This is the journal from a bicycle tour Elizabeth and I (Pete) made in France in 1999. Bicycling is a great way to travel in France. You get in shape, and you ride on picturesque back roads, at a speed that lets you really see the countryside. Being outside all the time gives you a tremendous feeling of well-being.

France is especially good for bicycling. Motorists respect bicyclists, giving them lots of room on the road. There are many small roads, little traveled except by farmers, and the Michelin maps show them all. Every town has a municipal campground with hot showers, dishwashing facilities, and often washing machines. If you want to stay in a hotel, they are cheap. Finally, the food, whether purchased in an alimentation (food store) or a restaurant, is excellent.

It is difficult to convey through a journal the feeling of anticipation with which I began each day. The feeling comes back to me when I smell wet grass, a certain kind of shaving cream, or even diesel fumes. Our routes were filled with wonderful intrigue--what will we see over the next hill? in the next town? I can't wait to go back.

Our route started at Charles DeGaulle airport, northeast of Paris, and followed a fifteen hundred kilometer, counter-clockwise loop, first to the English Channel, then south to the Loire Valley, finally returning to Paris.

August 1999 Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 September 1999 Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30