Week One: April in Paris
We arrived at our hostel in Paris on April 3rd, exhausted after a long flight from Seattle and a frantic week of packing, moving, cleaning, more packing and a lot of goodbyes. The location was perfect – in the heart of the Latin Quarter, the hostel was close to the metro and surrounded by cafes, restaurants and shops.
But the location was the only perfect thing about it. The hostel’s name should have been enough of a warning – anything called “Young and Happy” would have to be a noisy mecca for young American and Canadian backpackers. Bob Marley, U2 and dance beats blared from the small reception area/bar until 2 a.m. every morning. Bob and I would have loved this place when we were in college, but now we were just a bit too old for it.
We spent the week recovering from jet lag, checking out the museums and sites (when the employees weren’t striking) and taking refuge from the rain inside little cafes. I was just getting over a knee injury when I managed to fall off a sidewalk on a training run a few days before the Paris Marathon and banged up my knee pretty badly. Accepting the fact that I wouldn’t set any records in the marathon, I decided to do the race anyway. For the whole story, check out this article on Active.com:
https://www.active.com/story.cfm
Week 2: Official start of the bike trip
Route: Versailles – Chartres – Chateaudun – Blois – Tours
323 kilometeres
The first official day of our bike trip, we took the train. We weren’t starting on exactly the right foot, but we both wanted an extra day to recover from the marathon, and the idea of trying to figure out how to cycle out of the city through the maze of cars and busy roads wasn’t very appealing.
We got off in Versailles, and since we needed a warm, dry place to set up the bikes, we took a room in a two-star hotel near the train station. We spent twice as long putting together the bikes since we were especially careful not to get any grease or oil on the pink carpet, the pink walls, the pink curtains or the pink bedspread. After checking out the gardens around Versailles (everything was saturated from the rains), we celebrated with a bottle of wine and a picnic of bread and cheese in our room.
The next day, we purchased a detailed map and started cycling. It felt good to finally be on the bikes. We didn’t make it very far, but we discovered that the “R.F.” roads on our map were actually paved cycling trails through forests, which provided perfect spots for free camping in the woods. The rest of the week, we cycled south on the small “D” roads, stopping at patisseries in small villages for pain au chocolate.
After checking out the cathedral in Chartres, we rode from chateau to chateau in the Loire Valley, passing archeological sites, the ruins of an aqueduct, an old windmill and caves built into the hillsides for storing wine. One sunny afternoon, we took followed signs to a fromagerie in a small village, where a farmer sold us fresh goat cheese.
So far, we’ve only been cycling 55-80 kilometers a day, but we’re enjoying it. At home, we often feel pressure from other cars who honk or come too close to hitting us when we’re cycling. So far in France, we’ve felt comfortable riding our bikes on the road. The cars respect us by giving us plenty of room and only passing when it’s safe. The only drivers who have honked at us are the ones who want to make sure we see them wave hello.
It’s been cold and wet, and since I’ve been sick, we’ve spend a couple nights in a hotel and hostel. We’re hoping the weather will get better as we move south.