The 2000 Cycling Season is proving to be the biggest adventure of so far for Dorothy and I. We are following through on our plans to spend the summer riding our tandem bicycle in Europe! The final version of the itinerary begins in Paris France on May 3, head south to Naples Italy, return back to cross France and then head north eventually ending at the BEA office in Amsterdam on August 2. Although the entire trip will cover covering 2,905 miles, we will travel some legs by train, which leaves us riding our bike 2,232 miles.
The bulk of the trip will consist of Dorothy and I riding on the tandem carrying packs and towing a trailer. However there are some sections of the journey that we felt were too populated to ride in, or were simply spanned vast areas with nothing much to see. We plan to use the trains in these areas to get us to places where riding is the best way to travel. We will also ship the bicycle storage boxes, and some extra gear few days ahead of ourselves to the next major town, so every 5 to 7 days we can adjust our gear for regional conditions.
Of course any major expedition requires months and months of planning. Packing up and leaving our lives for 3 months was a major effort. Fortunately Dorothy quit her job in October so she could focus on planning the trip, while I kept busy at work. Follow this link for more information about how we planned our trip.
Each leg of the itinerary below contains a hyperlink to stories about that leg of the journey. As the trip progresses I will write a section for each leg of the journey.
|
Dates |
Location |
| May 3 | Fly from Denver to Paris |
| May 4-11 | Arrive Paris, stay for 7 nights, visiting museums and palaces around Paris. |
| May 11-16 | Train to Beaune (Burgandy wine country), hotel for 5 nights, visiting Dijon and wine country. |
| May 16-18 | Travel to Aix-en-Provence over a few days, visiting the Lyone, Avignon and the small villages of Provence |
| May 18-21 | Stay in Aix-en-Provence riding in the area over Dorothy's birthday. |
| May 21-23 | Travel to Nice via train, send luggage ahead to hotel in Chamonix (was Florence). 3 nights hotel, visiting the Monaco and the French Riviera. |
| May 24-26 | Travel via train to Rapallo, Italy, 3 nights hotel, visiting Italian Riviera, Portofino, Santa Margherita, etc. |
| May 27 | Travel to the ancient city of Luca. Train to Piza, then Ride to Luca |
| May 28-31 | Ride to Florence, sending bags ahead to Rome, hotel for 4 nights. Visiting museums, churches, etc of Florence. |
| May 31-June 1 | Catch Train from Florence to Sienna for an overnight. |
| June 1-4 | Train from Sienna to Assisi. Three nights visiting Assisi and the Umbria region. |
| June 4-10 | Train to Rome, hotel for 6 nights, exploring Rome and environs. |
| June 10-12 | Train to Naples. Explore Naples, Capri, Sorrento, Pompeii, etc. |
| June 12-13 | Travel to from Naples to Venice via Florence. Pick up bike in Florence and continue on to Venice. |
| June 13-17 | Train to Venice. Hotel for 4 nights. Exploring Canals of Venice. |
| June 17-19 | Train to Verona from Venice. Stay 2 nights. |
| June 19-24 | Train to Milan, 5 nights hotel. Explore Milan and northern lake district. |
| June 24-28 | Rent car and Drive to Chamonix, pick up bike boxes, visit with French friends, then on to Geneva. |
| June 28-30 | Drive to Geneva area and stay 2 nights in Yvoire. |
| June 30-July 2 | Train to Bordeaux, Stay for 3 nights, send bags on to Tours. |
| July 3-7 | Riding from Bordeaux to Tours (the capital of the Loire Valley and Chateau country) Send bags ahead to Quimper. - No plans for hotels, just wing it! |
| July 7-12 | Riding through the countryside to Quimper - No plans for hotels, just wing it! |
| July 12-14 | Moëlen Sur Mer - 60k Outside Quimper, Stay two nights in a private Chateau. |
| July 14-15 | Drive to Mt. St. Michel and overnight there. |
| July 15-17 | Drive to Bayeau, to visit the Bayeau tapestry and the Normandy Landing Beaches 2 nights hotel. |
| July 17-18 | Drive to Honfleur for 2 nights stay. |
| July 19-20 | Drive to Rouen and overnight, figure out how to get bike boxes to Amsterdam. |
| July 20-26 | Travel to Amersterdam - No plans for hotels, just wing it! |
| July 26-Aug 2 | Amsterdam, 6 nights visiting friends from BEA Amsterdam. |
| August 2 | Fly from Amsterdam to Denver and arrival home! |