JULIEN - 08-SEP

 

Riding Day Two. We are on a roll!

A dying tree with symmetrical branches. Worthy of a photo. 

All our roads are D something. We became very fond of the D47. And the D50. And the D703, And the ...

Yes Virginia - there is a river here. 

Kim crests the top of the climb. Cycling ecstasy. 

We passed by many times but managed to avoid a visit. With over 1000 castles in the region we are very selective where we tour.

Yup. Montfort in the distance. 

Regional map with winding river along southern perimeter. Many of our rides will wander through the shady green forests over hill and dale. 

Road to Domme - the place we want to be. 

Black Périgord let us remember. Place of significant battle between Nazi occupiers and local resistance fighters. 1943.

One of many pastry and coffee stops. Remember in France you ride to eat, not eat to ride. 

 

Although I am constrained to limited content the following two photos requires a detailed explanation:

In planning for this trip to France I perused YouTube extensively for videos about France, in particular, travelogues to the areas we plan to visit. There is a channel I followed posted by Darlene Lavett about her relocation from Brisbane, Australia to the Dordogne region of France. Darlene and Shaun decided that they needed to write the next chapter in their young lives (50 and 57 respectively) which we can personally relate (the start of our African adventures). They purchased a property in Daglan with extensive main and out buildings on an expansive plot of land walking distance to Centre Ville. This is a passionate labor of love which we can also relate to in our younger years. Although the house and furnishings were livable they decided to make it their own creation. Not something we would consider at our stage in life but what we might have done back in our fifties. Along with their physical commitment to making it their future home they are also committed to learning the language and assimilating into this rural French community. I have viewed many similar stories of "ex pats" pursuing a new life in France. There are pockets of them throughout rural France and within the major cities, but they are predominately English speaking islands within the sea of native born French. 

I contacted Darlene and asked if we could visit them and tour their property, and in the French style we brought two bottles of Champagne to lubricate our friendship. Their story is amazing. Having left their home half a world away to pursue their "new beginning". We had more things to talk about than time would permit but hopefully this will be the "start of a beautiful friendship" (Humphrey Bogart to Claude Raines in the last scene in the movie Casablanca). 

A photo of the main house. We will take more photos after their extensive renovations the next time we pass this way.

Alan, Kim, Darlene & Shaun

JULIEN - 07-SEP

Our first ride after tedious travel days. Good to be back on the bikes again hoping our legs remember the way. 

Home away from home for our first stop in rural Dordogne region. 

Local boulangerie. Just down the road from our Airbnb. Close and convenient but not as good as ones we will discover in the many towns we will visit.

Go right, go left. Any direction will do. 

Welcome to a place we did not expect to visit. 

Welcome to Souillac. Rotary displays are an added bonus. 

Let's see. You press this, push that, tap here. Iphones are still a mystery.

Local fauna worthy of a photo.

Quiet road, gentle climb, little traffic, cycling heaven.

Guess your best. The glasses are a give away but the picture is a mystery. 

Alan leading the way and not lost yet. Miracle of GPS cycling computers. 

Montfort... a familiar landmark we will pass many times along our way.

Made it back to our village without a wrong turn. Early success is always a surprise. 

Dinner on the patio following our first riding day. Paella with assorted sea food. Mussels (moules) for me and shrimp for Kim. Prepared foods are abundant in the larger markets making for culinary delights without preparation and fuss.

 

Ready, Set, Go

Packing the bikes is critical to insure they arrive in rideable condition.

All the tubing is wrapped in foam, the handlebars are detached and secured, and derailleur is unscrewed for additional protection.

Placing the wheels is critical to avoid damaging the brake disks.

We pack soft stuff (clothes, etc.) to fill the gaps.

On goes the cover and box is taped closed although we know that TSA will open the box for inspection. 

All the bags and bike boxes fit into our Subaru for drive to the Denver airport.

Waiting for pickup van to terminal

Getting checked in is a three person task to insure all luggage tags are sending bikes to Paris, France, not Paris, Georgia.

We wave goodbye and pray that they will follow us all the way to France.

Happiness is seeing that the bikes made it to Dulles for transfer to Paris flight.

We installed Apple Airtags in both bikes to track them should they be stolen, a good protection considering their value. Actually, we have two in each bike; the first in an obvious place should the thief be looking to remove and avoid tracking. The second is in a concealed location that a thief would not look for thinking they had already found and discarded any Airtags.

Off to the lounge for several glasses of bubbly waiting for our next flight.

Dinner before boarding makes more sense so we can get maximum sleep before landing seven hours later.

Glad to see that the plane is going to Paris where we want to go. So far, so good!

It is a long walk to the terminal so moving walkway speeds the process.

Ultimate happiness is all the bags and people arrive undamaged at CDG airport. 

Waiting for the shuttle to take us to car pickup. 

The car was waiting (new Peugeot SUV with 2KM and full tank of petrol). Everything fits inside so OFF WE GO. Let the adventure begin.

Lunch along the way on our five hour drive to overnight stop.

Before heading to first Airbnb location a quick stop for provisions.

When one bottle will not do we consider a full case. Our drink of choice but out of our budget. 

At the checkout we hope we did not miss any of the essentials. 

Kim cross checks missing items. 

Essentials - check. Other stuff not so important. 

Add about 10% for US dollars. 

Perfect way to start our eating and biking adventure. 
VIVA LA FRANCE

CHEERS !!!

 

Planning Basics - Things to Know

 Planning Basics

Many followers of our previous trips have asked about the planning methods we use. We will be traveling for six weeks so the logistics becomes critical that everything is dealt with before we leave. 

Locations and lodging: Once we select the general area we use Google Maps and various biking sites to insure that we can find rides that fit our criteria such as road quality, scenic value, and terrain suitable for our aging biking legs. We also try to incorporate local attractions that we can either access along our biking routes or drive to on non-biking days.

We use Airbnb exclusively to locate the houses. This is a tedious process finding the ones that meet our criteria including King bed or twins we can move together. Since European bed classifications (King, Queen, Twin) are variable we confirm the actual measurements with the host. Additionally we want a toilet on the same level as the bedroom. The house must have a  washer (dryer optional but a plus), dishwasher, and well equipped kitchen. No spiral staircase for us. We try to avoid a lot of outside stairs. 

Price is a minor consideration since we are comfortable with the smaller places with most rentals in the range of $100-$150 per night. 

Our Modis operandi is to breakfast and dinner in. This is because we are mostly in remote rural locations which requires limiting night driving. The roads are narrow and windy that are challenging for my aging eyes. This also precludes drinking and driving which conflicts with our five o'clock ritual of cocktails and munchies - a daily absolute. Dinners are simple especially if we have indulged in our passion for charcuterie with baguette accompaniment. We try to enjoy lunch out on our rides.     

Bikes: The most challenging aspect is traveling with our own bikes. This guarantees that we have bikes that are comfortable and reliable. Renting would be a logistical nightmare which would require that we could find comparable bikes at a convenient pick up and drop off location. Also, it would be a disaster if we got to the rental shop only to find out that the bikes we requested we not available. Lastly, the daily cost for comparable bikes would be close to the cost of buying a new bike over there. 

Transporting: The trick to this task is to get these:

Alan's Bike

Kim's Bike

Into this: Bike Box Collapsed

Which looks like this when fully packed.

 

Bike Box Packed

We have been using these cardboard boxes from BikeShipper.com. Their major advantage over extruded hard sided plastic carriers is that we can break them down and easily transport them from location to location in the back of the vehicle. Like origami they unfold into a rigid box which is as sturdy as traditional carriers as long as the baggage handlers keep them upright and don't run over them with a forklift. 

You will notice all the tape the TSA used to seal the box after inspection. They have opened both boxes on each flight and left a love note stating "TSA Has Been Here". We are careful not to pack any contraband only newspaper and assorted clothing. 

Before putting the bike in we turn the handle bars, remove the pedals, the seat post, both wheels, and wrap the frame with foam plumbing insulation. The wheels go in the box but the seat and post are shipped in another bag. After four round trip shipments we are using new boxes on this trip. 

Car rental 

An essential factor in making the whole process work is transportation. Unlike bike touring where you, your bike, and all your stuff travel together we transport ourselves by car. On our first trip back in 2016 we were introduced to a fantastic car rental service. It is available in most countries in western Europe, especially France and Italy. The service is an outgrowth of Peugeot.  Actually, you purchase a vehicle that is delivered to you at the airport with only 5 KM. The only requirement is that the rental period is 21 days or longer. Even though you are presented with an ownership title the only money that is paid is the daily charges. Our first four rentals were a minivan which is no longer available so this trip we selected a seven passenger SUV. It will not be as versatile but hopefully spacious enough to transport all our bags and two fully assembled bikes. Transit days traveling between locations will pose the greatest challenge and will probably require taking all four wheels off in order to get the bikes in. Driving from our houses to a ride starting point will be easier without the luggage but may still require a bit of finagling. Oh well, it is all part of the adventure. 

The rental rate this year is about $68 per day which is still much less than other options and we get a new car to boot. Here is the link for the service: https://www.autofrance.net/

Food & Libations

France is an eating and drinking paradise. It is hard to decide which keeps us coming back. The food or the riding. In the end "we ride to eat, not eat to ride". This means that we are passionate about pastries, bread, wine and bubbly, an endless variety of pate, cheese, salami, sausage, and everything in between. Beyond the beautiful scenery and pastoral cycling routes is the ability to indulge and keep our weight under control. A perfect combination to extend our health span and enjoy the pleasures that eating provides.