Le Grant Départ, Bonjour La Loire!
It begins! Our grand, 2500km adventure starts today. The only issue is that we cannot immediately locate the start. I want a huge sign, bunting, a marching band. Instead, I am roaming around a space just near a river estuary wondering which way I am supposed to go. East, I know, but where is this famous Eurovelo 6 route?
…The week before le grand départ
Every grand cycle tour has a Prologue, and so it is for our tour. The Prologue is usually a short individual time trial through the streets of some lucky town. This prologue uses planes, trains, an automobile, bicycles (of course) and human leg power to make an approximately 17,000km journey to the Grand Départ point at Saint-Blevins-les-Pins. This Prologue takes in a couple of the world’s great cities and even includes a special guest visitor who brightens up proceedings. This Prologue takes nearly a week.
…We’re back on the bikes after a many-year break (thanks Covid) and this time we are crossing Europe on the Eurovelo 6 route, from the Atlantic coast in France to Budapest. You can see our planned route here.
Below the map you’ll find links to the latest posts.
The map below shows our progress. So far on this trip we have:
…Two lovely months of cycling, beer, wine, food
We are so excited to be heading off on another cycling trip. After a long five year gap, we’re hitting the road again from the end of May 2023, this time to ride the EuroVelo 6 route from Saint-Brevins-les-Pins (France) to Budapest (Hungary). In 2015 we rode a long section of this same route from Budapest to Vidin in Bulgaria. After this trip we’ll have ridden most of the EuroVelo 6 route.
You can see our plan in the annotated map above. We’ll fly from Melbourne to Munich, have a beer or two then travel to Paris by train, stopping overnight in Strasbourg. We’ll spend a couple of nights in Paris, doing Paris things, then catch another train to Nantes. From Nantes we’ll make our way to Saint-Brevins-les-Pins and the start of EuroVelo 6 and then we’ll be cycling all the way until we reach Budapest. After a rest and a soak in a spa in Budapest we’ll be back on a train to Munich where we’ll have another beer or two before flying back to Melbourne.
Bike icons created by Google – Flaticon
Ice Wine Day … oh, and some pretty impressive falls
Today is Ice Wine day. We are in ice wine territory. It gets terribly cold here in winter, and that’s what you need to make ice wine. We must make the most of local specialties. Today is Ice Wine day. I might add that today, with an average temperature of 27ºC, is well beyond the conditions required to harvest grapes for ice wine. That is a job for winter; today’s job is to enjoy the fruits of other people’s labour. …
Wine to water
I admit it. I am a little judgy at times. First impressions are strong and lasting. When somebody’s eccentricities get between me and my room and shower at the end of a day of cycling, it can be hard to come back from.
I didn’t mention our B&B in Jordan, largely because I was smarting from a less than satisfactory arrival experience. I will say that it is a lovely house in central Jordan (Jordan isn’t actually very large) with a beautiful bathroom and everything you might need in a B&B. Like a bed. A shower. And a lavish breakfast.
The owner, John, joins us at breakfast, regaling us and the other guests with stories of his exploits as an RAF pilot. It also turns out he was a bit of a cyclist, and travelled widely in Europe by bicycle.
It is toward the end of breakfast when he asks if somebody could google something for him that we get a real glimpse into the past of this man. …
Water to Wine
Imagine this. You’ve just ridden over 1,000km from Quebec City, headed for Niagara Falls. And then you see …
I could ride 1,000km
“Turn left up here instead of right. I’ll explain when we get there.”
Get where? Why is Neil taking us off course, and where is “there”?
He swings his bike to the left, and I don’t have much choice to follow. When I reach where he is stopped he is looking very pleased with himself, standing outside a water treatment plant …
Wrong way! Go Back!
“Which way are you going?”
He’s a nice older man, who approached as we rested under a tree, eating the lunch thoughtfully packed by Carolyn, our host at Grove Cottage in Bloomfield. The conversation has gone the normal kind of way … where have you come from … where are you going …
I point up the road we’ve just turned into. “That way.”
He smiles, a kind gentle smile and says “No you’re not.” …
Farewell and Au Revior St Lawrence River … we’ve had a fine time … hello Lake Ontario
Kingston was the original capital of the united Canadas. It served that role for just three years, from 1841 to 1844. During that time, the city of Kingston built an elaborate town hall building, that seemed to destined as the Parliament building. However, the role of capital was moved away as Kingston’s location near the border made it vulnerable to American attack. The capital moved to Montreal, then alternated between Quebec City and Toronto until Ottawa was permanently selected as capital by Queen Victoria.
So Kingston was left with a grand building …