August 8th, 2016Ruth: I love breakfast in Germany! I love eating It, and when I'm not eating it, I love anticipating it. There is a point on any cycle trip where the pleasures of food become far more important than any number of amazing tourist sights. In...
Gordon: We joined the Danube at Tuttlingen, where it is little more than a stream. I anticipate that the 60 kilometre ride from there to Sigmaringendorf, where we are staying tonight, is destined to be one of the most spectacular days on the Danube....
August 4, 2016Ruth: The Rhine River has been such a delightful surprise. It is a beautiful green tourquoise color and much cleaner than I expected. For most of the distance that we cycled along the Rhine it is the border between Switzerland and Germany. We...
August 1, 2016This morning we started our ride in France, entered Germany for about two kms before crossing into Switzerland at Basel and then returning to Germany to look for somewhere to stay. We are following the Rhine for a couple of days before making our...
Gordon: We have survived "Black Saturday", the busiest day of the year on the highways of France. Many people still take their annual vacation in August, and this was the kickoff weekend. According to the media, the roads, hotels and campgrounds are...
Gordon: After 19 days of riding, covering 1150 kilometres, we are taking a rest day in Besançon. The ride from Dole was glorious, as we followed the Doubs River and associated canals upstream through the foothills of the Jura Mountains. At one point we...
Gordon: In cycling from Beaune to Dole we journeyed from a node on the travel circuit to a relatively unknown city. Mostly due to wine, Beaune is teeming with tourists, many from other countries (we even noticed a significant American presence). The...
July 26, 2016Ruth: As soon as my sister heard we were going to France she started researching different towns that we shouldn't miss and adding them to my google map of the trip. Beaune in the heart of Burgundy, was one of the first towns she included. We...
July 24, 2016 Paray-le-MonialGordon: After 800 kilometres we parted company with the Loire today. In its stead we are now predominantly following canals. These make for lovely cycling: they are flat, lined with trees, and you see interesting...
GordonWe last visited Nevers while on the Vezelay pilgrimage route to Santiago. During that visit it was cold and rainy, and we were staying in less than ideal pilgrim accommodation. This visit has gone much better. The temperature is a pleasant 25...
GordonWe saw a cock pheasant running along the edge of a field yesterday. It was magnificent, although it was strangely without tail feathers. The image inspired Ruth's first musical composition of the trip, a blues / funk number we will call "Hey...
July 21st, 2016When the Lord is away we certainly do play.... It turns out that our ancestors may well have come from this region. It was hard not to notice the close family resemblance to both of us in the paintings at the Chateau de Saint-...