September 17, 2024 to September 18, 2024
Plan, Pivot, Plan, Pivot, repeat
For me, one of the best things about CycleBlaze has been meeting other CBers, many of whom I’ve shared miles on the bike and formed lasting friendships. Scott and Rachael Anderson were the first CycleBlazers I met and we have enjoyed many wonderful days cycling together since our first encounter on the way to Salzburg in 2021.
This year, both Team Anderson and I have been in Europe since March, and we’ve tried several times to arrange schedules to see if we might connect for a few days of cycling together. In April, we briefly crossed paths in Merida Spain but then went our separate ways. There was a plan to cycle together in the English Dales in July/August, but I bailed in order to stay in Paris for the Olympics. So we settled on September, when they would be back in France. The plan was to meet in Caen on Sept 17 and then spend a week riding south to Saumur on what would be my last tour in Europe, for this year anyways.
If you’re a reader of Scott and Rachael’s journal, you might already know that our plans were put in jeopardy due a nasty bug, or two, or 10,000,000. Suffering from a respiratory infection, the ever-optimistic Scott first proposed we meet in Caen as planned and take it from there. Almost immediately, however, his condition worsened and they were forced to cancel the trip, wisely deciding to rest a few days in Normandy and then head further south. I cancelled what reservations I could and remained “on call” to offer whatever assistance I could. That included a bit of “nagging” and navigating to get Scott to a doctor in Normandy. You can read about his ER ordeals here.
As it turns out, the most direct train routes (i.e. fewest transfers) from Normandy to points south go through Paris. And so our plan devolved to meet for dinner during a Team Anderson stop-over in Paris on their way south, no cycling involved. It was unclear if Scott would feel well-enough to join Rachael and I for dinner, so I decided to meet their train at Gare Saint-Lazare.
I arrived at the station well in advance of their arrival and headed over to Track 24 as soon the train from Le Havre was announced. Within minutes of the scheduled arrival, the track number changed to Track 18, a track that is not accessible without scanning your ticket. I could see that their train had already arrived and so I tried sneaking through the gate behind someone with a ticket. I was too slow on the first attempt, and the heavy plastic door slammed shut on my hip, almost trapping me between the doors. I was quicker on the second attempt, making it through and ignoring the alarm as I headed for track 18. I surmised that they would be slow disembarking and waited patiently as the stragglers slowly made their way from the rear of the train and into the station.
The first thing I spotted was Scott’s bright blue jersey, then the bikes, and then Rachael. And then the smiles as they caught sight of me. We navigated through the station with just a few minor hiccups and found a table in the sun where a grizzled Scott recounted tales of his night at the ER. Eventually, we told to purchase a drink or vacate our table, and so we left – Scott and Rachael pedaled off to their hotel while I headed back to my apartment. Dinner plans fell by the wayside, replaced with a new plan to get together for lunch tomorrow.
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And the lunch plan worked – I met them at their hotel and spent a little time helping Rachael navigate Doctolib and the French health system. We then enjoyed a nice lunch in a neighborhood café where we plotted our next joint cycling adventure – no reveal at this early stage. But the plans sound great!
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2 months ago
2 months ago
I was disappointed that the week cycling with Scott and Rachael had fallen through but was still determined to get in one last tour before leaving for the US on Oct 5. The question was where. I considered several destinations, and will spare you all the details. In the end, I decided to start in Nancy, less than two hours from Paris on the TGV. The plan is to make my way south along the Moselle and the western side of the Vosges Mountains before turning west to Burgundy. I hope to finish up in Noyers, where I might entice Alex to join me on a short day ride before I return to Paris.
At this point, it’s a plan. We’ll see what develops.
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2 months ago
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