Greetings Everyone

Red Rocket (Look Closely

Seb suggests that we start with a brief synopsis of what we are doing so here it is:

Seb + Sophie + bikes x2 = road trip in France

However due to unforseen circumstances the equation now looks something more like this:


So to bring you all up to speed. We left Ste Foy last Monday April 25th in a heavily overloaded Brigitte (the work van) and drove back to the Uk. Once there we did a speedy unpack and bid a hasty but poignant farewell to Mike, Mon, Alfie, Freya, Mel and Le Jorat. We then sped off ( within the legal limit, mike) with Andy to the nearish town of Fleet where we overstayed our welcome with the fabtastic Peter and Sue (Seb dosent let these things get to him). The next 12 hours became a race against time to get ourselves ready gear wise( thanks for everything Des), learn all we could from Andy and Pete about dismantling and reassembling bikes while also managing to eat fish and chips and as much of Sue homebaked treats as physically possible (Seb broke the land speed record for devouring ginger bread) before Andy drove us to Gatwick at 9pm for our 7:20 am flight to Lyon.




On arriving in Lyon after very little sleep we went about trying to put the bikes together. Andy had predicted that it would take us half an hour so naturally it took us two hours. We then had to take to the road with the home made bikes that initially Seb had some trouble with. Our new bike pedals have baskets for your feet and of course Seb forgot this when he fell over from a stationary position in front of a passing bus full of people just outside the airport. sadly no photo of this. So each day we have been recording things we,ve learned on the ride that day. we are publishing them here for the benefit of future cyclismos

Day 2 April 30th:

1. Signs Lie- Sometimes a place that claims it is 200 metres away is in fact 2 km away. this is a cruel joke.
2. Rush hour is bad.
3. Parks are great spots for looking at strange people who are looking at you.

the artist formerly known as wurzil gumage

4. Feed Seb every ten minutes.
5. Feed Sophie every twenty minutes.
6. Naturist Campsites do not open until May.
7. Do not go bicycle touring with anyone you have been going out with for less than a year as almost all conversations revolve around your crotch and how uncomfortable it may or may not be.

this is where the magic happens

Day 3 May 1st

1. Hills are bad but cycle paths are good.

the sideways jesus sweat

2. Algerian Butchers are nice fellows.
3. Dont expect anything to be open on the first of May.
4. No matter where you go in the world there are still guys going around in suped up cars, blaring music and doing circuits of the town by themselves.
5. All cycling and no eating make Seb a dull boy.
6. NEVER wash your only two pairs of cycling shorts at the same time (seb)

seb boning up on his french

Day 4 May 2nd

1. 1000 metre climb in 12 km is hard but rewarding.

Parasitic Head Twin

2. The French open and close their shops at random.
3. Freewheeling is fun.
4. Je ne comprend pas.

helmet hair extrordinaire

Day 5 May 3rd

1. NOT every town has a boulangerie.
2. Sometimes a detour can lead to the best things.

SEB EAT FRANGIPAN

3. HILLS ARE CYCLING!
4. There is nothing quite like a well timed gite.
5. Hills look bigger from far away.
6. The smoking ban has not yet reached parts of the Haute Loire.

saturday nights in the haute loire

So Far far we have covered just over 200 km south west from Lyon. We followed the Rhone for a while then crossed at a town called Serrieres after which we veered into the Ardeche region of France before climbing to the Dizzying heights of the Haute Loire where we are currently trapped in a small town called La Monastiere. Yesterday evening after a freezing night in the tent the night before we decided to splash out on a gite upon hearing that the local campsite was closed. Which turned out to be a pretty lucky move as this morning we awoke to about a foot of powder on the ground

anyways we will hopefully keep you all up to date on our adventure and on our progress on getting out of this one horse town