“No person ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and they're not the same person.”  

This quote expresses the idea that everything is constantly changing. Even if the river looks the same, the water is always flowing, and by the time you step in again, it is no longer the same river — and you are not the same person either.

So, even though we have been to the French Alps before, and we will be covering some familiar territory from our tour of 2017, we're not the same people and that rushing river of time means that nothing is the same as it was.  

There are many reasons we are returning to the Alps.  One obvious reason is the stunning beauty and grandeur of the region.  Towering mountains,  deep gorges carved out by rushing mountain streams and rivers, quiet sinewy roads, the clanging of cow bells ringing across high pastures and quaint mountain towns are all calling us to return.   

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We're also returning to take care of some unfinished business.  Many of you know that cyclists are notoriously drawn to the mountains and challenging themselves to climb and get over some of Europe's highest roads, and we're no different.  There's a deep history and folklore associated with cycling in the mountains, and cyclists from all over the world flock to the Alps to tick off these high mountain cols, wearing them like a badge of honor.  So, we're also returning also to climb some of the cols that we missed in 2017 while we still can.  We take inspiration from many of our CycleBlaze friends whose photos and well documented journals helped to nudge us in this particular direction.  A special mention goes to the unstoppable Anderson's who, by now, have earned legendary status in cycle touring circles.  Their extensive 2015 French Alps tour has served as model for many of us CycleBlazers out there.  It is their journal, as well as more recently Jacquie and Al's journal from this year, that have reminded us that there are some cols we have yet to tackle.  Thanks for the reminder. We think.

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This tour is a shortish one; only three weeks or so. If you account for two days in Lyon at the beginning of our trip and two days at the end, we really only have about two weeks of cycling.  So, we're slowing down.  Our motto is Shorter days and longer stays this year.  We have no ambitions to cycle long days and see as much as we can see in a short period of time.  We think those days are over.  Instead, we're going to focus on a relatively small area and slow down, and hopefully squeeze in some 'down time' for part of the team.  Sue chuckles when I say this.  Is there such a thing as 'down time' when you're cycling over 2000 meter cols and passes?