Today is my rest day in Chaumont and I am at McDonalds using their WIFI. Internet and even phones are nonexistent at the campgrounds, so it will be a challenge to keep this current.
We woke up to a glorious spring morning in Paris for our 20 km tour of the city and ride out of town. Since it was Sunday, the traffic was very light, which was ideal for a group of 40 bikers. We convoyed to Notre Dame for the obligatory group pictures and then down the Scene to the Eiffel Tower for another photo opportunity. There were already two lines of hundreds of tourists lined up , before opening, to tour the tower. Then we were off to ride around the Arch dTriumph, which was scary, even with light traffic. We finally cruised down Champs Elysee and followed the river out of town.
The ride through the French countryside was out of a postcard with manicured farm fields and medieval towns. The country roads were two lane with very narrow shoulders, but all the French drivers gave us plenty of room…much more so than in the US!
I was one part of the first group that arrived in Provins to find our reserved campsite had not opened for the season. One of the staff gave us instructions to a dairy/horse farm 12 km away, and we divided up to warn other bikers. I proceeded to get lost in the narrow streets, but a Frenchman stopped and gave me directions.
Our dinner was prepared by our biker chef, Jon, and was a gourmet meal of pasta with a tomato based sausage, asparagus, and vegetable sauce. Before dinner we were treated to wine, cheese, and French bread…what a welcome treat!
This riding group is quite friendly and worldly. Most have already done this kind of long tour, and six have done the one year around the world odyssey tour! I can not imagine doing this for a year, since 50 days is already passed my comfort level.
We woke up to a glorious spring morning in Paris for our 20 km tour of the city and ride out of town. Since it was Sunday, the traffic was very light, which was ideal for a group of 40 bikers. We convoyed to Notre Dame for the obligatory group pictures and then down the Scene to the Eiffel Tower for another photo opportunity. There were already two lines of hundreds of tourists lined up , before opening, to tour the tower. Then we were off to ride around the Arch dTriumph, which was scary, even with light traffic. We finally cruised down Champs Elysee and followed the river out of town.
The ride through the French countryside was out of a postcard with manicured farm fields and medieval towns. The country roads were two lane with very narrow shoulders, but all the French drivers gave us plenty of room…much more so than in the US!
I was one part of the first group that arrived in Provins to find our reserved campsite had not opened for the season. One of the staff gave us instructions to a dairy/horse farm 12 km away, and we divided up to warn other bikers. I proceeded to get lost in the narrow streets, but a Frenchman stopped and gave me directions.
Our dinner was prepared by our biker chef, Jon, and was a gourmet meal of pasta with a tomato based sausage, asparagus, and vegetable sauce. Before dinner we were treated to wine, cheese, and French bread…what a welcome treat!
This riding group is quite friendly and worldly. Most have already done this kind of long tour, and six have done the one year around the world odyssey tour! I can not imagine doing this for a year, since 50 days is already passed my comfort level.
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