The road back home - It's late September and I really should be back on tour - CycleBlaze

October 26, 2018 to October 28, 2018

The road back home

Completing the 8500 km journey home

We spent Friday in Avignon with the primary purpose of preparing for our travel home. Train tickets purchased, souvenir shopping completed,  bikes back in their cases and the bags packed. The weather in Avignon was still warm and very pleasant as we walked the streets that we had become familiar with a month ago. The old centre was small and easy to get around. We stepped out beyond the medieval walls for a few blocks into the street construction and traffic chaos. Avignon also appeared to  be upgrading their transit infrastructure with a tram going to the train station. Car traffic was bumper to bumper. You wonder why cycling is not popular. We quickly found the next gate in the wall and headed back into the tranquility of the one lane narrow crooked streets. 

Pat was shopping for a scarf without any luck and Scott had no fixed shopping purpose. Avignon is a bit of a shopper's paradise.....a bit too much for Scott but it was his turn to be patient. The relatively low Canadian dollar does us no favours here. But after 5pm we went to L'Explo - a craft beer pub on Rue des Teinturiers  which offered good selection of beer including a couple of IPAs - a definite plus in Scott's column. They took a deposit for the safe return of the beer glasses but were only too happy to give us clean ones as cheap souvenirs. Now to get them home in one piece!

Saturday morning the weather forecast was right on track.  The rain had started. Must be a travel day - that is okay - the tour has been relatively rain free. Our train to Geneva departed at just after noon with a single connection in Valence-Ville.  The rain gave  a slight pause at 11 o'clock so we left our studio apartment and made a break for the train station. Avignon station was only about 500 metres away and we discussed taking a cab but it was such a short distance that we thought we could tough it out  and carry our equipment.  It took all our effort to carry the bags and pull the two bike suitcases the few blocks!

The Avignon station was small and the train to Valence-Ville left right on time, as they all seem to do. We travelled on the regional TER line versus the faster TGV line - the time savings on this routing is small and the cost savings are significant. Once we connected to our train for Geneva, it turned eastward toward the Alps. The line from Valence-Ville to Geneva would have been quite stunning  on  a sunny day but with the clouds and showers it was not at its best. Temperatures were only half of what they were yesterday (9 vs 18) and we were happy not to be on the bikes! It was as if the weather was confirming to us that our tour is over. 

When we reached the Cornavin station in Geneva the temperatures were in the low single digits with rain. We would have liked to visit this city again but we could not face the cold, wet conditions. We caught the next train to the airport and shuttled to the hotel. 

The following day, Sunday,  our flight left at noon for Montreal. The flight from Geneva had lots of open seats and we had the middle row of four seats all to ourselves.   We had a three hour connection in Montreal and then the five hour flight to Vancouver.  Everything went smoothly. All told it was a long day of travelling but well worth a late September  tour. We arrived back in Vancouver in a typical downpour and the streets were flooding. Welcome home!

A mixed weather day in Geneva but we could see the low snow line on the hills nearby.
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Steve Miller/GrampiesWelcome home indeed. Now you can begin planning for your next tour.
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5 years ago
Brad SharpTo Steve Miller/GrampiesWhat a great trip ! Thanks for taking me along. Look forward to hearing more.
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5 years ago
Barry Devlin"I know you keep us amused" - thanks for sharing.
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5 years ago