Well it has finally come around - yup that's right - tomorrow I fly back to the US! Crazy to believe but it is here. So without further ado, let's pick up where I last left off - Austria with Mark and Brent. Covered in dirt, sweat, and questionably sanitary pond water I set off on my own again for three days in Göppingen. If you all remember from this winter this is where Radu lives and goes to school and I was meeting my mom and brother, along with his family, to see him graduate. Seeing Ady, Donna, Donna, Florian, Simon and Radu again was great and getting to be present for the celebration was very special. Especially since he graduated at the top of his class!
On the 22nd it was time for my mom and Chuck to fly back to the States and for me to once again meet up with Mark and Brent. This time (third time is the charm for sticking together it seems) we were bound for the beer gardens of Munich. Accommodations were provided by The Tent, which quite literally was one giant tent erected in a park. Cons of The Tent: floor space only. Pros: floor sleeping costs seven euro, which means the thirteen extra euro that is normally spent to stay at a hostel went towards beer! Booyah!
From Munich we continued on to Bamberg with the sole motivation being the our desire to try the signature smoked beer that is produced here. It should also be noted that this was the height of my running period, in hopes of getting in some semblance of aerobic shape before the Tour. A single, one hour outing, used up all my present and, what turned out to be, future motivation to run. Luckily though, the beer was fantastic!
After a short stopover in Brunswick to visit Mark's sister, who is spending the summer there for an internship, we continued on to Belgium. Our first port of call was Brugge where we sampled the wonderful (and plentiful) Belgian beer selection. It was a picturesque town and it was close enough to the countryside that it allowed the three of us to get out on rented bikes one day and explore a section of the Flanders area. We saw around a hundred other riders while were out on our ride - we definitely were in bike country!
Once we left Brugge it was all downhill (and not in the biking sense because that would mean it was good) to Brussels. When we first arrived, I was struck by an immediate "Huh…." moment where I wasn't quite sure what I was seeing. I had been expecting a city of impressive beauty and history, but instead we were confronted with piles of trash that lined the streets! We though that this was just due to the part of town our hostel was located in, but even when we wandered into the center and passed through the Grand Place, we found it to be somewhat of a letdown. Luckily, I consulted with a more than reliable travel source (aka Jim) and got some recommendations on where to go to have a good time/find some good food. After that we were able to find some good hangouts in town, as well as a great restaurant to have mussels in Brussels. We also made a day trip to Ghent where we walked in every conceivable part of the city before actually finding the center (ten months into this and I'm still getting lost). The hours spent walking left us without much of a desire to walk even more in the center so instead we spent the afternoon at the Gruuge Brewery that Brent had researched. Their speciality was making beer using herbs rather than hops, which harkens back to medieval techniques true to the area. I can't say that it was any better than hopped beer, but it was definitely delicious!
The last three days that I spent with Mark and Brent were in London, which we arrived at via the Chunnel. Both Mark and I had been before, but it was Brent's first time visiting so we balanced seeing the important sights along with finding new spots to hang out. Two of my favorite were Brixton Village and Camden Town which we found due to their food offerings.
On the 5th it was time for me to head off to London and them to Ireland. After a day in Paris by myself, where I spent most of my time at the Shakespeare and Co bookstore and then the laundromat, I met up with my dad, who had just arrived from the States, and Radu, who had come to join us for a few days. It was Radu's first time to Paris so we went to the major sights as well as enjoyed some incredible Parisian cuisine. On the 8th, my dad and I said our goodbyes to Radu and then took the train up to Caen, which is situated near the invasion beaches at Normandy. We drove north to see the beaches from World War II, in particular Omaha beach. The cold, overcast grey weather lent an even more melancholy mood to what was an already somber place. While we were walking the beaches and later visiting the Normandy cemetery, I was reminded of my time in Bosnia and again experienced emotions of sadness, incomprehension, and incredulity that what is now a beautiful area was once the sight of awful losses of life.
After Caen, we had a travel day from the north coast, all the way down to Montpellier on the south coast. Immediately upon arrival I understood why so many people make a point to vacation in the south of France - it's incredible! While the heat was intense, it was at least a familiar dry heat - unlike the humidity that I've been faced with for most of the season in Europe, and therefore manageable. The highlight of our time here was making a trip down to the beach and relaxing under the Mediterranean sun. I was going to be needing surplus relaxation for what was coming up in the next few days!
It seemed that before we knew it, we were off to Avignon to meet up with our tour group for the Tour. I was guessing that it would include 10-15 people including us, but it turned out that there was 25 plus four guides, so a little bit busier than I was expecting. The group was comprised of mainly dudes (this seems to be the overwhelming demographic of any group - be it biking, hosteling, etc.) as well as a few couples but I was the youngest by ten years. This was a huge boost to my fitness confidence - I might not be in shape but I can sure go kick some old geezers butts' around! Of course, there was the typical testosterone-fueled first ride where everyone goes absolutely bonkers trying to outdo the rest but we all got through it unscathed and mostly happy. It took a few days, but by the time we left Provençe three days later the group was clicking, with everyone getting to know each other and enjoying each other's company.
From Provençe, we traveled by bus to the storied Alpe d'Huez where we spent four days. One would think that a climb of this stature (9mi, 21 switchbacks, 3,500ft+ elevation gain) would only need to be climbed once to get the idea (believe me, I had the idea about halfway up the first time) but we had the pleasure of doing it not once, not twice, not three, but four - that's right - four times in four days! After climbing Mt. Ventoux twice in the previous two days I thought this there was no way for this to end well - or at least with me on a bike. To my surprise, while being incredibly exhausting, it was possible! And despite it being so much climbing, it was truly some of the most amazing terrain I've ever biked in. I would love to go back and do more rides there, but just take it a little easier on the elevation gain next time.
The final day in Paris was one for the storybooks. After safely navigating Parisian traffic (no small feat let me tell you) from the hotel, around the Eiffel Tower, and to the Arc de Triomphe our group got to participate in the Randonnee de Tour which was open to 8,000 people and allowed us to ride around the Arc, down the Champs Elysees, under the Louvre, and back up to the top of the Arc, which was to be one circuit of the final circuit of eight for the evening. We had the afternoon to ourselves and then met back up with our newly dressed up group to walk to the Automobile Club on the Place du Concorde to watch the final stage. Since it was the 100th edition of the Tour, a special night finish had been planned so while we hung out drinking champagne while the riders coursed around Paris. Once the race was finished, we were able to go out into the Place and mingle with the riders at their team buses. I totally lucked out and was able to meet Jens Voigt!
By the time we were saying our goodbye's the following morning, it was saying goodbye to friends. It had been a whirlwind week and it was weird to be bidding each other farewell just as soon as we were getting to know each other, but who knows? Maybe I'll cross paths again with some of them in the future. Most everyone was heading back to the States, but my dad and I had a few more days left on our trip. Our final destination was Bordeaux where we didn't do much else but (I bet you can guess this part) enjoy the local wines! After the hard week of cycling, it was nice just to hang out again, relax, enjoy strolling through the city, driving in the countryside, tasting different wines, and stuffing ourselves with food.
Tomorrow we're flying out of Paris at noon bound for Washington DC, where I'll split off with my dad and fly to Denver. I keep saying it, and I will one more time - I can't believe it's time for me to be going home! I've had an amazing year, thank you for reading my blog and following what I've been up to. The fact that it takes me weeks (sometimes months and a half) to update, might make you think it's been a chore, but honestly I've enjoyed it immensely. I was getting sad thinking that I wouldn't be doing it anymore, but then I realized that just because I'm back home doesn't mean I have to stop writing. So check back from time to time because I might upload something new sooner than you think! See you all very soon!
-Michael
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| Oh yeah - we found where they store the bikes in Belgium! |
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| Brent in a moment of love with Munich. |
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| A bit of an ordering fiasco really - we ordered two beers and ended up with that, plus a non-alcoholic one too - go figure. |
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| Mark was not impressed. |
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| Bromantic paddle boat river tour. |
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| Our competition on the water. |
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| Totally out paddled them. |
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| The coolest building in Brunswick. |
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On the canal in Brugge.
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| Hanging out in the Brugge town square. |
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| Lots of imaginative ways of using brick were on display. |
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| Bon Voyage album cover? |
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| Sampling some of the local brews. |
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| Bike ride in Flanders - totally awesome. |
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| But sadly on these bikes. |
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| Some of us were more happy about it than others. |
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| Best chocolate in Belgium! |
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| One of the more picturesque parts of Brussels. |
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| Brent admiring the very public restrooms in Ghent. |
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| Sightseeing in Ghent. |
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| Beer stop! |
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| On the streets of Ghent. |
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| Mark enjoying Bussels' public toilets - interestingly this one was right up against a church. |
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| Well hello there. |
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| Not sure what this lion is supposed to be doing. |
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| Back in London - checking out different parts of town! Brixton Village was topped only by Camden Town. |
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| Lots of eating options, but we were too early for everything but the gluten free bakery. Which was totally okay because they had plenty of delicious options, including the best steak pie I had while in the UK! |
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The sign reads: "PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE TIGER LION (sorry)" |
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| Getting a better view of the changing of the guards. |
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| Oh yeah - this happened. |
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| Sherlock isn't impressed. |
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| Three times I've been to London this year and I've skipped Abby Road every time - not this one though! |
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| Not quite the John Lennon look, but I was doing my best! |
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| Best ice cream in London, it's made with liquid nitrogen. |
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| Parting shot from London - it's the last time I'll see it for quite some time. |
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| But that's okay, because I'm in another one of the world's great cities...... |
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| Paris!!! |
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| Not sure if these people relaxing or unable to move due to the heat. |
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| Looking towards the top of the Eiffel Tower.... |
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| ....with these guys! |
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| Bonjour Paris! |
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| The Louvre had no love for us - the wait to get in was over 1hr 30min. |
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| So instead we went and checked out Notre Dame. |
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| And these guys.... |
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| ....and these..... |
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| ...AAAAAND these. |
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| Moving on to lighter fare. |
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| The Basilique du Sacré Coeur de Montmartre. |
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| This monkey likes Basiliques. |
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| Concert in Montmartre. |
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| For me, this one captures what wandering around should be Paris. |
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| The aesthetics of the metro stops in Paris are unique compared to everywhere else in Europe, this one at Abbesses is my favorite. |
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| Wandering around waiting for dinner time. |
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| Looks like this guy is waiting around to eat something too. |
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| Omaha Beach at Normandy. |
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| Tank tread and gears from the invasion of Normandy. |
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| The Normandy Cemetery and Memorial. |
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| Town square of Montpellier. |
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| Gasmask or fire hydrant? |
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| Beautiful skies in Montpellier. |
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| Psychedelic lamp. |
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| Old-world barbed wire. |
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| On the beach in Montpellier. |
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| More beach, less color. |
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| The lavender fields of Provençe! |
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| Ride through the Nesque Gorge with awesome views. |
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| Oh yeah, that's Mt. Ventoux in the distance - or as I like to call it "the Weenie Mountain of Provençe". |
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| Lunch at the top of the Mt. - actually amazed that I'm smiling after such an excruciating climb! |
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| Hey, I live higher than this! |
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| The weather station at the top of Ventoux. |
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| Here's the way back down. |
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| I didn't want to stop for pictures on the way up so this was taken on the way down - the preferred direction for such a climb! |
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| Obviously my dad agrees! |
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| Retro pic of a retro rider on l'Alpe d'Huez. |
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| The Tour podium. |
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| Finish line for Stage 18. |
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| Our viewing spot for lap #1. |
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| There goes the peleton, with Sky at the front (unfortunately). |
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Teejay Vangarderen nearly had the win, but was passed in the last 2k.
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| My look of disapproval for Teejay as I come flying past.... |
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| Alberto Contador's bike. |
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| Canyon is my favorite bicycle maker. |
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| The enemy's bike (aka Froome's) but it's a Pinarello so I do have to show it some love. |
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| At the top of the Col d'Ornon. |
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| In Paris on the final day. |
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| Celebrating the end of the Tour (or as I like to say, no more times up Alpe d'Huez!) |
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| Headed down the cobbles of the Champs Elysees and onto home! |
