Happy Christmas everybody,

We are in Nice only 48 kilometres from Italy! My bike computer shows 3019 km's so although we may not be in Italy yet, we are proceeding pretty well and seeing lots with the detours we make. I believe we stayed in Toulouse for twelve days! We drank, Océanne's great grandmother came to visit, we ate; we went shopping for tyres, bike odometre batteries, camping mattress's, trousers, warm socks as well as visiting Océanne's great granfather and Dorothée's many cousins and friends. I thank Dorothée's parents very much for welcoming us for such a long and busy time. A lot of time is spent at the table in the Charpentier household and although it is often hard to get anything done before four in the afternoon, we somehow managed to leave Toulouse with everything we needed and had time for many walks in the park. Océanne really appreciated her time with her grand parents on the French side and so did l infact and l know Dorothée certainly did. During this time l somehow lost the keys to the bike locks. This was not a great idea as it meant we coulden't leave as the bikes were locked outside during this time! After searching everywhere including a huge park, l had to rent a grinder to break the locks and then obviously buy new locks. A complete waste of money and time as it was a whole other adventure to find a grinder to rent including rain, using Toulouse's rent a bike system, many miles in the suburbs, the obligatory French shutdown between 12 and 2 and not having a French blank cheque as a guarantee. Pleading, speaking to the manager and the leaving of a British passport finally ended a possible mental breakdown. MEC were also very agreeable during our stay refunding us for the defective matress's. I ordered some high quality thermarest replacements on the internet which never arrived, wrong name on the address label supposedly which then had to be also refunded before we went to buy some in Toulouse! Should have done that the first time probably. This was infact why we stayed in Toulouse 12 days instead of 11.

Leaving Toulouse we followed the Canal du Midi a little, with Dorothée's parents at first, before arriving 80 kilometres later in the dark and on a big steep hill for the climb up to the village of Fanjeaux where an Auntie of Dorothée lives. We left after lunch which was a bit of a mistake but at least we arrived. It was so dark that Dorothée ran into me while l was waiting on a hairpin bend! I think l was in the way. It was a really refreshing experience as she lives without electricity and with an amazing view on the plains below. The Pyrennees can be seen close, big and white from the other side of the village. We continued onto Carcassonne with a strong tailwind after lunch outside with Edith and another of Dorothée's cousins who had a son slightly younger than Océanne which was great for her to run around the garden with. The medieval city of Carcassonne was beautiful in the evening light before we retired to yet another Formule 1 hotel. We managed a record distance of over 91 km's the next day to camp by the Canal du Midi just outside of the village of Portiragnes. It was a favourable wind. Next stop was Sete on the Mediterranean where we stayed with Véronique, a friend of Dorothée with a view over the sea. Thank you Véro. This is where the weather turned nasty. It had been fine up to now, cold but fine and equally bearable. Véronique decided to bike with us the next day as we were only going to Montpellier. It rained a bit and was really cold, the reason being this really strong wind coming from the North. The famous Mistral! We stayed in Montpellier for an extra day with friends of Dorothée's parents, a really beautiful city as l had to search for Océanne's Christmas present as well as sample hot wine in the Christmas market. La Place de la Comédie at night and La Quartier de l'Ancien Courrier are sights that really got me as extremly well preserved and even magnificent.

Next was the crossing of the Camargue, famous for white horses and lots and lots of birds, namely flamingoes as well as the Camargue bull that produces fine beef. The Mistral was blowing very strongly at this point so during one lunch stop we headed into a local restaurant and l had bulls head followed by the local fish and it was all really really good. We carried on, crossing the famous Rhone before it entered the sea and got dumped into the big industrial area of the Port of Marseille. What a difference to the National Park of Camargue just next door. Huge industrial installations and hundreds of trucks on the road but we were still able to ask for water at a kind security post at the entrance of one of these immense plants. It was freezing as well. For the first time Océanne was cold in her trailer with her feet and hands being the problem. We were lucky as while asking for a place to camp on the Port of Marseille's land, we were offered to stay inside one of their buildings with heating which was definetly warmer than the tent and at least Océanne could run around a bit before bed. The fact that it was 11 p.m before she finally settled down is another matter. The night before it had been really cold cooking outside the tent with my hands going numb and during the night it had gone down to about minus 4. We are OK inside the tent but in the morning it's a bit hard to get going! In Marseille we would be again ready to battle the cold as we intended to buy gloves and boots for Océanne to fend off the cold as she doesn't move in the trailer whereas we do obviously. She now duly has winter boots and gloves which make all the difference. Just before Marseille and near the coast the Mistral was really strong and was capable to push the entire weight of me, the bike, all the bagagge and trailer including Océanne off the road and towards a big cliff cut for the road. It only happened once during a massive gust and luckily l only touched the escarpment slowly and didn't damage anything apart from temporarily putting my handlebar out of position. The forces of nature! We spent a couple of days in Marseille with friends of Dorothée as well as doing a bit of sightseeing and also spending a night with another cousin up in the hills where we saw some snow and more children for Océanne to play with. Thank you Isabelle + Francis and Arnaud + Hélène. Toilet training is not proceeding as we would like and very rarely Océanne is frustrated but we can never be sure whether it is because of the trip or not. Probably yes for the toilet training as it is difficult to have a routine but as for sometimes being frustrated, it's most likely just growing up. We hope so in all cases but we are always ready to stop travelling if it is for the benefit of Océanne even though we may not want to.

Apart from Marseille being a huge city where people drive without rules or regulation and where the wind in the winter is so very cold it does have an amazing viewpoint from the church of Notre Dame de la Garde perched on a hill in the middle of the city. We left on the coldest day so far where it didn't get much higher than 3 degress during the day. These were now the shortest days of the year and the sun didn't generate much heat at all. We camped again and this time it went down to about minus 5 and l think that's about the coldest we can handle. The next four days was mainly dominated by heavy rain but warmer temperatures. The advantage of travelling by bike instead of a scooter which most people will know l have done a bit of is that at least by bike you can generate heat so although the weather was pretty terrible we were never really cold with the rain. Océanne was always very dry in her trailer! On a scooter you get wet and then freeze as you just sit there, go quite fast and get cold as the wind and rain get to you. We stayed in another Formule 1 in Toulon because it was really raining hard and then stayed in a hotel in Cavalaire sur Mer because it was even worse the next day. In Toulon we visited a restaurant in the evening and just got soaked walking there. However Océanne got to see Santa Claus for the first time and although she was a bit scared, she did receive a soft panda but woulden't give the big man in a red suit a kiss. Good on her too! We camped the day before we arrived here in Nice as the rain had stopped for a day but then duly started as we got the tent up. Too bad. It didn't stop from start to finish the next day and l got covered by a rogue wave while biking along the coast before Cannes. It was quite impressive the wildness of the scene though.

Here in Nice we have gone completely crazy for Christmas, three nights in a 3 star hotel, a restaurant for Christmas lunch and smoked salmon with the Christmas chocolate log in our room. For us it is certainly sometimes not the hard life. There was the champagne from Dorothée's father as well and my personal visit to an Irish pub yesterday evening for a quick pint. Christmas day brought a big blue sky and at least 15 degrees as we had lunch outside on a terrace of a good brasserie not far from the beach and the pounding waves. It's grey again today and cold so it didn't last long. Came just for Jesus. Next stop Monaco and Italy.

Happy New Year, Rupert.

La tournée anglo-française approche de la fin... On pense!

Me voilà chez mes parents à Toulouse à pouvoir prendre le temps d'écrire. Que de choses depuis Bruxelles il y a presque un mois et demi de cela. Si vous attendiez un message en français, le voilà!

Le compteur indique 2230.2 KMS en 37 jours de vélo (sur 2 mois de voyage).

De retour à Londres depuis Bruxelles, nous avons passé du temps avec des amis de Rupert à Reading et Woolwich. Après avoir mis un pied de chaque côté de l'équateur lors de mon précédent voyage, j'ai pu mettre un pied de chaque côté du méridien de Greenwich. Wow!!! Une petite promenade en bateau sur la Tamise pour rejoindre le centre-ville de Londres nous a fait nous sentir de véritables touristes! On est reparti en autobus pour Oxford où nous avions laissé nos vélos dans le garage d'un hôtel. Le site web "warm showers" permet d'entrer en contact avec des cyclotouristes offrant l'hospitalité partout dans le monde. Avis aux intéressés: vous vous proposez comme hôte lorsque vous n'êtes pas en voyage, et lorsque vous voyagez, vous vous faites accueillir. C'est comme ça que Ian nous a accueilli 2 nuits à Oxford. Cela a évité 2 nuits d'hôtel. On a aussi pu passer une journée à visiter Oxford, en plus de rencontrer une personne sympathique! Cette journée fut pour nous le début d'un autre voyage. On s'est reposé, nous avons pris notre temps à 3 pendant une journée à se promener, à décompresser de ce qu'on avait vécu les 2 mois précédents. Il a été décidé que nous prendrions notre temps pour tout, tant pis pour Noël à Dubrovnik, et même pour Noël à Venise, et c'est comme ça que nous sommes arrivés à Toulouse seulement le 27 novembre!

Notre rythme quotidien n'a pas changé. Debout vers 7h30-8H avec le jour. Sur la route vers 10h-10h30 (et même parfois 11h quand nous prenons vraiment notre temps) jusqu'à l'heure du lunch. Généralement, Océanne va dormir pendant 1h-1h30 après avoir mangé, couchée sur son siège dans la remorque. Cela donne un peu de répit vocal à Rupert qui la tire pendant 4h-5h. C'est une bavarde, qui raconte tout ce qu'elle voit par la fenêtre, se parle toute seule, commente ses livres, et crie "Allez Papa" quand elle trouve que la vitesse diminue ou que Rupert peine dans les côtes. Pour peu qu'elle ne fasse pas de sieste, Rupert est exténué en fin de journée! On n'a pas le choix de commencer à chercher un endroit pour camper vers 16h30 avant le coucher du soleil. Pendant les derniers jours en Angleterre, c'était même à 15h30. Nous avons remarqué que, sans vraiment le vouloir, nous n'avons jamais passé plus de 2 nuits consécutives sous la tente, soit parce que nous visitions famille et amis, soit parce que la pluie et/ou le froid et/ou le passage dans une ville et/ou la fermeture des campings municipaux en novembre et cela nous incitait à passer la nuit dans un hôtel. C'est ainsi que nous sommes devenus des habitués des hôtels de la chaîne Formule1.

Après Oxford, nous nous sommes dirigés vers Newhaven pour traverser la Manche et arriver en France à Dieppe. L'étape après Oxford était à Reading chez l'amie de Rupert, Sue. Une autre soirée très sympathique. Nous avons par la suite fait une escapade dans Sussex chez la tante et l'oncle de Rupert. C'est un autre monde que j'ai découvert, celui des chevaux. Auntie Sheena et Uncle David ont 14 chevaux que leurs 4 enfants, et leurs petits enfants montent par plaisir, mais aussi pour participer à la chasse aux renards. On a pu assister à l'ouverture de la saison de la chasse. Toute la meute de chiens est regroupée autour de tous les chevaux prête à partir. Quand tout le monde est prêt à partir, le départ est lancé et on voit tous les chevaux galoper. C'est beau! Océanne a pu être en contact avec des petits cousins et participer à la vie à la campagne, promenade et pique-nique dans les bois, distribution de nourriture aux oies et aux canards de l'étang voisin. On a eu droit à un accueil très chaleureux. Rupert était très content de retrouver ses cousins.

La traversée de la Manche fut un peu agitée. On n'avait pas le droit d'aller sur le pont car la mer était trop houleuse. Une tempête s'annonçait exactement au moment de notre départ. Parfois, la traversée peut être annulée par la compagnie, pas cette fois. Arrivée en France à Dieppe un dimanche et sous la pluie. Absolument personne dans les rues. Passer dans les villes de France entre midi et 2, ou alors un dimanche, c'est comme passer dans des villes fantômes. On doit souvent penser à acheter notre pain frais pour le repas du midi le matin, sinon tant pis pour nous quand arrive l'heure du lunch. Si on arrive à 11h50, on peut voir la ville en plein action, et en 10 minutes, tout le monde disparaît et tout se ferme.

La pluie et le froid au nord de la Loire (un classique) nous donnaient envier d'aller vers le sud, vers la "chaleur" et le beau temps. Il est devenu plutôt desagréable de manger le midi dehors. Même les entrées d'église n'étaient plus suffisantes. On a donc opté pour les cafés qui ne ferment pas entre midi et 2. On demande de manger notre pique-nique à l'intérieur et on prend 2 cafés à la fin du repas. Ca nous coûte 2 Euros, on discute avec les gens du village, et un café en fin de repas, pour moi, c'est un pur plaisir!

J'ai découvert de nombreux coins de France que je ne connaissais pas ou que je connaissais mal. J'ai pu dans le passé y passer, souvent par les autoroutes, sans m'y arrêter. C'est beau la France! La Beauce, la Loire, le Berry. Et l'Auvergne alors! Du 11 au 21 novembre, 10 jours de grand soleil, au moins 15 degrés dans les montagnes auvergnates, ce ne pouvait pas être mieux pour cette région qui avait reçu de la neige la semaine précédente. Montluçon, Riom, Volvic, le Puy-de-Dôme, Pont-du-Château, le Mont-Dore, le Massif du Sancy, le Lac Chambon, Murol, St-Nectaire, Besse, le Lac Pavin, Saint-Flour, autant d'endroits que je vous conseille un jour de visiter. Pont-du-Château, c'est la petite ville où j'ai passé les 13 premières années de ma vie. J'ai absolument voulu tout faire connaître à Rupert et Océanne: l'école primaire, le club de gym, les 3 maisons dans lesquelles j'ai vécu, l'église où j'allais me confesser et le magasin de bonbon où j'allais après, l'église où j'allais à la messe toute seule le dimanche matin. Tout. On est bien sûr retourné dans le quartier, "sur le plateau, chemin du petit pan". J'y ai retrouvé mes anciens voisins. L'apéro au pastis chez l'un, le repas du midi chez l'autre, le café chez le propriétaire de notre ancienne maison. On a aussi passé une nuit chez les parents d'une très bonne amie, Pierrette et Gilles Guièze, et une autre nuit chez mon ancienne voisine d'en face, en classe à l'école primaire avec moi, Cécile Fougères et sa famille. Merci à vous tous de votre accueil. Cela m'a fait énormémént plaisir de tous vous voir. Après 3 jours à se promener autour et dans Clermont-Ferrand, il fallait quand même qu'on parte!

On est donc ensuite passé par l'Aubrac. Quelle surprise. On s'attendait à ce que le pire soit passé avec les cols de plus de 1000m en Auvergne, mais il n'en était rien. En Auvergne, c'était de longues montées progressives. L'Aubrac, ça monte et ça descend. En une journée, en 70 kms, nous sommes passés de 1000m à 600m (9kms de descente dont 6kms à 6%) en passant par 1121m, puis remontée au moins jusqu'à 800m, pour redescendre le long du Lot, et remonter à plus de 1000m avant de redescendre en fin de journée vers les Gorges du Tarn (descente de 6kms à 8%). Je crois que ma forme est bien revenue. On avait tout de même emmagasiné une fatigue depuis l'Auvergne qui nous donnait envie d'arriver à Toulouse chez mes parents...

La traversée des Gorges du Tarn fut magnifique. La route qui est totalement encombrée de touristes en été était déserte. On a croisé 5 voitures dans la journée. Tous les villages étaient fermés. Une grande tranquilité! On a ensuite suivi le Tarn jusqu'à Albi une partie sur la route des tunnels, une ancienne voie ferrée adaptée pour la route. C'était charmant.

Après avoir visité Albi le vendredi matin, on est parti en pensant atteindre Toulouse le lendemain. C'est ce qu'on avait dit à Papa et Maman. Et puis, voyant à 14h30 qu'il n'y avait que 60 kms, on a voulu faire une surprise en arrivant le soir même. Grosse journée de 86 kms en étant parti seulement à 13h30. On est finalement arrivé de nuit à 18h30. Cela nous vaut de nous reposer ici depuis 10 jours!!!

Reposer, c'est un bien grand mot car les visites se sont succédées tous les soirs. Fabien et Eric mes cousins, Angeline, Sandra et Christian. Mamie est venue de Biarritz seule en train passer quelques jours avec nous. On est allé voir Papy dans sa maison de retraite pour son anniversaire. Et nous sommes sortis Rupert et moi seuls un soir. Cela faisait si longtemps! Ce ne fut que de très bons moments. Merci à vous tous! On voulait reprendre la route aujourd'hui. Hier, je ne me sentais pas prête. Je n'avais pas fini d'écrire mon message pour le blog! On a décidé de partir demain mardi 8 décembre. Et puis, après avoir perdu les clés de nos cadenas de vélos (on a dû louer une scie et acheter d'autres cadenas pour pouvoir repartir), nous sommes maintenant en attente d'un colis postal qui devait arriver depuis vendredi, 2 nouveaux tapis de sol car ceux de la marque MEC nous ont lâchés après 3 mois d'utilisation. On espère que cela arrivera demain...

Je n'ai pas parlé d'Océanne qui est pourtant bien présente. Tout se passe à merveille. Elle est enthousiaste pour tout. Autant la partie voyage en vélo et camping que la partie, comme cette semaine, visite chez tout le monde. Tous les soirs où nous sommes sortis, elle venait avec nous, s'endormait chez les gens dans son sac de couchage, et on la transportait tel quel dans la voiture sans difficulté. De plus, elle est confortable avec toutes les nouvelles personnes qu'elle rencontre. Pas de timidité. Elle peut jouer avec tout le monde tout comme elle peut jouer seule. Elle a aussi passé plein d'agréables moments avec ses grands-parents et son arrière grand-mère. Pour nous, la seule chose qui peut nous fatiguer, c'est qu'elle parle tout le temps!!! Et quand on campe et qu'on est fatigué de notre journée, vers 17H, c'est bien sûr le moment où elle est le plus excitée. On n'a pas la période de transition relax avant que la soirée commence. Mais bon, de toute façon, dans ces cas-là, à 20H, on est tous couché!

La suite du voyage? On ne sera pas à Noël à Dubrovnik, ni même à Venise. On espère quand même qu'on aura quitté la France...!
Faites attention à vous et je vous embrasse.
Dorothée

Toulouse

Allo,

So here we are in Toulouse. 2230 kilometres, seven flats, five of which have all appeared in the obviously not of the highest quality tyres of Océanne's trailer and a very happy family chilling out with Dorothée's parents in France's 4th city. We could be here a while actually, people need to see us, photos need to be uploaded, e-mails need to be written, expedition quality tyres need to be bought; hopefully they exist and camping mattress's are awaiting delivery from our good friends, MEC in Canada. Strangely but not altogether unexpected was the failure of my mattress as well as Océanne's, same model but MEC have kindly offered to send replacements free of charge. I think it is actually a known problem! I need a new rear tyre as well. This is all not interesting news at all just an insight into the tiny day to day issues and material problems that we have. Both our bikes, well designed touring machines that they are, with the help of quite a few patches are running really well and l have been able to fix all niggles, noises and such with the equipment that we carry.

And now to the weather. Apart from an unbelievably wet day after l sent the last e-mail, the weather has been really kind. It was starting to get quite cold while we were still north of the Loire and then we had a below zeo night at Villefranche sur Cher where it wasn't great to wake up with a hard, cold and flat mattress which MEC definetly heard about. Dorothée has been very comfortable during this time as she is the proud owner of a genuine therm-a-rest mattress which Océanne and l will also soon recieve. Made in the U.S.A. We just love our American cousins, makers of quality products.

Along our way from Pont de l'Arche we have crossed the Loire a little west of Orléans via Chartres and headed to the Massif Central and Clermont Ferrand by Issoudun and Montluçon. There was a slight detour from Riom, a beautiful city that l believe is built from granite before heading up to Volvic, famous for it's water. We battled up 12% grades in huge headwinds past the very pretty village before camping next to a source that is locally known, no made up jokes here, to be more pure than the source of volvic itself. We obviously drank aplenty! We spent a few days in and around Clermont Ferrand visiting friends of Dorothée as this was where she was born and spent a lot of her childhood, before heading up into the mountains, actually dormant volcanoes of Auvergne and quite a few moutain passes, one of which reached 1451 metres. This was the locally well known Col de Croix de St Robert in the shadow of the massif's highest mountain, le Puy de Sancy. A couple of days before l had wanted to ride the road to the top of the Puy de Dome but was stopped in my tracks by a ban against bikes keeping the road just for cars. Not very good for the environment one thinks but better for the local economy instead as there is a significant toll. The sun was shining during all our time in the mountains, a true Indian summer reaching over 20 degrees at it's highest. I was in my t-shirt. It's a really beautiful area with lots of big hills and considering l was carrying an extra huge amount of food at this time, l have apart from the last three days before Toulouse when we were all fatigued got used to carrying big weights. The days after Dorothée has visited the supermarket can be tough but l get myself ready for it nowadays. She doesen't hold back and l suppose it is good to have a well balanced diet with lunches that often spread to five courses. This is not what l'm used to, eating not much and not very varied was the norm but it is true that as we eat pasta every night and as we have a growing child we should at least make an effort to have huge and very interesting breakfast and lunches. It still is a lot though. It is very impressive seeing all that food get organised into one of my sacks with the rest including a selection of Auvergne cheeses going into the back of Océanne's trailer. I will take a picture next time!

Heading south we passed over the Plateau d'Aubrac by St Flour to Marvejols staying at around 1000 metres and often climbing with a strong wind in our faces. We thought we were tired but actually it was just HARD! This was often tough and slow riding for a couple of days in really wild and beautiful landscape. We then descended steeply into the Gorges du Tarn, a really deep, long and impressive valley, l took tons of photos and then we spent another freezing night with my good friend, the flat sleeping mattress. I exaggerate greatly as when we camp and this was the only other below zero night that we've had, we sleep for 12 hours as it gets dark very early and we have really good sleeping bags, a very good MEC product this time even though it's MADE IN CHINA. It starts to get dark at 5 p.m. so we have to start to look for places to camp or stay at around 4.30 p.m. This has been the same issue since we started in Scotland and will be until around the end of the February. It is the big restricting factor in what distance we can achieve but you can't control the sun can you. After leaving the gorge we headed to Toulouse via St Affrique and Albi following the river Tarn a lot of the way. There was an amazing part of the route from Broquiès to Albi which had replaced the route of an old railway and passed through some really long and dark tunnels, one of which was a kilometre long and the weather was again beautiful. At this time we wanted to get to Toulouse so managed some record breaking distances namely over 86 kilometres for two consecutive days to surprise Dorothée's parents by 24 hours and arrive slightly in the dark.

It's true also that we haven't camped all the way. We stayed in a niceish hotel in Anet after our big day in the rain because we were a bit bored and also in Issoudun to do some washing followed by a night in our favourite cheap one, Formule 1 in Montluçon. Then there was an old fashioned room in St Flour with Mr Miserable Manager and the pretty small room after the end of day rain shower and big climbs in Ispagnac. We then had a really chic room in St Affrique and dinner for my belated birthday because we lost control a bit and then had Formule 1 again in Albi or F1 as it has now been renamed and refurbished as it was when we shipped into the one in Clermont Ferrand.

Even with all these soft nights in hotels, camping has still been our principle form of sleep. The night we camped in a field before Riom after a 7 km climb was stunning even though we had blazing wind all night as l insisted on waking up to a great view and spilt most of the pasta while l was cooking under the stars. We have also been welcomed into friends houses such as at Pont du Chateau and Chabanne with Pierrette and Gilles and at Chavaroux with Cecile and Lilion where l even got to play darts and drink pastis and beer. I felt amazingly at home at these places and we thank you very much for your kind welcome. We also had another night in a caravan, actually this one was a mobile home just before the village of Aumont Aubrac. It wasn't heated or anything but was kindly offered by a kind couple while l was asking for our very important supply of evening's water. Not a very important fact but l believe it had been brought from England as it had British style electricity outlets. Oh so interesting. It was great to sleep in though as we were again at over 1000 metres and it blew a gale during the night as well as raining a bit. It was really very cosy in our super sleeping bags and Océanne was able to spend time with the chickens and ducks the next morning and l was given the gift of fresh eggs which l duly fried in the following days.

Océanne during all this time is growing up very fast. We take time to go to playgrounds, to stop biking sometimes and she has time to interact with other children such as Arthur and Theo of Cecile and Lilion fame as well as the child at the mobile home whose name escapes me right at this moment. We are in full toilet training at the moment. We carry her own little plastic bowl but it's not the easiest thing to do on the move. Even if it's cold and we're outside she'll go on it after lunch and have a go. She's getting better and better in all cases.

I have discovered so much of France that l never knew. Chartres l knew but got to know more as a really charming city and also went down the pub, this time just Océanne and myself. St Flour, the town on the tower of basalt and Bess and Montluçon, two medieval centres all grabbed me as great places. I went down the pub again in St Flour, alone this time which was nice for me to take a bit of time for myself. Dorothée is very well, pedalling always and relaxing a bit more l think, although she is still often frustrated at not being able to contact and share with everyone as much as she would like. I somehow manage it, right now because we are not at my own parents place therefore have more time to hide away on the computer!

All my good love, Rupert.

Rain + Ricard

Hello everyone,

This message comes from France, Val de Reuil infact which is a little South of Rouen. Our progress is not so fast but it's as fast as we can. My only concern is the weather as winter has finally caught up with us. We had no rain and really warm weather in all of England but as soon as we hit France the rain came down and it's sometimes really cold and windy. Not a great combination but we're managing! We're currently camping in Pont de l'Arche not far from here and taking a day's 'rest', in order to do some shopping and make contact with all of our friends and family back home. We're camping on the banks of the Seine and because of the heavy rain last night Dorothée woke up in the middle of the night worried about falling in the river in the tent. There was no chance of this happening but l understand that something like that had nearly happened to her parents a long time ago.

Since l last wrote we returned from Brussels to London by train closely followed by a return journey to Reading where we stayed with Sue, a good friend who returned with us to London to see some more friends, it's very complicated, but it was great to catch up with Camilla, Graham and his better half, Nat. We stayed with Graham in Woolwich, east London before taking the boat up the Thames into central London to take the bus back to Oxford. By that time l was severely bored of being social and was very keen to get back on the road. It was quite evident in my mood and actions. We did however spend a day walking around Oxford taking pictures, drinking real ale and looking at some of the University which is pretty impressive especially Magdalen.

And so it was towards Reading where we again stayed with Sue, drank fine wine and enjoyed decent conversation with her and her boyfriend, Rowan. At this point realised one thermarest made by MEC, this is a camping matress was self-deflating. Not a good thing and this is now what seems an all too often occurence with today's lack of quality and care when constructing goods. MADE IN CHINA comes to mind. This is now poor Oceanne's bed. We then continued southwards via Alton and Liss where we camped wild and onto Haywards Heath where we again camped wild passing by Midhurst and Billingshurst. We then carried on to my Auntie's in Ashburnham where we recieved a really warm welcome and spent a very comfortable two nights before departing to Newaven where we took the ferry to France. On leaving Ashburnham we went to see the opening meet of the hunting season. Hunting is definetly not dead and buried and Océanne could see all the dogs and sit on my cousin Matthew's horse and l could see all my cousins and Auntie and Uncle before one last goodbye. I will just add now that Dorothée and l are very touched by the welcome we recieve at not just my Auntie's but also for example in Brussels where we have been welcomed by both our families, drank huge amounts of alcohol, well l did anyway, and shared special moments such as the time drinking white wine in the streets of Brussels with these really good anchovies at this small fish market shop run by a Catalan guy.

When we arrived in Newhaven there were forcasts of storms centered exactly on Newhaven and exactly at our hour of departure which was 8 a.m the next morning. I wasn't holding out much luck that the boat would go but we would still have to get up at 5.30 to check if it was going or not. It was going to be my 30th birthday as well! We tried to go to bed early in this hotel/pub type of place but there was a halloween party and worse than that was this character setting off really pathetic but very loud fireworks from his back garden. I have to say actually that nothing dramatic happened. The boat did go although we weren't allowed on deck apart from before getting out into the Channel, the boat did not capsize, it was actually pretty stable. Infact the worse thing was and it was actually a right pain was that l discovered my front tire had a flat on trying to leave the boat in Dieppe and it was tipping it down. Great b-day this was! After fixing flat, another imbedded thorn, Dorothée had one the day before where we nearly missed the hunting save for a very quick tube change, we set off in the rain to find a place to stay. All cheap places were full in the centre of town so after eating in a kebab place we went off up this mega hill in very very heavy rain and eventually found a cheap place called Formule 1, a chain which we had used a year ago. The best moment of the day was probably the magnum white chocalate ice cream that Dorothée offered me for dessert in this bizarre restaurant we went to that seemed like it was something out of a child's movie in the vein of Willy Wonka. There was even a candle for me that had been offered by Dorothée's scout friends. Thank-you Eve, Delph, Anab, Vero, Isabelle and Anne-Marie. Thank-you everyone else for all the birthday messages on facebook and e-mail.

A couple of days later we are now here after riding yesterday in really miserable weather. The night after Dieppe we stayed on the land of Myrtil and his wife who we, well l drank Pastis with and who after we had already put our tent up and had supper, offered us a caravan which we duly slept in. It was really heavy rain again so it was very easy to say yes. Putting the tent down in the pouring rain in the morning was not much fun though! It's a long story but this man lived in a cabin which was quite like a house, built weird bikes, for example a tandem that you didn't sit one behind the other but one on top of the other, yes it's true and whose brother shocked the life out of me in the morning by shooting pigeons very near the caravan that they would eat later. I don't think he got any that morning though. We all had breakfast together before leaving in the morning under yet more very very heavy rain.

I apologise for the people l did not have time to see in England for example firemen John and Richie, and Matt, Iain and David in London. However while we are still close you are very welcome to come out to France. The general plan is to head south to Toulouse via Chartres, Orléans, Bourges and Clermont Ferrand. Please feel free to give me an e-mail if you wish to come over and bike with us or just simply visit. You are very welcome.

Ok, this place is now closing, Much love and till the next time, Rupert.....

P.S. Four flats and 1017 km's.

Depuis Bruxelles

Bonjour!

Rupert a écrit récemment un message en anglais. De mon côté, c'est aussi question d'adaptation. Je n'ai plus non seulement une grosse vache (je pense à toi Isabelle D.), mais aussi son veau que je remorque avec BOB! Un beau total de 50 kgs... Et puis, je ne savais pas à quel point l'Ecosse et l'Angleterre étaient vallonnés et même montagneux! Des montées de toute sorte tous les jours. Une seule journée de répit avec du plat et le vent dans le dos. Je décrirai ce début comme difficile pour être très honnête. Aussi question de température. Pas de très mauvais temps, mais froid, ce qui ne nous permet plus vraiment de prendre notre lunch dehors. Donc sous les entrées d'église dans les villages ou au chaud dans les centres commerciaux dans les villes. Et puis, je ne voyage plus seule. Tout ne peut pas fonctionner qu'à mon rythme. C'est dur. Pression d'être efficace le matin pour tout ranger car Rupert, prêt avant moi, m'attend. J'ai toujours été lente, mais jusqu'à présent, cela n'impliquait que moi. Debout vers 7h30, on est sur la route entre 10H et 10h30; On commence à chercher un endroit pour camper vers 16h30, coucher du soleil oblige. Cela donne des journées courtes. Rupert est aussi plus rapide que moi dans les côtes, il doit souvent m'attendre au sommet à la fraîcheur avec Océanne. C'est d'ailleurs mon réjouissement dans la difficulté, de la voir à l'horizon et de l'entendre crier "Maman"! Difficulté aussi de tenir un journal le soir. Il fait trop froid pour laisser Océanne s'endormir seule dans la tente et nous attendre dehors, du coup, on s'endort en même temps qu'elle. J'imagine que tout cela va s'améliorer avec le temps. Physiquement, ça va déjà mieux. Je n'ai plus les douleurs au dos et aux abdos dans les côtes. Ce ne sont plus que les jambes qui poussent-tirent. Le reste reste un défi familial. Une grande expérience!...

Vous verrez sur les photos que les paysages sont magnifiques. Très peu de rencontres pour l'instant. 3 nuits d'hôtel à Rochdale pour sécher nos affaires et avoir une douche, Buxton car j'avais envie de visiter cette ancienne ville thermale, et Oxford. Très bon accueil à chaque fois. A Buxton, on a eu droit à un très bas tarif dans un super hôtel, Grove Hotel (allez-y!) ainsi qu'une bière le soir au bar offerte par le patron pendant qu'Océanne dormait dans la chambre, et des sandwichs préparés pour nous le lendemain. Vraiment sympa Chris! Qui ne rêve que de retourner en Ukraine où il a rencontré sa femme Nadia.

Nous repartons demain de Bruxelles où j'y ai vu ma famille, Océanne a vu ses autres cousins, Joséphine de 7 semaines, Mila et Natéa. Moment agréable mais court. On retourne à Londres, passer du temps avec des amis de Rupert, puis Oxford où nous avons laissé nos vélos dans un hôtel. Nous reprendrons la route de là pour se diriger vers Newhaven où nous traverserons à Dieppe.

Faites attention à vous.

Dorothée

Patience and Adaptation

Patience and adaptation.

Travelling by bicycle is pure, fantastic and totally simple. Travelling as a family is sometimes very complicated and requires a huge adaptation on both our parts and l am having to learn to lose my selfish ways very quickly. This truly is a family event and l would never describe anything l have ever done as a challenge but this is definetly our family challenge. We will head towards Asia together, sometimes too slowly for my liking but we are a family and l'm forgetting plans for being here or being there by a certain time because at the end of the day it's completely not important.

After this confession l would like to apologise for being so long in writing my news. Personally there has been little time! It seems ages ago that we left Montreal. Two taxis were needed to get to the airport with our immense collection of bikes, trailers, baby carrier, potty and bags. A computer error at the check in desk avoided a 200 dollar excess baggage bill that was actually originally brought down from 600. This made us feel better about the taxi bill not just in Montreal but London also as we were refused entry onto the tube with all our belongings. Another type of racism l thought to myself. So after a smooth transition from Montreal to London via Washington we took the train to Edinburgh to find my sister. I would just add at this point that it was imperative we took taxis everywhere between airports as even just crossing the street between St Pancreas and King Cross in London was more than just a major effort. There are pictures. It's easier by bike came to mind.

We then found my sister! The original plan had been to spend a week in Scotland partly with my sister and partly exploring the true wildness of western Scotland where l had spent quite a bit of my time during my secondary school days. I really wanted to share with Dorothée what l still think is one of the most amazing parts of the world. To hike, go down the pub etc etc. So that is exactly what we did! We visited my old school which felt slightly strange, went the scenic route to Loch Tay, spent time on the Isle of Skye and in the Cuillins as well as passing through Kishorn, over to Applecross and by Torridon! All in a Mercedes-Benz! It was all they had left at the hire-car agency. They were short on cars. While hiking in the Cuillins after visiting the Talisker distillery, l landed badly on my left foot, out of practise obviously and had to limp down. That foot still aches right to this very day. Probably tendon damage, not young anymore!

And so to the grand departure. After putting bikes, trailers and everything together we were ready to go at around 11 am on the 6th of October. Pictures with my sister and her boyfriend Neil, Neil's daughter Hayley and her boyfriend Marcus and my good friend Rich who had kindly come up from London after arriving back from Russia to stay with us for two nights. I had been in my own world all morning and even the days before putting stuff together and getting last minute things. There is always something to do when travelling by family. It is certainly not like it used to be. Buy a ticket, put some things in a bag and go. It is different, you have less time for yourself but you share everything you do with someone else and l sincerely believe you form someone very special with all the things you see and experience. This is the plan! Not just for Océanne but for us too. Stop Guru.

Jessica and Neil biked with us for the first 15 miles or so and we realised how much more difficult it is travelling with five bags on the bike and a trailer than just five bags on the bike. Especially on hills and since travelling down to Oxford we realise that Scotland and England is non-stop hills certainly compared to France and Canada! We did take a mountainous route though, first down to Carlisle over Eskdalemuir then through Cumbria, Yorkshire and the Peak District. Because of these hills our progress has been slow although l think we did over 80 km one day and we have been over what seems quite a legendary hill in the local sense between Burnley and Bacup in the Lancashire/Yorkshire area. This is also where my selfish ways have to go out the window. I wait a lot in the hilly sections and l realise l don't like waiting but bugger it we're on holiday so l'm forcing myself to lighten up and take it easy. Either read a book or go back down again!

Near Carlisle we spent three days at my Mother's house. Sitting by the fire, having meals together at home and at the pub. We even got to do our mandatory pilgrimage to my real local where they brew their very own world class ales in the hills of the Lake District on my beloved 25 year old Vespa. Now that is something l cherish! We have camped mainly down to Oxford apart fom two nights, one in a B+B in Rochdale and the other at the Grove Hotel in Buxton that l have to give a special mention as not only is Buxton a really beautiful town in the Peak District but the Grove Hotel is the big bargain and Chris, the manager and his partner Nadia are exceptional. After some talk about biking, baggage and Asia we had a perfect room after two days of big hills and hard biking for, 'a special price'. We walked the town in the evening having the very important battered sausage and chips before Chris offered the local beer back at the base.

As for right at this moment we are in Brussels at Dorothée's brother's apartment after arriving in Oxford two days ago, to meet their new baby. We left most of our equipment in Oxford to do a quick return journey before we get back in the saddle next week after l see friends in London also. We intend to cross the channel at Newaven in order to avoid London and to see more family in East Sussex.

Much Love, Rupert.

Depuis Carlisle

Bonjour a vous!

D'abord, merci a ceux qui ont pense a moi le 7 octobre. Merci pour vos messages ou vos cartes. Ce n'est encore pas aujourd'hui ou je pourrai vous repondre. Nous sommes arrives hier a Raughton Head chez la maman de Rupert. Nous y serons jusqu'a dimanche ou lundi. On a un train Londres-Bruxelles le 19. Je suis actuellement dans un cafe internet a Carlisle et on a un autobus a prendre car toute la famille (frere, soeurs, conjoints, enfants, maman) nous attend... Meilleur chance pour internet a Bruxelles a partir du 19 j'espere...

Pour ceux qui connaissent mon courriel sur yahoo (le meme que celui de mon voyage precedent), cela reste ma meilleur adresse pendant mon voyage.

Il y a 3 nouveaux albums photos sur picasa. Je vous raconterai cela en mots une autre fois. Toujours en rush...

Ciao!

Dorothee

Notre sejour en Ecosse

Partis le lundi de Montreal, arrives le mardi en fin de journee a Edinburgh, nous avons eu le mercredi pour nous "reposer". On s'est reveille a 10h30 et sommes partis visiter Edinburgh avec Jessica et Neil. Montee au chateau, visite du parlement recemment construit propre a l'Ecosse (on a meme assiste a une seance parlementaire), promenade sur la montagne de la ville, Holyrood Park.

On a ensuite loue une voiture, une Mercedez (!), pour aller dans les Highlands, jusqu'a Isle of Skye. Tout simplement magnifique. On est donc parti du jeudi 1er octobre au dimanche 4. Jeudi apres-midi, on a visite Glenalmond College, "the boarding school" ou Rupert a ete pendant 7 ans, je crois. Une ecole telle que vue dans "Dead Poets Society" ou "Harry Potter". On a retrouve Jessica et Neil a Firbush, Loch Tay pour passer une nuit dans le centre de plein air de l'universite de Edinburgh. Le lendemain, on a pris la route pour l'ile de Skye sous une pluie bien typique... Les plus hauts sommets etaient dans les nuages. On s'est rendu jusqu'a Portree pour passer 2 nuits dans un hotel-restautant-pub. Samedi matin, visite de la distillerie Talisker et samedi apres-midi, randonnee dans les Cullins, LES montagnes de l'ile de Skye. C'etait une journee de grand vent, mais bien moins pluvieuse que la veille. Les montagnes se sont montrees. La batterie de l'appareil photo etait vide apres la visite de la distillerie, on a du se mettre a la recherche d'un appareil photo jetable pour l'apres-midi. Les photos de cet endroit magnifique ne seront dont pas disponibles avant un petit bout de temps... Dimanche, apres avoir quitte l'ile, on a continue sur une route du bord de mer jusqu'a Applecross et Torridon. Incroyable. Je crois bien avoir vu les paysages les plus magnifiques d'Ecosse, et en plus, sous un grand soleil. On est rentre tard a Edinburgh.

Aujourd'hui, c'est la journee grand preparatif car nous prenons vraiment la route demain. On va mettre 2-3 jours pour aller chez la maman de Rupert vers Carlisle, Cumbria. Ce sera surement la prochaine fois que vous aurez des nouvelles. Je n'ai pas le temps de mettre les photos de ce petit voyage sur le web aujourd'hui. Prochaine fois... J'essaierai aussi de repondre a des courriels... Et de creer ma liste d'envoi de courriels pour vous avertir lorsque je mets a jour le blog...

Je n'ai pas parle d'Oceanne ni de Rupert. Ils vont bien! Richard, un tres bon ami de Rupert est venu en train de Londres pour passer la journee d'aujourd'hui avec lui. C'est vraiment gentil de sa part. Pour Oceanne, on a ete dans un parc pour enfant ce matin avec elle. Premiere fois depuis qu'on a quitte Montreal. Elle etait contente de voir d'autres enfants. Quand on sera a Raughton Head, elle verra sa cousine Lucy qui a un mois de plus qu'elle. Cela lui fera grand plaisir je suis sure.

Voila, on m'attend pour le souper. Encore tres fatigues de nos preparatifs a Montreal et de tout ce qui a suivi, on espere pouvoir se remettre de tout ca chez la maman de Rupert... Faites attention a vous.

Pour ceux qui se demandent si le blog sera bilingue, parfois Rupert ecrira, parfois ce sera moi, mais nos messages respectifs ne seront pas traduits dans l'autre langue.

A bientot. Grosses bises.

Dorothee

Premier message outre-atlantique!

Bonjour!
Premier message. C'est parti! Je suis a Edinburgh, avec un clavier anglais sans accent. Desolee. Ce premier message est pour vous joindre les photos de notre depart le 28 septembre. Nous et nos 2 chariots a l'aeroport: 2 boites de velo, une boite pour la remorque a bagages, de son petit nom BOB, la remorque d'Oceanne, 3 gros sacs dont 2 contenant 6 sacoches, un sac platique contenant 2 autres sacoches, et nos 3 sacs a dos/bagages a main.

2 taxis sont venus a la maison, un "mini-van" et un "normal". Avion pour Washington, puis Londres. Tout a suivi. On est arrive a 5h30 du matin, bien fatigues evidemment. On a essaye de prendre le metro avec tout ca pour se rendre a la gare de train pour Edinburgh. On ne nous a pas laisse entrer car on avait trop de bagages et cela aurait pris trop de temps pour entrer et sortir du metro. Donc taxi obligatoire. Une van pour 8 passagers a permis de tout rentrer! Apres 1h30 d'attente a la gare, train pour Edinburgh. Les boites etaient dans un wagon special en avant du train separes de nos autres bagages avec nous. En arrivant a Edinburgh, Rupert a du courir jusqu'en avant du train pour recuperer les boites avant que le train ne reparte. Jessica, soeur de Rupert, et Neil etaient la pour nous accueillir et courir avec lui sur le quai, pendant que je mettais les autres bagages sur le chariot avec Oceanne dans le dos! Finalement, le train n'est reparti que 20 minutes plus tard! 18h, 24 heures de voyage plus tard, nous etions dans la maison de Jessica et Neil. Ouf!

Je vous ecris un peu plus tard pour vous parler de ces derniers jours. Ciao!

Dorothee

Album photo

Suite au commentaire de Maryse, je fais un test de lien d'album photo. Les photos du voyage seront sur le côté droit du blog.

Notre blog est prêt!

Je vais finalement pouvoir envoyer l'adresse de notre blog à tous les intéressés. Il y a encore des imperfections, comme la carte par exemple. La photo, c'est nous devant notre café de quartier "Café Olympico". J'aimerai aussi pouvoir mettre en lien des albums photos disponibles sur picasa. Si quelqu'un sait comment faire, j'attends les commentaires.

Début de ce blog

Bonjour!

Voilà. Notre blog se met en place pour notre prochain voyage. Les billets d'avion ont été achetés aujourd'hui! Départ de Montréal le 28 septembre!