November 5, 2022
Up in the Air and Heading Home
Reflections on my Near-Year in Europe
I’m writing this from somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, bound for Philadelphia, the city where colonists signed the Declaration of Independence and, later, crafted and adopted the Constitution of United States of America. In a few days, some of the core principles of that document will be put to the test. I’m heading home to do what I can, to cast my vote.
It seems fitting to reflect/comment on my eight month sojourn in Europe while suspended between my recent past and near future. There is a lot to say, but I’ll restrict my comments to those most relevant to the CycleBlaze community.
I took my first multi-day bike tour in college, but did not really take cycling until rather late in life, in my late 50s. It was another ten years before I immersed myself in the world of online bike journals and embarked on my first extended solo tour, one which left me increasingly craving for more. The combined effects of real-life and vicarious touring expanded my horizons and left me with a very long list of cycling goals, one that encompassed a myriad of places to visit and challenges to face. There wasn't to be enough time to fit everything in, and I grew frustrated trying to prioritize the destination for my next tour.
Part of my dilemma is that I love touring in Europe, but visa restrictions limit time in Schengen countries to 90 days in a six month period. Not quite ready to move to Europe or go into Team Anderson mode, I came up with my own model - an extended stay visa with episodic touring to different destinations around Europe. I must say that this model worked exceedingly well for me. Over the past eight months, my seven “tours-within-a-tour,” ranged from 3 days to almost 4 weeks and took me to six different countries (including a one day ride in the Netherlands) and all over France. I did spend a little more on lodging than normal, as I rented a Paris apartment as a home base for the entire 8 months. But because of the extended stay, the rent was very reasonable and, as it turned out, the apartment gave me a much needed refuge when injuries and/or bike repairs upended my plans.
I’ve already summarized my thoughts on Italy and Slovenia, and believe my trips to Belgium and Germany were too brief to warrant extensive comments. Overall, I found each country to be wonderful places to cycle, with most having a generally good network of small roads and/or dedicated cycle routes. Each tour had its own set of challenges and rewards. Slovenia was the most physically challenging, due both to the terrain and the heat wave that I encountered. But the rewards included spectacular scenery, an over-the-top dining experience, and a great sense of adventure. Puglia was magical, but probably best in spring or fall to avoid crowds and high temperatures. Despite stiff competition, France continues to be my favorite place to cycle and Paris now seems a home away from home. Large sections of France remain unexplored, and there are several regions I could return to year after year, Burgundy and the Causses du Quercy to name a couple.
Some of the most special times I had this past year was in the company of other CycleBlazers - Scott and Rachael, Suzanne and Janos, Keith and Susan, Rich and Robyn, Steve and Ann. If you think you might be in the area of another Blazer, I encourage you to reach out - we have a wonderful community here and getting together, even if just for a cup of coffee, does wonders for the soul.
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I have been truly overwhelmed by the response to this journal and want to send all of you a very, very big thank you. Though I spend most of my time touring solo, I know that I am never alone. And that knowledge brings me great comfort and joy.
I’m flying home on the first leg of round trip ticket, so if nothing unforeseen happens I’ll be back in Paris on the first of March and ready for more European touring. Until then, ride safe and with a song in your heart - Susan
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2 years ago
2 years ago
Bon voyage, et bon retour! Great meeting you in person, I hope you can swing by this way again. The puzzling thing about the internet in general, and Cycleblaze specifically is how little it takes for a community to form, and how durable that community can become. One of the things that drew us tonFrance, and a major reason we stayed is the ever so French concept of fraternité. To be integrated into a small town is to feel that at work. It draws us into activities we might not otherwise participate in. And I suspect that’s also true for the Cycleblazers, too. I have at odd hours of various winters found myself planning where to go and how to share it with all of you in that group. I sometimes wonder if some tours are started just to have something of substance to add. And it’s all great fun, now, isn’t it?
So we shall look for you in March, and in the meantime safe travels, et mon dieu! Mètre les pantalons dans leur propres sens!
À bientôt,
Keith
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It was wonderful to follow along vicariously through your extended European trip. We are now gearing up to do it for real starting mid April and we’ll be riding some of the same routes you beautifully described. Having just re-read your last (and excellent) post, it looks like you will be heading out again in just a few weeks time too.
We were wondering if we could pick your brain a bit regarding transport out of Paris. We want to start our trip in the French Jura just north of Geneva but will be flying into Paris (CDG). Do you have any recommendations on the best way to do this (i.e. Regional vs TGV trains, particular Paris stations to use etc etc).
Like you, we will be travelling with full size loaded bikes and we could if necessary just start out from CDG, however we thought we could train it down the vicinity of Geneva and gain a week or so of riding in the south! Our very general plan is to ride south through the Rhone Alps and the head west through some of the many gorges on the Central Massif (Ardeche, Tarn, Lot currently in the plan) and eventually reaching the north coast of Spain where we would then head back east along the Pyrenees, ending up in Barcelona to fly back home at the end of June.
We’d be grateful for any advice you have regarding training it out of the Paris region with loaded bikes! If you want to reach us directly our emails are ltmcleod1 at gmail dot com (Lyle) or mckaar4 at hotmail dot com (Kirsten).
Regards, Lyle & Kirsten
1 year ago
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