Notes from the Vélo

     Because it's an incredibly long story of a wonderful adventure in my life, I've decided to type up my journal entries from my Loire a Vélo adventure. Of course the main purpose is to share my tales with my loved ones, but if I can manage to inspire someone to challenge themselves in a new way, all the better.

Monty B getting ready for the ride.

Day 1 26 Avril, 2014.
25.7 km
Segny ---> Geneve ---> Lyon ---> Nevers ---> Sancerre

     Lately I've been faced with the question, "Aren't you scared?" nonstop. I always answer honestly that of course I'm scared to travel 800 km across France on a bicycle by myself. But being scared is nothing next to the importance of taking advantage of opportunities to be in nature, exercise, move at a slower pace, see the little things (who knew how big snails can get!), and completely clear my mind. Besides, if we don't continue to challenge ourselves, how can we grow?
     I was filled with more emotion on the day of my departure than I felt the first time I left the U.S. for a year in Korea. Appreciating our ability to be alive and feel so strongly, Monty B and I took a deep breath and got on the train. This is where I met a girl who was even more emotional than I was. Perhaps now's the time to mention that my second objective for this trip was to speak only french along the way. Well my first challenge was a conversation with a woman going through a divorce, riding on the train without a ticket, or a single euro to her name. Anyway, the beautiful mix of stress, excitement, anxiety, and joy inside my heart led to a strange french conversation full of tears and philosophical advice. God only knows what I actually communicated with her.
     True to Hotlebug style, I managed to mess things up right away. Originally, my plan was to get off the train in Saincaize. I had printed maps and directions from there. However, as the train was slowing down to stop and I was preparing Monty B for the descent, a young man told me that he was sure this stop wasn't Saincaize. So, like an idiot, I assumed he knew better than me and didn't get off. As the train pulled away and I watched the signs saying "Saincaize," get smaller and smaller, I had no choice but to kick myself. Anyway, what can you do? I got off at the next stop in Nevers. I didn't have directions from here which means that my only option was to ask friendly people on the road how to get to the river. Once I met the Loire face to face, I then proceeded to find people to ask which direction was North. Then I started biking.
     Can I describe how incredible I felt during this moment? No, my English isn't good enough for that. Let's keep it simple and say that I was happy as a hog to know that I had this amazing adventure in front of me, a beautiful bike below me, a ravishing river to the left of me, numberless natural niceties to my right, and a stormy sky above me. I only made it 25 kilometers before I had to accept that the thunder and lightning meant I needed to stop and seek shelter. I did this right in time because shortly after I stopped under a bus stop, the hail started.

Monty B seeking shelter from the storm

     To say that I'm lucky doesn't properly describe this situation. I'm sitting under a bus stop, looking at the black sky and realizing that by the time this storm passes, the last of the sunlight will disappear  but the last 25 kilometers for the day won't. As I'm thinking this, my cellphone rings. What do you know, it's the people who own the farm that I reserved through Air BnB for the night and they are worried about me. They asked me exactly where I was and promised to arrive with a big truck toute de suite. So I waited, they came, they gave me a tour of the cute village I would miss because I wasn't biking through it, took me to their place, and offered me dinner. We ate, drank, shared stories and then I slept like a baby.