Day 30-32. October 13-15, 2026. October 13. Hyères to Saint-Raphaël, France To be honest, I never saw myself ever visiting the French Riviera. Isn't that the place reserved for movie stars driving fancy race cars along twisty turning roads overlooking the blue waters of the Mediterranean? I certainly am not close to that. But here I am, only my speedy roadster is my trusty Niner bicycle. I did not know what to expect. Certainly gorgeous mansions and villages clinging to

Days 28-29. October 10-11, 2025. Day 28. October 10. Avignon to Aix-En-Provence, France. We had a great day off in Avignon and were glad to have done so. The mistral wind was blowing very hard from the north and yet swirling everywhere. The day was bright blue and sunny but not warm at all. The wind made the day feel like a nippy fall day where a sweater adn a down jacket were the required clothing items. We spent the day fixing Andy's tire, walking around the beautifu

Day 22 – Aix-en-Provence to Hyères, France — 63 miles We had a nice evening in Aix-en-Provence. After a great dinner, we had an interesting conversation with a young, 23-year-old restaurant manager. With student protests and a divisive political climate in France right now, it was interesting to hear his first-hand perspective. We were pretty excited about today’s ride, knowing we’d reach the Mediterranean—a big milestone on this tour. It was a full day of riding, taking us f

Day 28 – Avignon to Aix-En-Provence , France — 54 miles We had an awesome day off in Avignon, waiting out the high winds. We spent the morning walking around town, trying to find a bike shop that sold sealant. Unfortunately, it turned into a wild-goose chase: Avignon had plenty of bike-rental places, but no proper bike shops. I had a little sealant left, so I used it all and am hoping it holds until I can get to a shop. I’m also thinking all our tires may be running low, sinc

Day 27. October 8, 2026. Montélimar, to Avignon, France. The The rains in Montélimar We laid over one day in Montélimar, due to heavy rain, and debated hard on whether to make it a two day layover. The rains were to continue both Wednesday and Thursday, with the rain tapering off in the late afternoon on the 8th of October. However, we learned there is a phenomena that occurs at times of changing weather patterns in southern France along the Rhone River, called the Mistral

Day 27 – Montélimar to Avignon, France — 61 miles We definitely made the right choice to take the day off yesterday. The storm turned into a major downpour, with thunder, lightning, strong winds, rain, and flooding. It rained all day and through the night, but this morning it seemed like it was starting to ease up. Rather than take an additional day off—which would put us behind schedule—we decided to push through to Avignon. The following day, we would be dealing with gale-f

Days 25 and 26. October 5 - 6, 2026. Monday, October 5. Lyon to Tournon-sur-Rhône. We love Lyon. The city is vibrant, multicultural, full of families and people who travel by bicycle. It sits on the flanks of the Saône and the Rhône rivers at thier confluence and climbs up the hills on the western sides. To the east, across a plain, on a clear day you can see the alps. It is a foodie paradise, a walking/biking city, a place where the arts are alive and celebrated. It ha

Day 26 – Tournon-sur-Rhône to Montélimar, France — 60 miles Today was another gorgeous ride along the Via Rhône bikeway. It was one of those perfect riding days: sunny, warm, and with a slight tailwind. It felt like a perfect summer day. The scenery seems to get even more beautiful as we head south. We’re getting spoiled with these hill-free, mostly car-free rides, but we’re enjoying them while they last. As we rode into Montélimar, the sky began to darken and clouds rolled i

Day 25 – Lyon to Tournon-sur-Rhône, France — 66 miles. We had a great couple of days off in Lyon! We ate—then ate again—and ate some more. Lyon is known as one of the best foodie cities in the world, and now we understand why. It’s also a wonderful place to walk, with gorgeous parks and intriguing architecture. The hilltops around Lyon offer amazing views, and on a clear day you can see the European Alps. We had a blast staying here, and it’s a city we’d love to return to so

Day 24 – Roanne to Lyon, France — 55 miles Lyon is one of our benchmark destinations. Since leaving Dublin, we’ve pedaled through Wales, England, and across much of France— we are nearly 900 miles into this journey. Lyon is the city where we’ll rest and recover before the next section of the ride. With that destination in mind, we set out today with high energy, excitement, and anticipation. The ride out of Roanne began with a steady ascent out of the city. Once we reached th

Day 24. Friday, October 2. Roanne to Lyon, France. We woke to the city of Roanne sitting in a cloud, but soon the sun burned through and we had the weather we were looking for for our big ride into the France's second largest city: Lyon. It was going to be a tougher ride: 54 miles, with 3,000 feet of climbing, including our first pass since Wales. We were both excited for it! Depite the steep climbs out of the Loire Valley to the east, the air was fresh from yesterday's

Day 23 – Digoin to Roanne, France — 36 miles The forecast last night called for heavy rain for most of today, so we seriously considered taking the day off. But when we woke up, the forecast had changed to light showers, so we decided to put on our rain gear and ride to Roanne. The trip turned out to be a pleasant surprise—it was almost entirely flat, on a well-maintained, beautiful rail-to-trail bikeway. With no car traffic to worry about and only a very light but consis

Day 23. October 1, 2026. Digoins to Roanne, France. Well, we are now in October, and it officially feels like fall is here. The morning was cooler, grey and raining. We thought to lay over in Digoins, but ended up deciding against it, seeing a two day weather pattern ahead that would give us better weather for riding into the bigger city of Lyon where we knew we wanted to take a few days off anyway. And so, we donned our rain gear and off we went, riding in the rain! Only

Day 22 – Moulins to Digoin, France — 38 miles I’m trying—but not doing a very good job—of learning a word or phrase of French each day. Today’s most important phrase is “Joyeux Anniversaire”—Happy Anniversary. Today is our 20th anniversary, and we were rewarded with an easy, secluded, picturesque ride through the French countryside to the river town of Digoin, which sits on the Loire River in the Loire Valley. I spent most of the ride thinking about—and appreciating—the

Day 22. September 30, 2026. Moulins to Digoin, France. Today marks the 20th Anniversary of Andy's and my wedding day. It was a beautiful day back then in the Columbia River Gorge with our families. I have been grateful each and every day since then for the gift of living my days with my best friend. Today, instead of being alongside the Pacific Northwest's Columbia River, it was the Loire River we found ourselves along. The Loire River snakes through the heart of France f

Day 21 – Sancoins to Moulins, France — 31 miles While yesterday was a tough ride, today was magical. In just under three hours, we rode from Sancoins to Moulins with very little wind and through beautiful nature. We saw very little traffic, except for one moment when a passing cyclist startled us. I’m starting to feel spoiled by all the solitude, quiet, and nature each day. There’s a rhythm that comes with riding a bike, but the experience of cycling through such serene lands

Days 20-21. September 28-29, 2026 Monday, September 28. Bourges to Sancoins, France. Grinding up hill into another deserted town. SLOG! That is what I call a ride like we had today: a grind of an uphill almost all the way against a headwind. It seems there is a large anti-clockwise cyclone brewing in the North Atlantic and it is pulling warm air off the Mediterranean Sea and North Africa northwards over western Europe. This was creating the strong wind pattern. I was

Day 20 – Bourges to Sancoins, France — 33 miles Riding out of Bourges. We had a great time visiting Bourges, especially the Saint-Étienne Cathedral. We also watched the 49ers beat the Cardinals in a good game. However, being on European time creates challenges when trying to watch U.S. sports because of the time difference. We ended up going to sleep around 2:00 a.m., and we were both pretty tired for what turned out to be a difficult, challenging ride. The road to Sancoins.

Day 19 – Aubigny-sur-Nère to Bourges, France — 37 miles Last night, we plotted today’s route and found conflicting information in our mapping apps. This usually means trouble, and today we found ourselves deep in the French countryside where the road that was supposed to be there simply wasn’t. Thankfully, it was a gorgeous morning, so we didn’t mind too much that we had to double back and basically start the ride over again. Once we got back on a road with cellular conne

Days 18-19. September 26-27, 2026 Saturday, Sept. 26: Orléans to Aubigny-sur-Nère We rode out of Orléans along the Loire River, heading east on an excellent bike path that wound along the river bank. The day was overcast and the sky held a grey pall over us, as if it were winter rather than early fall. Even much of flat landscape was grey and brown with fields already plowed over and fallow. However, after turning south, away from the river and climbing into the hills sou