Picture time!
It’s been a little quiet on the blog front. What with the miserable weather, I don’t have any fun photos to share. So I thought I’d give you an exclusive. Never before seen pictures of my summer cycling holiday - uncovered here for the first time.
Felix and I went to a beautiful and historic island off the West coast of France called Ile de Re in August. We spent 9 days peddling along the coastline, through salt marshes and wildlife reserves. It wasn’t quite cycling up mountains in Ethiopia, but it was spectacular nonetheless.
The mainstay of our holiday was of the gourmet variety. We would stop at the bakery and get baguettes every morning, which I would then promptly pop into my pannier ready for lunch. Each baguette would stand proud like a beacon - an antenna signalling picnic time would soon be on its way. One quick stop at the farm shop to pick up cheese and tomatoes, and we were on our way.
The island is very flat, so the cycling was pretty easy going. But every day there was something different to explore - little rocky inlets, long sandy beaches, shady pine forests, and gargantuan sand dunes. The sea was ever present. At night, we fell asleep listening to the waves crashing to the shore. Our tent felt like a tiny boat, quivering on the sea.
There were other cyclists, some tourists like us and others kitted out like they were setting out to do the Tour de France. I don’t know where they bought their outfits but these Lycra-clad velophiles were almost always sporting corporate logos like La Poste or Renault on their chests. The thing that really tickled me was these guys were also generally of the geriatric variety - white haired men with bristling moustaches and shaved legs. Where did they all come from?
