Bike and Wine Tour

Today we set off in the dark morning with just a sliver of moon lighting the way, crossing the mountains and coming down again into the Corbières valley, a region famous for wine making in this part of France. 

It was a bike ride and wine tasting. 

The short ride was 76 kilometers, about 47 miles, with 4 wine tastings and lunch included.

Our friend Steve is  practically a professional biker and his wife Lou also rides well on her nice bike. 

Earl and I have heavier bikes called hybrids. We like them but felt the drag of them today. 

Our first stop, about 8 miles in looked like a visiting circus with all the multi-colored bicycle gear. 

The wine looked nice and I had flashbacks to the Beaujolais Nouveau we would snap up at Trader Joe’s in November but the wine did not live up to my expectations. 

We hopped on our bikes for 25 more kilometers

 to Lagrasse where we stopped for a snack, ham and butter on baguettes, soft drinks or wine.

Back on the bikes to Terre d’expressions for more wine. This one was called Premeur, still a new wine. 

Our last gasp of a ride before arriving for lunch, 12 kilometers. 

We’d ridden 61 kilometers, when we sat down for lunch, noodles with pork, meatballs and sausages. 

Plus more wine. 


The wine tasted better each time, but maybe that just came from tiredness. 

We had cheese and dessert at the end. 

All of this for 12 euros and a little sweat equity. 

It was a beautiful day and we both needed a break from working — Earl on the house and me teaching. 

Now we’re sitting in the sun while Lou and Steve cycle the 15 kilometers back to the car. They’ll pick us up and we only feel slightly decadent choosing not to ride the final 15 k.

Glorious Morning

This morning was glorious, not just the weather, but the fact that I didn't have to go to work.
I've been teaching six days a week, but one of my colleges just finished until Aug. 31, so I'm only working three days a week.
Don't feel bad for me though; the number of hours I work is pretty pitiful. It just mentally took its toll because I didn't have two full days off.
This morning, I decided to ride my bike to the gym. The bike trail is smooth and safe, but I take my life in my hands a bit getting to the bike trail.

Our town definitely needs to work on that. Part of the ride is along a four-lane road. I figured early in the morning, I should be safe.
After my workout at the gym, I got on my bike to ride back home, but the intense blue of the sky convinced me to keep going.

This low-head dam hasn't been removed yet.

I was one of those obnoxious people saying "Morning!" to anyone I passed. Most of them were on their way to work, however, so their greetings were not as effusive as mine.

My attempt at an artsy photo of downtown Columbus. 

On my way to the gym, I passed a family walking on the trail. A mother with a little boy, maybe five  years old, and a grandmother. When I rode my bike to downtown Columbus, I passed them again. They had walked all that way. I can't imagine my kids able to walk that far when they were little. People have lives that we know nothing about. They greeted me with a cheery hello each time I saw them, because I turned around from downtown and rode back home.

On the bike path near Confluence Park, which is where the Scioto and Olentangy rivers come together, I saw a love lock. Etched on the lock were the names Chris and Sara. Then the date, 7/13/09. Since it's the only lock attached there since 2009, I guess this bridge isn't going to become one of those "love locks" bridges that becomes weighed down by locks.

Here's the lock on the bridge. 

When I returned home, I convinced Grace to get out of bed and to walk to the coffee shop with me. Usually, in August, the air in Ohio is heavy with humidity, but the past few days, the humidity has dispersed and that makes the sky sparkle.
We enjoyed a bonding mother/daughter time before she had to get ready for work.
Then Tucker came into the kitchen,  ready for work, and we actually had a good talk. He's going to consider maybe going back to college. I'll take that little sign of hope.

Dreaming of France -- Pont du Gard

Please join this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.
Maybe we can all satisfy our yearnings for France, until we get there again.
This week I'm sharing with you some photos from our 2002 bicycle trip in Provence.
We rented bikes and they were fabulously sleek. The company delivered them to our hotel in Avignon. We had planned a 40-mile bike ride to Nimes and along the route, we'd see the famous Roman Aqueduct Pont du Gard.

From this angle, it just looks like some magnificent Roman engineering. We got to actually ride our bikes across it.

 

Look at this picture of me and the bikes. We are so small compared to the aqueduct.

The only problem that day, was we didn't pack food to eat during the bike ride. We were still in an American frame of mind and assumed we would stop for whaatever we needed to eat -- you know, at a French 7/11.

Well, those don't appear too often in France. So we rode without food and I got grumpy. 

Here I am, in desparate need of chocolate. We never rode without chocolate again.

We still consider this our best couple vacation ever.