Eight days in a row it rained, we hadn't seen the sun or the sky for that long. We went from France into Belgium, back into France, back to Belgium, on into Luxembourg and back into France again, and it rained every day. There's no point pretending it's fun to cycle when you're soaked to the skin and freezing - it really isn't.
Anyway... Belgium was cold, had good road signs and small local shops to get food - something France doesn't seem to have. They just have big supermarkets in the big towns, but if you live in a village or somewhere too small to warrant a supermarket, then you have a bakery and a butchers, and that's all. We cycled about 50km one day, passing through every small village in the area, not one had an actual shop.
Anyway... Belgium was cold, had good road signs and small local shops to get food - something France doesn't seem to have. They just have big supermarkets in the big towns, but if you live in a village or somewhere too small to warrant a supermarket, then you have a bakery and a butchers, and that's all. We cycled about 50km one day, passing through every small village in the area, not one had an actual shop.
Luxembourg was also cold and wet, but had terrible road signs, which resulted in us getting lost and taking all day to cycle through it, rather than a couple of hours. Everyone owns a new large 4x4, drove very fast, didn't give us much room, and we got beeped twice for just generally cycling, I think. Six hours probably isn't quite long enough to judge a whole country though, but I would say it isn't a great one to cycle in.
We were happy to get back into France, where we have cycle paths most of the time and when we don't, we have super slow friendly drivers passing us. We passed through Thionville, then Metz and on to Sarrebourg. We'd both had a "half fall" on the bikes up to this point. Jodie's being in England when going around a sharp bend, but he managed to jump off safely. Mine at the start of France, when I cycled onto a long and narrow drain with the cover broken off, but I also managed to jump off.
Jodie went for the full package this time though, although he still managed to turn it in to a "safe-ish" fall... We were approaching a roundabout going downhill, I was behind and both going at a safe speed. It was wet and raining as usual, and the second Jodie went to turn the bike, the wheels just slid out from under him. I was expecting a sudden thud and crash, but he sort of just slid off the bike head first when it hit the ground, and him and the bicycle just slid along next to each other for what seemed like ages - the whole way doing a 'Klinsmann Dive' (football celebration). I slammed my brakes on, and my bike started sliding too. I nearly skidded into the back of him, but just stopped in time. After he stopped sliding he was up instantly, and didn't seem to have hurt himself, and after bending his handlebars back into place we were off again.
A minute down the road and we were both sliding all over the show again, it was even difficult to stand without slipping. Then we noticed a colorful glimmer in the water on the road, and realised there was oil everywhere. We rode on the pavements for the next few kilometers and the oil was all the way along the road. When it finally stopped, we got some tissue and had to wipe all the oil off the tyres.
We were happy to get back into France, where we have cycle paths most of the time and when we don't, we have super slow friendly drivers passing us. We passed through Thionville, then Metz and on to Sarrebourg. We'd both had a "half fall" on the bikes up to this point. Jodie's being in England when going around a sharp bend, but he managed to jump off safely. Mine at the start of France, when I cycled onto a long and narrow drain with the cover broken off, but I also managed to jump off.
Jodie went for the full package this time though, although he still managed to turn it in to a "safe-ish" fall... We were approaching a roundabout going downhill, I was behind and both going at a safe speed. It was wet and raining as usual, and the second Jodie went to turn the bike, the wheels just slid out from under him. I was expecting a sudden thud and crash, but he sort of just slid off the bike head first when it hit the ground, and him and the bicycle just slid along next to each other for what seemed like ages - the whole way doing a 'Klinsmann Dive' (football celebration). I slammed my brakes on, and my bike started sliding too. I nearly skidded into the back of him, but just stopped in time. After he stopped sliding he was up instantly, and didn't seem to have hurt himself, and after bending his handlebars back into place we were off again.
A minute down the road and we were both sliding all over the show again, it was even difficult to stand without slipping. Then we noticed a colorful glimmer in the water on the road, and realised there was oil everywhere. We rode on the pavements for the next few kilometers and the oil was all the way along the road. When it finally stopped, we got some tissue and had to wipe all the oil off the tyres.
Next was a place called Dabo, which gave us our first taster of long climbs. I'm not sure if it was a small mountain or a very high hill, but it was quite tough. We had a fast and fun 2km descent in the mist to begin with and then about 11km uphill to the top. The scenery was great, and it was a steady incline - one I could just about deal with, without the bottom gear (still doesn't work). I think at the top it said 652m high, a baby compared to what we have to climb next week - Stelvio Pass, the second highest paved mountain pass in Europe at 2757m high, the forecast is snow, our bicycles are super heavy and I don't have my lowest gear working. I'm not sure of my emotions on this one. I called this trip 'The High Road To India', but I hate hills. However, the views are supposed to be spectacular and I love the descents, so maybe it's a good idea?
We've spent today in a budget hotel, the one we are allowed a week. We're on the outskirts of Strasbourg, which sits right on the German border, so we'll be in Germany tomorrow. Which is great as I've only ever met cool Germans in my life - they must be the furthest from the stereotype they sometimes get given, more so than any other nationality.
Today was the first day without rain for over a week, in fact it was sunny and quite warm. So it was a shame we only had 35km to cycle to reach the hotel. Just as well it was our hotel day today though, because a week of solid rain meant I was rapidly running out of dry clothes. Last nights rain finished off my last pair of trousers, which meant today I had to cycle in my pajama bottoms...which have a big hole in one knee...and an open crotch area...which made it feel very drafty and cold today...
Today was the first day without rain for over a week, in fact it was sunny and quite warm. So it was a shame we only had 35km to cycle to reach the hotel. Just as well it was our hotel day today though, because a week of solid rain meant I was rapidly running out of dry clothes. Last nights rain finished off my last pair of trousers, which meant today I had to cycle in my pajama bottoms...which have a big hole in one knee...and an open crotch area...which made it feel very drafty and cold today...
RSS Feed