Why Rudolf - Keeping up with Rudolf - CycleBlaze

Why Rudolf

Cycling in the South of France

Rudolf who gave us hope for the future
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On the 27th August 2010 Ken and I were on our second long cycle trip and were riding from the North Sea to the Adriatic and feeling pretty pleased with ourselves.   Then somewhere along the Elbe not far out of Magdenburg we met Rudolf.  We stopped for lunch and along he came on his very well equiped bike.  Rudolf was from Heidelberg and spoke excellent English. He said he was lucky because he was able to learn such good English when he was a prisoner of war with the Americans. This made him no spring chicken.  He was in fact 85 and riding his bike from Dresden to Cuxhaven.  He said his wife was no longer well enough  to ride with him but she had told  him he was driving her crazy and needed a  good long bike ride.   He had been everywhere.  Rudolf made Ken and I feel quite young  and buoyed us up with optimism as to how many more year’s of riding we had in front of us.  We were 71 and 73, now 14 years later can we do as well as Rudolf?  Well I ride an ebike now so  that rules me out but Ken on a regular bike will give it a good go.

We leave for Europe on the 6th May and have some non biking fun first.  Then on the 2nd June pick up our bikes from our niece Louise in Moret (just out of Paris) and set out first through Burgandy, then along the Rhone and finally a bit of a tour in Provence before we fly out from Lyon on the 12th July.  Perhaps its rather ambitious but we will see.

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Comment on this entry Comment 15
Steve Miller/GrampiesOh, we are so glad you will be doing this. You two, and Suzanne and Janos, are our heroes, and every trip you do lets us set our goals for how many more cycling years we can hope for. So now it is 10. Keep on going, and so will we.
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8 months ago
Tricia GrahamThanks Steve and Dodie. Looking forward to it with a little trepidation. The main problem being my mobility - absolutely fine while riding but getting on and off the bike rather a drama and I can only walk if I have two sticks Jane (daughter) is going to stay with Louise this weekend so will inspect the bikes for us
Really enjoying following you along but don’t like the sound of the wind
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8 months ago
Rich FrasierLooking forward to this! Good on you for getting out on the road again!
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8 months ago
Jill BrinsleyOooh! Yay! I’m really looking forward to following along again. All the very best for smooth cycling.
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8 months ago
Diana HubbardBest wishes for your next adventure. Rudolf inspired you.
You and Ken inspire us to keep going on our motorised two wheel expeditions.
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8 months ago
Carolyn van HoeveDitto as has been written above. You're our Rudolf, along with some other people here on CycleBlaze. All we can do is cheer you along and wish you well for keeping the flame of hope alive. I salute your bravery and ambition. Very much looking forward to following along on another adventure.
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7 months ago
Tricia GrahamTo Diana HubbardThink what you two is much more adventurous. The very thought of being on a Motorcycle terrifies me. So looking forward to the freedom of 2 wheels
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7 months ago
Tricia GrahamTo Rich FrasierThanks Rick we are really looking forward to it
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7 months ago
Tricia GrahamTo Jill BrinsleyWe are looking forward to it and also seems Louise who is getting the bikes ready for us
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7 months ago
Tricia GrahamTo Carolyn van HoeveThanks Carolyn and live in high hopes it will all go well. I have a much more suitable bike this time so hope I don’t have the dramas of last year
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7 months ago
Tricia GrahamTo Kathleen JonesThanks
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7 months ago
Keith ClassenGood on you!!! Will be following your adventure. Inspiring!!! Will be looking for those tractor shots.
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7 months ago
Suzanne GibsonHow wonderful!
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7 months ago
Ann HutchingBon voyage Trish and Ken. Safe pedalling, and happy exploring.
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7 months ago