The pix above is my car and apartment..we're on the first and second floor ie the balcony and porthole above.
The weather has been great, so i'm happily working on my tan.
these last 2 pix from my ride to Oz en Oisans
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
The alpes
The pix above is my car and apartment..we're on the first and second floor ie the balcony and porthole above.
The weather has been great, so i'm happily working on my tan.
these last 2 pix from my ride to Oz en Oisans
Monday, July 19, 2010
Lyon airport
I had two good rides yesterday...one going towards a village called Venosc and the second after watching TdF to Oz en Oisans..seems like we get everywhere!
So today I'm here at Lyon airport to meet Alex ..he's coming from Portugal. I managed to get here with no scenic detours and in passing saw a few fields full of sunflowers. The airport is called Saint-Exupéry which is very appropriate since Phil and Paul have been going on and on about Le Petit Prince ( Damien Cunego) during TdF. And for those unsure of the connection it's from a book entitled Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
So today I'm here at Lyon airport to meet Alex ..he's coming from Portugal. I managed to get here with no scenic detours and in passing saw a few fields full of sunflowers. The airport is called Saint-Exupéry which is very appropriate since Phil and Paul have been going on and on about Le Petit Prince ( Damien Cunego) during TdF. And for those unsure of the connection it's from a book entitled Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Geneva to Le Bourg d'Oisans
No WiFi so I'm in an internet cafe ...so no pix..sri
I would never have thought i did ANY touch typing at all, but now I'm using a French keyboard I realise i do;;;q is where a is full stop reuires a shift key as do numbers and m is well to the right in the middle...confusing.
I got out onto the bike this morning..about 80 minutes with a bit of climbing up to 12% at one stage, but I'm not planning on tackling the akp d'huez this early as I'm still coughing and sniffling.
Once I'd got my car I set the Garmin Nuvi and shot off...god knows where it took me, it was very picturesque but took about 2 hours longer than I'd expected and when it had got me totally lost it ran out of battery!..luckily it chose a spot quite close to a freeway, so i was able to locate where I was on the map and the rest of the journey went without a hitch. pfft GPS...pfffft
Better stop as i'm running out of time and the waitress is beginning to hover. Back to the apartment to watch Le Tour on English TV.....
I would never have thought i did ANY touch typing at all, but now I'm using a French keyboard I realise i do;;;q is where a is full stop reuires a shift key as do numbers and m is well to the right in the middle...confusing.
I got out onto the bike this morning..about 80 minutes with a bit of climbing up to 12% at one stage, but I'm not planning on tackling the akp d'huez this early as I'm still coughing and sniffling.
Once I'd got my car I set the Garmin Nuvi and shot off...god knows where it took me, it was very picturesque but took about 2 hours longer than I'd expected and when it had got me totally lost it ran out of battery!..luckily it chose a spot quite close to a freeway, so i was able to locate where I was on the map and the rest of the journey went without a hitch. pfft GPS...pfffft
Better stop as i'm running out of time and the waitress is beginning to hover. Back to the apartment to watch Le Tour on English TV.....
Saturday, July 17, 2010
On French soil again
Thankfully that horror journey is over..all up door to door and with an 8 hour wait at Changi airport (I booked a room at the transit hotel and at 68 Singapore dollars it was well worth it) it was close to 40 hours.
Geneva airport has a bipolar air to it..I had to wait on the Swiss side for the hotel shuttle bus..when I go back tomorrow I will be delivered back to the Swiss side, but have then to move over to the French side to be picked up by my car lease firm so I have to do the following:
Access to the French sector via the Check-in level. Follow the yellow "Destination France" signs.
In case you've not yet discoverd this..if you're in Europe for >21 days its far far better and cheaper to lease rather than rent a car. I'm going Renault this time round but there's also Citroen and Peugeot ..motorbikes and motorhomes too.
Its been a while since I was on French soil..apart from ever so briefly in 2008 while checking out theTrenchee d'Arenberg of Paris Roubaix fame, I think it must be at least 10 years when, like this time round, it was for a week of exploring the alps and in particular alpe d'huez. We stayed in a hotel, which is the reason we are now staying in apartments...French hotels are unique with a sorta character that makes you want to avoid them.
Today's hotel is one of the international and therefore bland Holiday Inn chain..an "airport" hotel that is so far from Geneva airport it took 20 minutes in the free shuttle bus to get here. Its definitely NOT French or even European..no bidet! also no fridge but WiFi at 7 euros for 24 hr access. As hotels go its average to ok but they have gained brownie points by agreeing to stow my bike box til i return in 5 weeks time.
One good aspect is that there is a shopping mall just a 15 min walk away so I was able to stock up and get some exercise. Shopping in a foreign language is always fraught with danger..I've already moaned elsewhere about how many different types of shampoos there are in Aus..so faced with exactly the same choices in a language you are not now familiar with is at the least a time consuming challenge if you're not to walk away with something you really didn't want or need......
Behaviours...
Asian: I got offered a seat on the inter-terminal train at Zurich by a group of Asians..was I looking old and tired or were they just being respectful of grey hair?....
French: I got dumped by the male employee helping me at the grog shop when part of my requirements was that the bottle was a screw top since I had no cork screw.
Working girls: a couple of the camp sites during my Italian adventure were located in the industrial area and we grew accustomed to "spotting the working girls" as we approached these sites. The first working girl I saw..not realising what I was looking at until later...was ensconced, complete with chair and sun shade at the edge of a corn field..so you can perhaps imagine my thoughts yesterday on seeing 2 cars parked on the edge of a corn field as I walked to the shopping mall ......
So tomorrow I drive to Le Bourg d'Oisans and re-commence Liz's excellent cycling adventure in europe.
Geneva airport has a bipolar air to it..I had to wait on the Swiss side for the hotel shuttle bus..when I go back tomorrow I will be delivered back to the Swiss side, but have then to move over to the French side to be picked up by my car lease firm so I have to do the following:
Access to the French sector via the Check-in level. Follow the yellow "Destination France" signs.
In case you've not yet discoverd this..if you're in Europe for >21 days its far far better and cheaper to lease rather than rent a car. I'm going Renault this time round but there's also Citroen and Peugeot ..motorbikes and motorhomes too.
Its been a while since I was on French soil..apart from ever so briefly in 2008 while checking out theTrenchee d'Arenberg of Paris Roubaix fame, I think it must be at least 10 years when, like this time round, it was for a week of exploring the alps and in particular alpe d'huez. We stayed in a hotel, which is the reason we are now staying in apartments...French hotels are unique with a sorta character that makes you want to avoid them.
Today's hotel is one of the international and therefore bland Holiday Inn chain..an "airport" hotel that is so far from Geneva airport it took 20 minutes in the free shuttle bus to get here. Its definitely NOT French or even European..no bidet! also no fridge but WiFi at 7 euros for 24 hr access. As hotels go its average to ok but they have gained brownie points by agreeing to stow my bike box til i return in 5 weeks time.
One good aspect is that there is a shopping mall just a 15 min walk away so I was able to stock up and get some exercise. Shopping in a foreign language is always fraught with danger..I've already moaned elsewhere about how many different types of shampoos there are in Aus..so faced with exactly the same choices in a language you are not now familiar with is at the least a time consuming challenge if you're not to walk away with something you really didn't want or need......
Behaviours...
Asian: I got offered a seat on the inter-terminal train at Zurich by a group of Asians..was I looking old and tired or were they just being respectful of grey hair?....
French: I got dumped by the male employee helping me at the grog shop when part of my requirements was that the bottle was a screw top since I had no cork screw.
Working girls: a couple of the camp sites during my Italian adventure were located in the industrial area and we grew accustomed to "spotting the working girls" as we approached these sites. The first working girl I saw..not realising what I was looking at until later...was ensconced, complete with chair and sun shade at the edge of a corn field..so you can perhaps imagine my thoughts yesterday on seeing 2 cars parked on the edge of a corn field as I walked to the shopping mall ......
So tomorrow I drive to Le Bourg d'Oisans and re-commence Liz's excellent cycling adventure in europe.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Back to europe for a more relaxed holiday
..well actually it'll be just as cycle focused as I'll be training for the World Masters Road Champs in Austria at the end of August, however since I've just endured a week of jet lag followed almost immediately by a week of "the 'flu", my training is so far behind where it should be that I'm 100% certain I'll be propping up the bottom of the list this time round.
Curently Alex is competing in Portugal in the World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships, please take a look at this web site for details...http://mtbwoc2010.fpo.pt/ or this one for the team's blog http://www.ozmtboteam.socialfx.net/
There are quite a few events..sprint, middle distance qualifying for the long and then the long distance and after that the relays. Alex is better at the longer distances. The sprint event starts later today (Sunday am both there).
I fly out on Thursday and will be riding the Alp d'Huez on Sunday..providing my cough and sinus issues doesn't worsen during the flight.
I'm soooo looking forward to warmer weather and the 21 hairpin bends...better than the 48 of the Stelvio
Curently Alex is competing in Portugal in the World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships, please take a look at this web site for details...http://mtbwoc2010.fpo.pt/ or this one for the team's blog http://www.ozmtboteam.socialfx.net/
There are quite a few events..sprint, middle distance qualifying for the long and then the long distance and after that the relays. Alex is better at the longer distances. The sprint event starts later today (Sunday am both there).
I fly out on Thursday and will be riding the Alp d'Huez on Sunday..providing my cough and sinus issues doesn't worsen during the flight.
I'm soooo looking forward to warmer weather and the 21 hairpin bends...better than the 48 of the Stelvio
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Pass the parcel
or how to use an elephant to crack a nut.
Through the post today, my Garmin Europe map for use in the Edge 705 or Nuvi car GPS
the white package measures 320mmx300mm, the actual card 10mmx15mm (I've corrected and edited out extra 0!)
Through the post today, my Garmin Europe map for use in the Edge 705 or Nuvi car GPS
Wow! what a difference a new bike makes
I now realise the Mavic wheels I'd been faithfully clinging onto were well and truly past their use by date..these new ones spin forever......happy happy happy!
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