September 6, 2021
CDG to Arnouville
It was't exactly the Twelve Labors of Hercules, but we wore our masks for 19 hours with only a couple of little meal breaks. It sure added to the fatigue we felt by the time we finally got outside and breathed some fresh air in Roissy (I learned that Parisians often refer to the airport itself as Roissy, not just the town it's in).
The good: border control in Iceland means no time spent in lines at CDG!
The bad: Sunyoung's bike came out of the box with a flat rear tire! This was our first time not deflating our tires before boxing them. Is it true that they can blow from being in the unpressurized cargo hold? Anyway, I replaced the tube with a spare, which has held up just fine. We'll examine the bad tube tomorrow to determine whether it's salvageable.
The ugly: My large chainring got damaged! I don't know how it happened. The box looked fine. I didn't have energy to investigate.
So the task of assembling the bikes, which always takes a long time, took even longer today, and I had to limp along in the small chainring. I finally discovered that I could also use the first 5 gears of the middle ring without it catching on the bent teeth of the large ring. This is another thing I'll try fixing later, to get my bike in good enough shape to go shopping for a replacement grand plateau.
So far we've ridden our bikes straight out of Heathrow, Barcelona, and Oakland, and I've got to say this was the sketchiest we've ever experienced. Really, it was only 5 minutes of white-knuckle lane changes and cloverleafs followed by much mellower straightaways with the occasional roundabout. But you know, my hat is off to the French drivers we shared the roads with: most of them really respect cyclists. I guess it goes hand-in-hand with the Tour de France and all that stuff. Anyway, we got on to a skinny little bike path in the middle of a busy highway, and from there it was all smooth sailing.
Our little Airbnb rental is adorable. Close to the airport, but quiet and comfortable. If a place looks interesting, I'll ask about our bikes, and if the host responds enthusiastically, I'll always book it. We've never been let down before.
So hey, anyone know of a bike shop in metro Paris that might have a 48t chainring in stock? Seriously, that's the big errand for tomorrow.
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Today's ride: 14 km (9 miles)
Total: 14 km (9 miles)
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