Biking across France

America isn't the only country that's bikeable.

I learned long ago that the best way to see any country is on two wheels.

How will biking across America compare with biking across northern France?

We have the ghost towns of Wyoming...

...where France has castles haunted by star-crossed lovers.

Where we have rows of corn, they have lovely fields of flax.

I'm sure Wisconsin will be full of cows, but will they be as friendly as this lovely French lady?


And the whipped cream in France - made from real cow's cream -was to die for.
What do we have to compare with that?
Dairy Queen?

Where America has lawns, France has gardens.









No lawnmower breaks the quiet of the French countryside.

Just the quiet clippers of a lady trimming her blooms.

Or the gentle sound of a watering can refreshing the roses.

Even in the North of France they have tourist areas with exotic names....

I am hoping with the expert guidance of ABB we won't get lost like we did in France.

Or at least if we do, it will be easier to ask directions.

But even asking directions is fun when you travel.
I love the opportunity to talk with the local people.




I learned French for this trip to Brittany and Normandy.





And as I practiced speaking French to the local umbrella makers...

Tom found his own way to meet local residents...

...canine and feline alike.

Tom has his own form of multi-linguality

Biking across France was an adventure.
We met people and saw sights missed by the average traveller.

The last day of the bike ride we got hit by a torrential rain at our lunch stop.

I crowded with the rest of the group into the van to be shuttled back to the hotel.

But Tom was tough.

He jumped on his bike and charged through the rain to complete our final day of biking on a daring note.

After all the biking Tom and I took a side trip to see Mont Saint-Michel, a magnificent old monastery built on a rock on the Normandy coast.

As we shared a romantic dinner the church bells began to chime urgently.

The tide was coming in!

We watched the ocean rush over the sand flats with the speed of galloping horses.




A sudden storm added to the onslaught of water with thunder and lightning.

the sea rushing around us - the storms overhead....

Then suddenly all became calm...

...and a rainbow arched over the sea which now surrounded us....

....as we enjoyed dessert.

It was the most dramatic dinner of my life.

America, France is going to be tough to beat.