About a year and a half ago, I stumbled across an article about riding from Saint Malo to Nice.  This idea struck a cord with me.  You see, it had always been our goal to ride across the US when we retired.  However, as life has taught us goals aren't always achieved in the manner in which they are originally conceived.  We opted to move to France instead of fulfilling that particular goal.  But now that we are completely settled into our new home, it is time to start exploring.  How better to discover new places than slowly on two wheels.

We've never done self-supported touring before either.  I guess there is not better time than now to get started.  So, we will wet our tandem wheels in the Channel and begin our ride from Saint Malo to Nice where our wheels will meet the Mediterranean.  

We've mapped out our route using Ride with GPS and have planned to cover the 1,600 kilometers over 24 days.  We built in 2 rest days (Days 9 & 18), plus an extra day to climb Mount Ventoux unloaded.  

Logistics was the next hurdle to tackle - how do we get the tandem to the start and back home again?  Driving doesn't work because this is a point-to-point trip.  Flying is a possibility, but our touring tandem doesn't breakdown into legal size suitcases, and based on all the horror stories of lost luggage, this just isn't an option.  Trains in France aren't the friendliest when it comes to traveling with a tandem.  According to other cyclists' stories sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.  The local delivery companies won't handle such large packages either.  Finally we learned that the large transport companies will take the oversized packages.  Problem solved - ship the tandem.

Our second hurdle is the fact that we have never toured with panniers.  What do we need to take?  What are friends for?  I got lists from several friends that self-tour.  How does the bike handle when loaded?  Can we climb and descend like usual?  How far is enough for a day of touring?  

The Experiment:  In July, during one of our many heatwaves this summer, we took a 3 day/2 night test ride: Foix to Esperaza to Limoux and back to Foix.  Rides were 65-75 kilometers each day with 600-850 meters of elevation.  

Heart

4

Comment

0

Link

Log in to comment or reply

We experienced a feeling of freedom.  Free from daily expectations and household chores, and free to do whatever our hearts desired.  Our necessities were with us on the bike and all we had to do was check into our B&B before dark.  

Heart

4

Comment

0

Link

Log in to comment or reply

This trial run was a success!  We had a lot of fun!  But we only carried what we needed . . . so, the question remains: can we carry all the stuff we need for a month on the bike in our current set up?  Hmmm . . .