July 18-19, 2005
Before leaving France, I decided to return to the Pyrenees for one more time,
this time to visit the beautiful Col d'Aspin and the tortuous Col du Tourmalet.
Then continuing onto Col du Soulour on the following day I hoped to catch
Stage 16 of Le Tour de France (Mourenx to Pau) at Col d'Aubisque. The highlight of this ride
was a firsthand experience of Tour de France. I would also highly recommend
the ride to Col d'Aspin.
June 19-26, 2005
A five day
tour that started at Calvi in the north west of Corisca, kept along the
west coast till Porto, then turned inward to Corte via Evisa. It went through
varied scenery and provided a good sampling of what Corsica has to offer.
The weather
was slightly on the hot side, especially considering that most of the riding is
through exposed hillsides, late May or early June would have been a better
choice. But the riding was wonderful,
as far geographical features go, this pretty island
seems to have it all starting from white sand beaches, red rock canyons,
azure half-moon bays, dense green forests, white snow capped peaks, everything.
I am a sucker for sea-food, so cuisine was great too.
Paris cont'd.
July 6, 2005
Another non-cycling link, pictures from my visit to the Eiffel tower and
the Paris
airshow. Also included are some pictures of
Pont Alexander III, the most ornate
of the many bridges in Paris across the Seine.
I have always thought the the bridge to
be a bit on the garish side, with gilded pillars at the bridge entrance and
elaborate metal and stone sculptures all along the bridge, but the other day
at sunset it just seemed to glow in fading evening light.
June 10-13, 2005
A visit to the main Alpine cols of Tour de France, lots and lots of climbing.
This was the best ride I had done so far. Ernest Hemingway said it the best,
It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since
you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as
they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill can impress you.
Foix Circuits
May 6, 2005
I had been planning this for a while now. A three day trip to the south of
France for some cycling in the Pyrenees. My first day out in the
hills. It was all that I thought it would be and more.
I am all ready for Tourmalet, Aubisque and Aspin. Hope I get to visit them
before I return to Urbana-Champaign.
May 1, 2005
Paris. Don't ask me why this is on the rides page.
April 16, 2005
The aim was to make Bayeux the base for a
day long ride to the D-Day beaches in Normandy. But taking a bike to Bayeux
was not possible, French train authorites insist that on this route from Paris
to Bayeux bikes be carried in a box no bigger
than 3 feet by 4 feet. Now that is
too much effort. So the plan was to rent one at Bayeux, the first option a
cycle-shop called Tandem Bikes was closed on Sunday.
I should have called them before I landed in
Bayeux. The second option was a bed and breakfast
(B&B) place that rented bikes but could not do so on the Sunday I was there
because the lady who ran
the place was out of town and the grandson did not have keys to the store room.
The third option, another guy from another B&B had bikes and
would rent them only
if I stayed at his place, which I agreed to only to be told that bikes were
not in condition to be rented. I prompty cancelled the reservation. So I
explored Bayeux on foot and ended up doing a guided tour of the beaches. Not
as fun as cycling but still quite enjoyable.
April 3, 2005
The first bike ride, I decided to
take it easy and choose a gentle, short route. No possibilty of any heriocs,
no overnight stay, just a
pleasant, scenic ride along the Seine with a visit to a chateau. Technically,
my first ride was in Fontainebleu, but struggling on a touring bike on a
terrain
meant for moutain-bikes is not exactly something to write about.
The fact that
I was riding with friends who had rented mountain bikes had something to do
with why I ended up having to walk my bike every now and then.
