Mike again ... well we're back on the bikes ... yep the incredible happened and we dared to start the next adventure towards the south!
Last time we left you we were in Karlsruhe, patting ourselves on the back after crossing Germany on 7 trains in 12 hours. The plan we had cooked up was to start heading south through France towards the Mediterranean, things are getting cooler (but still very nice) and days are getting shorter, so we think it's a good time to head south and enjoy the weather while we can.
But... first I decided to live one of my dreams - to visit the Maginot Line. This is the line built after WW1 by the French to defend the German border (a very great idea, that unfortunately didn't extend far enough north). So, after one night in Karlsruhe we were back at the station to take 2 trains to Wissembourg, smallish town just over the French border that is about 10k from the biggest of the remaining forts. The train involved a 4 minute change over which with the bikes is pretty stressful, but as we hopped off our first train I could see the second pulling in to the same platform, and on we went! That's some high grade train skills!!
So, about 1km out of Wissembourg we crossed back into France, and our new friend we met on the train told us how beautiful the town is, so we walked our bikes in to get some lunch and check it out...and wow, it's is gorgeous. Just 2k over the border and it is soooo french! We chose a small restaurant and got the "menu" (daily special) lunch, and it was incredible!!
After lunch we headed for the fort, it was open from 2 till 6, but you can't enter after 4, as you need about 2 hours to see everything.. no problem.. it was about 1:45.. 10k's... all good! Well.... not so fast, we checked the route, and the recommended route was 14k, still no problem, but then we headed out of town, and straight up a 1.4k 7% hill, nasty! Still no problem, it was going to take a little longer. We rode on through the rolling hills as the dark clouds rolled in, then as we descended into a small village (so cute!), we went through a wall of bugs, not a tornado, a continues mass for about 50m, so bad we had to stop at a small bus top in town to scrap the bugs off and get them out of our clothes. And as we stop in the stone bus stop surrounded by baskets of flowers, the rain started, pouring!
As we sat in our bus stop, realising that our timing might be shot, a humming bird appeared and started eating from the flowers. We just sat there watching... incredible
With the rain easing a bit, we gave it a go, and headed for the fort, but again the rain started pouring and we hid under a tree. At this point we were out of time, and decided to head to the station (as was the plan for after the fort visit), about 8k's away. The ride there was along quiet farm roads, through fields of grapes and apples, it was incredible, and wet! The rain eased off as we got to the station, for our 40 minute train trip into Strasbourg. Once we arrived we grabbed a snack at the station, and worked out our plan, 1 night was the plan, let's book 1 night and decide tomorrow what we want to do. I could go back to the fort, we could look around and buy supplies or we could hit the road. Strasbourg is amazing, absolutely stunning, but the morning we were up early, wandered around enough and hit Decathlon to buy supplies, so by 11 we were all packed up and ready to checkout and hit the road!
Now we were on our way, trains a distant memory, and the road/path wide open ahead of us. It feels like a relief, and that time is plentiful again, without any train or ferry timetable deadlines to worry about.
The objective over the next few days was to ride to through Alsace to Mulhouse, the second biggest city in the region (after Strasbourg) and somewhere I'd heard about for years as a favoured stop for the Tour de France, it is 25k from Switzerland and 15k from Germany, and has some great mid-size climbs that provide early excitement for the Tour (yes.. of course I'm tempted, but am trying to be good!).
So we headed out of town late that day for a short 25k ride, to a hotel in a small town Erstein (absolutely gorgeous itself). We followed the Rhine Eurovelo (that Bob & Jen has been on further north), and it was heavenly. So great that after an absence of a month, Phil made his return to action (I had to charge him up with my battery pack on the side of the path!). After a great little visit including an early morning Boulangerie run, and a hair cut for Serena, we headed off again along the Eurovelo, this time 55k's to a campground (yes you hear that right - Sally was making a return too), right next to the town of Neuf-Brisach.
Another great day of paths along the edge of the canal. Along the way I had planned a stop, at a town with a boulagerie (closing at 1:30) and a Maginot Line fort/museum that opened at 2pm. This time my dreams of amazing bread for lunch and a Maginot visit were realised! However, this small fort and museum, were far more intimate, and "real", leaving less of a "curiosity fulfilled" feeling and more of the heaviness that real war brings (this fort was attacked by the Nazis to prove the line wasn't impenetrable, and the museum included a picture of hitler visiting it).
Arriving at the campsite we setup Sally and went for a walk into Neuf-Brisach, taking a short cut we found ourselves surrounded by the walls of the old citadel - incredible - we had no idea.
The following day we headed away from the Eurovelo, and towards Mulhouse, along a risky route that we knew was largely gravel and followed a canal. This turned out to be a fantastic decision as we saved 10k, and the path was a delight!
Of course, just to complete the rollercoaster the heavens opened up and after a wait, we rode the last 10k's into Mulhouse in light rain. Arriving wet and but happy, and crossing the Eurovelo 5 (from London to Rome) on our way into town! We headed straight for a cute restaurant to order the "menu", and chose a hotel.
Wow... we're back on the bike...and loving it!
Now it's My Turn (Serena)
1. IT'S SO GREAT BEING BACK ON THE BIKE - this is a bit of a shock to me to realise how ready I am to leave all the glamorous touristing (and nice hotels) behind and get back on the bike. Even though that first day was pretty craptacular (with the big hills and big rain), LOVING being so active again, especially out in the quiet areas away from cities and noise, just pedalling along saying hello to the swans and stopping at boulangeries...bliss.
2. IT'S SO GREAT BEING BACK IN FRANCE - it's been so weird to realise how comfortable I feel here - I LOVED Scandinavia, really loved it, and was lamenting saying goodbye to it - so much fun and action - and here I am feeling so chill and happy on the bike in France. It could be due to the fact that the last few days have been so beautiful on the bike, along canals with incredible scenery and through cute as cute towns that you can't believe people actually live there and go about their lives in such magical cuteness. And of course the other big upside I'm feeling is how safe we are on the bikes, there's just so much respect for cyclists here and we're given very wide berths, there's loads of good cycling paths and quiet back roads, and this safety brings a lot of comfort, confidence, and calm - it's given me perspective on just how crazy it was cycling in Finland! Yay France!
3. THE FOOD - WHAT ON EARTH GOES ON IN THIS COUNTRY AROUND FOOD??? THEY ARE SO FREAKING GOOD AT IT. IT NEVER CEASES TO AMAZE ME - I LITERALLY CLAP MY HANDS IN EXCITEMENT AT EVERY MEAL AS THEY PUT MY FOOD DOWN IN FRONT OF ME - IT'S NOT NATURAL THAT FOOD IS THIS GOOD. IT SOMETIMES LITERALLY MAKES ME CRY. I'M TOTALLY HERE FOR IT.
4. MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT SO FAR - Remember the wall of bugs Miked mentioned above??? Well, I was on the lead as we hit the wall, and at first I thought it was just like our usual tornado, but NOOOOOOOOO, it went on and on and on and on, and the bugs were really really little, teenie weenie flying ants - I couldn't breathe for the longest time cause I was too scared to open my mouth or breathe through my nose in case I drowned in the little fuckers (sorry, but such strong language is appropriate), so we finally get through them. We stop at the bus stop (for rain shelter) - I jump off the bike, try to get as many of the buggers off as I could, madly patting and brushing myself down, then just when I think I'm good I can feel them crawling all on the inside of my tshirt - BLOODY HELL - off goes my tshirt as I do a dance trying to wipe off all the bugs on my stomach and shaking my tshirt to get them all out - I had to delve into the bra and undies - and all I could think about was the poor neighbours overlooking the bus shelter - what a sight they must have seen, a strange chubby woman almost naked doing some weird mid-cycling route dance and swearing loudly in a foreign language. Classy.
5. I GOT A HAIRCUT - not having access to regular haircuts is an unrecognised sacrifice for us short haired people. I know you've had to see photos of me with a long shaggy mop. As have the locals. I couldn't take it any longer, and managed an early morning appointment a couple of days ago in a supermarket salon. It feels like a miracle.
So, that's all I've got for today. I'm in a wonderful hotel in the gorgeous city of Mulhouse, looking forward to the next few weeks ahead as we head south - the cycling, the beauty, and of course the deliciousness. Stay tuned Sportsfans.
We are back in France...and it is GOOOOOOD!
My first Orangina this time round
Welcome back to France.
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