Snow, rain and tough shoe decisions: getting ready for France


Our beautiful May weather in Calgary today

It's a winter wonderland in Calgary today, and it's raining on the Atlantic coast of France! That's where we're heading tomorrow to begin another cycle tour. We have a campground reservation in Nantes, just a short ride from the airport. The bikes are packed in their cardboard boxes and the fine details of luggage are being finalized.

Route-planning is so much fun!


The rough plan is to follow EuroVelo 6 from Nantes all the way east to the city of Basel (just across the border in Switzerland) via the Loire Valley, through central France, Burgundy, and with a detour up into Alsace and Strasbourg. That section is about 1500km.

The various long-distance cycle routes in Europe.
Note #6 in pink which we will follow across France

After Basel, the route is subject to change, but it will most likely take in at least some part of Switzerland. The ultimate goal is to end up much further south in Provence by mid-June. Between Basel and there are the wee hills they call The Alps! We hope to be up to the challenge of a few Cols by then, so hopefully all the fine wine, cheese and baguettes leading up to that will help to fortify our legs! (By the way, I've read that in French campgrounds, they come around in the mornings and deliver fresh bread!! How convenient and tempting is that!) We'll be flying home from the city of Lyon in early July.

Can't wait to see Strasbourg and many other picturesque French towns

Packing is definitely easier this time compared with last year since we now have our Greek tour experience under our belts. But it's still a really painful process for me to cut the clothing choices down to the bare minimum. On this trip we could have cool, rainy days when we start out from Nantes near the west coast, cooler mountain conditions in the Alps, and possibly very hot, dry weather in Provence and the Cote d'Azur by June and the beginning of July. But I know I'll be cursing myself for every extra pound on the bike when we're slogging up those tough climbs in the Alps. So, I'm determined to go with only the two rear panniers, which doesn't allow for a lot of stuff after you add camping gear. Well, I have to admit Frank will be the one carrying the tent and cooking stuff! But I'll still have to curtail my wardrobe.

So I have a shoe dilemma. I've been pondering it for weeks now. I have my cycling/walking shoes and my flat sandals - and I should be able to get by with just those, right? But I really, really want to bring this lovely pair of recently-acquired high wedge sandals. After all, a girl needs to be able to "clean up" and look nice for evenings on the town!  But can I justify taking up space with this piece of luxury? But they are so light. I checked them with my baggage scales and the weigh nothing- almost. Frank is laughing at me now! So do they stay or do they go? That is the question!

Do they stay or do they go?
This is going to be a great adventure. Neither Frank or I have seen much of France outside of Paris, so I'm really excited about this. One thing I do want to see for sure are lavender fields in bloom in Provence. And of course we'll see many chateaux along the Loire, lovely villages and countryside, and maybe a just a few vineyards!  We're also excited about meeting up with some old friends later in the trip. So I hope you'll check in along our journey and see what we discover on our own little Tour de France.

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