Reset search
Holly and KarlHolly and Karl
SatelliteEdit route
We are a cycling & adventuring couple, turned family, with our 4-year old daughter now along for the ride. We enjoy adventures around our home in Whitehorse, Canada, and discovering the rest of the world by bicycle. Check out our photos & stories! Read more Whitehorse, Canada
  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike Travels
    Day 83

    Wine, Mustard and Crême Brulée

    June 26, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    We said our goodbyes to Elodie, Julien and the kids, with the hopes that we will see them next in the Yukon! It was great to catch up and share some fun moments together, and Claire absolutely loved her time with Clémentine. We had a short ride to Dijon and then were catching the train to Paris - the end destination! While we could have ridden all the way over the span of another week, we preferred to have the time to visit with many different friends in Paris. Our ride took us through the heart of wine country in Bourgogne, and we got to see all the treatments and tools used in the vines. In Dijon we made sure to visit the chouette de Dijon for good luck taking our bikes on the train again. We were relieved to get to use an escalator instead of stairs to access the train platform, then were able to secure a good place for the bikes on the train, but the air conditioning wasn't working in our train car so it was a long sweaty ride to Paris. We found ice cream to cool down on the short cycle from the train station to Vincennes, where we were staying in Jean-Paul and Claude's appartment during our time in Paris, and were lucky to get to catch up with Claude as she was in town for the night. We celebrated our arrival in Paris with a nice dinner, complete with a trio of creme brulé for dessert. Then, as the last segment of our multi-part day, Claude offered to babysit Claire, so we headed back out for a mini night tour of Paris in the neighborhoods around La Bastille.Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike Travels
    Day 82

    Wine Tasting in Bourgogne

    June 25, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We've been intentionally learning about local foods as we've pedalled around France, and Bourgogne was certainly the place to learn more about wine. Julien provided a good initial introduction, as he works to make software for viticulturers. We talked about the protected appelations for wine, the specificity of each region, grape variety and parcel of land, and disease-resistance of the vines. Of course we also wanted to go to a tasting to see for ourselves. Luckily, while we were in Arcenant one of the local domaines, La Domaines Les Cocotes, had an open house and so we were able to talk directly to the viticulturer about her vineyards and taste a whole range of wines. Claire needed some rest after the short nights and big days, and when she woke up from her nap it was scorching hot. The logical activity was heading back to La Source in the cool forest to play in the creek, and we were lucky to find some friends to play with in the cold water. For dinner Julien and the boys fired up their spiffy portable wood-fired pizza oven and we enjoyed delicious homemade pizzas for our last night together.Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike Travels
    Day 81

    History and a Vertical Playground

    June 24, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Elodie had a full day planned for us on Saturday, with a tour of Beaune, an outdoor festival and a concert. We headed to Beaune in their two electric vehicles, arriving in time to enjoy the market and pick up some local cheese and fruit. After some city wandering, including along the historical ramparts, we decided to visit the Hospice de Beaune to get a look at the impressive decorated roofs and learn about the history of the renowned hospital. We weren't sure how interested the girls would be, but to our surprise with the help of the audio guides they were the most captivated of us all and made sure we stopped at each info station right up to the end of the visit. From Beaune we headed to Noley for Côté Splash, a festival of bouldering, ziplining, slacklining and yoga at the edge of the lake. We enjoyed all the activities, as well as frequent swims throughout the hot afternoon. We returned to Arcenant in time to catch the first concert hosted in the town, as part of the Journée de la Musique - a fun end to a busy day.Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike Travels
    Day 80

    Foot Patrol

    June 23, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    With another hot day ahead, we set out early for a different type of adventure - on foot - around the town of Arcenant. We walked up through the town, through the 'haute côte' (~ high hill) vines, along the cliffs of Arcenant and down through the forest along a small creek back to town. With some coaxing Claire walked the entire 8 km loop, although we did some running races on the uphill sections to add motivation. On the cliffs we climbed into the Trou du Duc, a small cave under the viewpoint. As the day warmed up the sunny sections became stifling; in contrast the refreshing coolness of the forest was a relief from the heat at the end of the hike. After another restful napping/lounging afternoon, we headed to Clémentine's school for an end of year gathering showcasing the environmental and cultural studies the classes had been doing. This included learning about the historical 'lavoirs', or washing houses. We enjoyed crepes for dinner with raspberries from the garden for dessert. And then Claire and Clémentine had a 'sleep-over', although we later learned it didn't involve quite enough sleeping!Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike Travels
    Day 79

    Arrival in Arcenant

    June 22, 2023 in France ⋅ 🌧 20 °C

    We left Dole on bike trails, the EuroVelo 6 - La Loire à Vélo, and made surprisingly good time to Saint-Jean-de-Losne. There we filled up on day-old pastries, and left behind canal trails for farm roads as we crossed wheat fields, spotted our first fields of sunflowers and some unidentified varieties of peas. We encountered some rainstorms as we crossed the plains, but managed to find shelter at opportune moments. We crossed into vine-land and entered the town of Nuits-Saint-George, where we had lunch and explored the cobblestone streets. We had just 10 km more and a small climb to reach Arcenant, where we were meeting up with Elodie, the last of Françoise and George's daughters left to connect with, her partner Julien and children Sasha (14 years old), Robin (12), and Clémentine (7). We arrived in the heat of the day and retreated to nap/rest in the cool house while kids were at schools and parents were working. Claire was thrilled when Clémentine came home from school and they were quickly in princess dresses, singing Elsa songs and comparing stuffies - fast friends! Meanwhile, Julien and Elodie, who have been twice to Holly's parents cottage in Ontario, had questions over dinner about the Yukon and our wildlife, as Julian is a keen and talented photographer.Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike Travels
    Day 78

    Music in Dole

    June 21, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    We had a short ride from Arbois to Dole, and some of the straightest roads of the trip. The last 20 km were along a rail-trail that traced a straight line to Dole, and Holly actually put on a podcast to spice up the ride. We picnicked on an island in the Doubs River, also swimming in the surprisingly warm water, before arriving at Warmshowers hosts Laure and Fabrice's home, where we were staying in a small garden cabin. Since it was Solstice, and in France la Journée de la Musique, we joined Laure and Fabrice for their daughter Zélie's choir concert, then wandered around the old city, past Louis Pasteur's home and along beautiful canals, listening to other pop-up street concerts. We had a fun pizza dinner with the whole family - including Anouk (19 years old), Timothé (17) and Zélie (11) - and learned about their 6-month bike journey through South America 7 years ago, when Zélie was 5 (about Claire's age), and many trips since. Certainly Laure and Fabrice understood the ups and downs of travelling by bike with children, and had some great nuggets of wisdom to share. We hadn't planned on using Warmshowers so much in this last part of our trip, but since we had very much enjoyed making the connections when we started getting hosted again in Switzerland, we continued to seek out wonderful hosts to add to the richness of our experience as we approached the end of our trip.Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike Travels
    Day 77

    Coming Down

    June 20, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    It was a mostly downhill ride from La Cluse-et-Mijoux to Arbois, but the headwind certainly made the riding more challenging mentally. After we passed Pontarlier we were on very rural roads, and eventually on forest roads between hamlets. We were surprised at how flat and rolling this part of the Doubs and Jura were. We descended a last steep hill to Arbois and the mid-afternoon heat at valley bottom hit us like a ton of bricks. We were camping on a farm just outside of Arbois set up for guest stays, and once we had the tent set up in the shade it was hard to motivate ourselves to move! Finally we cycled into the town centre to pick up groceries, then explored some waterfalls our hosts had recommended - the frigid water was so refreshing on a hot day! After quite a few late nights, we ate and got to bed early, catching up on precious sleep. In the morning we enjoyed a lovely breakfast with our hosts, Patrick and Bénédicte, former cyclists and adventurers, who had walked from central France to Israel with a horse and cart and two toddlers when their now-adult children were young!Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike Travels
    Day 76

    Appéro with Absinthe

    June 19, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    We were expecting a hot day, so rolled out of Erlach fairly early. We rode along Lac de Neuchâtel, now back in the French speaking part of Switzerland, then up away from the lake through the Gorges de l'Areuse and further up the Areuse River to Val-de-Travers. We were on a mission to spend our last Swiss Francs so enjoyed some pastries and rivella before discovering a nice outdoor pool just outside of Fleurier where we spent a couple hours during the hot afternoon. We had one last short but very steep climb, then crossed back into France and the Rhône River watershed. Once again we were welcomed into the home of a cycle touring family in La Cluse-et-Mijoux thanks to Warmshowers. We had a great evening with Jean-Charles and Beatrice and their three daughters Gabrielle (16 years old), Marion (14), and Suzanne (9) sharing stories about bike touring, outdoor adventures and Yukon fauna, as well as getting to taste the typical meat (saucisse de Morteau), cheese (Comté, Morbier, Cancoillote) and alcohol of the area, which included absinthe!Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike Travels
    Day 75

    Swiss Connection

    June 18, 2023 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    We enjoyed a delicious breakfast with Bubu, Haci and Ronya - with a bit of Swiss and a bit of Turkish fare. It was a good start to the day, as it was Holly's birthday! We said our goodbyes after such a lovely visit, then headed along more excellent bike trails out of the city. We had a short ride following the Aare River, and a refreshing swim in Wohlensee before rolling into the village of Erlach. Here we were connecting with our Whitehorse Swiss friend Crispin's brother Damian, along with his wife Myriam and their two children Laurin (almost 5 years old) and Anik (2). Despite a slow start given the language difference, Claire, Laurin and Anik had the best of times together and we walked around Erlach and visited viewpoints, playgrounds and fountains (including for a swim). We got the kids to bed relatively early, then enjoyed pastries and wine to celebrate Holly's birthday. We enjoyed fun chats about the differences between life in Switzerland and Canada, as both Damian and Myriam had spent quite a bit of time in Canada over the years, and about our adventures with Crispin.Read more

  • Holly and KarlBaguette Bike Travels
    Day 74

    Biking in Bern

    June 17, 2023 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    We had fun getting guided by Maria and the boys for the first 5 km of our ride out of Spiez. We then enjoyed rolling through forested paths to the town of Thun. More well-developed bike trails took us to Bern as we followed the vibrant turquoise waters of the Aare River. Despite the cobblestone streets, we had fun exploring the old city centre by bike and were impressed by all the cyclists and the variety in cargo and kid-carrying bikes. We had organized another Warmshowers stay in Bern, and were thrilled to meet Bubu, Haci and their 3-year old daughter Ronya. Bubu lived in New York for 7 years while in university so she spoke excellent English, while Haci had emigrated from Turkey to Switzerland and only spoke high German - perfect for Karl to get a break and get to talk in English, and Holly to find the German she learned 25 years ago while on exchange in Berlin, tucked away in the back of her head behind the other languages learned since then... With the hot weather, Bubu and Haci took us to an outdoor pool by their appartment, apparently the largest outdoor public swimming pool in Western Europe. And to travel in comfort, Holly got to try their e-bike to pull Claire in a Chariot! Bubu cooked us up a feast of delicious Turkish dishes, the girls tried to escape bedtime (such similar characters!) and we chatted late into the night about bike touring, immigration, languages, and politics - all in all it was a great day!Read more

Join us:

FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice
  • English