French meal in St. Emillion!

Wow what a meal. We were eating right outside the largest undergroung church in all of Europe, with a view of the courtyard that was to die for. Above is the best thing I have ever tasted! a french dessert from heaven.

Atlantic!!!

We are in Royan with a view of the Atlantic ocean from our hotel balcony! It has been kind of rainy so we are taking a rest day to hopefully see it blow over. We will most likely head north tomorrow in hopes to make it to a tour de france stage in a coulple of weeks.

Sorry no pictures this time. We are writing this in a French youth center where they forbid a lot of stuff (including camera downloads)

Thanks for all the wonderful comments. It has been so nice to hear from all of our supporters back home. Keep them coming!!

Riding through time

Our latest adventures have led us to the Dordogne region with its ancient cave art, wonderful chateaux's right out of the fairy tales, and dreamlike cycling.
We visited the lascaux caves the other day. The surprisingly good tour explained what is known about the 15,000 year old paintings. Its amazing to think about the human history that took place here. They discribed the cave as the cave mans cathedrale and standing there looking at what a human did 15,000 years ago I'm sure it was a religious experience to see it back then.
Amazing, well worth the work to get here. Sorry but no pictures of this one. They didn't allow photos to be taken in the cave.
But we did get the picture of the lascaux cave art in the supermarket!

One of the things we have discovered is all the amazing and breath taking cathedrales that seem to be at the heart of almost every city we stop in. Here are some of the photos of some of our favorites. Craig's favorite Found this one in Avignon, breathtaking.

The height of these ceilings are neck breaking.

Pictures !!!!

Look at old posts we have pictures up!!
Hope all is well

Longer days more miles

Tuesday's ride was really a beauty. After leaving Carcassone's busy morning streets we headed out into fields of wheat and barley. As we rode through wonderful rolling sea of fields I looked to the south and realized we could see the rising snow capped Pyrenees mountians. The landscape seemed to open up more than it had before, so we could look out for many amazing miles.
We found a campground just out of Revel a top a windy forest covered mountian, with a blue mountian lake that seemed very popular for the French to vacation at. When we awoke the next morning ready for another day of riding our tent was being thrown this way and that from a strong wind that didn't seem like it wanted to stop. So we had a relaxing rest day in hopes to wait out the wind.
When we awoke the next morning our tent was still being thrown around but we needed to get going so we had a windy pack up. As soon as we made it off the mountain the wind stopped and our long ride had begun, but thankfully without the wind. We stopped in a sleepy French town for lunch where we found a wonderful boulangerie (bread shop). We pigged out on bread, cheese, qnd these cheap little strawberry cookies from the boulangerie.
At the end of the day we had made it to Montauban, with it heavy evening traffic. but by the time we had gotten there the local tourism office was closed so we had no way of finding a campground. So Kelly and I found a nice little Hotel. The receptionist was more than helpful when we were unloading our bikes, and her English was exceptional. The shower melted Kelly and I after our merathon ride, and the bed was a glorious feeling. Hotels are nice after numorous nites in a tent.
Our ride today ended in Agen. After around 180 km in two days our muscles are feeling it, but the experience of being here and riding into the next little town or having the next unexpected experience with the local people helps ease the soreness. For example Kelly and I were riding through a small village and I realized how I still get a kick out of seeing old men walk down the street with a couple of morning baggettes under their arm. Its amazing to see how these people live.

Hello from Carcassone!

We left Avignon and headed to Nimes. On the way we stopped at the Pont de Gare. What an amazing thing to see. I can not believe the Romans did it without any mortar. We cycled into Nimes and stayed in our first campground. Really clean and nice. It makes life on the road super easy.

After Nimes we cycled all day in the heat to a little piece of heaven called St-Martin de Londres. When we got there we were super tired, but an English man came over and offered us "a spot of coffee". What an end to a long day.

We left Londres not wanting to leave that beautiful little French town, but we wanted to see the Mediteranian. After two days ride we saw that beautiful blue water that we stared at for two days. Getting tans and eating fresh fruits and veggies were wonderful.

We are now on our trek west. Headed for the Atlantic. Currently we are in the fortified city of Carcassonne! Amazing to be sleeping in a castle.

Hopefully we will have pictures up soon!
Hope all is well

Craig and Kelly

We are on French soil!

After traveling for more than 24 hours we finally made it to Avignon. We are both feeling the jet lag but we are out and seeing this fortified city. It is amazing to see some of these old buildings. The weather is perfect for cycling (except the wind).
we are having trouble connecting our camera, so we have no pictures to show, but hopfully we will be able to work out the computer problems.
We are planning to cycle out of Avignon tomorrow and head for Nimes. We look forward to getting on the bikes again.

Take it easy.

Graduation

Thanks to all that came and all that sent a supporting card! Kelly and I had a great time and wish to thank everyone that helped us along the way.
Cori we will miss you. We hope you have a great Colorado summer.

Ready to go!

One last Training ride before we are off for France! The last picture is looking out over Fort Collins. We had a great ride. We feel strong and ready to cycle into a new adventure. We leave the 24th and will be in Paris on the 25th.

weather is a changing and its hard to want to study

I love spring in Colorado. There seems to be new life everywhere you look. Spring at an agricultural University is especially wonderful. The veriety of plant life is amazing.

Hot weekend

Went out for another training ride this weekend. Instead of the mountains we opted for a nice ride north of town. We were enjoying the beauty of the short grass-stepp and the hottest day of the year. First flat of the season!

Training ride

Today we went on an amazing training ride. 50 miles on a bike in about 5 hours! It was amazing. The weather was perfect and we met so many cyclists who all wanted to know what we were doing with panniers (bags that go on the bike). After we told them we are planning on going to France for a couple of months they lit up and started talking till they were out of breath. It was a fun ride. I had to put something up so everyone can see some new pictures.

Getting Ready

We are gearing up for graduation and the big adventure! This is a picture of our bikes under a huge C.S.U. tree.

Happy Trails!!

Sing it Jack!

"Gone"

Look at all those fancy clothes,But these could keep us warm just like those.
And what about your soul?
Is it cold?
Is it straight from the mold, and ready to be sold?
And cars and phones and diamond rings, Bling, bling, because those are only removable things.
And what about your mind?
Does it shine?
Are there things that concern you, more than your time?
Gone, going. Gone, everything.
Gone, don’t give a damn.
Gone, be the birds, when they don’t wanna sing.
Gone, people, all awkward with their things,Gone.
Look at you, out to make a deal.
You try to be appealing, but you lose your appeal.
And what about those shoes you’re in today?
They’ll do no good, on the bridges you burnt along the way.
And you're willing to sell, anything?
Gone, with your head.
Leave your footprints, And we’ll shame them with our words.
Gone, people, all careless and consumed, goneGone, gone, gone, everything.
Gone, don’t give a damn.
Gone, be the birds, when they don’t wanna sing.
Gone, people, all awkward with their things, Gone.