The day has arrived! With equal parts nervousness and excitement, Uri has boxed up his Surly Bridgeclub and the 30+ lbs of gear, clothes, and camping equipment (all his gear here). There is an air of solemnity as we use the word "last" or "final" in sentences like This is your last bike ride before you're in Europe, and This is the last dinner we will have together at home until August.
Uri is going to be biking alone from Montpelier to Geneva, about 11 days or so. This is the largest solo trip he has done, and the added stress of not speaking the languages is naturally nerve-wracking.
Even though I (with Claire) am joining him in less than 1 week for this Great Eurovelo ride, it still hasn't sunk in that I will be bike touring in Europe. Right now, I am just going through the motions of putting things in little piles, in the same manner as if this is a long weekend trip around my local back roads rather than crossing continental Europe (eeek!).
A note on the posts: Uri will be my editor and contributor with his own inputs and first-person descriptors in italics/quotes.
Day 0: The Big Pack
Saturday at 7:30 in the morning, we [more like I] wrangled the bike box and panniers into the car and drove the 3.5 hrs to New York City. The flight wasn't until 4:55 PM, so we had plenty of time to meet with my college friend, Liz, and her partner, Brad, for an awesome Indian lunch at Kismat in Manhattan. After being stuffed with chickpea and mushroom masala, we parted ways and white-knuckled our way to Queens through the NYC traffic. In under 5 minutes since arriving at the terminal, Uri was wheeling his box and bags into the airport and disappearing from my view. Exiting the airport and NYC bumper-to-bumper with other cars was the only thing keeping me from getting emotional about it.
In the meantime, Uri had a safe flight to Lyon with a connecting flight in Dublin on Aer Lingus, with complementary beef stew. Though the hostess told him to "Get it together!" as he groggily was awoken at 10 AM (3 AM New York time), he arrived in France sans probléme. Unfortunately, Lyon was not his final destination, and he needed to take a train to Montpelier, about 1hr 45 away. As a whole, France was a hub for bike tourists: tons of people were rolling their touring bikes through the train station, and the roads were loaded with cyclists. However, since his bulky bike box made getting normal taxis problematic, he spent 90e for a larger ride to the train station and then narrowly avoided a 150e fine for his box being too large for the train. Plus, many people were annoyed that his box was taking up the majority of the luggage compartment. The lesson: build your bike and ditch the box before getting on the train.
Despite their annoyance, people were consistently happy to help Uri move the box around. For instance, the elevators in the station at Lyon weren’t working, and a young, chubby boy went out of his way to help, despite being on a different terminal to catch his train. Even though people were kind and always assisting him with his bike box, the language barrier was still very stressful. Thankfully, the human instinct to help others is universal.
At the Montpelier train station, Uri built his bicycle and navigated to his Warmshowers on Rue Albert Viger. It was sketchy biking across the city, and he had to get onto a large highway for a portion of the time. But, once he got to his destination, his host family was incredibly kind: a family of six including four young kids. The husband and wife spoke great English, but the kids didn't speak any, talking in cute French to Uri and not comprehending that he couldn't understand what they were saying. That evening, they had pizza for dinner, and Uri camped out in their backyard. It was the family’s first Warmshowers guest, and Uri could tell that it was mainly the husband's project. While the wife seemed slightly annoyed and the husband overly-enthusiastic, on the whole, they were both very kind and accomodating.
Day 1: Montpellier to Beauclaire
(57.5 miles, 300 ft gain, Komoot map)
It took about 9 additional miles to get from his Warmshowers house to the beginning of the tour at the statue L’espoir (“Hope”). Uri spent the first 15 miles of morning next to the Mediterranean sea and cycling alongside beaches before cutting inland across marshes.
"The architecture along the sea was a beautiful mix of old and mid-century buildings. Eating lunch to the sound of bells striking noon, I felt so excited."
After a very French lunch (read: croissants, gelato, and Nutella), Uri began cutting inland along marshes that reminded him much of our [short] experience in Delaware; the brightness of the sun and saltiness of the air, mixed with boardwalks and wildlife that can be found next to these ocean-y/ brackish areas. He then skirted alongside Le Petit Rhône before meeting up with the larger, well-known Rhône river. This is where he will be for many, many days.
The first day wasn’t without its problems. Before leaving for the tour, Uri practiced using his Garmin mapping computer and syncing it with his pre-made route on Komoot. Base maps were already loaded onto the Garmin (great!), except the maps for Europe weren't on there and he didn't know that (not great!). So, his Garmin gave him the directions, but his arrow to follow was on a completely blank screen, sans roads. Frustratingly, he had the Europe maps on his computer at home but didn't load them since the Garmin seemed to have the base maps already. Fortunately, phone navigation was still handy when needed.
Second, the mix of heat and travel stress/plane food left Uri with horrible stomach pains, having him running into a bar with acute diarrhea. When he tried to exit the bar, the annoyed owner insisted that Uri at least purchase something, which he did. Uri thought, "From now on, I will be a perfect Samaritan; the more polite and kind I am, the less conflict I will have.” Overall, a good idea for life and a great idea for a solo tour in a foreign country.
Third, Uri’s front pannier was rigged to his front fork in a way that he was told would work. Well, it didn’t. The plastic attachment had broke (heavy load + gravel riding + improvised attachment to the fork = angry plastic). Even though it was bothersome, Uri was able to strap his pannier onto his back rack, though this removed any extra space he would have for storing things.
I was grateful to hear from Uri in the middle of the day. Since he is 6 hours ahead of me, we try to touch base in the morning (6AM for me and 12 PM for him) and again around 2-4 PM (8-10 PM for him, if he isn’t occupied with his hosts). With feelings of concern all too familiar to me, Uri was stressed about finding places to sleep. Warmshowers is great… when people respond to you. But, even if they respond, there is no guarantee that you will actually be able to communicate with them. The language barrier not only had been very overwhelming, but it was also incredibly isolating for Uri. Having simple, pleasant exchanges with strangers was even impossible.
"The Warmshowers host for night 1 of the tour was in a medieval part of town that was inhabited by many people from Ecuador. He called this part of town "poor", but it was absolutely stunning to me. There were literally medieval arches that I had to go under. The host was a retired book shop owner and seemed to have worked many jobs around the world before the bookshop. He had an incredibly liberal political stance, and I really respected his environmental views. We had a great conversation. I would describe his apartment as true intellectual bohemian, and artifacts from his motorcycle racing days were the first thing I noticed. After a phenomenal dinner of ratatouille and local rice, we went out for beers at a stunning plaza, half a block from his house. Apart from talking about politics and movies, he strongly echoed some advice that I got from my first host: just pay for camping when in France."
Day 2: Beauclaire to Pont-Saint-Esprit
(68 miles, 975 ft of gain, Komoot map)
"Despite having made the Good Samaritan rule, I had an awkward moment where I decided to use my host’s towel without asking because he was asleep. When he found out in the morning, he had wished that I asked first. Even though he seemed slightly annoyed, it was not a problem after a couple moments.
Leaving the Warmshowers, I went to a beautiful coffee shop at the square where my host and I had beers the previous night, and the owner was very nice despite not speaking English or Spanish well."
While the route continued to remain relatively flat, there were a lot of emotional up and downs. The broken pannier meant finding a new place to store Uri’s tennis shoes, but lacing them together on the back pannier resulted in them steathily coming undone and being lost forever. Thankfully, Uri still had sandals for when he wasn’t using his biking cleats. On top of that, the lack of social interaction remained challenging and isolating.
A positive moment in the day was when Uri biked alongside a group of cyclists from the United States. Eight people on a guided tour were incredibly stoked for Uri and didn’t fail to express their excitement and support. Having camaraderie, even for a brief moment, was immensely uplifting, and Uri even missed his turn because he was so happy to be biking with people who he could communicate and spend time with.
Uri’s attitude about finding places to sleep shifted as his expectations for Warmshowers hosts declined and his goal to aim for the many campsites grew. His Warmshowers hosts all encouraged seeking out these campsites, which are heavily using by cyclists during the biking season. Plus, these turned out to be more reliable than the Warmshowers hosts who wouldn’t respond to Uri’s messages.
When Uri and I talked in the morning, my face was sandwiched on pillows as I laid in the dark while he ordered French fries for lunch. Up until this point, he hadn’t really been eating much, and when we called later in the day, he still hadn’t eaten anything else beyond the fries. The heat + exercising gut + being sick of sugary snacks was no doubt all contributing to not having an appetite. Regardless, Uri biked through Avignon (which seemed endless) and continued north along the Rhône, until Pont-Saint-Esprit where he found a campsite for the night. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find any food to buy and resorted to cold-soaking and eating plain couscous (read: not very fun or appetizing).
With all the solitude, Uri realized two things: 1) He had more fun with Casey and I on our tour in 2022 through the gross sprawling suburbs of Phoenix than he was having alone in France. 2) It’s not the landscapes that are worth traveling for, it’s the social interactions.
"Before the trip, I always thought that the physical (sexy monkey [read this if confused]) and aesthetic (cool views) component of adventure was what drew me to it. Now, I realize that these components exist alongside the importance (and prerequisite) of having good company."
At this point, I was genuinely feeling for Uri and wanting to be there with him. I know what it’s like to be traveling alone, but I can't comprehend how hard it would be to not even speak the same language as everyone around you. I wanted Uri to have the best time on this incredible trip and encouraged him to detour by train to somewhere else that could make him happier (like Spain where he has family and speaks the language!). After all, Claire and I will be flying there in 1 week, and if he could be happier for the rest of the week somewhere else, then he should! Uri still wants to bike to Lyon and assess the situation/ see if anything changes the next few days.
Day 3: Pont-Saint-Esprit to Charmes-sur-Rhône
(55 miles, 1475 ft of gain, Komoot map)
Uri had slept pretty terribly because of a bird that was screeching above his head all night long (as well as during our evening phone call). It wasn’t until about 2 AM that he could actually fall asleep. On top of that, he didn’t have working electricity at the campsite, which he paid for, so he wasn’t able to charge any of his electronics (esp his navigation ones).
Even though the early morning was a rocky start, he went to a café and had a massive brunch of pizza, flan, and coffee. We’re talking mega portions. Later he filled up on steak, fries, and a beer, all for only 15e, highlighting how much cheaper food is in France compared to New York.
Compared to the dry, arid, rocky landscapes of the previous day, Uri began an ascent that led him to many shades of green. From his climb, he was able to overlook the small towns and bike through a glacial valley. It reminded him much of home in upstate New York, with the same luscious vegetation. Even though the landscapes had been changing daily, the feel of the towns remained the same: all the villages were adorably small and medieval in appearance with beautiful stone houses. There were multiple castles, and one had a mote!
On the 3rd day of language barriers, there was an attempt at communication. On a random rural road, an old man tried to discuss jazz with Uri, using his arms to emphatically simulate instruments. When Uri insisted that he couldn’t understand the man, the man repeated what he was saying but tried shouting it instead. Unfortunately, we will never know what he needed to say about Jazz.
The distance is starting to have its effect as well. Muscle tightness in the morning meant more stretching for Uri. Even still, he is feeling much better than the previous two days. In the morning, listening to an upbeat music playlist helped pull him out of Mental Zombie Mode and get into the groove and rhythm of biking.
The afternoon brought its own surprise: Luis from Portugal! A man so heavily set in his routine that he wouldn't deviate from his meals by eating out. The two of them biked together for a while, chatting and enjoying the hefty tailwinds while keeping a speedy pace of 17-18 mph. Even though they were both heading to Lyon, Uri wanted to get there in 2 days while Luis wanted to get there in one 80 mile push. So, they didn't get to stay together a second day, but the encounter was the pick-me-up that Uri needed! They both shared a campsite at Les Deux Rives Camping Bar and Restaurant on le Rhône and some beers in the evening.
Overall a great Day 3.
Day 4: Charmes-sur-Rhône to Condrieu, France
(~60 miles, partial Komoot map)
"Today, I woke up slow, knowing that it would be a lighter day. I left the campsite around 9:30 and was one of the last bikers out. I blame jet lag for keeping me from falling asleep early. For that reason, I decided to not have any coffee today, or any caffeine for that matter."
Uri left his campsite and biked into Valence, a commune in southeastern France. This city has many vestiges from the middle-ages and Renaissance period and is surrounded by many mountain ranges, hinting at the incoming Alps. He followed the perfectly paved bike path northward, seeing multiple elementary school group rides and senior citizen cyclists, highlighting the incredible accessibility of the route.
"The route today was very well protected from cars and quite similar to yesterday's ride. However, today was the first day of net uphill. In fact, almost all of the day was a false flat with a consistent 1 to 2% graded incline. The combination of no caffeine and nearly 60 miles of slight uphills have me feeling quite tired. I think I might actually fall asleep at a reasonable time.
Today, I also had a total moment of déjà vu. I accidentally went off route, and when I turned around, I nearly fell off the bike. When I looked up, I swear that I saw the boy who helped me at the Lyon train station.
I ended the day at a beautiful campsite at L'île des Pêcheurs, right on the bank of the river. I cold soaked couscous again, but this time, I mixed it with lentils and tuna, resulting in a slightly better meal. I think olive oil would make it better, though.
Despite missing Erin, I feel like my day was overall good and that I am getting used to my routines (Luis said that this was important for traveling alone, and I think he is very correct). I’m looking forward to a good sleep and hopefully a quick day into Lyon tomorrow."
(Excuse me while I go cry now.)
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