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Just going back to the Annecy discussion with Trish Graham, Scott, there is a cycle route French tourism calls La Bella Via- Isère river by bike that, though shortish (finishing at Valence), seems to be relatively flat and interesting.
2 weeks agoI won't either and I live south of the border. Instead, any vacation $$$ spent on this continent will go to businesses in the Great White North. I do enjoy BC.
2 weeks agoSorry about your country. I was supposed to go to California to ride my road bike, but I'm not spending a nickel down there!
2 weeks agoLooks like a great plan!
2 weeks agoIndeed. Tempus fugit!
2 weeks agoCarpe diem!
2 weeks agoYou'll love it! Sure going to be pretty! As always, looking forward to following along!
2 weeks agoNo, but I’ve wanted to see it for a long time. It should be amazing at this time of year, with the mountains buried in snow. Rachael and I have biked in every Italian province except for Abruzzo and Aosta in the past, and we’ll hit both of them on this tour.
2 weeks agoSo glad you're seeing the Aosta valley! Have you been before?
2 weeks agoSounds like a pragmatic way to go! Shit. When you guys did the French Alps, you were, ahem...67! I was 48 when we did almost the same route, and it almost killed us! Like I said...you guys are still badasses!
2 weeks agoNever heard of this series. Looking forward to checking it out.
2 weeks agoYou and Ken are my personal heroes and inspirations. When Rachael and I think of how long we think we can travel like this, you two are always the first ones that come to mind.
I really think base-centered travel is the way to go at this point in our lives. We’re moving to a model of very easy travel days (flat, 2-25 miles) with longer stays when we come to a place with enough around to merit it. And, of course, we’re staying close to train or bus lines so we can rebase easily. Assuming our health holds and we’re flexible, there’s no reason we couldn’t do this indefinitely.
Actually, Annecy is a bit limited for this. There’s wonderful cycling along the lake, but once you leave the shore it gets mountainous pretty quickly. The major rivers and plains are more promising, I think. The Via Rhona is a natural of course, but we really like Castille and Leon north of Salamanca for its wide open spaces and quiet roads. Also the French coast between the Camargue and the Pyrenees, and Puglia. And South Holland, which we biked for the first time last autumn and fell in love with.
I relate completely to your need to change the way you travel. We are too faced with this but reluctant to stay at home. At 86 and 88 things are more difficult. I can now only walk with two crutches although apart from getting on and off the bike I can ride normally The main problem however is that I can’t walk and push a bike for more than about 50m. So what to do? Last year’s trip from near Paris to Avignon worked surprisingly well. What we had been intending to do this year was a loop ride from Frankfurt but we are beginning to have second thoughts. Maybe it would’ve better to base ourselves in a couple of places where we can hire bikes and see something of thé surroundings. Annecy is one thought. Have you any other ideas? Doesn’t matter where in Europe as it’s easy to get around without bikes
3 weeks agoWatching the Strade Bianche Women yesterday (a replay, of course), I noticed that Trenitalia is a sponsor of the event. And rereading journals about tours in southern Italy as part of planning for a future tour, I really noticed that Cycleblazers were taking trains with few, if any, issues. I'll be interested in any comparisons of bicycle accommodation between French and Italian trains.
3 weeks ago
I've held my tongue, but since you brought up the possibility of knee replacement.
2 weeks agoDon't put it off. I've known several people who've had it done, one who had both knees at the same time. It was life changing for all of them. My brother works in a hospital and he was telling me about a doctor who was a competitive skier but had to stop because his knees were toast. Had them replaced and he's back to skiing pain free.
And the older we get the longer we need to heal. Like the guys in the old Fram oil filter commercials would say, you can pay me now, or you can pay me later.