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.
Introduction: Venice to Pisa Read More »
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 »
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 »
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 »
After the end of my Croatia trip, I hopped over the Italic Peninsula to land in Lyon, France. One of my goals for my time in Europe was to ride some of the classic Tour de France climbs like L’Alpe d’Huez and Mont Ventoux, and Lyon was the easiest connection from Croatia.
Introduction: Trophy hunting in the French Alps Read More »
The was the physically most difficult bike tour I’d ever done, and also intellectually difficult. The relationship between tourism, development, and place was also a consistent theme of the trip. For myself, I learned that I need to be less goal-oriented.
Croatia: Conclusion Read More »
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.
Day 9: The cheater’s home stretch (Korčula to Ston) Read More »
Vela Luka was a pleasant town which seemed like a place for local boat people; pretty but not super-touristy. It would be a short day to Korčula, with great riding, farms and vineyards with sea views, not much traffic. And I finally caught up with my friends!
Day 8: Marco! (Vela Luka to Korčula) Read More »
I had a very pleasant breakfast on the plaza on a bright, sunny day. Finally out of the rain, I did some lubrication of a few rusting components and got on the road back to Stari Grad. Not pressed for time, today I would take the other road over the summit. It turned out to
Day 7: Finding balance (Hvar to Vela Luka) Read More »
Split is a major port city, with 25 berths for ferries and cruise ships, and today I’ll take one of the ferries out to the islands. My plan was to mostly chill out, check out Diocletian’s palace, and head to Hvar Island on the catamaran Vida, which I’d read online would take bikes, but that turned out not to be the case. So I took a later ferry and had to ride after dark again.
Day 6: The Splitshow (Split to Hvar) Read More »