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Biking the Belgian Way
The quick blast of the siren made me jump. I had just been warned by another cyclist that I was going the wrong way on a one way road and had managed to get off the street and up onto a crowded sidewalk. Rick had already dismounted when I was waved over by the police. …
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My Little Peloton
Sean’s left hand shot out instinctively to indicate caution. At a hairpin turn, one car up and one car back, his signal was as much for the cars as it was for us. Both cars slowed and then braked. Accident averted. And we continued pedaling. We weren’t sure what the addition of another rider would…
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The Road to Rouen
“I’m ready to change my ticket and just go home.” These words drove a spike in my heart. But I understood. For the last three days, Rick, Sean and I had been stuck in an overpriced hotel in the heart of Paris. Crowds and prices had escalated because of the upcoming soccer championship game being…
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Let’s Meet In Paris
Paris. In my imagination, I am stepping out of a black convertible near the Eiffel Tower. I casually throw my designer leather backpack over my shoulder. It matches my ankle boots and looks perfect with my designer jeans. I fling my soft, perfectly coiffed, graying hair over my shoulder and don my oversized sunglasses. The…
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Riding
The folks who believe the world is flat have never been on a long cycling tour. I realized this yesterday as we were riding somewhere in the middle of France. The “French flats”, as we had endearingly named this region. And relative to many places, it is. But as we hacked our way through an…
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Travel vs. Vacation
Flashback 2016. Sitting at Gatwick airport waiting for our flight, we, like everyone else in the airport, were logged into the one free hour of wifi available. Checking email and Facebook, my family was just passing time before our flight to Spain. As the time grew closer for boarding, an announcement. Fight delay. Then again.…
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¿Habla inglés?
As I desperately looked through my backpack one more time, it was painfully clear, I had forgotten my wallet at the hotel. I looked apologetically at the cashier and longingly at my pile of groceries and murmured, “Lo siento”, as I skulked away. It had taken 30 minutes to find something that we could eat…
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Little Surprises
I was longing for a hot shower. The fantasy of this simple pleasure kept me focused for the last 10 miles of a grueling day. Arriving at the Costasnovasurfhouse ( yes, one word) I smiled to myself. A youth hostel. I should have known with a name like that. So when the sun-weathered owner walked…
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No Airlift
As we posed for our Bon Voyage picture at SeaTac airport, my sister in law called out teasingly, “You two look like you’re in an ad for AARP magazine!” Here we were, heading out for a huge bicycling adventure, and somehow it slipped my mind that Rick and I are, well, mature. Not in the…
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Trust Yourself
I wonder if Magellan felt nervous before he voyaged into unknown waters? Did Vasco de Gama lay awake at night second guessing his decision to trust a centuries old sea map and establish a sailing route to India? And Columbus? Was he secretly over-thinking every aspect of his big journey into the cavernous Atlantic Ocean?…
Gonzo Girl 