BIG THANKS for making SEBA a Possibility!

 So many people to thank for making SEBA (Steph's Epic Bike Adventure) come true!

  • Thanks to Franck and Brigitte who joined Stage 4 from Bordeaux to Hendaye.  In particular, Franck for gifting me the Routard La Velodyssee guide two years ago that set the wheels in motion!  This guide was super helpful in the planning stage.  Also many thanks for taking time off work and from your day-to-day commitments to join us for a week.  And for trading off as 'sag wagon' drivers so the rest of us could ride.  It was special having both Franck and Brigitte along!  
  • Thanks to Lance my dear husband for supporting my epic adventure and being willing to travel for 6+ weeks on the seat of a bike.  An an extra thanks for containing all the complaints about hills and other challenges!  May you too have caught the bike touring bug.  
  • Thanks for Lauran and John for joining in on the full 4 stages of the ride!  And a special thanks to Lauran for helping with some of the logistics and accommodations particularly on our layover stays in Nantes and Ile de Re.  John, thanks for your navigation prowess and your Ride with GPS app that got us back on track when 'navigational malfunctions' occurred.  
  • Thanks to Nicolas and Lucas who flew 24 hours from Seattle to spend time with their aunt and uncle and cousins Brigitte and Franck and also Lauran and John.  Your energy and enthusiasm charged us up by at least 2-4 miles per hour!  I hope you've now caught the bike touring bug and will look forward to future trips!
  • Thanks to Betsy and Pete who joined for stages 1-3 -- you all are terrific cycling companions!  Not only was your "rain dodger" karma critical, but your sense of adventure (both on and off the bike) is hard to beat.  Your shared love of good food and wine fit right in to the joie de vivre.  And thanks, too, for arranging the 2022 BEBA adventure as that laid the groundwork for SEBA to come true.  
  • Thanks to Ann, Peter and Cindy who all made the trek to join for a stage and for believing in the adage "mostly flat" (well it was compared to BEBA which cross the continental divide 3 times!).  It was fun having you all along!
  • Thanks also to so many others who made this adventure possible:
    • Thanks to Abicyclette for the excellent rental bikes that did the job!
    • Thanks to the Velodyssee and Eurovelo #1 teams that created and maintained the route.  What an excellent trail!
    • Thanks to all the hosts who provided friendly and comfortable accommodations along the way.
    • Thanks to la Belle France for a truly special adventure!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 25 - 35 mi: Bayonne to Hendaye

Image
Perhaps my procrastination in posting the last riding day was an attempt to extend the trip...not wanting it to end.  But if it was going to end, this last day was a great way to do it!   The views were spectacular.  But also this segment was the only segment rated "expert".  That was due in part to the amount of road riding through busy Biarritz and the last 4km into Hendaye as well as the numerous steep hills.  The trepidation meter was peaking! As we left Bayonne the route quickly turned south along the coast unveiling gorgeous views. The views were so distracting that they led Lauran, John and Lance down the wrong path to the watersedge which meant a big climb back to EV#1. We agreed to stay close and ride together on the last day...then promptly got lost again as we cycled through glitzy Biarritz. Lauran and Steph got off track but quickly found a steep hill to rejoin the route.  The rout...
Read more
Image
  Packing Light? It appears that packing for this trip will be a much bigger challenge than riding the 600 miles.  We have not even embarked on the epic ride yet but already I am finding the need to use Lauran's handy "elation-trepidation" scale.     I am elated that everything I chose to bring fits into our allotted two panniers and a small daypack.  The panniers are weighing in at 10 lbs and 10.2 lbs (ELATION!).  I am worried that 23.9 lbs (pack with iPad, empty water bottle, passport, and deck of cards added 3.9 lbs) of extra weight on the bike will cause some huffing, puffing and slogging along the way AND that the contents will not be sufficient to last 5 weeks of varied temperatures, dress codes, activities, and other fashionista crises  (TREPIDATION 😬). Two Jumbo Ziplocks of clothing for 5 weeks! Someone in the group suggested we could purchase anything we didn't bring (😲 more weight?) and a friend suggested we pull a bike ...
Read more

Day 24 - 28 mi: Vieux Boucau to Bayonne

Image
Today tested the rain dodger theory and so far all went well.   The forecast was for rain and despite the gloomy sky, we set off at our usual 9am start.   To be honest, we were somewhat relieved to have cloudy skies as it kept the temperature in check.   We left Vieux Boucau and followed the coast to other seaside towns like Hossegor and Capbreton. Nic kept a mini baguette in reserve just in case. As expected the marinas were filled with boats many of which were sailboats. As we got closer to Bayonne we dreaded the impending hill which never appeared.  It turned out there was not one on the EV#1 route -- it was on the shortcut we opted not to take! For the first time on this trip we got to our destination with plenty of time to enjoy a full course meal, shop and visit the town.  The hotel recommended an excellent basque restaurant a few minutes away.  You can ...
Read more