July 7, 2019
The count down
On the 21st July we set out for our 11th long cycle trip of Europe. There are still so many places on our bucket list so choosing is hard but this one should be great. For me a bike tour is like time travel. I shed not years but decades, I am euphoric, fit and young. For me Ken is the best possible partner I can have on a tour, especially now that I ride an electric assist bike because no longer is he gesturing me to hurry up, in fact I can get to the top of a hill and spend time waiting for him. For us having me on an ebike is wonderful as it means that we are not confined to the canals and river valleys but once more we can tackle hills. I hope we are not being too ambitious this year but never mind we can always get a train if we run out of steam.
Last year our Eastern tour ended in Munich. We found My Place Self Storage, hired a cell for the bikes and left them there with the panniers, helmets and most of the gear for company. This is where we will return . Suzanne Gibson has told me of a bike shop in Munich so we will take them there for a health check and then be on our way.
We want to end in Paris to see our niece but how to get there. The concensus is to ride to Salzburg and join the Alpe Adria Radweg to Grado and on to Venice. Across Italy on the Po Radwig to Turin then somehow down to the Med which we will follow along the Italian Riviera and Provence to the Canal du Midi and the Gironde to Bordeaux, up the Atlantic Coast to La Rochelle. From there we will cross over to the Loire follow it to Orleans and from here to Moret. Louise lives here and it is a beautiful little village close to Paris. We will be able to find bike storage close by and I know from experience what a wonderful welcome we will get from Louise, Mikael and Pantakan. That's the plan but from past experience I know it will probably change a lot.
The heat in Europe is what is concerning me the most and I am keeping my fingers crossed that there aren't more heat waves. We are in winter, the weather today was glorious, not a cloud in the sky or a breath of wind and a temperature of around 15C. Ken and I took our bikes to Ngauawahia from here 'the Great River Ride' follows the Waikato to Hamilton. It is a glorious track, perfectly maintained and well away from any traffic. On a day like this it was alive with walkers and cyclists.
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