needed 65 mile day of actual bikeable conditions. The first good riding day since f-ing Holland. I was on the interstate bike lane for half the time, which is about as exciting as the interstate anywhere, but it gets the job done.Read more

  • Karen Figholland-belgium-franceTraveler
    Here I am before the storm, thinking, "this is fine! "
    It was not fineAnd then it got even less fine

    Stormchasee

    June 10, 2018 in France ⋅ 🌧 75 °F

    It's been a long, long time since i saw thunderstorms of this intensity so consistently. Even though I was in a bike lane with a concrete barrier, the extreme downpour made it impossible to see, much less ride. I took refuge under a bridge and not long after, the road under the bridge started flooding. Eek!Read more

  • Karen Figholland-belgium-franceTraveler
    I want to be a pigeon so that I can live here

    Way better than Paris

    June 10, 2018 in France ⋅ 🌧 68 °F

    Ice Dragon and I made it to the Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Chartres today and it's truly one of the most magnificent things we've ever seen.

    I could actually see the spires from about 15 miles out and thought, "wow! it must be huge!"

    It is huge. It's also at the tippy top of a very, very steep hill. Enjoying a much-deserved glass of wine and crème brûlée. We hit the 400 mile mark today!    Read more

  • Karen Figholland-belgium-franceTraveler

    chartres at night

    June 10, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    Because of the downpour I got into chartres much later than intended. And because of the downpour, I got to see chartres at night. They have projectors all over the city making their already beautiful city look - unbelievable.Read more

  • Karen Figholland-belgium-franceTraveler
    I rode through this. And then a car followed me....
    Rode through this, too. Whatever, I was already soaked through

    Another day, another downpour

    June 11, 2018 in France ⋅ 🌧 61 °F

    I have to admit that by yesterday night I was getting really f-ing tired of the rain. It lasted for more than 24 hours straight. It was there when I went to sleep on Sunday (I camped in the very corner of my site because it had already rained several days and was starting to flood), ALL day and night on Monday, heavy - to the point that I didn't make all my miles due to starting late (hoping to wait it out. Didn't happen).

    AND THEN, it was still raining in the morning. I don't have a lot of pictures because my phone was in a plastic bag most of the day. But I grabbed a couple that felt necessary...    Read more

  • Karen Figholland-belgium-franceTraveler
    Pretty sure this is not a campground?
    Where I "slept"/spent a cold and uncomfortable night after the same kind of day

    Are we having fun yet?

    June 11, 2018 in France ⋅ 🌧 61 °F

    After a long and miserable day of very wet riding, i followed google maps to the municipal campground. Which, was not the municipal campground, but this alley. My god, if there's anything to break your spirit at the end of a day, it's when you think you're there and - you're not. I flagged down a runner, who gave me directions in very fast french. I found it eventually, but it was raining so hard I couldn't even set up my tent, and I spent the night in the camp shower shelter area.Read more

  • Karen Figholland-belgium-franceTraveler

    Baguettes

    June 12, 2018 in France ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    In many ways it's amusing how much france is a stereotype of itself. People are carrying baguettes and eating croissants on the street everywhere you go. I've eaten - I don't know exactly - but AT LEAST one entire baguette every single day. I don't know what baguette to mile ratio is appropriate, but I suspect that mine is heavily skewed towards the baguette.

    Some towns are too small to sustain their own bakery. In one town I was in, the regional bread truck comes every morning to sell to all the small villages. This town has a freaking baguette VENDING MACHINE, filled daily by the baker in the next town over.    Read more

  • Karen Figholland-belgium-franceTraveler
    The countryside was amazing. My photography skills, not so much
    I was in such disbelief when the rain stopped that i kept my rainjacket on for hours

    First flat, hills, more rain, more hills

    June 12, 2018 in France ⋅ 🌙 57 °F

    Well, I woke up on my sad bathroom bench and instead of being miserable, I was just - angry. I was like FUCK YOU, ENDLESS RAIN. YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING ELSE TO ME.

    I was already miles behind. I was already out of dry warm clothes and socks. My shoes had been dripping for days. My feet were beyond raisiny. I hadn't really slept. I may have been having some sort of adrenaline-based survival reaction to it all. So I was like, I DON'T CARE. COME AT ME, WEATHER.

    And then the rain was like "okay, madame, if you insist." It continued through the morning.

    And then I got a flat tire. I walked half a mile to the next driveway so I could fix it off the road. And I fixed it. And it kept raining. And I kept riding. It was hills, all day. Up and up and up and up.

    Eventually, the rain stopped. And I made it, and more. After 95 miles, on a day where 90% of my time or so was spent climbing at 4 or 5 miles an hour, I am back on schedule.    Read more

  • Karen Figholland-belgium-franceTraveler

    Going over the maps

    June 13, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F

    Only just over 200 miles to go. I've made it to Brittany, a region in France known for its cycling (and its unpredictable weather...but today - sunshine!)

    They gave me no less than four cycling maps when I got to the tourism office (city, county, region, and one of the specific path I'm following). I'm just like, the ocean is west, right?Read more

  • Karen Figholland-belgium-franceTraveler
    I'm really relishing riding between 7 and 10pm. All the daylight, none of the traffic
    Riding into the 11pm sunsetI stole this from the interweb. The Louison Bobet watertowerAnother mediocre picture of the beautiful landI REALLY needed dry socks

    The Angel of Châteaugiron

    June 13, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F

    I was discouraged from having wasted the morning charging my phone (and myself. electricity for the phone, french pastries pour moi) only to find that my "easy" day of trail riding was going to be another long day of road riding due to flooded trails, when a cyclist in spandex and a fast bike scared the living daylights out of me, whizzing past with a quick "Bonjour!" As they do here.

    Yes, we all know that I startle easily, and this guy felt so bad about it he turned around and apologized.

    Naturally, the conversation turned to "so....where are you going?" as it does, when you have socks drying on your saddlebag. And we spent a lovely 10 miles at a quick 13mph sharing cycling stories. He rides 30km (18 miles) each way to work, every day, even in the winter. I told him what i was doing, and that I was worried I wasn't going to make it.

    This random man, he told me, "you can do it. I did the Paris-Brest-Paris ride. I am not young or a competitive cyclist. You can get there. Courage!"

    Paris-Brest-Paris is a famous annual race where a shocking number of people do what is going to take me a week - TWICE. Without stopping, basically. He did it in 72 hours and slept once a day for one hour. So, here was a real, live, crazy person telling me I could do it.

    And honestly, it helped.

    My destination was a small town only known for being the hometown of famous French cyclist, Louison Bobet. And in a way that I've never really needed before - because I don't think I've ever attempted anything this ambitious - I drew on the inspiration from my new friend of a mere 10 miles of my life, and of the ghost of a cyclist I'd never heard of before to get me 65 miles to Saint-Méen-le-Grand.    Read more

  • Karen Figholland-belgium-franceTraveler
    Jaffa

    The Saint of Saint-Méen

    June 13, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    Well, I lasted, oh, 3 miles or so before I got tired of the trail. It was heavily damaged due to flooding (have I mentioned the rain?). My tires were spinning out. I was getting nowhere fast. Back to the country roads for me. I arrived at my destination quite late. I walked into the only open bar and, as always, the small crowd of people interrogated me in the friendliest way possible. "You're riding HOW MUCH? BY YOURSELF?!"

    This ain't my first rodeo, and I've learned that when people offer you a spare bed or couch, you should probably say yes. Especially if they have a dog that likes to play soccer.

    My gracious host took me in at 11pm, brought me coffee and a croissant in the morning, and sent me on my way.

    Bike trips have a way of connecting people in ways that are rare in day to day life. You leave with an everlasting impression of kindness and hospitality, and usually without any way to ever thank, much less see, them again.    Read more

  • Karen Figholland-belgium-franceTraveler
    These trails are old converted train tracks, with all the accompanying old stationsApricot tarte. I wonder what it's like to not eat French pastries every day

    Loudéac, France

    June 14, 2018 in France ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    I decided to check out the trail again, hoping it would be dried out enough. It was, and I spent a blissful, meditative 75 miles rolling through the french countryside, sometimes singing along loudly to music, sometimes enjoying the silence. Occasionally i popped into whatever tiny town was nearby for a snack or water

    It's been a very long time since I challenged myself this much. Even on a straight, flat, trail, 75 miles is a lot. I've been riding almost non-stop since Sunday, taking breaks for sleep and wine, but to cover all the miles I really need to push, not relax. I can feel my brain rewiring itself. It's like, "is this all there is to life now?"

    And, the thing is, for now, yeah, it kind of is. And it makes me feel a little crazy, the lack of company and the lack of every-day tasks. In a way it feels like a sensory deprivation chamber. In another way, my senses feel overloaded.

    Sometimes I wonder why I do this. Like, when it's raining and I'm cold and tired and have to sleep on the ground. It's not because it's fun. It's just because it feels like living.    Read more

  • Karen Figholland-belgium-franceTraveler

    Last campsite

    June 14, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    It just didn't seem worth it to set up the tent when I really only wanted to rest for a few hours before setting out on my last day as early as possible. Luckily, rural bus stops make great napping spots! It was very cozy and there weren't even any spiders 👍Read more

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