In Lyon

May 21, 2025

Errands and a Test Ride

Somebody set his alarm for 07h00 instead of 07h30 like we’d agreed. We set an alarm for this morning not because we had to be somewhere but because we once slept really late due to jet lag and we wanted to be sure to get and eat the breakfast we’d ordered and paid for. Plus, we did have things that needed doing.

After breakfast (excellent pastries, mediocre coffee, yogurt, bread, jam, cheese…), our first task was to get our bike cases shipped. I had ordered a package of 10 boxes (they are sold in lots of 5, 10, and 20 and I’d worked out we needed 8) to be delivered to our hotel and we had brought packing tape. Yesterday evening we had walked to La Poste to check the route (smooth sidewalks) and business hours and this morning we set off with Al wheeling our collapsed cases and me carrying the package of boxes. There were more staff than customers at La Poste when we arrived and we were told no problem shipping our cases as long as they were boxed and under 30 kg each. There was an area we could use to pack them—I love these old, spacious post offices.

Clearly I chose my t-shirt to match the decor. We had this space at the end of the post office to ourselves.

Writing out the labels. I did this twice due to communication difficulties. The “sender” had to have a French address

This is the pic I sent to our hotel in Nice so they know what to expect.

We are staying in the Presqu’Île area, between the Saone and the Rhone. We had passed two bike shops on our 15-minute walk to La Poste so on our way back we tried those to get a couple of CO2 canisters. One was out of stock and the other only dealt in vintage bikes. Both recommended the Giant Bikes shop on the other side of the Rhone. It was getting warm so we changed into shorts and headed off to Giant Bikes. On the way, we passed yet another bike shop, this one specializing in “Dutch bikes” but no CO2 there either. Giant Bikes did have it and Al bought two. We’ve never needed to use it on tour but he likes to have some in case we ever need to reseat a tire.

View of the Saone on our way to Giant Bikes. On our bike ride later, wd discovered that there are at least 3 pedestrian bridges like this across the Saone, plus another cable-stay design.

At this point, I was practically sleepwalking so Al dropped me back at the hotel for a nap and he went for an explore. Usually it’s the other way around!

The view from our window. Our hotel is what I used to think of as a “pension”, occupying part of one floor in a larger building. What the newer structure in the courtyard might be, I have no idea!

Later, we went for a short test ride on the bike path on the right bank of the Saone. We were pleased that we had reassembled our bikes correctly and everything worked.

I took no photos on our bike ride but Al took this one.

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Tomorrow, we ride to Saint-Siméon-de-Bressieux, about halfway to the CB meetup in Pont-en-Royans.

Today's ride: 9 km (6 miles)
Total: 9 km (6 miles)

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Steve Miller/GrampiesGood start to your trip. We will be jealously following along. We only get back in to the Schengen zone in mid August.
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6 days ago

Susan CarpenterGreat that you've arrived and that everything seems to be going swell. Looking forward to the meet-up, only days away!
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6 days ago

Jacquie GaudetTo Steve Miller/GrampiesYou might not be so jealous when we hit the big climbs! The idea is to do them while we can—or think we can!
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5 days ago

Jacquie GaudetTo Susan CarpenterDay after tomorrow! Moots + Dean + Naked! Where will they go?
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5 days ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Jacquie GaudetYeah, well probably not jealous of the climbs, which we never could do even 50 years ago, but wish we were still in Europe.
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5 days ago

Rich FrasierSo glad you found a solution for shipping your cases. You’re off to a great start!
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5 days ago

Jacquie GaudetTo Rich FrasierThanks, Rich. I hope the packaging holds together! The cases have rigid bottoms so should be okay and we did a better job than the person in line behind us.
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5 days ago

Kirsten KaarsooBon voyage for your trip. We will be following along as we do some of your previous climbs.
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5 days ago

Patrick O'HaraLooking forward to following along. We'll be closely following your route as we'll be in the same region in a few weeks time.
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3 days ago