A votre sante!

Le bien-etre, or the well-being is the theme of our current home, Bagneres de Luchon.  We are nestled in a lush, beautiful valley, surrounded by the Pyrenees. It is a spa town with a very famous "wet cave" for the respiratory ailments and the hot thermal pools for the aches and pains.  There is a steady parade every morning at 7:30 with the over 60 crowd carrying their plastic bags holding their swim suits, plastic shoes and swim caps, on their way to take the "cures", which are prescribed by the many doctors in town.  About 1 hour later the streets are filled with large groups of cyclists taking off for their day on the hills.

Ready to take the cure...

Luchon is stately and old, and definitely La Grande Dame de Les Pyrenees.  She is like your great aunt who had the old family home, with the fading Persian carpets, slightly shabby furniture and a bit of peeling paint on the side of the house.  The streets are wide, lined with magnificent tall trees and grand old apartment buildings and hotels.  It was the first ski area in the Pyrenees, with a gondola that starts in town and ends at the base of the ski area 4,000' above us.  It is quite the bike ride; 18k long, but the skiers are zipped up there in 20 minutes. So civilized!

Looking out from the top of Super Bagneres.

The Pyrenees are vast and rich in history.  There are small towns that dot the hillsides and hug the banks of the rivers.  There are post card perfect towns everywhere you look that you will have never heard of.

Cierp-Gard. 

As very few Americans will ever visit this area unless you are a crazy cyclist, here is a link for some armchair tourism.  http://www.luchon.com/

We have been doing our share of cycling here.  The well know cols, the Peyresourde, Portillon, Super Bagneres and Col de Bales have all been in the Tour de France (TdF henceforth!).  We did all of them, one at a time, over the week.  On Saturday as we slogged up the Portillon from the Spanish side, we met this guy at the top....

I am in awe!

He was doing all of the above, in one day. And the Port de Bales from both directions!  Over 12,000' of climbing.  Equivalent to the death ride, only by himself and just out for a weekend spin... Also, he told us he was 48 years old....Looked 32.

Relaxing at the top of Port de Bales.

Most of our rides have gone well.  Then yesterday we had some technical problems.  Larry snapped his rear gear cable, of course in the highest gear, and couldn't ride up the Col de Mente.  It was very steep and 11 K long.  Also about 100 degrees in the sun.  Fortunately, we got a ride to the top from a good Samaritan.

Off tomorrow for 10 days in Argeles-Gazost, another biking, hiking and skiing mecca in the Pyrenees.  Less like your stately old aunt, and more like that fun cousin who is always ready to play. It is very close to Lourdes, the town like your sleazy uncle who always is trying to sell you a bad deal...

Benvengut a Espanya

We pulled up stakes from our quiet area in France on Saturday to make our way to Girona, Spain.  It is in the heart of Catalunya, so what little Spanish I do speak is almost worthless.

As we left the banks of the Loire Lateral Canal, I said goodby to the last flat bike ride I will have for the next 6 weeks.

How flat can you get?

 I also had to stock up on my vin de Burgonne, as it is not that easy to find in Espana. Mama likes her Chardonnay....

We did buy 2 nice bottles, but all others about 5euro. 

We are in Girona for a week to participate in the Girona Gran Fondo.  It is going to be tough for us, as we have not had very many hills to train on since we arrived over here, and our cycling season takes the winter off in Tahoe. It is easier to make excuses than to just admit we are old and out of shape.

With the exception of Paris, Girona is the most international city I think I have ever visited.  It is a popular destination for many reasons. It is a medieval walled city; has a very old Jewish quarter, a rich history in the arts and trade, and in recent history, has become the cycling mecca for professional riders.  It probably didn't start with Lance Armstrong, but he certainly brought the spotlight to this area when he made it his off season training headquarters.  Many pros followed and now there are skinny people in lyrca everywhere. And where the pros go to ride, so follow all of the avid recreational cyclists with the tours and cycling events to

Some of the surrounding hills. Yes, we rode them...

accompany them.  The riding here has been beautiful; albeit warm and challenging. There have been group rides and events every day this week to go along with the bike event on Saturday, and the participants are from around the globe.  Larry and I are probably the oldest, and maybe the slowest.  It has been very humbling.

At the start of the hill climb competition

What I love about being in a city in Europe, and maybe Spain in particular,  is the way people take the time to sit in a small cafe and have a coffee and talk with their friends.  It is so accessible here compared to in the US. Firstly, most cities have large pedestrian mall areas where only commercial vehicles can enter.  The other big factor is price.  To sit and have a coffee is about 3euro or less for 2 people.  And 2 beers about  4 euro. What else is remarkable is the fact there are no "to go" drinks or fountain sodas in large paper cups.  You SIT, have your coca or cafe con leche brought to you in the bottle with a glass and ice or in your cup on a saucer. Just so relaxed and civilized!

Despite hearing every language in the world spoken here, there is one common thread holding everyone together.

                                             GELATO


 There must be 30 gelato stores within the 1 square kilometer of our apartment. What keeps me riding during the day is the reward of my gelato at night as I walk Ziggy.   So many flavors, so little time.

Adios. Ciao. Au revoir. Cheers, mate. Aufweidersehen. Goodby for now.

The road(s) not taken

The road to nowhere, on the road again, road scholar, the road goes on forever, (and the party never ends), country roads, another roadside attraction, and all roads lead to.........

We are in a very rural area of France.  On the Loire River and Lateral Canal.  Just across the river from Bourgonne (Burgandy). And as you might guess from my intro,  there are more roads per square mile than varicose veins on a woman with 19 children. But who is counting. These roads sometimes go to villages of 5 homes, that have made it to the map and road signs. We can ride for miles and never see more than 3 or 4 cars.  There are also well marked Velo routes with many people doing multi-day tours.

On our side of the Loire River, it is all farms, very flat, and small villages.  We are much further east than the famous Chateaus, but there are some small, abandoned estates around the area.

Just a small place along the road.

We are also on the canal, which in the old days was used for trade and transportation, with the ingenious design of the locks which allowed for navigation on rivers that had large elevation gains and losses.  There are hundreds of miles of canals and locks throughout Europe, with most of them in France, Holland, Belgium and Germany.  With a few exceptions, these navigable waters are now the playground for older adults who enjoy the quiet life on the water.  Just imagine floating RV's with easy access to good wine, fresh produce and bread, the occasional restaurant and citizens from every country assembling each evening as the sun sets, and you have set the scene for adult camp on the river. You have new best friends every day.

One of the larger boats.

This area of France does have a few larger towns, of about 1,000 inhabitants,but they are all about 20-40 miles apart.  The striking thing I notice as we ride along is the sheer number of homes for sale.  Either in towns or out in the middle of nowhere.  Prices range  from the low 60,000 to who knows where, but for the most part they are on the low end, and  in need of some TLC. The French village life seems to be dying out, with a very difficult sustainable business model.  Unless you inherit the family farm, there is no other work.  And we are in the Hooterville of France, where internet is very slow, if at all, and tourism is about 1-2 hours away. (with the exception of the rivers/canals in the summer)  It is very pretty, the people are friendly, but there isn't much to do other than ride our bikes.  So ride we do!

One of our many roads to nowhere!

I always try to "go native" when I travel; live as the locals do, shop where they do, etc.  We are not out plowing any fields, but we are renting a small house in the country, shopping locally and drinking local wine and beer!