The Great Ride: Chambery to Lyon (Oct. 3, 2009)

My friend Patrick Yoho and I are planning a trip during the last week of October during our vacation time. Our plan is to take a train to the Loire Valley and to do our own tour of the valley and its famous castles by bicycle. You saw the bicycles in my last post...well yesterday we tested them out on their first big ride. Patrick came into Chambery from Lyon (where he is studying) on Friday night. We woke up Saturday morning and had a big breakfast of baked potatoes and omelets. After making sure we knew the route we were taking and performing the final tune-ups on our bikes, we left. If you would like to see the exact route that we took you can go to google maps and find the walking, not driving, directions from "Chambery, France" to "Lyon Saint Exupery airport". The total distance between us and our destination was almost 90 kilometers (55 miles) so we expected it to take about five hours or so and we ended up underestimating the terrain. Our first and hardest test came about twenty minutes into the ride when we started our ascent of the Col de l'epine. I can't really put into words how it felt to climb this col. It was one of the most physically demanding things I have ever done in my life. Once we got to the top though we realized that it was totally worth it. We had ridden over 3,200 feet to the summit and were rewarded with the amazing view that you see above.

Now came the best part of all...the descent. Patrick had come up with the ingenious idea that I should mount my camera atop my handlebars and record the descent, which you can view above. We began cycling through the French countryside, staying on roads that had little or no traffic and passing by fields of grazing cattle, roaming horses, bright sunflowers, and stiff cornstalks. Here is where "France" hit me. I realized I was on the other side of the world in the midst of a memory that I would be telling my own children about someday, writing part of my life story, experiencing what some people only are able to imagine. It was an amazing and humbling feeling. I thank God that he has given me this opportunity at this time in my life to be here seeing His creation and marveling at the wonder of all that he has made.
There is not much to say about the rest of the ride. We went through alot of gorgeous French countryside, stopping for lunch in a small city along the way where we bought some "sandwiches avec jambon et fromage" (ham and swiss cheese on a baguette). By the end of the ride my legs were absolutely drained of all energy. Even once the airport was in sight it seemed as if we would never get there. Finally we made it to our destination and just in time too for the sun had all but gone down and we were without any lights or reflective materials. We grabbed a sandwich at the airport and took a bus to the train station where I took a train back to Chambery and Patrick headed back to his school.
Thus ended an incredible day. So exhausting but oh so rewarding. I have to say that it was one of the top ten moments of my life and will most likely remain there for quite some time. I have included a few more pics at the end here for you to see...enjoy!