I don’t think I’m alone when it comes to dreaming about getting on a bike and going on a journey far from home. But my experience and concern is always on health and injuries, and going into my 30s I’ve experienced a fair share of setbacks. So when Will asked if I was interested in a bike trip to the south of France, I was hesitant, but immediately said yes.
0:00 – Intro
0:48 – Concerns and How It Happened
2:50 – Day 1 & 2 – Annecy, Ugine, Chambery, Corbelin
5:23 – Day 3 – Recap of Day 1 & 2
6:49 – Day 4 Lyon
8:12 – Day 5 Valence, Mondragon
9:34 – Day 6 – Recap of Day 5
14:20 – Day 7 & 8 Avignon, Aix en Provence
15:39 – Marseille & Thoughts
here you go I’ve already climbed 2,000 ft [Music] These days are running slow and shores far from [Music] lights shining on the sea [Music] And I could try to just follow [Music] My biggest concern going into this trip was my body You see I’m I’m not a strong cyclist by any means And for me to attempt multiple 50 to 70 mi days uh with at least you know 1500 to 2,000 ft of elevation for where I’m at right now is very daunting And you know the the trainer doesn’t lie Your heartbeat your power output all that you can see And it was clear to me that this trip was going to be physically very difficult So there’s the physical aspect of trying to do long distances uh with some climbs in the heat That was really scary to me But when my friend reached out Will and he told me he wanted to do a France bike trip this south of France I I immediately said yes We were planning to stay at Airbnbs so we kind of knew the distances that we had to cover and the only variable would be weather Now we were very fortunate in that it didn’t rain on us but it was extremely hot It was 30 plus C or multiple days in a row Now going into a trip like this there are three important factors First is of course your route which you have time to plan for Second is your fitness which you can also kind of work around and third is your gear Um I have a 2020 Santa Cruz Stigmata gravel bike and I have the tail fin setup My friend borrowed his bike from Bike Switzerland which is a bike shop in Geneva here Wonderful shop with two owners who I can highly recommend And so with the the route I knew I wanted to get into Ani which is just south of Geneva which meant we had to pass bypass a certain mountain the Celeb Now thankfully we don’t have to climb the actual mountain We can go around it But that was about maybe 2,000 ft right there But my goodness that was beautiful [Music] A pale blue sky floating on cloud night Do you feel the winds are turning round cuz what goes up must always come back down [Music] But I’ll be safe William Caleb
this is actually our first recorded dialogue This is the A- roll vlog time
Yeah
yesterday wasn’t as bad as I think we initially thought Um getting out of Geneva there’s definitely some climbs but wasn’t as bad as the original route When we go up hills I think we just slow down so much quicker Oh yeah Yeah
Than we otherwise would So um we’re making our way We’re what you know 50 mi 40 mi in about 40 So yesterday we went from Geneva to Pasci to small town Eugene We stayed there Eugene Now we’re in Shambelly and we’re trying to get to Kulong Uh 75 mile day which is going to probably be my longest day ever about to climb this There’s a little tunnel that we’ll be approaching but we got to get there first Do you feel the winds are turning around [Music] i feel like absolute crap This is day two and we accidentally made it a longer day It’s a huge climb And yeah we don’t feel I don’t feel too good I think Will feels okay No he’s probably pooped too Going to buy some steaks and enjoy our evening at Airbnb Yeah man My back killing me We’re almost there though Today’s day three
Day three baby Feel like we went into it thinking the worst is behind us That was not the case I think it took me by surprise too because like right before then we’re driving through this beautiful lake town you know that’s got shades of honesty and then to be smacked in the face with I think the initial incline was probably 2/3 of a mile somewhere in that range But then the entire climb soup to nuts to get to the the base of the tunnel No that first part was stunning Just smooth level paths that either go alongside like a river
Mhm
a rushing wi river that’s in between these two mountain ranges but you get you know these sweeping farm shots and you know you’re passing these different towns What made it different from the US is that we’re on a dedicated bike path versus a street work Cars tractors would be constantly passing us
And I think that’s what makes it special cuz you can get beautiful views in the States too I’m sure if you go out Midwest
Yeah
or even West Coast But it’s like it’s all to you It’s all for us Just the bike path which is special
Yeah [Music] [Music] Today’s day four no day three And we’re going to ride to Balance from Leon It’s going to be a 75 mile and it’s been really hot So that’s going to be the big challenge for us Um tire keeps losing air Filled it up with sealant right before we left but maybe there’s a big big hole and it’s a it’s a really old tire set So yeah we’re sore Definitely rough with the heat but it’s been amazing Last night we slept maybe 5 hours or less Um yeah it was super hot We’re on the top floor of this Airbnb of this building new air condition middle of Leon It’s like I don’t know It was really hot but we’re grateful to be out here so far Great experience We just left from Valenc heading down south to Marseilles It’s been beautiful Yesterday was a rough 77 milei day against really strong headwinds Incredibly humbling Will got me through most of it Uh today should be a little bit easier Hey Will do you have uh anything you want to say uh uh we slogged through 76 mi yesterday Battle of the headwinds basically all 76 mi but uh in one piece with sunlight which was amazing Um I’m stuffed I bought way too many groceries Uh eyes were bigger than my stomach big time But um yeah feeling good about our day 56 miles to our next Airbnb It’s going to be a beautiful day What a blessing [Music] I will I’ll be honest man I’m I’m sorry if uh if I if if you sense any like grumbling on my end because of the distance change Um so I’m sorry if I felt like I was just frustrated or anything like that So it wasn’t that bad Yeah No [Music] sorry for the oversight wasn’t really paying attention to straa but uh yeah no I did notice there was some tension it felt like I don’t know probably it wasn’t I I didn’t even feel like it was after the initial realization that we still had 15 miles but after that like first break it just felt like we were on two different playing fields just irritation or
No you’re you’re right to have sensed that When I when I took that break it was my head was hurting again
So I was probably not in a good I I know I wasn’t in a good place And it’s moments like that that I have to realize when I’m not feeling good
physically my head’s hurting my legs my palms whatever I still have to learn how to extend and think of how do I honor God in that moment too when you feel like absolute crap It’s so easy to default to just like show displeasure show the fact that I’m hurt and frustrated etc etc displeased with the situation But I think these moments are helping me see not just like physical limits but just uh emotional and mental immaturity as well Spiritual too Sorry for creating some of those moments for you No
man
Yeah
Making me grow It’s good It’s really good thinking about it last night too of just like you know I think we’re both pretty physically beat at this point
Yeah
it’s been a long trip but like we’re in France
Yeah
we get to bike these paths Probably won’t do it again Certainly like don’t expect to do this exact trip again you know
Mhm And so like staying in the moment whether that’s we’re going 20 miles and like you know sailing uh you know pushing each other that way or just like taking it easy 12 miles just enjoying the scenery like I can do a better job of I really want to stay in the moment cuz we’ll be in Marseilles before we know like “Wow it’s over.”
It’s a funny thing when we want to take a detour off our path
Mhm
In my mind I’m trying to calculate like “How do I feel?”
Mhm
Is it is it worth adding another half hour hour of riding and it becomes a very selfish thing right like you wanted that cold brew and I wanted to just minimize the amount of miles Um and so it’s like didn’t see that there was like a
a calculation or as you’re politely going through like well here’s the path we could take we could do a water break here and kind of reassess but then you kind of flipped the switch and we’re like you know what let’s do a cold brew and I mean that to me was like very loving like you know I was fatigued which I really appreciated It is I mean it’s it’s really anytime you spend extended time with a friend but I do think a trip like this where there’s a lot of physical there’s a physical toll My mind is fix fixated on like my own suffering not how can I help alleviate someone else’s suffering or like
come alongside them
Good point
Um [Music] these days are running slow [Music] Sunsets and shores far from home [Music] Headlights are shining on the sea No place on earth rail [Music] but I’ll never find this anywhere else [Music] Looks like after about 7 days 8 days actually a nasty bug bite I don’t know where that came from but it like crazy for a few days But yeah isn’t this crazy my goodness So I don’t really have much to say about Marseilles Once we got to our destination we took a few pictures but at that point we’re just so exhausted The thought of trying to capture footage to edit to make into a cohesive video was the last thing on my mind Also my wife visited us from Geneva She took the train down and it was just a great time of rest for for everybody We were able to go on a boat which was a great experience but I actually ended up hurting my foot just walking around town for a whole day and that kind of soured the ending of the trip for me where I’m still I’m still using a cane It’s been about a week after the trip now And Marseilles is it’s it’s interesting because it’s a beautiful city but it’s also overcrowded and the population there wonderful people but at the same time you just feel that it’s it’s a bit dirty you know it feels like a New York City or Queens or it’s just there’s so many people there’s so many things going on so many cars so much traffic and you can’t get away from just the feeling of dust being everywhere where uh so it’s such a contrast cuz once you get out onto the water or the beach pristine beautiful it’s the Mediterranean but when you’re in the city itself in the heat of summer with no air condition anywhere it’s uh it’s quite the experience Looking back I I’m extremely grateful the trip It’s one of those things where when you’re planning for it there’s no way you can you can anticipate what it’ll be like And when you’re on the trip itself it’s it’s really a focus of getting to the next destination Physically and mentally it’s grueling And it’s there’s something simple about that where your whole body and mind focuses on one goal which is to get to a certain destination And looking back now I see the beauty in the trip I see the beauty as I’m editing the footage as I’m sharing this with you It’s it’s unescribable with the feelings and emotions you get afterwards looking back Uh something like this Now granted it’s it’s not like an ultramarathon I didn’t climb Everest but everyone in their season right you can push yourself And for me this was this was by far one of the most challenging things I’ve done physically So if you’re on the fence of pulling the trigger for going on that bike trip doesn’t have to be bike packing with a tent gear with you know with with over 40 50 pounds of gear in your bike It could be an Airbnb And if you split it with a couple of friends it does become more affordable Yes it’ll be hard and there will be challenges There will be frustrations But looking back you’ll be incredibly glad that you gave it a go Sun sets and shores far from home