Day 2

Because of the late start we managed to get into the city of Laon after dark. While stopping for a snack at a round about a driver stopped and directed us to a campground not far down the road. Day 2 began with french pastries and hot chocolate and ended again after dark, this time in the city of Reims. It turns out there is no public camping anywhere near Reims but there is a nice Hostel with a bike garage. The fact that we arrived in Reims only after 2 days of biking confirmed my initial guess. Riding with someone makes you more interested in seeing and experiencing things as a tourist and decreases the amount that you bike each day. However it increases the number of days you want to ride. This way is much better, no doubt.

Apple Picking

Chrissy loves to eat apples. Apple trees were abundant and without stealing any apples we found it fun to knock on doors and ask the residents if we could pick one or two. Of course the answer was always yes and we managed to learn things as well. Like the fact that Anne rents the 15th century castle from a couple that lives in Belgium, and the fact that Monique was super shy.

Day 1

After waking up late, undoubtedly because of jet lag, we had lunch with Pascal and began our trip later in the day around 3 pm. We were well rested, well fed and ready to face the road ahead. Hey that rhymed. The picture shows us in the Town Center of St. Quentin where we bought a Michelin regional road map.

Pascal

Pascal lives in St. Quentin, a 90 minute train ride north of Paris. I served 6 months of my mission in the town of 30,000 and we became great friends. He owns a french pizza place called Buonjourno Pizza and laughs at American Pizza because "no matter what you put on it, it all tastes the same" The pizza he made for us had gyro meat, creme fraiche, and goat cheese among other stuff. It's always amazing chez Pascal. Pascal might be my favorite person in the world. He's the funniest guy I know with a capacity to love the size of Miami.

A Day in Paris

Navigating the streets of Paris on a bike is one of the most exhilarating things. I can't seem to get enough of it. My observation is that no one uses a turn signal despite the overabundance of merging and compromise that takes place on the fast-paced chaos-esque rodways. What they do instead is subconsciously everyone is watching everyone's eyes. They're hyper alert. As far as I'm concerned it's really safe for bikes because it's real easy for them to see your intentions.

So we spent a day in Paris cruising around the big sights before catching a train to my our buddy Pascal's house.

Arrival

Probably the most awkward part of the trip is leaving the airport with a really large and awkward shaped bike box in hand. You have to carry all your bags on your shoulders and the box in your hands to the information booth to get oriented, on the shuttle, and then just far enough to find a dumpster where you can leave the cardboard remains. Putting the bike together while everyone is watching like they've never seen it done before is the fun part.