Cycle touring

Introduction: Venice to Pisa

We learned late in 2017 that a friend of ours was organizing a commercial bike tour in Italy on behalf of the Cyclists for Cultural Exchange. Well, you had us at “bike tour in Italy,” but we also had enjoyed CCE’s Strawberry Fields Forever ride a number of times, and our good friends Nathan and Grace were already signed up for the trip. And once we signed up, almost all of our bike touring buddies joined in.

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Day 3: Country, suburb, city (Moirans to Lyon)

The morning was cool and clear, with a light wind coming from the south. I was heading north, so this would be my first real tailwind of the whole trip! After the (bad) hotel breakfast, I went into Moirans and has a couple of great pastries (Eclair au chocolat et tarte frambroise). The patisseries were part of what had charmed me about Moirans the previous evening, and I wasn’t disappointed. Properly fueled, I headed north.

Day 3: Country, suburb, city (Moirans to Lyon) Read More »

Day 2: Trophy hunting (Le Bourge d’Oisans to Moirans via L’Alpe d’Huez)

The morning was cloudy, but I could see the clouds breaking up on the mountain, which was encouraging, It was also cold, particularly in my hotel room because the heat was not working, so I was motivated to get moving. My stomach felt almost normal and my energy was good. I could do this. I had a quick coffee, got set up and headed towards the mountain.

Day 2: Trophy hunting (Le Bourge d’Oisans to Moirans via L’Alpe d’Huez) Read More »

France: Grenoble to Lyon via L'Alpe d'Huez

Day 1: I went up to the mountain… (Grenoble to Le Bourge d’Oisans)

The weather was iffy, with the high at the peak forecasted as 2º C. But I was here for an adventure, so off I went. Climbing up the valley, I felt strong at points but weak at others. I still couldn’t eat normally, so I was taking small snacks and sips of water as I could, and it got quite cold, single digit C temps with wind.

Day 1: I went up to the mountain… (Grenoble to Le Bourge d’Oisans) Read More »

Day 9: The cheater’s home stretch (Korčula to Ston)

This was the last riding day; 60km to Ston, or 110km to Dubrovnik. Last night Robbie had kindly offered to ferry me in from Ston if I made it there in time. I woke up still feeling sick, and went back to bed for a couple of hours. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to ride at all, but eventually marshaled enough energy to catch up with the vans, just in time.

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