50 Ways to Leave Your Lover

Day 383
Beziers to Pepignan
Time: 5:52:00
Distance: 104 km
Avg Speed: 17.7 kph
Terrain: Flat
Location: N 42 41' 55", 2 53' 44" E

This was Chris’ song selection for the day. He loves to sing and typically has some tune going. After a quick break to get groceries this morning, we got back on the road toward Perpignan. Chris sang a few lines of the Paul Simon classic and I joined right in. I think I was at “just drop off the key Lee and get yourself free” when I actually realized what song he was singing. “Should I be worried?” I asked Chris. He laughed hard and said “no, that was the song playing in the supermarket”. Then we spent the next 10 km or so figuring out ways we could have given each other the slip in the last year. Here are the top three:
-While getting off the train at the station, get off the train with your bike and panniers and make sure the other person will be held up by all the other people getting off the train
-Buy two plane tickets, 1 one-way and 1 return. Don’t tell the one-way about the return
-Send him out for groceries and then switch hotel rooms (This actually happened in Slovakia. He found me anyway.)

In an attempt to get closer to Spain, we had another long day. The terrain was flat again and even though the wind had changed, it was still helped us pedal along. The day was rather dark with thick cloud cover and a few rain sprinkles. I changed my sunglasses to orange lenses more for my psyche than vision. I have a tendency to struggle on days without sun.
At kilometer 85 we found ourselves in the vicinity of another sightseeing opportunity and decided to take it. Just off the highway was the Forteresse de Salses. It is the beautifully preserved Catalan fortress built in the 15th century. Apparently, the design was very innovative for the time and represented a transition between medieval castles and modern fortresses. The castle is definitely a departure from the buildings we’ve seen so far in Europe. I’m guessing we’re in for more captivating architecture as we venture onto the Iberian Peninsula.
Tomorrow we’ll spend a well earned rest day getting organized for Spain and Portugal. With just over six weeks until we return to the US, we should have ample time to explore the region in depth.

Hop on the bus Gus,
LK

Day 382: Lunel to Beziers

Time: 5:35
Distance: 103.4 km
Avg Speed: 18.8 kph
Terrain: Flat
Location: N 43˚ 19’ 45.5”, E 03˚ 17’ 18.0”

I had ideas for all kinds of titles today, but we saw and encountered so many different things it was hard to sum up. We headed out with some warm temps and our friendly little tail wind pushing us along. The going was really straight forward as we got out of Lunel and tried to stay south of Montpellier. We have gotten a little weird about staying out side of cities, so much in fact that we spent today in circuitous avoidance of them. They seem to suck us in and spit us out only after they have had their way with us. Right out of town today we started hearing gun shots coming from the fields. This was a first for us in France, and as much as I can figure it was the first day of dove season. We rode a little ways and had to take a roadside pitstop. I took care of my business and right as Leslie was taking care of hers a little old farmer came strolling out of nowhere with a little satchel and an ancient double barrel shotgun. So much for privacy on the side of the road. We got back underway and saw our first Tour de France street art. If you have watched the Tour you will have noticed that fans paint all over the roads with drawings and sayings. Today we rode over a giant bicycle painted across both lanes of traffic. As soon as we saw it, we both new what it was. It was a little faded, but pretty neat nonetheless. We had a little over an hour under our belts when we got to a big shopping area in a suburb of Montpellier. We were low on cooking gas and I had seen some signs for sporting goods stores. We turned into the first parking lot and came face to face with our friend: McDonald’s. It was still early so we stepped right up and got a petit dejeuner of an Egg McMuffin and a Coke. Egg McMuffin is the same in English as it is in French. After snarfing some calories we hit all the sports stores and the mall and came up empty handed. Our next goal was to get to the coast. Remember, I said circuitous. We made good time and arrived in the port town of Sete. We finally made it to the Mediterranean and were greeted by clear skies, blue water and boats, boats and more boats. From little dinghies, to barges to giant cruise ships. It was a hopping little place, with the traffic to prove it. We ate lunch here before setting off across a 13km narrow sand spit. We had a nice bike path for half of it, the other half we shared with cars and RV’s. It was nice to have those sparkling blue waters to our left the whole way. After the spit we saw that we had another 32km to our desired destination for the night. It was time to put our heads down, but not until we had another Coke and some refills on our water. We also got sucked into cooking gas shopping some more. No Dice. We did make it with daylight to spare and now are eating everything in the food bag. Hopefully the stores are open on Sunday.
Au revoir
CK

Pont du Gard

Day 381
Bagnols s Ceze to Lunel
Time: 5:04:00
Distance: 89.6 km
Avg Speed: 17.7 kph
Terrain: Flat

We’re back in the swing of things - two days in a row on the road. We also got back to eating our own breakfast rather than the hotel’s. The euro/dollar ratio is getting better but it’s still not in our favor. For the first time in over a week we started under a bluebird sky and warm temperatures.
Our route continued south and the tailwind made the short hills a little easier. We said goodbye to the Rhone River and headed towards the Gard River. Before riding on toward Nimes, we took a detour to another World Heritage site. I don’t know how many of these protected areas we’ve seen on our tour, but I think there has been one in almost every country.
Today we had the opportunity to visit the Pont du Gard. We’ve viewed this impressive structure during the Tour de France on television. It’s even more spectacular in person. The monument is also very beautiful in its simplicity. Part of a 50 kilometer long aqueduct system built by the Romans, the pont (bridge in French) took three years to build and employed 800-1,000 people. Each block of stone was cut to fit perfectly as no mortar was used in the construction. The bridge is three levels high with the top level being the water conduit. Today it is possible to tour this level which measures 6’ high by 4’ wide. The entire system supplied water to the Roman city of Nemausus (now Nimes) at a rate of 5 million gallons per day.
I think it’s good that we visited the site in October. The Pont du Gard is one of France’s top five tourist attractions and sees over 1.4 million visitors a year.
The landscape changed as we left the Gard River area and rode closer to Nimes. The small little villages were there, just overshadowed by urban development. Every once in awhile we would spot a church steeple or a clock tower.
By mid afternoon we were pedaling in shirt sleeves and taking advantage of the tailwind. No reason to stop early if your traveling over 20 kilometers per hour. It’s nice to feel like you’re not pedaling. We almost made 90 km by the time we found a hotel. We can’t seem to break away from the comfort of a bed with an attached bathroom. Maybe we’ll see about a campground tomorrow…maybe.

Happy Friday,
LK

Back Out There

Day: 380
Rochemaure to Bagnols Sur Ceze
Time: 3:07
Distance: 55.5 km
Avg Speed: 17.8 kph
Terrain: Flat to rolling
Location: N 44˚ 09’ 57.1”, E 04˚ 36’ 58.0”

We left our little haven this morning and rolled out under dark, wet skies. I forgot the cable lock in the parking lot, so I got to roll out twice. The dark skies lightened up the further south we got, and our tailwind picked up a bit. We made good time through the countryside and got to our destination early afternoon. We could have gone further today, but lodging choices have been slim in France and we have been trying to stay in bigger towns. We passed several campgrounds as well today, but true to the trend they were closed. I am beginning to think of the tent on the back of my bike as an anchor.
Leslie wrote a very good blog today concerning the need to vote for the environment. She did stop short of endorsing anyone, but you could probably get a real good idea who it would be if you checked out the League of Conservation Voters website (www.lcv.org). The website lists the voting records for the candidates as well as other members of our government. Yes it is green, yes it is ‘liberal’, and yes the angle is slanted. Everything you read, hear and see these days is the same. Being out in the world we are able to see the news that everyone else is interested in. The past several weeks has seen a shift from the big OPEC vote that went down to the big goat turd of an economic mess the world is in right now. We have forgotten about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs). It isn’t about the price of gas (FYI, it is €1.44/liter here…do the math), it isn’t about the retirement fund that took a dump (it did everywhere, for everyone), it is about what kind of world we make for ourselves and leave for the future generations. If we remove the bottom of the pyramid, it really doesn’t matter what is above it. Do we need to revert to a Gilligan’s Island lifestyle? No, but we need to at least be aware of what we are doing and how that creates turbulence in the world around us. Positive actions or negative actions all have reactions in the world.
I guess Leslie’s little rant brought one on that I had been thinking of. You can tell that we have been holed up for a couple of days and needed to get moving again. I can’t promise that we won’t write and more diatribes, but if we do we will warn you at the beginning so you can skip them over.
Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.
More travel, less drivel.
CK

Living La Vida Local

Day 379
Rochemaure

We were supposed to get back on the road today but instead we are still in Rochemaure. The rains started during the night, and while it is not the Biblical type of deluge, the constant downpour has been enough to delay another day.
Rest days are a mixed blessing for us. On one hand we have a chance to rest, recover, and catch up with whatever. We usually try to call family, catch up on the internet, and eat. At some point we reach the slippery slope and rest days become long and unwanted. Our muscles start to recover, we spend too much money, and we start to worry about getting behind or getting to the planned end.
Today could have been one of those not so positive days. I caught my mind wandering early and decided to follow a different thought path. Who cares if it takes longer to warm up tomorrow or if we have a little less money than we planned when we get home? Furthermore, no one is going to give us a bad grade or not give us a raise if we don’t follow our original route or timeline. It’s amazing how ingrained my previous life is sometimes. It’s not a bad thing, just an observation. I realize that this journey is a special opportunity that may never present itself again. I look forward to all of the experiences that we will have from now until we fly home from Spain.
I did manage to have a conversation in French today. It was short and the other person was not Chris. I’m sure the woman at the post office knew that I wasn’t local, but I was proud of myself for trying to be one. One thing is for sure – I would really like to become fluent in some language in the future.
So we will try again tomorrow. If not, we’ll just live la vida local for one more day.

LK

Sick Day From the Office

Day: 378
Rochemaure Day 2

I decided to take one more day off the bike. I didn’t feel too spicy yesterday, so I opted for another day. I think deep down I needed more French TV.
Here is the rundown of what I have watched today. Keep in mind that it is dubbed over in French.
Knight Rider (or K2000 according to this TV) twice actually
Magnum PI
Several French films which I enjoyed watching, but didn’t really get. One of them I am sure I wouldn’t have even got with sub-titles.
One French-Canadian film with European French subtitles. Evidently there is that much of a difference. I actually got this one and really liked it. It is called C.R.A.Z.Y. if you can find it with English sub-titles.
The rest of the time I just surfed.
We did get out and visit the local chateau. I think it was built in the 13th century (my reading comprehension of French isn’t so good) atop a volcanic dyke that runs parallel to the river. It overlooks the town and offers expansive views of the Rhone River Valley.

While killing time today I did find a program on Yahoo called the Purple Pedal Program. It is a contest for these purple bikes that are outfitted with GPS, and cameras and solar chargers. I suggest you track it down and check it out. Leslie thought I should enclose my application.
Enjoy
CK

Pedaling, whether it is purple or not, has been my life this past year. My sole purpose (with my significant other of course) has been to ride my bicycle throughout the world. No cars... no problem. Bad weather...put on another jacket. Too hot...take off some clothes (careful with that one). Documenting my daily rounds throughout the front range of Colorado would be a great way to further the cause of pedal power, not petrol power!! Showing people that it is possible to get anything and everything with a bike is not only what I would be able to do; it is what I was made to do. Solar powered purple pedal montsters unite to carry out this global education program. I CAN BE (and should be) A SOLAR POWERED PURPLE PEDAL MONSTER BECAUSE I ALREADY AM ONE (my bike just happens to be green).
Cheers

Le Rhone a Velo

Days 373-375
La Frette to Rochemaure
Time: 3:24:00 and 4:36:00
Distance: 60.0 km and 78.5 km
Avg Speed: 17.7 kph and 16.9 kph
Terrain: Flat
Location: N 48.58, E 4.70

We’ve ridden two of the last three days and have made our way back to the Rhone River. The weather has been a little rainy, partly sunny and crisp (more like cold). It’s kind of like New Zealand a year ago. Luckily the wind hasn’t been too much of a problem. I probably shouldn’t have even mentioned that…
Our last couple of days has been pretty mellow – we’ve just been putting our heads down and riding. On the flats we are able to move a pretty good distance in a day. At this point in the year we’re just trying to get south and hope that the weather warms up a bit. Camping is really not a possibility in this area and it hasn’t been too hard to get a room. As we get closer to Spain we might get a chance to have some more time in the tent. I think we’re both pretty indifferent this close to the end. When you get to 100 nights of camping you stop keeping track.
Despite the chill in the air, we’ve been enjoying the landscapes. The countryside has been beautiful throughout Europe and France’s version has its own unique character. The Rhone has become quite wide and placid now since Switzerland. Apparently it has not always been that way and this grand river has been tamed over time. Once filled with obstacles, the character of the Rhone has been altered by humans. Today it is the source of 1/3 of France’s electricity. Before this “control of nature” pre-19th century passengers traveled in vessels pulled by horses, men or sails. They often times carried painted crosses with religious symbols as good omens on their journey. Although we travel on land, I think we can understand the concept of keeping yourself safe on a journey through a wild environment.
We’ll have another rest day tomorrow. Chris has developed a cold and we want to avoid any sort of respiratory infection. Our new digs are pretty comfortable and Chris has been brushing up on his French by watching the dubbed version of Knight Rider.

Here’s to the power of water,
LK

Continental Drift

Day 372
Geneva, Switzerland to Lavours, France
Time: 4:52:00
Distance: 78.5
Avg Speed: 16.2
Terrain: Rolling
Location: 45˚ 49’ 0.33” N, 5˚ 46’ 58.11” E

Continental Drift is defined as “a theory that explains the formation, alteration, and extremely slow movement of the continents across the Earth's crust. The continents are thought to have been formed from one large landmass that split, drifted apart, and in places collided again.”
Today we changed the definition to: a theory that explains the route formation, route alternation, and extremely slow pedaling of the Kehmeiers across Europe…
Our departure from Switzerland was slow. The days are shorter, the mornings colder, and we didn’t find any good bike route maps to find the best way into France. We did, however, find a good road map. I procrastinated until this morning to line out a descent route. Really, I was just hoping to find enough bicycle lanes to get us into France and onto the country roads. It worked – sort of. We zig zagged through Geneva while trying to avoid major thoroughfares. We stopped many times to consult the map. The rest of the time I relied on my internal compass.
By late morning we were on the outskirts of the city and quickly approaching the border. We had some Swiss Francs to burn and decided to spend the money with a café stop. We found a little cafeteria next to the supermarket and proceeded directly to the dessert and coffee zone. After paying for the slices of carrot cake torte and café au laits, Chris announced “we can go through the line two more times!”
After the second trip through Chris decided it might be better to spend the money on future sustenance and wandered off to the store. Meanwhile, I had a delightful conversation with a Swiss couple. The man struck up a conversation with me in French. When I asked him if he spoke English he said no and continued talking. He said “English?” I said “No, United States.” He stumbled backwards in amazement as he looked at our bicycles outside the window. I then explained to him where we had traveled from and he just shook his head. About that time his wife sidled up next to him. He repeated my story (in French of course), her eyes lit up, and she then continued the conversation. We actually chatted for quite some time. I learned that she knew of some other folks that had done some bicycle touring and that she once met another man who was taller than Chris. It’s amazing what you can figure out with some voice inflections, hand gestures and a few key words.
So now we are in France. The transition was pretty seamless as there were no border agents and the language is still the same. We’re still traveling through the lovely countryside and the Rhone River is still our guide. I’m sure there are other similarities, but there are also some big differences. France is over ten times the size of Switzerland and it is Western Europe’s largest country. It’s definitely not land locked and borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. France also boasts the highest peak in Europe -Mont Blanc at 4,807 m. The multi-cultured French number over 60 million. According to statistics, they are moving into the suburbs and rural areas and away from the Paris region.
We’ll be “drifting” south toward Perpignan and the border of Spain. We should get a good feel for this country’s passion and beauty.

Vive la France,
LK