France

Gargilesse DampierreRuth: The last two days I have been reintroduced to my thigh muscles, especially to how they feel after big climbs. The flat land that we had previously has given way to steep river valleys and bigger hills. The rewards in scenery and sights have made up well for our efforts. Yesterday we visited Gargilesse Dampierre where there is an unusual 12th century fresco of Jesus with ... Read More

Ruth: Last night it just poured again in Lignières and we were soaked to our skins walking back from town. Luckily there were enough amusements for us back at the L'Ange Blanc Chambres D'hotes while we dried out. This modern renovated ancient barn is home to a menagerie of animals. Budgies, nine cats, including a nursing mother with her five kittens, and a donkey. The ... Read More

Yesterday twice I tried to take a picture of our shadows before the clouds moved in again.  Although there were some showers we had a beautiful ride, much of it along the tow paths of various canals.Pont Canal over the d'Allier river.  A pont canal is a canal built into a bridge crossing above another river or valley.  They are remarkable examples of canal engineering.We ... Read More

Holy piss pot!  It was a category 10+ day for rain today. Meaning we were wet to the underpants and wringing the water out of our insoles with our numb and club like blue fingers. The rain stopped just as we entered the Espace Bernadette where we are staying in Nevers. It is also the resting spot of the mortal remains of Saint Bernadette of ... Read More

Auxerre to Vézelay: 53 km Vézelay to Cervon: 42 kmCervon to Premery: 42 km After our third day on the route we are managing to work out some of the kinks of jetlag and travel. The weather has been threatening and delivering some huge downpours, but we are mostly skirting the worst of it and loving each sunny break. Today was the unfortunate exception because it rained ... Read More

After three flights, a bike ride, and four trains we made it to Auxerre France, our starting point for this year's trip. The whole process was pretty long for one day, and as always, I am nursing a small pulled muscle from the train transfers. We have met up with our good friends Bruce and Marge who will ride with is for the first three ... Read More

Now that the bike is tuned up is time to pack. I am always surprised to realize how little stuff we actually need to live with. With bikes the temptation is to take more than when we were walking but we are trying to fight this.  We have managed to limit our gear to just front and back paniers with no other stuff tied on - ... Read More