The Lost Boys Tour d'Alsace: Part 3

Strasbourg sweets...

Thursday, July 5

Well, yet another miserable day. The dark clouds still rolled overhead but taking our place in the S-Max, and Chill following in his ‘Onda, as the French call it, we bravely headed out to one of the great goals of the trip: the Ballon d’Alsace.

The Ballon d’Alsace, although not on par with some of the other climbs in the region, let alone the Alps or Pyrenees, was immortalized on July 10, 1905 when it became the site of the first official mountain climb in the Tour de France, the first edition of which had taken place two years earlier. I have done a translation of a German story about that first ride. The Tour de France, nothing if not with a sense of its own history, did the same stretch on the same day in 2005. The climb is interesting not only for its history but because you can approach it from three different directions. Our plan was to start in St-Maurice-sur-Moselle, ride up to the top and then head east downhill to Serwen before turning around and going back up. The idea was to descend again and then circle around and ride another big climb, the Col du Ballon de Servance. Lots of climbing and descending in a very contained area. Or so the plan went...

The drive was pretty miserable, and further than we had expected. It was pouring rain as we drove, and we stopped at a roadside bar on the N-66 for some coffee and with the hope that the rain would relent. As we pushed on, it was clear that this was not going to happen. We parked at the local tourism office in St-Maurice, which was directly across from where the road up the Ballon began and it was here, O My Brothers, that I decided to pack it in and wait in the car.

Basically, it had not stopped raining, it was bitterly cold and I had only brought gear suitable for normal July weather to Europe with me. I loaned my armcovers and windvest to Steve Z. and everyone packed on their raingear. The group bravely headed out on the 13 km climb and I contented myself with figuring out the S-Max’s navigation system.

Ready to attack the Ballon d'Alsace

Just over an hour later the Lost Boys returned. It was an epic trip but they had only gone up to the top and turned around once photos were taken. The summit, which is only around ll78 m, was 6C, so I could not blame them for the dash up and back. I got cold just listening to the tale of woe, and was disappointed to here that once they reached the top, of course, they could not see anything due to the fog and clouds. So much for our historical ride...







To cheer ourselves up, we piled into the car again and headed off to visit Strasbourg, birthplace of Marcel Marceau, for a few hours. At this point the weather had become quite glorious and we walked around the main square and admired the huge gothic sandstone Cathedral of Our Lady. Of course, at that moment the authorities threw everyone out of the place so that they could give the daily noon lecture on the famous astronomical clock. We passed by an amazing store selling a vast array of cookies and soon wandered off for some food ourselves, enjoying mammoth sandwiches in an ice cream place.

Bergheim

After we did the long drive back to the gite, the weather actually improved enough that I decided to go out by myself and just ride north along the main road through the vineyards. I passed Ribeauvillé, of course, but in Bergheim I turned off the road to take some photos of the town showing the fortified walls. I noticed a sign on a sideroad pointing to a German World War II cemetery and decided to look, riding upwards through the vineyards until the road ended. I had an excellent view of Bergheim and the surrounding Rhine Valley, and rolled back down to the main road, turning right and passing through Rorschwihr and coming to St-Hippolyte, which was about to celebrate its Beer Festival on the coming weekend. I photographed the banner to prove to the others that there actually was beer in Alsace, and turned around. At this point the rain returned but I got back to the gite without getting very wet but with only 21 kms on the bike computer.

Friday, July 6

Of course, now that people were starting to leave the weather improved. The Thin Man had departed the evening before, taking the night train back to Berlin. Chill was drove out, heading back in the direction of Geneva while Anti-Gravity Jon packed up his bike. Dr. Chef, Steve Z. and I were under less time pressure and we agreed to head off to the north for some nice climbs near the town of Villé, which meant retracing my ride of Thursday to St-Hippolyte and then continuing.





The weather was quite good and we reached the first major junction at Chatenois quite rapidly. The next stretch of road, a short piece of the N-59 and then a long stretch of the D424, had the most traffic of any part of our rides and we were relieved to get to Villé. However, the roads were poorly marked here and we departed with some confusion and much consultation of the maps, eventually finding our way to an excellent climb, which took us along the D23 to Urbeis and the Col d’Urbeis (602 m). We turned right on the D214 and were rewarded with excellent views as we climbed further to the village of Le Climont.

Steve Z. had asked me about some creaking noises his bike was making and I had a sense of foreboding. Sure enough, in Le Climont his cassette body failed, exactly as mine had in Maryland a month earlier, and his Tour d’Alsace was at an end. Dr. Chef and I continued on the most direct route back to the gite, passing the Col de Steige (534m) and riding at time trials speeds through Maisonsgoutte and Ville and then back all the way home, with only a moment or two of rain along the way. We did stop to take pictures of us at the Col sign, of course. Once back at the gite, Dr. Chef took the S-Max and went back to collect Steve Z., and that was the end our week in Alsace. At least we had managed to put in 85 km in one day, with a reasonable gain of 720 m.

Saturday, July 7

Mario on his Gios at Haut-Koenigsbourg

Well, things were not quite over. My friend Mario and his wife Birgit arrived on Saturday morning. They were camping a few miles down the road and he was picking me up in preparation for the next stage of my trip, a week in the Black Forest, just across the Rhine. Steve Z. and Dr. Chef were preparing to head off to the Frankfurt Airport with the rental car and we said our goodbyes.




Stork on the prowl

I went with Mario to the campsite--where storks were wandering around, cadging handouts-- and we put on our cycling gear and took our bikes out for a ride, going back up to Chateau du Haut Koenigsbourg and enjoying the descent to Ste-Marie-aux-Mines, the climb back up to Ribeauvillé and then returning to Hunawihr and the campsite in Zellenberg.

There were showers to be had and we got changed. Mario and Birgit packed up the VW Westfalia van and we drove up the street for lunch in Riquewihr, including a wine tasting, before going east and crossing the Rhine into Germany. A short while later we were in Biengen at a very comfortable guest house, and met up with Frank, from the Harz Mountains, and Brett (a fellow Squadra Coppi rider) and his girlfriend Lex, the others in our party. We walked down the street and over an uproarious dinner on a restaurant terrace planned our upcoming German cycling adventures.

Birgit samples the flammkuchen in Riquewihr

The Lost Boys Tour d'Alsace: Part 2

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

The weather had really caved in and we were confronted with miserable rain and dark skies. Dr. Chef and I did an early morning croissant run to Ribeauvillé but things looked grey and wet. We returned to the gite and over breakfast discussed the options. We decided to ride back up the Col de Haut du Ribeauvillé in the opposite direction to yesterday’s ride and then turn towards Aubure and the Col de Fréland. From there, weather permitting, we could do several cols while still remaining within a reasonable distance of Hunawihr.

The ride back up through Ribeauvillé went quite well and we found the intersection to head towards Aubure with no difficulty but as we approached the Col de Fréland (831 m) the rain began to fall quite intensely, as did the temperature. We had a fast, cold descent towards the village of Fréland where it began to really pour. A quick decision was made to shorten the ride and we headed towards the spa town of Kaysersberg before turning onto a bikepath which enabled us to avoid the heavy traffic of the N415 and continue along a peaceful river. Kaysersberg, the birthplace of Albert Schweizer, was very charming, although we had a very bumpy ride over the cobbled streets, navigating around all the tourists.

We soon hooked up with the D10 and the D1B, which were flat and fast and soon we were into full-bore time trial mode. There were three of us at the front, hammering back to Hunawihr, but when I looked around it Dr. Chef had vanished. It turned out that his FSA crank had fallen off, and Chill went back for him with his car.

That afternoon we were back in Ribeauvillé, doing yet more shopping, and taking Dr. Chef’s bicycle in to the local bike shop so that his original Campagnolo crank could be installed. The shopowner, who had repaired one of Chill’s bikes already, looked a bit grumpy but agreed to do the work. The shop was a typical small-town bike shop, featuring lawn mowers and toys in addition to bicycles.

The day had not gone as well as hoped. We had only ridden 48 km, with 711 m of gain, but my computer had decided it did not like the rain very much and had packed things in. But things could be worse: we were in Alsace and there was dinner soon!

Dr. Chef checking out the schnapps

But before dinner we cruised around the corner and visited an artisanal distillery. These exist at many farms in the region and this particular one was operated by the Windholtz family, père et fils. First we visited the barn, where two pot stills are used. The fruits used for the spirits are a wide range: berries, plums, pears, apples. There are different methods of making the drinks, some using fruit only and some with a mixture of fruit and alcohol, and only certain products can be named “eau-de-vie.”

Trying the fruits of the land

We walked back to the tasting room and the senior Windholtz then began to pour out the samples, of which there must have been ten or twelve different types. They produce different grades as well and, at 45 percent alcohol, we soon became experts. Several of us bought some bottles to take home, and Steve Z. was looking forward to a dinner in Paris he was going to as the restauranteur there buys spirits from the Windholtzes.

Steve Z. tucks into the local speciality

Time to eat! This time we went into the village of Hunawihr and enjoyed a typical Alsatian meal in a cave, un underground wine cellar. The restaurant was very folksy and several of our group enjoyed the famous speciality, choucroute garni, sauerkraut with sausages. Although Alsace was not the most vegetarian-friendly of places I have been, I never had an issue finding something good to eat.




Wednesday, July 5, 2007

This was the day that Dr. Chef and I decided to just hang around while the others went out for a ride. We drove over to the town immediately to the south, Riquewihr, and discovered yet another intensely charming Alsatian town where you could sample wine at every street corner. We wandered around and when the rain came down yet again we went off to a wine cellar to try the wares, enjoying a Riesling so much better than my supermarket effort I was embarrassed.

Dr. Chef checking out the macaroons

After the rain stopped, we walked along the main street and looked into the shops. In addition to wine, you could buy a lot of pastry, and Dr. Chef was quite taken with the wares of the Macaroon Girl. Of course, we were obligated to purchase a selection of macaroons, including lemon and pistachio.

Returning to the gite, we were met be a wet and miserable crew. The others had gone back to the Val d’Argent and ridden a new col, but then the weather turned wretched and they got pretty soaked all the way back.

For the afternoon’s entertainment, we drove back to Mulhouse and visited the remarkable Schlumpf Collection. Hans and Fritz Schlumpf (yes, really) were textile barons and over the years they amassed a private collection of antique cars, basically milking their textile business to pay for it. In 1977 they fled to Switzerland, leaving behind a lot of unpaid workers and taxes owing. When some of the workers seized one of the factory buildings, they discovered that instead of it containing textile machinery, it housed, in its 200,000 square feet, one of the world’s largest car collections, numbering around 600 cars. The Schlumpf Collection is now the French national automobile museum. The Schlumpfs were pretty keen on old cars generally, but their Bugatti collection, consisting of around 124 examples, is astonishing. It includes two of the original Type 41 “Royale” models and a third, a reconstruction. These must rank as the most extravagant cars ever.

The Lost Boys Tour d'Alsace: the Complete Story

Saturday, June 30, 2007

After experiencing crappy weather in Berlin for a week, I joined the Thin Man on the train on Saturday, June 30th and crossed Germany by train, making our way to Offenburg, where we transferred, then again at Strasbourg and finally arriving in Colmar around 4 pm. Hauling bike cases is never easy at the best of times but working in tandem we were able to get them up and down elevators and to the right platforms without losing any time and missing any connections. The fast trains in Germany, the ICE (InterCityExpress!), do not allow bicycles but we were technically travelling with cases so none of the train crews made any difficulty for us. There are certain spots on the ICE between cars where you can nicely set up a Performance bike case so that it is not in anyone’s way and does not tip over.

Arriving in Colmar we went to the taxi stand in front of the station and found the only taxi there, a huge Renault Espace minivan (not so mini, really). The cabdriver was pretty grumpy and was worried our plastic cases might somehow damage his vehicle but we soon had both bike cases, our suitcases and ourselves ensconced in the Renault and headed out of town. We soon found ourselves on a narrow road passing through the gorgeous villages of the Alsatian wine region–vineyards absolutely everywhere!-- as we headed towards Hunawihr, 15 km or so away. The towns were so picturesque, with flowers in all the windows. In one town the traffic was backed up a little as a wedding was taking place at City Hall, with a group of firemen seeing one of their own off into marital bliss.

Hunawihr, with its fortified church

I had selected Hunawihr, a very small town, as it was directly in the heart of the region where we wanted to go cycling, and because our gite, or holiday accommodation, was there. At the Meyer-Rooms we had booked the largest space. We were the first of the group to arrive and the lady managing the place let us in. We left the bike cases outside with the idea that we would build up the bikes later. The rooms were very nice and there was more than enough space for the five of us. There was a fully-equipped kitchen, two bathrooms and even a washing machine, something that every cyclist on holiday can appreciate.

The vineyards across the street from our gite

Soon after, Dr. Chef arrived with the rental minivan, a Ford S-Max. He brought Anti-Gravity Jon with him from the Strasbourg Airport but told us that Steve Z., who was also supposed to arrive in Strasbourg, had missed his connecting flight in Paris. It was a long day as both Anti-Gravity Jon and Steve Z. were coming in from Seattle. Dr. Chef had flown from Washington, DC to Frankfurt and picked up the van there, whereas the Thin Man and I were not going to be suffering much from jet lag.

Dr. Chef prepares his front tire for special treatment

We all claimed our spaces and then went outside and started to work on the bicycles. I was delighted that in fifteen minutes I had mine back together again and Jon and the Thin Man were not far behind. Dr. Chef was hard at work when an explosion occurred as the front tire he had just inflated blew up. The first flat of the trip and nobody had even gone for a ride yet! This was soon fixed, and we made a quick trip in the van to the neighbouring town of Ribeauvillé to find a supermarket but the directions given to us did not quite work so in the end Dr. Chef dropped us off at the gite and he drove off to Strasbourg to pick up Steve Z.


Anti-Gravity Jon and his Anti-Gravity Trek

Anti-Gravity Jon, the Thin Man and I went for a ride into the village of Hunawihr itself to test our bikes. It was very charming but pretty sleepy. We rode through the town, noticing the first of many, many wine-tasting (dégustation) places, and then rode up out of the town, following a sign that was supposed to indicate Alsation vineyard cyclepath. Jon and I charged up the hill, which hit grades of 15 percent, and the Thin Man started off strongly then faded. He realized then that he had assembled the inner chainring on his bicycle backwards and could not shift into the lower gears. He still rode very strongly in spite of this, and we soon turned back to do a little more tuning at the gite.

One of our storks

Dr. Chef and Steve Z. returned a short time later and we trooped into the restaurant that was conveniently located next to the gite for a typical Alsatian meal. Flammkuchen is the regional speciality and is like a very thin-crusted pizza. There was lots of beer to wash everything down and everyone was feeling relaxed. The weather forecast looked good for Sunday and everyone walked back to the gite, admiring the nesting storks on the roof, and we disassembled the bicycles for the next day, trying to avoid getting grease all over the van. It was a major accomplishment to get four bikes in the luggage area but we knew it would save us time when we did the early start the next day.

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Dr. Chef and I roused everyone out of bed at a ridiculously early time in the morning, and with surprisingly little complaining we got everyone into the van and headed out to Mulhouse to ride a French club ride. My account of this is already on the blog. We were now up to three flat tires for the trip as the Thin Man enjoyed two.

Monday, July 2, 2007

The Lost Boys in Ribeauvillé

I thought that I would have been a bit stiff and sore from the 173 km we rode the day before but in fact I felt quite good. I felt even better when I rolled out of bed and discovered that Dr. Chef and Anti-Gravity Jon had gone to Ribeauvillé and bought fresh croissants and pain au chocolat for breakfast. They had also purchased a few things in the little village store in Hunawihr so we were set to begin the day in fine form.

Welcome to Bergheim

Chill was staying in Ribeauvillé and we rode the 1.5 km over there to meet up with him, posing for a group photo outside of the old town and then heading northwards Bergheim, another gorgeously picturesque village. Chill, who had been in the area before, had suggested we ride up to the Chateau de Haut-Koenigsbourg and go via the less heavily-travelled route on the D42. We climbed gently, first through impressive vineyards and then through the forest on an excellent road, making our way upwards to the charming village of Thannenkirch. The road was wet but we were enjoying sunshine.

On the road to Haut-Koenigsbourg from left: Chill, Dr. Chef and the Sprocketboy

The road turned from northwest to northeast and steepened a bit. Ahead of us, high on its mountain, we could see the castle. We stopped to take some photos and were joined by a family from Yorkshire who were driving by, and they took pictures of us together. Then it was back on the bikes and uphill as Chill, Dr. Chef and I chased down the others.

There was a brief descent and a sudden left turn and we were climbing the approach to the castle. Chill had warned us that the road was very steep but his memory had played tricks on him or, more likely, his cycling had improved so much since his last visit that what had seemed particularly difficult was no longer so. We soon found ourselves cruising up the loop road that took us to the castle and we enjoyed a superb view of the Vosges Mountains and, to the east, the Rhine Valley.

The castle, one impressive pile of masonry, was built in the 12th Century and had been in possession of the Hohenstaufen family. It went to the Dukes of Lorraine and then changed hands several times and was burned in 1462 during civil disturbances. It was rebuilt and then the Swedes burned it during the Thirty Years War. Left as a ruin for several centuries, it was given to Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1899. He determined to rebuild it to its appearance before the Swedes got at it and his architect made a good effort to capture the period. It was hoped that the castle would be a romantic reminder, bonding Alsace closer to the German Empire. Construction went from 1900 to 1908. After World War I the French confiscated the castle as they obtained Alsace again and today this fairy-tale-like building is a major regional tourist attraction.

We looked at the tourists, had some energy bars and then continued on the loop road, returning down the hill all the way back to Bergheim. We rode in through the main gate of this wonderful, completely fortified town and headed for the central square to find coffee. This we accomplished, and enjoyed not only coffee but apple cake as well. Dr. Chef and I walked around and took photos of the beautiful square in front of City Hall. Little did we know that Bergheim had suffered so badly from the effects of war and the plague that by the 1700s it had become completely depopulated. Foreigners were invited in to the empty town and it was filled with Austrians, Germans, Swiss, Hungarians and Romanians. Times are a lot better now.

From Bergheim we decided to ride back up the hill towards the castle since we had enjoyed cycling the D42 so much but instead of continuing on to the Chateau itself, we turned left and took the road to Lièpvre, enjoying a superb fast descent of some 7 kms. We found the busy N59 waiting for us, but were able to quickly get off this Route National onto the much quiet D48, taking us along the Liepvrette River to Ste-Marie-aux-Mines. The region, known as the Val d’Argent, was once famous for its mines, and was noted for antimony and silver.

We rode along the river, and Steve Z. practiced some sprinting, before we turned east on the D416 and began the long climb up to the Col du Haut de Ribeauvillé. It was a steady 6-7 percent grade and took us up to 742 m. Chill, who is obsessed with having his picture taken in front of summit signs, got his picture taken here, and the whole group joined in before we enjoyed another hair-raising descent, including a few sections of cobblestones. We were getting some splotches of rain now, and set the pace a bit higher. Anti-Gravity Jon and I took turns time-trialling at the front, passing some huge wineries as we went back into Ribeauvillé, where we rode in past the ruins of the Chateau de St. Ulrich. In town we found the only place still open for a late lunch of, yes, flammkuchen and Gewürztraminer. If you don’t eat at the right time in France, your possibilities for lunch become quite limited. In fact, the only thing on the menu was flammkuchen...

Soon we found ourselves back in Hunawihr and Dr. Chef, Steve Z. and I went off in the van to do some serious shopping as Dr. Chef was planning to cook dinner for us that evening.

We enjoyed wandering through the large supermarket, looking at all the unfamiliar foods and searching for things on our extensive list–how do you say “oatmeal” in French? We got pasta, and eggs and chocolate and bananas and pastry shells and what seemed like seven different kinds of cheese and milk and tea and coffee and vegetables and raisins, eventually, the oatmeal. And laundry detergent and paper towels.

Dr. Chef at work

Back at the gite everyone went to work as Larry created an excellent meal: mushrooms in pastry shells, a green salad (made by Steve Z.) and pasta with freshly grated Parmesan (we took a blackmail photo of Chill doing the grating so that he could never point out to his wife again how useless he is in the kitchen), followed by caramel ice cream and cassis sorbet. The only downside was the Alsatian Riesling I had selected for 3 Euros, which was terrible beyond belief, but luckily Chill had brought some nice wine from Switzerland and we had selected a local red that was pretty good as well. After dinner the cleanup crew went to work and another superb day en vacances had passed. More to follow...

Chill is grating. Well, not all of the time...

The Tour of the Vosges Mountains

July 1, 2007: Canada Day in Mulhouse, France

When I lived in Germany I took part in many organized rides, often of daunting length and usually in wretched weather. Unwilling to pass up this experience with my friends, I found a local club ride last year in the Black Forest and promptly blew up on the course. This year I thought that discretion was the better part of valour and I found a shorter course offered by the ACS Peugeot Citroën Mulhouse on the website of the French cycletouring organization, FFTC. The weekend of June 30/July 1 the club was holding a variety of rides, ranging from 89 to 227 km, and I contacted them to see about signing us all up for the 174 km version, the Col Vosgiens, for Sunday. For many in the group this would be the day after they had landed from the United States, whereas the Thin Man and I would not be suffering from jet lag as we will have come in by train from Berlin.

There was plenty of grumbling as we all get up at 5 am and piled into the van for the 45 minute drive to Mulhouse and the start. The evening before we had put the bikes into the rental van, a Ford S-Max, and amazingly were able to put five bicycles into the vehicle, all with their wheels off and carefully stacked in the luggage area. And there was room for the five of us in the car as well, although we had to put one of the bikes across the rear seat on our laps. We were clearly inspired. Even more impressive, we were able to find the Citroën Peugeot sports complex without any difficulty. Chill, who was staying in Mulhouse, had reconnoitered the area the evening before and had gotten lost several times but we took the exit he suggested. As we switched to a smaller route from the autoroute, I noticed a sign (in the other direction!) to the sports complex and we were soon there.

Registration had opened at 4 am for those wanting an insanely early start for the 227 km randonneur ride but our plan was to leave closer to 7 am. There were very few cyclists around at this point and the helpful volunteers registered us in no time flat. French rides are divided into cyclosportif, where times are taken, and cyclotourisme, which is more relaxed. For many of the events if you are not an FFTC member you must show a doctor’s certificate, as well as signing the usual waiver. But things were pretty low-key in Mulhouse and we did not need any additional paperwork. Before rolling out we stopped for breakfast and then headed past the front gate. The weather looked very good and the roads were well-marked, so we quickly got into paceline mode and headed past the rather industrial suburbs of Mulhouse for the Vosges Mountains to the east.

We soon left the suburbs behind and found ourselves in forest. Most of the mountains are part of a national park and the area is very green and sparsely-populated. We began to climb gradually, enjoying the scenery and the excellent, traffic-free road. The group broke up fairly rapidly, as the Thin Man, Steve Z. and Anti-Gravity Jon are faster climbers than me, Chill and Dr. Chef, but I felt good and knew that there was no need to hurry as we had a long day ahead.

Our first climb took us to the food stop at Col Amic. This area had been heavily contested in World War One and there are some very large cemeteries around. It must have been very difficult to construct trenches and fight in the mountains. The Vosges marked the boundary between Germany and France pre-1914 and the first action in the war in the West took place here. Although there was much less fighting in this area in World War Two there are memorials everywhere to the soldiers lost in both wars.

At Col Amic (825 m above sea level) we loaded up on drinks and bananas; the volunteers were starting to pack up as we left. We continued our ride upwards to the highest point on the ride, the Grand Ballon. I tried to ride as steadily as possible and could see a line of cyclists stretched out ahead as we worked our way up to the top. A brief photo stop at the summit (1324 m) and we had a pleasant downhill ride. We put some speed into it, and unfortunately I began to cramp in my left leg. I pulled off to massage the muscle, and Chill stopped too and we then proceeded together. I was worried that the cramp would get so bad that I could not continue but I drank a lot and worked it out and gradually felt a lot better. We took some pictures and then continued, enjoying the views of the mountains all around.

The next stretch took us through narrow forest descents to La Bresse, where we were again among the last at the food stop, but we quickly sped onwards and found ourselves at Fresse sur Moselle, where a large group of cyclists, doing various lengths of the ride, had assembled for lunch. It was a busy place and while the food was not memorable we were able to relax for a while.

Now the route took us along the young Moselle River on a bicycle path and we rode with some of the locals and soon had a paceline going. There was an older rider (with a pot belly!) and although he was not a great climber he could set a good pace on the flats. There was one final climb at a reasonable grade along a major road, but from there things were generally downhill to the end. We had a wonderful descent but it was starting to look like rain.

The area we were passing through was more heavily-settled than in the mountains and we were particularly taken with the little town of Thann. We blew down to our last food stop, in Leimbach, and there the Thin Man discovered he had a flat tire. Tire repaired, we pressed on but it turned out that the problem was not solved and we stopped to fix it again. Unfortunately, the weather had now changed and it was starting to rain. Dr. Chef jumped onto a paceline going by, Steve Z. and Anti-Gravity Jon were far ahead, and I stood under a garage roof while Chill provided encouragement to the Thin Man. We soon were on our way again and before we knew it we were rolling through the outskirts of Mulhouse and back to the sports complex.

It had stopped raining and we rolled in and got our carnets stamped–although Chill’s had turned into paper mush by this time. My actual riding time was 7 hours and 18 minutes and I was starting to feel pretty tired. I bought a medal as a souvenir and everyone had something to drink and some snacks and a group photo before we piled back into the van and headed back to our gite in Hunawihr.


We got cleaned up and celebrated with a dinner at the restaurant next to the gite and slept very well that night.

Summer holidays--you call that summer?

Back safely from Europe! Well, that was a pretty mixed bag--in 23 days of holidays for me, it rained on 21 days. I have never seen such poor weather in Europe for such an extended time but a holiday is still a holiday. Our spirits were kept high by the beauty of Alsace, along with a lot of wine, for the week we were there. The Lost Boys Tour d'Alsace 2007 was counted by all as a success, with great scenery, good food and excellent company. The group is shown here at the gates of Ribeauville-- from left: Anti-Gravity Jon, Chill, Steve Z., the Thin Man and Dr. Chef.

Dr. Chef and Mr. Chill ride up the hill towards Ribeauville: poetry in motion

Full details of this exceptional week, including our visit to a distillery and to the famous Schlumpf Collection, will be made public in the the next few days, along with tales of my week in Berlin and week in Markgraflerland, "the Tuscany of Germany."

And the Sprocketboy has way too much to drink