Tour de France

 

 A leisurely morning, the rain clearing and then back on the bikes again for a loop to a chateau and back. Like every day biking in these Dordognes Mountains, there are long stretches of uphills and downhills and truth be told, this San Franciscan still riding his “acoustic” bicycle in my fair and hilly city could handle it. But since 6 of the 7 folks in the group (all the ones over 70) decided to go with electric bikes, it made sense to go for it. (The 7^th is impressively keeping up, but hey, she is some ten years younger). 

 

When I tell others we’re riding electric bikes, you can feel their head nod and their sense of being impressed by our bicycling hardiness go down several notches. I think many imagine these like mini-electric scooters. But truth be told, we are pedaling the whole time, the bikes are some four times heavier than our normal ones and with the help of our heavy batteries, the “electric” side of the equation mostly comes into play on the long uphills. Trust me, biking some 30 to 35 miles a day, we’re getting plenty of exercise. 

 

For those who don’t know, there are four settings, from the least boost to the most. Eco, Tour, Sport and Turbo. I always save the turbo for the long, steep hills and yes, I’m quite glad I have that option. But mostly I opt for Eco or Tour and on long downhills, I often choose “off.”

 

The chateau we arrived at was an impressive old stone building but entirely closed to the public. So the day was mostly a pleasant ride through the countryside. For those curious, there are very few dedicated bike paths on our route and when sharing the road with cars (and trucks), there is no shoulder whatsoever. Our ride is punctuated by the last of us often shouting “Car back!!” and alerting us to hug the shoulder yet tighter. The cars seems used to it, so no one passes by and curses at us. 

 

We got back in mid-afternoon and everyone gathered around the too-chilly-to-swim swimming pool buried in their private pursuits—sketching, watercolors, reading, writing in journals and such. Tonight we’ll walk into town and search out a restaurant, with a slight interest in finding a crepe place. When in France, why not? After all, I’ve been eating white-bread baguettes (but with a unique crunch texture and great taste) with an array of French cheeses. Truth be told, there have been many challenging meals for this mostly vegetarian/ chickentarian, especially since chicken is last on the list (if it even makes the list) behind duck, beef, pork, goose liver and other meats. Pizza is a lifesaver and there are some salads. So again, a lot of bread and cheese and that’s fine up to a point—especially the point on stepping on the scales!

 

As for the title, since I’m biking in France and often use the Tour setting, I believe I can honestly say I’ve ridden in the Tour de France. :-)