It is Thursday evening, about 10.30 pm, and the sun is just dropping below the horizon. After a wonderful dinner (lamb again!!) at a restaurant on the edge of the canal less than 200 yards from our B and B, Dale and I broke down the bikes and packed them away, ready for the flight tomorrow. And I am now sitting in the kitchen with a glass of wine, savoring the last moments of light and a cool breeze, and it seems like a good time to pen a few final words about our experiences.
Last night, we stayed in a marvelous little hotel in the center of Brugge, and we had a chance to walk around last afternoon and evening. Brugge is a very well-preserved and renovated city that is, I am sure, to some tastes a bit artificial and a tourist trap (home to lots of lace shops), but I found it more charming than that - maybe the excellent beers and one of the best bouillabaisses I've ever had contributed to my good feelings, but the town center, collected around several small squares, flares off in many directions down narrow cobbled streets and provides lots of strolling possibilities. It is apparent that the cultivated medieval look of the center is preserved by deliberate social decisions, and the town does look as if it has been lifted from one of those Dutch and Belgian paintings of the middle ages. It doesn't look quite as naturally quaint as Chartres, but it does a fairly good job.
Today, another longish drive (120+ miles) to Amsterdam, and the place where this adventure
started a month a go. We were welcomed warmly by Suzanne and the two dogs, and spent a pleasant afternoon wandering and packing. Tomorrow morning, we take the trusty van back, and go to the airport.
We've driven some 1,500 miles in the last month, and done some 900 miles on the bikes, circling Netherlands, Belgium and France. And while I do feel proud of the distances we've covered, since we've expended a few calories and dealt with a few challenges, it's been the people we've met and the hospitality we've encountered and the enthusiasm for our goals that those people have shown that has so impressed me. Before this trip, I had been through Paris and Amsterdam a few times on my way to other countries, but I had never spent any time outside these cities, and certainly not wandering through the countryside. What amazing things we have experienced: the Dutch cycle road system, surely a model for any flat urban and suburban area that is choked with cars; the Belgian beers and rolling countryside, but the depopulation of small villages in agricultural areas; the endless rolling hills of eastern France, small towns and villages (if it doesn't have a boulangerie, then it's not fit to be called a village - that's the Pepper rule); the slopes and foothills of the Alps in the Lake Geneva area, with its chalets and pretty villages; the appearance out of the blue of Sistenon, a jewel hidden from view; the Alpine stages with their multiple climbs, cowbells and greenery; the savage steepness of the Pyrenees, with climbs wending their way under ski runs and lifts; the feeling that we missed so much with our short trip to Bordeaux - what a trip a separate visit to Bordeaux and the Pyrenees would make; the majesty of Chartres; and the bustle and endless delights of Paris (even if the Louvre chose to be closed on the only day we had available to see it).
And, as we did our daily runs, we knew that there were people back in the States looking at our progress, and there were times when that knowledge kept me going. When the climb got particularly steep, I could feel hands on my back pushing me upwards, and for that support I am grateful. And I am more than grateful for Dale and Gwen inviting me to join their adventure - Dale's advertising of what it would be like was pretty effusive, but it underestimated what it has been like. And I am grateful for Ann, my wife and David and Allison, my children letting me take this time to do the trip, and for encouraging me to get out there and do my training runs. Less than a year ago, I had to have surgery on my left knee to repair cartilage from a soccer injury, and this trip and the preparatory work I did to rehab the knee has turned out to be the best possible therapy - therapy with a goal is so much better than therapy alone.
So thanks to all who have visited the blog, and Dale and I will have to think what entertainment we can put together for the future - anyone for a bike ride across America? Or maybe cycling over the Himalayas?
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
The last few days: Tourmalet, Chartres and Paris - by Roy
As Dale and Gwen have already documented, the last few days have been spectacular. Flexibility of planning has been the hallmark of this trip, and our willingness to change our plans on a daily basis has enriched our experiences in many ways.
It was a bit of a "no-brainer" for us to spend one day only in Pau and to return to Les Terraces for an additional two days, even though it meant driving west for 100 miles, and then back 100 miles to the East. Toll roads cost money in this country, but they do save a lot of time, especially since France seems to have discovered a fascination for constructing roundabouts every mile or so on non-motorway roads. So we zipped back to the middle of the Pyrenees and met Vincent of Les Terraces again. On Friday, Dale and I, faced with a cloudy and chilly day, drove up to the Col d'Aspin, and found ourselves surrounded with low cloud and fog, and we returned to our lodgings for a quiet day.
Dale can read me pretty well, and his blog captures accurately my ambivalence about the Col de Tourmalet. I wanted to do it - badly, but I didn't want to try to do it and fail, not so much because it would be my failure, but more because it might prevent Dale from doing it. You should realize that our experience with Col d'Aspin had shown how desolate the hill was - no people, no houses and just bare mountain, and you can imagine people getting into real trouble on the mountain. And we believed that the Tourmalet was just as bad, so a change in weather could be tricky.
However, what I had misjudged, I think, was the extent to which the earlier HC and category 1 rides had strengthened our legs. So, on Saturday, after our morning at the farmers' market, all four of us set out for the Tourmalet. As we drove over the Col d'Aspin, the sun broke through the clouds, which quickly were whisked away. We arranged for Gwen and Fran to meet us at the top of this 20 km climb with average grade of 9% or so, and started climbing. And we found that there were lots of cyclists climbing with us - most of them climbed faster than us, but then I think most were a few years or decades younger than us. Absolutely amazing feeling when I realized a couple of km into the ride that we were perfectly capable of doing the climb without walking any part of it, and when we reached the top, I was on top of the world. I quickly decided that I would let Dale go off and do his crazed descent on his own - he had given up the chance on the previous HC descent to escort me with my bad tire, and he needed at least one chance to let it rip. So I rode down the other side with Gwen and Fran, marveling at the scenery - stark, steep, and menacing, so much more so than the Alps, which seem softer even if higher. Tough people live in the Pyrenees. (And as I rode down, I said a little "thank you" to Kirk, my mechanic from Performance Bikes in Tysons Corner for having prepped my bike so well that the machine was able to handle the stress and strain of the climb -and the cumulative stresses of the previous legs - thanks again, Kirk, you have some work to do when I get back.)
So, a wonderful climax to the trip in terms of cycling - to have had the chance to do the Tourmalet is wonderful, and all thanks to Dale for organizing it and including me.
So, on to Bordeaux, where we stayed in a modern hotel carved out of a warehouse and located steps away from the most impressive urban rail system I've yet seen. It ferried us down to the waterfront, where we had a good meal, and lamented the fact that we couldn't stay for more days. But Bordeaux is a place to re-visit, especially since it would put us close to the Pyrenees again.
And so to Chartres. 250 miles north, along an excellent toll road (no roundabouts again!!!), and some sensation as to how many miles we had come since Amsterdam. France is a big place. Dale and Gwen have captured the beauty and magnificence of Chartres in ways that my words can't, and I won't try, except to say that walking around its old, beautifully preserved buildings reminded me of Gormenghast, the fictional capital of a mysterious world created by Mervyn Peake in the 1950s in his Titus Groan trilogy - a world apart, a world that has kept its identity as others change theirs, and a sense of awesomeness and scale that reduces the size of the individual while making you feel part of a bigger and transcendent universe. As Dale has said, we have had the priceless opportunity to see two epitomes of France on this trip - Chartres and Sisentrom.
And today, back on the bikes for the ride across Paris, from the south-west to the north-east. A lovely ride through suburban and periurban Paris, until we descended into the city, at which point the bucolic met the frantic. More driver idiots in 20 miles than we had encountered in the whole of the rest of the trip, and we carefully ploughed our way through the urban traffic on our way to the Hotel Le Celtic. Actually, Paris has the makings of a bike-friendly city, for cyclists have the opportunity to share the wide bus lanes, but somehow the city has not quite integrated all the good bits into a system, and the bad bits are pretty bad. But, how can you pass up a chance to cycle across one of the great cities of the world?
Tomorrow, a day in the center of Paris, and then to Brugge and finally to Amsterdam. Lots more fun to be had.
It was a bit of a "no-brainer" for us to spend one day only in Pau and to return to Les Terraces for an additional two days, even though it meant driving west for 100 miles, and then back 100 miles to the East. Toll roads cost money in this country, but they do save a lot of time, especially since France seems to have discovered a fascination for constructing roundabouts every mile or so on non-motorway roads. So we zipped back to the middle of the Pyrenees and met Vincent of Les Terraces again. On Friday, Dale and I, faced with a cloudy and chilly day, drove up to the Col d'Aspin, and found ourselves surrounded with low cloud and fog, and we returned to our lodgings for a quiet day.
Dale can read me pretty well, and his blog captures accurately my ambivalence about the Col de Tourmalet. I wanted to do it - badly, but I didn't want to try to do it and fail, not so much because it would be my failure, but more because it might prevent Dale from doing it. You should realize that our experience with Col d'Aspin had shown how desolate the hill was - no people, no houses and just bare mountain, and you can imagine people getting into real trouble on the mountain. And we believed that the Tourmalet was just as bad, so a change in weather could be tricky.
However, what I had misjudged, I think, was the extent to which the earlier HC and category 1 rides had strengthened our legs. So, on Saturday, after our morning at the farmers' market, all four of us set out for the Tourmalet. As we drove over the Col d'Aspin, the sun broke through the clouds, which quickly were whisked away. We arranged for Gwen and Fran to meet us at the top of this 20 km climb with average grade of 9% or so, and started climbing. And we found that there were lots of cyclists climbing with us - most of them climbed faster than us, but then I think most were a few years or decades younger than us. Absolutely amazing feeling when I realized a couple of km into the ride that we were perfectly capable of doing the climb without walking any part of it, and when we reached the top, I was on top of the world. I quickly decided that I would let Dale go off and do his crazed descent on his own - he had given up the chance on the previous HC descent to escort me with my bad tire, and he needed at least one chance to let it rip. So I rode down the other side with Gwen and Fran, marveling at the scenery - stark, steep, and menacing, so much more so than the Alps, which seem softer even if higher. Tough people live in the Pyrenees. (And as I rode down, I said a little "thank you" to Kirk, my mechanic from Performance Bikes in Tysons Corner for having prepped my bike so well that the machine was able to handle the stress and strain of the climb -and the cumulative stresses of the previous legs - thanks again, Kirk, you have some work to do when I get back.)
So, a wonderful climax to the trip in terms of cycling - to have had the chance to do the Tourmalet is wonderful, and all thanks to Dale for organizing it and including me.
So, on to Bordeaux, where we stayed in a modern hotel carved out of a warehouse and located steps away from the most impressive urban rail system I've yet seen. It ferried us down to the waterfront, where we had a good meal, and lamented the fact that we couldn't stay for more days. But Bordeaux is a place to re-visit, especially since it would put us close to the Pyrenees again.
And so to Chartres. 250 miles north, along an excellent toll road (no roundabouts again!!!), and some sensation as to how many miles we had come since Amsterdam. France is a big place. Dale and Gwen have captured the beauty and magnificence of Chartres in ways that my words can't, and I won't try, except to say that walking around its old, beautifully preserved buildings reminded me of Gormenghast, the fictional capital of a mysterious world created by Mervyn Peake in the 1950s in his Titus Groan trilogy - a world apart, a world that has kept its identity as others change theirs, and a sense of awesomeness and scale that reduces the size of the individual while making you feel part of a bigger and transcendent universe. As Dale has said, we have had the priceless opportunity to see two epitomes of France on this trip - Chartres and Sisentrom.
And today, back on the bikes for the ride across Paris, from the south-west to the north-east. A lovely ride through suburban and periurban Paris, until we descended into the city, at which point the bucolic met the frantic. More driver idiots in 20 miles than we had encountered in the whole of the rest of the trip, and we carefully ploughed our way through the urban traffic on our way to the Hotel Le Celtic. Actually, Paris has the makings of a bike-friendly city, for cyclists have the opportunity to share the wide bus lanes, but somehow the city has not quite integrated all the good bits into a system, and the bad bits are pretty bad. But, how can you pass up a chance to cycle across one of the great cities of the world?
Tomorrow, a day in the center of Paris, and then to Brugge and finally to Amsterdam. Lots more fun to be had.
Roy Successfully Pointing Out One of Paris' Attractions.
As we approached Paris, we came around a turn in the road, and there it was, directly below us. Roy had missed it, so I gave him the opportunity to come back and point it out. Thanks, Roy.Stage 20 - Paris by Dale
The bike ride into Paris is, essentially, a parade by the Tour cyclists. At this point the winner has been decided, and the ceremonial run through Paris and to the Arch d' Triumphe is a way for more Parisiennes to view and pay tribute to the cyclists. Without our trusty Garmin, we knew we would have trouble navigating the meandering route along secondary roads from the south of Paris, moving along the western edge, then returning east at the river, crossing the river just west of the Eiffel Tower, and then finishing the promenade to the Arche. The 30 mile journey took us about four hours, often in heavy traffic, and often meandering off the real stage course as road names were prevalent, while our map was oriented to road numbers. But...we managed to come into Paris across the river west of the Tower, and biked along the river as had the Tour.
As we approached our final destination, it was apparent Paris was far different from our other destination cities and towns. Even though still May, we saw more tourists in an hour than we had seen in all of the rest of France. People from everywhere, double decker open buses, cameras, sitters, gawkers, walkers, people on the go towards their tourist goals - museums, the Tower, the Arche, Notre Dame Cathedral, and many other places that make Paris such a tourist mecca. We spent little time in the central tourist area and headed northeast towards our hotel about 15 miles outside town towards Charles DeGaulle Airport. Our map didn't help us much, I had to take out my trusty compass and rely on it to head us away from the central area and towards the airport. We meandered through streets heading west and north until finally hitting a major boulevard heading in the exact direction we wanted to go. Traffic thinned a bit after awhile - this was a Monday afternoon, and we wanted to get to our hotel before the rush hour traffic consumed all the highways of the area. We managed to finally reach the hotel and our first 2 Euro beers about 4:30pm. This was a sleepy little village sandwiched between Charles DeGaulle Airport and another airport to the west. Our village hotel is charming, well maintained with an African explorer motif - how appropriate. Our Tour has ended, except for the tourist portion here and heading back to Amsterdam over the next couple of days. Tomorrow morning we will head by Metro into Paris and play tourist for the entire day, before heading north the following morning. I look back on the past three weeks, what we have done and what we have seen, and I cannot help but be thankful we have our health and we have our friends, and we have been able to enjoy one of what I hope will be many "trips of a lifetime".
As we approached our final destination, it was apparent Paris was far different from our other destination cities and towns. Even though still May, we saw more tourists in an hour than we had seen in all of the rest of France. People from everywhere, double decker open buses, cameras, sitters, gawkers, walkers, people on the go towards their tourist goals - museums, the Tower, the Arche, Notre Dame Cathedral, and many other places that make Paris such a tourist mecca. We spent little time in the central tourist area and headed northeast towards our hotel about 15 miles outside town towards Charles DeGaulle Airport. Our map didn't help us much, I had to take out my trusty compass and rely on it to head us away from the central area and towards the airport. We meandered through streets heading west and north until finally hitting a major boulevard heading in the exact direction we wanted to go. Traffic thinned a bit after awhile - this was a Monday afternoon, and we wanted to get to our hotel before the rush hour traffic consumed all the highways of the area. We managed to finally reach the hotel and our first 2 Euro beers about 4:30pm. This was a sleepy little village sandwiched between Charles DeGaulle Airport and another airport to the west. Our village hotel is charming, well maintained with an African explorer motif - how appropriate. Our Tour has ended, except for the tourist portion here and heading back to Amsterdam over the next couple of days. Tomorrow morning we will head by Metro into Paris and play tourist for the entire day, before heading north the following morning. I look back on the past three weeks, what we have done and what we have seen, and I cannot help but be thankful we have our health and we have our friends, and we have been able to enjoy one of what I hope will be many "trips of a lifetime".
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Blog Entry from Vincent at Les Terrasses in Gouchen (Shangri-La)
Good morning everybody.
Just few words to say how I was glad to receive my first american bikers, and I hope
that you could reach the Tourmalet. As i said, the clouds had disappeared at
noon, and the view will be gorgeous when you'll arrive at the top, to eat a
good piece of cheese, from the best french cheese maker in France (That's
absolutly not a joke: this guy just win this official tournament, which appears
once all the four years. TV was there, and Prince Albert de Monaco wants him
for his wedding now)
Have a nice end's trip anyway, and come back to climb some ruff cols and eat some
french food.
See you one day.
I wasn't able to post on your blog, so I send you the message directly if you
want to join it to your blog. Here is Vincent, the owner of "les Terrasses de Saubissan" (www.hebergement-saintlary.com).
want to join it to your blog. Here is Vincent, the owner of "les Terrasses de Saubissan" (www.hebergement-saintlary.com).
Just few words to say how I was glad to receive my first american bikers, and I hope
that you could reach the Tourmalet. As i said, the clouds had disappeared at
noon, and the view will be gorgeous when you'll arrive at the top, to eat a
good piece of cheese, from the best french cheese maker in France (That's
absolutly not a joke: this guy just win this official tournament, which appears
once all the four years. TV was there, and Prince Albert de Monaco wants him
for his wedding now)
I'm very proud to serve usully to my guests this kind of cheese! (Even
if it was not the case when you ate, cause I was not expecting you)
if it was not the case when you ate, cause I was not expecting you)
Have a nice end's trip anyway, and come back to climb some ruff cols and eat some
french food.
See you one day.
Vincent
Le
27 mai 2011 à 18:14, Dale Stirn a écrit :
27 mai 2011 à 18:14, Dale Stirn a écrit :
Roy Nearing the Top of Tourmalet
Roy was beaming, knowing that Tourmalet was in his grasp. This day, like those we shared in the Okivango Swamps of Botswana many years ago, will remain with us the rest of our lives. Friends for life, Roy.
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