France 2026 - Arrivals

It takes weeks of  lists and spreadsheets, route planning and logistic planning, bike box hunting, disassembly, cars and buses and planes, reassembly and trains, but somehow it all comes together and we start our bike tour, 2026. 

First we drove the bikes to Toronto airport. 

Then we drove home and gathered our bags and took the TTC back to the airport. 

Checking in the bikes has been tricky in the past, but this year it was super easy and the very helpful staff helped us tape the boxes up and get them on their way. 

An overnight flight of almost 8 hours was calm and quiet, restful and on time. 

We survived the EES line at Charles de Gaulle airport, and accomplished bike reassembly in personal best time, less than two hours.

Paris is hot. 

But we arrived at Gare du Nord in time to ride 3.5 km to Decathalon to gather camping fuel and a phone holder. (First mechanical malfunction of the trip, my phone case / quad lock came apart.) Alternate options found and bonus of water bottles filled for free thanks to the very nice Decathlon security guy. 

The first 7 km are done!

Gare de L'Est is beautiful. Inside and out 

But a wee trip to the loo is not a free ride 😉

That's $1.60 Cdn! But hydration is key today. 

The TER train is a great way to travel with bikes.

With our bikes secured,  we were comfortable enjoying the French countryside as we moved from flat fields to rolling hills. 

Chaumont is known for its amazing viaduct. Of course when you are riding on it, you don't get the view, but here are some images (from Google) to show you what it looks like. 

Arriving in Chaumont we found a cute little town with some big steep hills. It will make for a tough start tomorrow but for tonight we are settled into our new tent, in the municipal campground. We have a lovely private grass pitch.

 

And we are letting the birds sing us to sleep. 

I am blogging to share our travels, inspired by the poet Mary Oliver:

Pay attention 

Be astonished 

Tell about it 

Tomorrow the tour begins...