Reflections on Le Tour de France et Holland du tandem 2017

It’s always better when we’ve tandemed 300 miles together on Le Tour de France et Holland

Back home at Matildas Rest there has been plenty of  time for Team Tandem Ecosse to reflect on what was an incredible three legs of their two week Le Tour de France et Holland du tandem 2017 – and an amazing sense of achievement in completing the 300 mile route.

Although it was hectic, and very full-on, the “old git” and the “old gal” are already suffering from the “tandem blues” – missing their days of togetherness in the saddle while on the the quiet cycle lanes and back roads of the beautifully scenic dykes and towns of the North Holland peninsula, followed by tandeming thru the vineyards and villages of the Alsace, and Champagne.

The scenery throughout the trip was fabulously eye-catching and a real joy to experience and provided real brain food with stunning images to store in my dynamic crew’s memory banks as we  tandemed along – experiencing an incredible contrast between the serenity of the windmills and vineyards to the bustling towns along the route – while all the time being at one with nature.

Team Tandem Ecosse managed to experience their target of ticking three bucket list items – eating Edam cheese in Edam; sampling Alsace wine in the Alsatian vineyards; and quaffing champagne in Champagne. So mission accomplished!

Sampling Edam in Edam – first bucket list tick!

Sampling Alsace wine in the Alsatian vineyards – second bucket list tick!

Sampling champagne in Champagne – third bucket list tick!

Before we set out my crew always said that “the journey” was going to be the holiday – not racing from place to place. Sticking firmly to that agenda all three of us on Team Tandem Ecosse enjoyed long warm sunny days on the road in both Holland and France – giving a fantastic in-depth experience of the local geography and the friendly people along our route.

As always our journey was so much more satisfying for my dynamic duo being self-propelled at the slower pace of a tandem – rather than travelling by car. Every view of a windmill, vineyard or eye-catching village lasted so much longer – as did the amazing picnics and many wine and champagne tastings en route!

Amazing picnics are de rigueur for my dynamic crew!

My dynamic crew more than fulfilled the remit on their t-shirts!

I think it is also fair to say that Team Tandem Ecosse more than fulfilled their remit on their Euro Tour 2017 t-shirts – which had them on a tandem quest to find the best wines and champagnes en route!

Travelling by the relatively fragile mode of transport that a tandem is certainly exposed us not only to the warm sunshine – and on one day fairly heavy rain – but to the physically demanding exertions of progressing from place to place … especially in the mountains of the Champagne region!

It also brought us into close interaction with lots of local people, many of whom tooted their support and issued friendly “bonjours” as they passed Team Tandem Ecosse – unmissable in their multi-lingual day-glo cycling shirts.  And of course the many other cyclists we met along the way – with whom we shared a special bond. Amazingly we did not see any other tandems along our route.

But perhaps the most important thing is that my dynamic duo of the “old gal” and the “old git” did the trip as a real team – laughing and smiling all the way even when frustration levels increased as energy levels fell! And that was the case even when at confusing signposts my crew had to pedal back to the previous junction to take the “correct” turning; or over the course of many meaningful “discussions” as to which direction to take!

Confusing signposts! 12km to Dambach-la-ville to the left and 13 km to the right!

After all my dynamic duo firmly believe in their twin mottos of: “It’s the Smiles that count, not the miles!” and “Its always better when we are tandeming together!”

And this “old lady” is proud to say that my dynamic crew resolutely supported each other every pedal and every kilometre of the way – and emerged from the experience even more together, and in love!

And I am even more delighted to say – as are the “old git” and the old gal” – that this classic tandem managed to get through the two weeks without a squeak … and even managed to avoid the dreaded p-word! And honours too for Matilda Transport which clocked up a not insubstantial 1850 miles on the Euro Tandem Tour 2017.

So after some 300 miles and 35 hours in the saddle over 10 days all three of us on Team Tandem Ecosse experienced another fabulous adventure – and we wouldn’t have missed it for the world!

Euro Tandem Tour 2017 was another unmissable adventure!

In conclusion our brief overviews and thoughts on each of the three legs of Le Tour de France et Holland du tandem 2017:

Euro tour 1st leg – tandeming along the dykes and thru the windmills of north Holland

Team Tandem Ecosse really enjoyed their first venture into Holland with a three-day taster tour of the North Holland peninsula. Everyone said my dynamic crew would love Holland for at least two reasons – its impressive cycling infrastructure – and because it was so flat!  Well they were correct on both counts! My dynamic crew could have tandemed all day on the amazing cycle paths. Our route took us in a triangle from Amsterdam out along the dykes to Marken and Volendam then thru Edam before turning inland to Alkmaar and back to Amsterdam. The highlights were seeing the fabulous picture postcard windmill area, and tandeming thru the centre of the red light district in Amsterdam with its pretty canals! We covered around 100 miles and despite the minor mishap of getting lost – which to be fair was probably the fault of my dynamic crew! – I am told we will certainly be back!

One of my crews favourite shots as it sums up the Holland experience!

The pretty canals and bridges offered a sharp contrast to Amsterdam’s Red Light District.

Here is a video montage of the images form the Holland leg set to music – watch by clicking here:

Euro Tour 2nd leg – tandeming the vineyards and canals of l’Alsace à velo

Team Tandem Ecosse had some amazing sights and experiences on their four-day 125 mile tandem trip in the Alsace – pedalling thru the scenic vineyards and wine towns on ‘Alsace à vélo before heading along the fantastic canals on EuroVelo 15. Despite hitting the challenging hills of the Vosges – let’s just say the downhill stretches were great! – it was a spectacular trip made all the better for my dynamic crew by the many wine and cremant tastings along the way! Our self-guided Tour d’Alsace du Tandem covered 125 sun kissed miles in a loop starting in Strasbourg, France with overnight stops to enjoy gourmet meals and luxurious chambre d’hôtes in Obernai, Beblenheim, and Colmar before returning to Strasbourg. The highlights were filling my bidons direct from a vat of newly made wine, and tandeming along the flat canal paths! It seems canals could be the way forward for future tours!

Filling my bidons with nouveau vin direct from the vat!

This sums up the blissful Alsace for Team Tandem Ecosse.

Here is a video montage of the images form the Alsace leg set to music – watch by clicking here:

Euro Tour 3rd leg – tandeming (and pushing) up the Montagne de Reims vineyards to drink champagne en Champagne!

Team Tandem Ecosse saw some amazing sights and enjoyed fabulous experiences on their challenging 75 mile three-day tandeming trip in the heart of the Champagne region, thru the wonderfully scenic vineyards and villages of Montagne de Reims Regional Natural Park! Yes the word montagne means mountains … and my dynamic crew faced no less than four category 4 climbs (or walks!) en route in their quest to sample the best champagnes! It would be fair to say that we definitely underestimated the terrain which resulted in my crew overstretching their cycling ability in places. But again there are some fantastic memories in the memory bank and the “old git” and “old gal” enjoyed many tastings of the different varieties of champagne along the way – purely for research purposes, of course! Our self-guided tour started in Reims and taking in a loop around Epernay – the champagne capital. The highlights were visiting the wonderful hilltop village of Hautvillers, which is the cradle of champagne making, and a crazy ride along L’Avenue de Champagne – one of the most expensive streets in the world kitted out in full King and Queen of the Mountain gear! Would my dynamic crew return? – yes, definitely – but probably taking in the views of the champagne vineyards from the luxury of a hot air balloon … in tandem, of course!

Hautvillers – said to be the cradle of champagne – was a charming village.

Not many better places to be than the headquarters of Moet & Chandon on the Avenue du Champagne!

Here is a video montage of the images form the Champagne leg set to music – watch by clicking here:

Le Tour de France et Holland du tandem 2017 certainly was a Bon Voyage! Cheers!

Time to celebrate in style – with champagne obv! Over 300 miles and over 300 smiles along the way!

Euro Tour 3rd leg – tandeming (and pushing) up the Montagne de Reims vineyards to drink champagne en Champagne!

This sums up the hilly (mountainous!) tandem tour of Champagne for Team Tandem Ecosse.

After Team Tandem Ecosse’s fantastic tour of the Alsace – and ticking off the bucket list item of sampling Alsatian wine where it was made, in the vineyards of the Alsace! – it was time for another bucket list item … this time the task was to quaff champagne in Champagne! So there was a non cycling day on the itinerary for the three of us to reposition from Strasbourg to Reims to begin the third and final leg of our two week Le Tour de France et Holland du tandem 2017.

So as our tour t-shirts said – the “old git” and the “old gal” were determined in their quest for le vin et champagne! A three hour drive along the fabulous French toll roads flew past and soon Matilda Transport was pulling up at Le Clos des Roys, our chambres d’hote in Reims – marking the start point for a three day tour of the vineyards of Champagne.

And what a fantastic location – the beautiful old fabric trading town house was located in the heart of the historic district, just 30 metres from the forecourt of the city’s magnificent Cathedral. We received a warm welcome from hosts Marie Ann and Gerard and shown to our luxurious room.

With both me and our car parked safely in an internal courtyard, my dynamic crew didn’t waste any time in exploring their new base, so headed out for dinner and their first taste of champagne! Our hosts had made a booking at the highly recommended Brasserie de Boulingrin – an art deco sea food restaurant dating from 1925 which we later discovered is an institution in Reims.

First ever champagne in Champagne – accompanied by a fisherman’s basket! oh if you insist!

The menu was mouthwatering! Pop went the first of many champagne corks to be popped over the next few days and “the old git” and the “old gal” toasted what they knew would be an epic trip with their first ever taste of champagne in Champagne! It really was one of those special moments to savour and remember – even more special as it was accompanied by a fisherman’s basket of gorgeous seafood including oysters! OOh la la!

All in all, a promising start to Le Tour de Champagne!

Day 1 – Climbing and climbing from Reims to fab champagne vineyards at Verzenay and Bouzy as phone died at epic moment!

Smiles at the lighthouse in the middle of the champagne vineyards!

An early alarm and after another wonderful communal petit dejeuner, it was time for my dynamic crew to get me kitted up to depart on our 35 mile adventure on Le Route de Champagne. The schedule being to tandem from Reims to the other main town in the region called Epernay – which lays claim to be the champagne capital. Team Tandem Ecosse are staying there for two nights – with a short ride on the day in between – before heading back to Reims on day three.

With three days tandem touring – and given that Team Tandem Ecosse was going completely self sustained and self-guided with no luggage transfer as they had enjoyed in previous years – my four panniers were again packed full to the brim, adding substantially to my weight!

Heading off from our stylish Le Clos des Roys chambres d’hotes in Reims.

In bright sunshine and in high spirits all three of us pedalled off from our stylish base and headed towards Epernay in our quest to find out lots more about champagne. Check out the details of our Day 1 route by clicking on the Strava map below.

The start was idyllic as we tandemed out along the cycle path along the banks of the Canal de l’Aisne à la Marne out towards the town of Sillery and then head towards the first of the villages with names which resonate, Mailly-Champagne.

It was at this stage that the realisation dawned on my dynamic crew that the champagne vineyards are hilly. Maybe the “old git” and “old gal” should have realised when the route description said: “You will be touring through the villages of the Montagne de Reims!” For some reason the word montagne hadn’t hit home … but let’s say it did as we left Sillery behind and started to climb … and climb!

Climbing (and climbing) in the Champagne vineyards towards the famous windmill.

My dynamic crew – who were a bit less than dynamic with the effort required on the hills – have subsequently realised (with a bit of basic research) that the best grapes for champagne require long roots to give them the best flavour – and long roots means they grow on slopes on the hillside! Doh!

Did someone mention hills? The view back to the canal showing the sudden elevation!

The views across the vineyards were stunning however. A quick glance at the guidebook for the area there are more than 15,000 wine growers in the designated Champagne area, 5,000 small champagne houses and over 100 well-known houses. We pedalled thru a welcome flat part at Mailly-Champagne – one of the over 300 picturesque villages which make their living from the fizz and were amazed to see winegrower’s houses at every turn … all offering their own name champagne. All fabulously scenic!

The amazing high axled tractors which mechanically pick the champagne grapes.

Leaving the village and back into climbing mode, my dynamic crew were fortunate enough to see one of the eye-catching high axled tractors which amazingly pick the grapes mechanically. It is a sight to be seen and obviously cuts out a lot of back breaking work!

Our target – and hopefully where the mountains would plateau – was firstly a landmark windmill and then a lighthouse at Verzenay. I got to feel a real VIP by posing at the gates of the windmill which is owned by the world-famous GH Mumm. The windmill – officially known as Le Moulin de Verzenay  is unfortunately not open to the public – but it is used by the company as a corporate reception area. The next day we discovered that Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt had flown in by helicopter in his role as brand ambassador. Obviously he wasn’t fit enough to cycle up the hills to get there either!

Posing at the gates to the windmill owned by the Mumm champagne house.

A final climb took us over the next ridge to the village of Verzenay and a welcome stop at Le Phare de Verzenay – a lighthouse which incongruously sits overlooking the vineyards. It was built in 1909 by Joseph Goulet to promote his brand of champagne – shining its light all over the vines. It turned into a bit of a folly but now combines a role as a promotional area for champagne tasting and museum.

Relief for the “old gal” when finally we reached the plateau at Le Phare de Verzenay.

Le phare offers the chance to sample up to 50 different varieties of  champagne – which was just what my dynamic crew needed for recovery after their exertions. Well they sampled a glass each – not 50! And they were able to chill and relax and enjoy their tasting in a fabulous sun-kissed garden area overlooking the vineyards under the lighthouse.

Le phare offered a perfect tasting area in a garden overlooking the vineyards! Cheers!

The “old gal” reflecting on those energy sapping hills!

After that reviving refreshment – my crew climbed the 120 odd stairs to the viewing platform of le phare to get a magnificent vista. The “old gal” recorded a short video to show it is hilly and the view from the top of the lighthouse over the champagne vineyards – which you can view by clicking here:

Before leaving the lighthouse the “old git” purchased a  bottle of champagne using his new found knowledge of the different types of the fizz. It’s not just any old champagne you know! Oh no! There are three different grape varieties used in champagne – white Chardonnay grapes and the red Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

The “old git” selected a bottle of blanc de blancs – which is  made entirely from the white Chardonnay  grapes. The tasting notes said: “With its elegant and lithe style this is the Champagne of choice among serious oenophiles.” After googling oenophile and discovering it meant wine connoisseur – he wholeheartedly agreed!

On leaving the lighthouse we were approached by a photographer, Karine Lhémon. who wanted to take some pictures of me and my crew! Karine introduced herself as being the official photographer for the Office de Tourisme du Grand Reims and was looking to take some shots of visitors to the area for their publicity purposes.  Obviously the “old git” was hesitant and had to be persuaded – jokingly saying: “Only if you twist our arm and give us champagne!”

Pose for publicity shots? Only if twist our arm and give us champagne!

My dynamic crew even had to sign an official form giving permission for the tourist agency to use the photos in their marketing. Given that the “old git” works in communications, he was suggesting some ideas for shots – and cheekily took a photo of Karine taking a photo of Team Tandem Ecosse!

Taking a photo of the photographer from Reims Tourisme snapping us!

The photographer wanted me involved in the photos too!

All the photos had le phare in them and after taking some of my dynamic crew, the photographer wanted to get me involved in the photo shoot as well! Well after all as a classic tandem, I am the star of the show! It was all good fun – and produced lots of laughs. After Karine promised to email some of the pictures, we bid farewell with her determined to capture us tandeming off for posterity!

“3-2-1-Go” Our start-up routine captured for posterity!

My crew immediately hit another hill but had to battle on to save face as they were still being filmed! One more short climb at Mount Sinia marked the peak – before the road through the vineyards started to go steeply downhill. It was a good long stretch so we were able to pick up speed rapidly.

Unfortunately it was at this very inopportune moment that the “old git’s” phone decided it would have a battery fail – but this wasn’t discovered till a few miles further on. Therefore Strava didn’t record the epic moment when my crew hit a new top speed – as recorded by the good old-fashioned handlebar speedometer – of 38.9 mph. Weeeeeh! It was our Chris Froome moment!

Full of high speed adrenalin my dynamic crew soon arrived at the village of Bouzy, famous for its red wine as well as champagne! Heaven for the “old gal” who has a fondness for both!

Tasting Bouzy Rouge – the wine of Kings – at the champagne house in the well-named Bouzy!

Bouzy is a Grand Cru village on the south side of the Montagne de Reims and we found the perfect spot for a tasting at the combined home of Paul Clouet and Bonnair champagne. To celebrate our new record high speed, naturally my crew had to sample both types! In addition the champagne house is famous for its Bouzy Rouge. This is known as the ‘Wine of Kings’ as it historically was served at the Court during the grand banquets of the coronations. The red wine is made exclusively from Pinot Noir grapes from the village. The “old gal” deemed it as living up to its regal reputation! A bottle was bought for the Christmas table and safely stored in my panniers!

After sampling the best of Bouzy – and feeling a teensy bit bouzy themselves! – my crew decided that an ice cold soft drink was required to fuel them for the final hour pedal to our overnight stop in Epernay. Happily for the “old gal” and the “old git” it was downhill to Tour-sur-Marne and on to the cycle path running alongside the Canal latéral à la Marne which took us direct into the city.

Amazingly just as we were pouring over a street map of Epernay, on the edge of the world-famous Avenue de Champagne, a car stopped and asked if we were looking for Les Epecuriens chambres d’hotes. I think the tandem was a bit of a give away – but it was our host Laure and my crew eagerly pedalled after her car to the front door.

I was parked up safely in a very colourful indoor courtyard while my crew were shown to their room – the Noble Equestrian Suite. More about the amazing chambres d’hotes later, but suffice to say for the moment that Laure had thought of everything and there were luxurious touches everywhere.

Glad to see standards being maintained at Les Epicuriens!

The “old git” was particularly impressed with a sign which said it was forbidden to drink champagne from a plastic glass! So glad to see standards being maintained! He knew my crew were in the hands of an expert!

Having arrived fairly late my crew enjoyed a welcome glass of fizz from Laure before showers and heading to dinner at the recommended Au Petit Fourneau restaurant for dinner where the speciality was les patates – effectively baked potatoes! But these were rather special – cut into slices and smothered in an amazing array of toppings. The “old git” had the Bretonne with prawns and emmental cheese sauce; while the “old gal” indulged in the Fromages one with reblechon, emmental, blue cheese and goats cheese. Oh and there was a bottle of champagne – just to sample the local produce of course! They told me it was rather yum!

Not surprisingly after a long day on the slopes of the vineyards, sleep wasn’t far away! So a somewhat challenging but still sensational first day of the Champagne leg of Le Tour de France et Holland du tandem covering an actual total of 35 miles (with only 26 of them recorded on Strava!) As always the route is brought to life in our Relive 3D video – so take a look below.

Day 2 – KoM climb to Hautvillers – home of Dom Perignon – and whizz back down to tandem along L’Avenue de Champagne in style!

Not many better places to be than the headquarters of Moet & Chandon on L’Avenue de Champagne!

My dynamic crew wakened after a deep recovery sleep to find there had been unexpected heavy rain and thunder overnight! Tell me about it! I was soaked thru as the lovely internal courtyard was open to the elements! All my bits were sopping – including my front panniers which had not been removed!

Heavy rain overnight and into Saturday morning left me a bit wet in my colourful courtyard!

After a hearty breakfast – including freshly baked bread – my dynamic crew had to reorganise the day as rain stopped play! The original plan was to leave early for a short loop of the scenic villages around Epernay followed by a more relaxing afternoon. A quick look at the weather forecast said heavy rain all morning – suddenly stopping around lunchtime turning to warm bright sunny conditions. So the schedule was turned back to front – as were my panniers in an attempt to dry them out! As for me the “old gal” gave me a good rub down with a towel! She is good that way!

Borrowing big umbrellas, my dynamic crew ventured out to the local food market and had a wonderful morning ooohing and aaahing at all the gorgeous fresh produce on display. The “old gal” was in her element and quickly secured some provisions for today’s picnic – which was going to be an indoor picnic! Funny how there is always one day the picnic has to be inside on these trips!

There’s always one! Each of our tours seems to have one indoor picnic!

Amazingly, bang on cue as per the local forecast, the rain clouds rapidly cleared just after lunch and the sun came out to play. So, with more hills on the route, my crew donned their King (and Queen) of the Mountain jerseys and got me kitted up before heading off on today’s loop.

Check out the details of our Day 2 route by clicking on the Strava map below.

With the sun on our backs it was a real joy to be back out on the cycle paths for Team Tandem Ecosse. We weaved our way thru the city heading out along a long flat stretch towards Cumieres before heading uphill to our destination of the pretty village of Hautvillers. My crew had been warned that the climb would get their hearts racing! That was a bit of an understatement!

Well the climb turned out to have two Tour de France category 4-rated climbs (or in our case walks!) – which means it was steep! Very steep! As the “old git” and “old gal” struggled for breath they were at least able to tick off some of the world’s most famous champagne houses as the vineyards were all clearly labelled and were like a who’s who of champagnes.

It was quite a climb – but worth it as like a who’s who of champagnes!

It was so steep that even when pushing the “old git” thought my brakes were on! But the panoramic views overlooking Epernay and the Marne river were stunning – with champagne vineyards stretching before us as far as our eyes could see. Truly beautiful!

The trip to magical Hautvillers involved two category 4 climbs! Just a bit steep!

Finally we crawled (almost literally!”) into the village of Hautvillers – causing quite a stir among the tourists who had arrived by car and coach! Can’t think why! A couple of people even asked if they could take pictures of “le doublé vélo” – maybe they thought we were mad arriving by bike!

Hautvillers – said to be the cradle of champagne – was a charming village.

The charming champagne producing village is recognised as the cradle of champagne as it was here in the ancient Benedictine abbey at Hautvillers that the monk Dom Pérignon discovered the champagne wine-making process in the 18th century.

My crew also discovered (via good tandeming friends Jane and John) that Hautvillers is twinned with the town of Beaulieu which we visited in our Tour de New Forest back in July.

After recovering their breath my crew sought out the sanctuary of the highly recommended Le Cave et Jardin antique shop. It really is a veritable Aladdin’s cave of all things related to champagne! While enjoying a fascinating browse, the owners offer the chance to visitors to indulge by buying a glass of fine local product – which naturally my crew thought would have been rude to refuse!

A visit to the fascinating Entre Cave et Jardin antiques shop is a must at Hautvillers.

Le Cave et Jardin offers a chance to enjoy a glass of fine champagne while browsing antiques.

My dynamic crew sat in the jardin (garden) part while quaffing their bubbly – establishing some kind of equilibrium after their mountain pedalling exertions! They even had a toast to Dom Pérignon before purchasing a Moet Chandom champagne glass set for two as a momento!

We then tandemed along the cobbled streets to find the Saint-Sindulphe abbey church – which houses Dom Pérignon’s black marble tombstone.

Dom Perignon, the monk who invented champagne, is buried here.

At every turn in the village there are links to Dom Pérignon – including a photo opportunity to turn yourself into the champagne inventing monk – which the “old git” obviously couldn’t resist!

The “old git” posing as Dom Perignon in the village!

Leaving the village my dynamic crew enjoyed a fab whizz back downhill – retracing our pedals to the city with plenty of time to explore the ‘Champs Elysees of Epernay’ –  the famous L’Avenue de Champagne which hosts the glitzy headquarters of the main champagne houses.

It offered a fascinating insight into the luxury world of champagne – with the whole avenue simply oozing money and opulence. An interesting fact is that the 19th century buildings sit above some 110 kms of underground cellars, built into the limestone, used for storing the champagne at temperatures of around 10 C.

Moet & Chandon is the most famous champagne firm and honours its links to Dom Pérignon with an impressive statue at the entrance to its headquarters. Each of the champagne houses were trying to outdo each other with eye catching displays – which offered a real spectacle.

The “old gal” at the Dom Perignon statue at the Moet & Chandon headquarters in Epernay.

The Boizel champagne house offered a good photo opportunity on L’Avenue de Champagne.

Things you never thought you’d ever do! My dynamic crew always had drinking champagne in Champagne on their bucket list! But how many people can say they have tandemed down the glitzy L’Avenue de Champagne in Epernay – the capital of Champagne ?!

Well we did and the “old gal” recorded some video footage for posterity which you can watch here:

It would need to be said that a tandem cycling down the L’Avenue de Champagne with a crew decked out in polka dot cycling jerseys was always going to attract quite a bit of inquisitive attention – and after we had finished we even received a round of applause! After all that fun and frivolity my dynamic crew headed back to the sanctuary of Les Epecuriens chambres d’hotes.

My crew were looking forward to the evening as they had booked a private steam room session in the property’s hamman on their return, and later, a private champagne dinner a deux – home cooked by our host Laure – served in our suite! Told you it was classy!

I was parked back in the internal courtyard, and this time our hosts covered me with a huge plastic sheet – just in case the rain returned. The “old git” and “old gal” thoroughly enjoyed relaxing in the heat of the steam room – ideal to help them get over the tail end of their heavy colds.

Our fabulous dinner in our suite at Les Epicuriens home cooked by our host Laure.

The dinner which followed was a culinary delight, as it turns out one of Laure’s main interests is cooking – and has even produced her own cookbook. My crew eagerly ate up their four course dinner – which was naturally accompanied by a fine bottle of champagne from a nearby vineyard.

So two epic category 4 climbs today on another brilliant second  day of the Champagne leg of Le Tour de France et Holland du tandem covering just 8 miles – with the route brought to life in our Relive 3D video – so take a look below.

Day 3 – Grand finale Euro tour 2017 up mountains to Reims from Epernay as we clocked up 300 miles in 10 days

The scenic reward for the climb of tree tunnels in the Parc Naturel de la Montagne de Reims.

This was the final ride of our brilliant two week Le Tour de France et Holland du tandem 2017 and the schedule today had us tandeming back to Reims from Epernay – a distance of just over 30 miles. That’ll be easy at this stage in the tour then for my dynamic crew who were now finely tuned athletes! Let’s just say it didn’t turn out that way! …

My dynamic crew were reluctant to leave the luxury of Les Epicuriens chambres d’hotes.

After another gorgeous and tasty petit dejeuner at Les Epecuriens chambres d’hotes Team Tandem Ecosse were a bit reluctant to leave their luxurious surroundings. We sadly took our leave from the wonderfully hospitable Laure and headed thru Epernay for the last time heading out into the country towards the ancient town of Ay.

Check out the details of our Day 3 route by clicking on the Strava map below.

The “old git” and the “old gal” had both looked at the maps and knew it was hilly so were suitably kitted out in their King and Queen of the Mountain jerseys! But they didn’t realise the emphasis today would be on the word mountains! Mind you, the fact that one of the villages very near our route was called Rilly la Montagne should have been a bit of a clue!

The first few miles were great and we soon picked up speed along the flat roads thru the vineyards. This was giving us a false sense of security … but then it happened! My crew hit the Montagne de Reims like a brick wall! A very high brick wall at that!

Team Tandem Ecosse huffed and puffed their way up the first climb (slowly) before resorting to taking me for a walk on the second – which was the first of another two category 4-rated climbs of the day! Since I was fully laden the “old git” had to use significant effort to push me up what seemed like an almost vertical incline, while the “old gal” – who suffers from asthma and therefore finds hills difficult at the best of times – puffed along behind!

Ab fab! We ticked off names of many champagnes including Bolly!

The only break my dynamic crew (who were feeling somewhat less than dynamic at this stage) had from the relentless climbing was ticking off more names of the major champagne brands, including Bollinger and Mercier. Let’s just say that my crew were now acutely aware that the best champagnes need the best grapes and they grow on steep slopes!

Mercier was next to be ticked off on the climb to Germaine.

A local guide book informed my crew that the term “mountain” is justified for the Montage de Reims by the brutality of the change of relief between the plain at 80 meters above sea level and the slopes where the vines produce the champagne some 200  metres higher. That made them feel so much better … not!

To be honest, we overstretched our ability on this route – and on the next big climb, which was a category 4 between Germaine and Ville-en-Selve it became less than fun for the first time on this trip. With my heavy panniers weighing me down, it was little wonder that the “old git” kept looking to see if my brakes were locked on as he slowly pushed up to the summit. This was by far the toughest route we have ever tackled! … Or ever want to tackle!

The Route de Champagnes offered some fascinating glimpses of past and present.

After taking an energy sapping 2 hours 45 minutes to travel 14 miles, we finally reached the plateau just  after Ville-en-Selve- a fantastic forest area which is part of the Park Naturel Regional de La Montagne de Reims. This gave my crew a bit of respite. The smiles returned as they enjoyed some scenic tree tunnels and the beauty of the leaves changing colours.

The climb was worth it to see the colours change at Ville-en-Selve.

The beautiful scenery helped restore spirits as did the sight of the first downhill stretch for some time which saw my dynamic crew whizz down into the village of Ludes. It was Sunday and our experience tells us everywhere is closed – but we came across a patisserie which was open. Coffee and yummy apricot tarts restored energy levels for the “old gal” and “old git”

The “old gal” at the picturesque Mairie (town hall) in Ludes.

After a much required stop to restore equilibrium after my crew’s mountain climbing exploits, we headed further downhill and saw a signpost for Chigny-les-Roses famous for its rose champagne – made from the Pinot Meunier grapes. Just at the entrance to the town is an old barrel used in the champagne process – which provided a fun photo stop!

The “old gal” was happy to see the town of Chigny-les-Roses famous for its rose fizz!

The “old gal” was happy to see the Canal de l’Aisne à la Marne ahead of us and we pedalled off – enjoying some welcome freewheeling to reach the canal cycle path at Sillery.

The Sillery French Military Cemetry contains graves of over 11,000 soldiers killed in the first World War.

Just before reaching the canal my crew stopped at the impressive Sillery French Military Cemetry which contains graves of over 11,000 soldiers killed in the first World War during the battles of Champagne.

Final picnic of le tour! Sadly all good things have to come to an end! Last one on canal at Sillery.

After paying our respects at the war cemetery, my dynamic crew found a nice seat by the canal for our last picnic of this year’s Euro Tour du Tandem. By now readers of my blog will know that the picnic is one of the key points of the day for the “old git” and “old gal” and this one was no exception.

After a late picnic lunch we tandemed along the canal path – again in awe at the fabulous surface and how everyone respects the cycling culture. This for Team Tandem Ecosse is what tandeming is about! My crew were enjoying themselves so much they deliberately pedalled on past the turn off into Reims in order to clock up 75 miles on the Champagne leg – to break the 300 mile total for the 10 days cycling on the three legs of Le Tour de France et Holland du tandem 2017.

The Cathedral Notre-Dame in Reims marked the end point.

The magnificent frontage of the Cathedral Notre-Dame in Reims was the official end point of our tour – and the “old gal” purchased a bottle of champagne in one of the gift shops in the square to allow my dynamic crew to celebrate when we we arrived back at Le Clos des Roys, our chambres d’hote.

Job done! Celebrating arriving at Les Clos des Roys after 75 gruelling miles in Champagne.

It’s always better when we’ve tandemed over 300 miles together on Le Tour de France et Holland

After I was secure in the inner courtyard, it was time for my dynamic crew to enjoy some end of tour celebrations! And how do you celebrate when in Champagne! Yes in the only way that is possible here – by drinking champagne in Champagne!

Time to celebrate in style – with champagne obv! Over 300 miles and over 300 smiles along the way!

… even if it was just a tad knackering on some of the uphill stretches! Time for relaxation!

As my crew enjoyed the feeling that their legs wouldn’t have to pedal up any more hills, they were buoyed when the “old git” checked Strava on his phone and discovered that they had achieved their highest every placings in the league tables! Amazingly Team Matildas Musings were in third place in the Tandem Club UK table for tandemers in Britain having clocked 154.2 miles over the last seven days; and 14th in the league table for tandmers around the world!

.. and 14th in world tandemers in last 7 days!

Delighted at 3rd place in UK tandemers over last week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My crew had a most welcome shower and a bit of relaxation before heading out for a celebration end of tour dinner. Our hosts Marie Ann and Gerard came up trumps with a wonderful recommendation – La Paix which is a bustling brasserie known for its fish and seafood specialties. It was a perfect spot for a gala meal and my crew decided to splash out on the menu gourmand which saw them enjoy six fabulous oysters as a starter followed by a sensational meal – and all washed down with a perfectly chilled dry local Rieseling. Quite simply a sensational way to finish!

So although we hit the Montange de Reims like a brick wall – overall it was still another unmissable ride on the final day of the Champagne leg of Le Tour de France et Holland du tandem covering 30.7 miles, with the route brought to life in our Relive 3D video – so take a look below.

As a quick overview of the third and final leg of our Euro Tandem Tour 2017, Team Tandem Ecosse again saw some amazing sights and enjoyed fabulous experiences on their cycling trip in the heart of the Champagne region. The total distance covered over the three days was just 75 miles – but it felt most of these were up hills and mountains. We definitely underestimated the terrain which resulted in my crew overstretching their cycling ability in places. But again there are some fantastic memories in the memory bank and the “old git” and “old gal” have ticked off that bucket list item of quaffing champagne in Champagne! The overall conclusion from my dynamic crew is that they wouldn’t have missed it for the world! Would they return – yes, definitely – but probably taking in the views of the vineyards from the luxury of a hot air balloon!

There will be a blog reflecting on Le Tour de France et Holland du tandem 2017 overall. For now our European tandem adventures were over for another year but before the three hour drive to the Eurotunnel service back to the UK, there was time for my crew to sample some of the sights of Reims and pick up a few supplies and presents.

The magnificent 13C stained glass rose window in Reims cathedral.

We paid a visit to the magnificent Gothic Cathedral Notre-Dame, which is where French Kings were traditionally crowned.  More than 2,300 statues decorate the exterior and one of the key highlights is the 13th Century stained glass rose window. There is also a plaque marking the spot where Clovis, the king of the Franks, was baptised by the Bishop of Reims.

Clovis, King of the Franks, was baptised in the cathedral.

According to legend a dove brought a phial containing holy oil, which was used to anoint Clovis. It was then used for the coronation of every King of France from the 11th Century to 1825 – the most famous being King Charles V11 in 1429 at the height of the Hundred Years War in the presence of Joan of Arc. A real history lesson then for my dynamic crew.

The roll call of French kings who were crowned at Reims cathedral.

After being steeped in history my crew walked around the market and bought a few presents – while noting the slightly alarming high level security presence of armed police even for a local market, which underlined the high state of alert in France due to recent terrorist atrocities.

Then it was time for the “old git” and the “old gal” to have fun stocking up on supplies of champagne to take back home! My crew carefully selected their bottles which marked key spots on our Tour de Champagne from the more than 700 different varieties on offer at Le Cave des Sacres – a fabulous champagne cellar situated in the shadow of the cathedral. Purchases made, the “old git” then needed to borrow a trolley to get the boxes back to Matilda Transport!

The “old git” needed a trolley to get champagne supplies to the car!

Time for a quick late lunch burger before Team Tandem Ecosse had to head to Calais for our Eurotunnel connection back to the UK and then an overnight drive back to Matildas Rest.

A fitting setting for the final toast of champagne in Champagne!

The courtyard of the cathedral provided a fitting setting for my dynamic crew for their final toast of champagne in Champagne – bringing to an end an epic Le Tour de France et Holland du tandem 2017.

These tours are what memories are made of! Cheers!

Euro Tour 2nd leg – tandeming the vineyards of l’Alsace à vélo

This sums up the blissful tandem tour of Alsace for Team Tandem Ecosse.

After Holland there was a day on the itinerary for Team Tandem Ecosse to reposition into France to begin the second leg of our two week Le Tour de France et Holland du tandem 2017. On paper it seemed a straightforward 400 mile drive from Amsterdam to Strasbourg.

But as you know things rarely work out according to schedule for my dynamic crew and while enjoying beautiful scenery we got very badly lost in Luxembourg when the main motorway was closed for roadworks. The “old gal” – who was driving – said it was confusing road signs but we lost 2 hours trying to find a way out of the diversion route which saw us going round the same loop three times!

Eventually we arrived somewhat late and frazzled to be calmed by our palatial surroundings at La Celistine, our chambres d’hote in Strasbourg – the start point for a four day tour of the vineyards and canals of the Alsace to allow my dynamic crew to tandem thru the vineyards and enjoy sampling Alsace wine in the Alsace! My crew quickly regained their equilibrium with a fabulous traditional Alsatian dinner at a brilliant old style restaurant called Au Cruchon – and had their first taste of the local Riesling!

The “old gal” selected this leg after the success of our previous vineyard tours in Burgundy, Bordeaux and the Loire Valley. The route selected was a loop of around 120 miles following the l’Alsace à vélo and Veloroute du Vignobles d’Alsace with overnight stops in Obernai, Beblenheim, and Colmar  and back to Strasbourg.

With four days tandem touring – and given that Team Tandem Ecosse was going completely self sustained and self-guided with no luggage transfer as they had enjoyed in previous years – my four panniers were packed full and my overall weight had increased substantially.

Day 1 – Canals, filling bidons with wine, private organ recital and some big hills on l’Alsace à vélo

The Veloroute du Vignobles d’Alsace offered truly spectacular scenery.

After getting up early and a very enjoyable communal petit dejeuner provided by Claude and Fabienne our hosts at La Celistine, it was time for my dynamic crew to get me out of Matilda Transport and kitted up to depart on our adventure on the l’Alsace à vélo. In bright sunshine, all three of us on Team Tandem Ecosse were full of high spirits about the day ahead that promised canal path cycling before joining the ‘route des vins’ and heading into the vineyards.

Check out the details of our Day 1 route by clicking on the Strava map below.

Strasbourg boasts that it is France’s most cycling-friendly city and it was certainly a joy to pedal out of the city on smooth dedicated cycle paths with clear cycle signposting in warm sunshine. We were heading along the banks of the Canal de la Bruche towards the old town of Molsheim – part of the impressive l’Alsace à vélo network.

The cycle path hugged the picturesque canal all the way and took us past numerous pretty villages. It was a Sunday and it was great to see the cycle path so busy with bikes, walkers and joggers. Plenty of room for everyone as all kept to the discipline of keeping to their side of the path.

It was a joy to ride the beautiful Canal de la Bruche out of Strasbourg.

Most of the bridges were bedecked in flowers which made a colourful sight as we pedalled on. In next to no time we were in the outskirts of Molsheim and luckily found a patisserie and cafe that was open as most places seemed shut because it was Sunday, including the supermarkets, which meant my crew had been unable to stock up on picnic supplies.

As a result the cafe was a magnet for all cyclists on the route, and it would need to be said that a tandem with my dynamic crew kitted out in their new day-glo yellow multi-lingual t-shirts – featuring the slogan ‘tandem quest for wine and champagne’ – certainly attracted attention!

Fortified by some tasty local delicacies – and lulled into a false sense of security by the distance covered in a short time on the easy canal tandeming – my crew decided to spend some time in Molsheim, which used to be the religious capital of Alsace. The town offered our first experience of the local historic architecture – with most towns having an entrance arch.

Me and the “old gal” at one of the three scenic town arches in Molsheim.

The “old git” had done his research and discovered that there was a Bugatti museum in the town where the Bugatti Foundation displays mementoes of the family and a few of the classic cars that were built here between the two world wars.

An ideal place for a classic tandem – the Bugatti museum in Molsheim!

Molsheim is the home of the Bugatti family, the birthplace of the brand and the modern headquarters of the company. The town is where Bugatti’s long history of success began in 1909 when it started making cars that caused an absolute sensation.

The “old gal” admiring the classic cars in the Bugatti museum.

My dynamic crew admiring the Bugatti cars which caused a sensation in the early 1900s.

According to the museum: “This was where the brand values of art, form and technology were born; values which endure to this day. Ettore Bugatti was a true gentleman of his day, cultivating personal relationships with many of his customers. Today, we are proud to be continuing the Bugatti tradition in the place where it began, here in Molsheim – just as its founder would have wanted.”

The “old gal” pictured beside founder Ettore Bugatti.

After leaving the museum the next stop was the imposing Gothic style Eglise des Jesuites which dates from 1615. The church once belonged to the famous Jesuit university, which was transferred to Strasbourg in 1702. It was also part of the Carthusian monestry, the only one ever to be built in a town. My dynamic crew were the only people there at the time and were fortunate to be treated to a private Sunday afternoon recital by the organist.

The stunning organ which gave my dynamic crew a private recital at the Eglise de Jesuites.

The “old gal” recorded a short video which captured part the private organ recital at the Eglise de Jesuites which you can view by clicking here:

Molsheim is in the heart of a wine growing area and duty called in the quest for le vin! The “old git” saw a sign for ‘le vin nouveau’ and pulled on my brakes and pedalled into a courtyard. Here my dynamic crew had a fascinating visit and discovered that the new wine had only been made the day before and had just started its fermentation process into the famous Bruderthal grand cru. They were offered the chance to tick another of their bucket list items by filling my bidons direct from the vat of wine. And the price for this extravagance? One euro a bottle! What a bargain! Hic!

Bucket list tick! Filling my bidons with vin nouveau direct from the vat!

Having spent a highly relaxing couple of hours exploring the town my crew thought they better head off and complete the remaining 10 miles to our overnight stop at Obernai – which they expected would be an easy pedal taking well less than an hour. Wrong!

Almost immediately on leaving Molsheim we joined the Veloroute du Vignobles d’Alsace and hit the hills of the Vosges! I am not sure if it was the effects of le vin nouveau – but my dynamic crew were suddenly rendered a bit less than dynamic and quickly almost ground to a halt with the sudden change of geography!

On leaving Molsheim, the slopes of the Vosges took the “old gal” by surprise!

But I am proud to say they battled on – doing their best to counter the weight of my panniers – with the spectacular views of the vineyards stretching for miles in either direction spurring them on! Let’s just say that the downhill stretches were great!

For a bit of relief Team Tandem Ecosse stopped in the wine producing town of Rosheim – which features ruined ramparts and some of the oldest buildings in Alsace and a Romanesque church.

One of the arches at Rosheim – among the oldest buildings in Alsace.

Refreshed by an ice cold soft drink, my crew battled a couple more hills before a most welcome downhill into the tourist holiday resort centre of Obernai and our comfortable and modern L’Ecurie chambres d’hotes for the night.

After a rest and showers – and with me safely secured in the courtyard – my crew walked into the town to enjoy a lovely relaxed dinner at the Restaurant Santa Maria which served delicious Alsatian food, washed down with a cheeky bottle of local cremant. Perhaps not surprisingly, sleep came easily when they fell into bed!

So a sensational first day of the Alsace leg of Le Tour de France et Holland du tandem covering 24.2 miles with the route brought to life in our Relive 3D video – so take a look below.

Day 2 – Up and down tandeming weaving our way thru the fab vineyards of the Vosges on l’Alsace à vélo!

Me and the “old gal” overlooking the vineyards of the famous Moenchberg Grand Cru at Andlau.

Sunshine again greeted my crew as they awoke after a sound nights sleep at L’Ecurie chambres d’hotes in Obernai – but my dynamic crew had a bit of a worry about the day’s tandeming ahead given the hills which suddenly appeared yesterday afternoon! Today was a route of over 30 miles tandeming thru the vineyards of the Vosges – and over breakfast they realised that means the certainty of a few more tough big climbs! It could be a long day in my saddles!

The Halloween-themed entrance to our suite at L’Ecurie chambres d’hotes in Obernai

Check out the details of our Day 2 route by clicking on the Strava map below.

Before leaving Obernia my crew explored the town – including the square with its fountain with a statue of St Odile. The “old gal” also took the opportunity to replenish picnic supplies – including some still warm freshly baked bread and a trip into a fromagerie to stock up with some cheese. This turned out to be the most expensive piece of cheese my crew had ever bought as the “old gal” selected a mature 7 year old Comte without registering the price and ended up paying 22 euros for the slab!

My dynamic crew at the start of day 2 in the tourist town of Obernai.

Off we pedalled and after a few wrong turns, quickly picked up the Veloroute du Vignobles d’Alsace and headed out of town and almost immediately into more spectacular vineyards. In general we found the l’Alsace à velo network to be well signposted – but today we came across some interesting directions … with one signpost pointing both left and right to our destination for lunch! Looking closely at the map one went a hillier route – so we chose the slightly shorter distance!

Confusing directions! 12km to Dambach-la-ville to the left and 13 km to the right!

Heading out of Barr we faced the first serious climb of the day but were rewarded at the summit by being able to see the grape harvest in full swing. I was even able to join in for a photo with baskets of grapes while my crew got their breath back!

Joining in the grape harvest! Two newly picked buckets of grapes … in tandem of course!

Another climb – on which my dynamic crew could have done with a handy supply of oxygen – took us to a spectacular viewpoint and photo spot above Andlau – right at the heart of Riesling country and home to three famous vintages including Moenchberg Grand Cru. High above the vineyards at the viewpoint, is a stone statue of a fat monk – with a wine barrel on his back. This is said to be Saint Vincent de Saragosse, who is recognised as the patron saint of winemakers. The “old git” whipped out his extendable tripod and bluetooth clicker to take a couple of pictures of my dynamic crew together!

My dynamic crew with the statue of the monk who is patron saint of winemakers above Andlau.

Tandeming thru the paths with vineyards groaning with ready-to-be-harvested grapes not surprisingly put the “old gal” in the mood to continue the quest for wine! Happily the “old git” spotted a sign for a tasting in the village of Blienschwiller. Again this turned out to be a great stop as my dynamic crew found themselves in a family wine house, Jos Straub fils, and were treated to an explanation of the production methods and some tastings of their Winzenberg Grand Cru Riesling which was being sold at the unbelievably cheap price of just 11 euros a bottle.

The “old gal” enjoying a personal wine and cremant tasting at Blienschwiller.

My crew were only able to carry one bottle so selected a very refreshing rose cremant which was then strapped safely in to my la bouclee wine carrier. Amazingly the owners of the wine house had never seen one before and were impressed!

My la bouclee – complete with a bottle of rose cremant – was much admired at the wine house.

From the wine tasting it was just a couple of miles to the renowned wine town of Dambach-la-ville with its timber framed houses and three historic town arches. It is also home to the Frankenstein variety of vintage Alsace wine. But you wouldn’t know today. It was like a ghost town as it was Monday and everywhere was closed! So it was just as well the “old gal” had bought picnic supplies earlier!

Just as well we had a picnic at Dambach-la-ville as everywhere was closed!

Fortified by another fabulous sunshine picnic my dynamic crew tandemed out of the town – stopping for a chat at a crossroads with a couple on solo bikes from New Zealand who were doing  a similar trip and were even more heavily laden than Team Tandem Ecosse!

Wishing each other good luck we climbed another steep hill before the cycle route seemed to plateau out and we enjoyed some gently undulating cycling thru some amazing vineyards and picturesque wine villages including Chatenois and Kintzheim.

My dynamic crew couldn’t fail to be impressed by the beautiful wine villages between the vineyards.

Some welcome downhill took me and my dynamic crew to the pretty small wine town of Ribeuville – nestling at the foot of the Vosges – and a pit stop for a coffee and refreshment. The town is famous for its Riesling and Gewurztraminer wines – so it would have bee rude not to continue the quest and do some sampling … all in the name of research, of course!

Ribeauville at the foot of the Vosges provided a pretty place for the last stop of the day.

The “old gal” was feeling a bit drained and suggested buying some tasty goodies and supplies to have a quiet dinner in the room of their chambres d’hotes  – to which the “old git” eagerly agreed – as both were starting to feel the effects of colds which had hit them.

Here I am beside on old wine cart in Ribeauville – famous for its Riesling and Gewurztraminer wines.

Fortunately the last few miles to our base for the night in the village of Beblenheim was fairly flat and some 8 hours after we set off my dynamic crew were happy to arrive at Domaine Mauler – a wine house which also runs chambres d’hotes in their half timbered 18th century home right on the edge of their vineyards.

I had a nice airy courtyard all to myself as my crew showered off the dust of the day before settling down to enjoy a gorgeous dinner in their room – washed down with that rather nice rose cremant. Bliss! Sleep wasn’t far away either!

So a long but fun day tandeming 32.1 miles in glorious sunshine with some amazing scenery on some serious climbs up the slopes of the Vosges on the second day of the Alsace leg of Le Tour de France et Holland du tandem – with the route brought to life in our Relive 3D video – so take a look below.

Day 3 – True meaning of recycling and recharging our batteries on a short run thru more Alsace vineyards

My dynamic crew found a perfect spot for a picnic in Kaysersberg on their recharging day!

The third day of the Alsace leg of Team Tandem Ecosse’s Euro Tour 2017 was always planned as a kind of rest and recharge day – with fewer miles built into the busy schedule. And my dynamic crew were particularly glad of that as they wakened feeling a bit rough with both the “old gal” and the “old git” suffering the effects of heavy colds.

So over a  yummy continental breakfast – with fresh croissant – my crew were looking forward to a day of gentle tandeming, relaxing stops and wine tastings in the villages and towns amongst the vineyards … with a distance of just 15 miles to be covered as we weaved our way to Colmar. It was going to be a day when – in the word’s of my Team Matilda’s motto – it’s not the miles that count – but the smiles!

Our fabulous Domaine Mauler chambres d’hote on the edge of a vineyard in Beblenheim.

Check out the details of our Day 3 route by clicking on the Strava map below.

As my crew checked out of our wonderful homely Domaine Mauler chambres d’hote we were offered a post breakfast wine tasting by our host Claudine Mauler. As mentioned, we were situated right on the edge of a renowned vineyard in Beblenheim – so it would have been rude not to! I’m not sure that even the “old git” and the “old gal” thought that this was the best time of day to be finding out about the unique differences and specialties of the local wines – but the true professionals that they are, they battled thru in their quest to find the best wines! They even selected a bottle of Premier Cru Riesling for today’s picnic – which we were told was ideal for country buffets!

There was time for a post-breakfast wine tasting before we headed off from Beblenheim!

The next step was stocking up on picnic goodies and bread at the fantastic village shop – which was a million miles better than our local Coop back home! The “old gal” also spotted the local village hairdressers and jokingly checked it out as a potential overseas expansion for her hair salon business! She particularly liked the sign which read “Coiffure espirit nature” which translates as hairdressing with nature! No blue rinse ladies here obviously – just free spirits!

My dynamic crew at the local cooperative for vineyard owners! Bit different from our local Coop!

The “old gal” checking out a potential overseas expansion for her hair salon business!

As we left Beblenheim behind we immediately hit a series of sharp hills as we climbed out of the village on the Veloroute du Vignobles d’Alsace. But as any cyclist will try to joke – for every uphill there is a downhill! And for that my dynamic crew were eternally grateful – except here in the heart of the Vosges there was occasionally a sign warning about a hazardously steep descent!

Sometimes on reaching a summit the downhill can be dangerous!

It was however a fabulous free wheel down the side of one of the many vineyards – where we managed to clock a top speed of just under 34 mph. It was a real thrill for me as an “old lady” tandem – but I can’t understand why the “old gal’s” eyes were closed!

First stop today for Team Tandem Ecossee was the attractive town of Riquewihr – a medieval town right in the heart of the Alsatian vineyards which is classified among the “Most Beautiful Villages in France.” As such the entrance to the town is a bit like Disney, but we quickly pushed thru that to admire the scenic beauty of the town which prides itself in looking as it did back in the 16th Century.

Here I am at Riquewihr – a town that looks today like it did in the 16th Century.

The town was quite touristy and this display of macaroons caught my eye!

Even tho it was relatively early the town was very busy with tourists and I was attracting lots of attention as a “double velo”! The “old git’s” research had revealed that the key attraction was the 13th Century Dolder – or defensive gate. It seems you can climb up four floors to the bell tower for great views over the rooftops – but unfortunately it was only open weekends out of high season. So the “old gal” had to make do with a photo opportunity, or two!

The attractive dolder offers great views – but sadly it was closed.

The “old gal” and me in one of attractive Riquewihr’s medieval streets.

It was lovely to wander round the cobbled streets which were also home to a community of local artists. The “old git” was particularly taken with the stylish sculptures of ladies in their erotic underwear on display in the windows of one of the many art galleries!

Eye catching sculptures in one of Riquewihr’s stylish art galleries!

There was time to people watch as my crew had a cofee from a mouth drooling patisserie – where they sampled a tart au myrtille – which was a gorgeous blueberry tart! They also picked up a small quiche to add to the picnic supplies. Leaving the tourists behind in Riquewihr we tandemed on back out into the vineyards and found Kientzheim – a much quieter but equally quaint medieval wine village which offered a colourful photo stop in the charming Schwendi square, with its renaissance fountain and beautiful mansions. Kientzheim is home to the headquarters of St Stephen’s Brotherhood, the official body controlling the quality of Alsatian wines.

The picturesque village of Kientzheim offered a colourful and historic photo opportunity.

It was a lovely warm sunny day and my dynamic crew were in good spirits – and not just from the wine tastings! It would need to be said that they were delighted that I had been performing like a finely tuned tandem and had avoided any mechanicals. As always when those thoughts come to mind, reality strikes and my chain slipped as the “old git” slowed and changed down gears to pull into a lay-by to check the route. Despite jamming itself between the gear cogs and my frame the “old gal” – in her role as chief engineer – calmly forced it free and we were on our way again.

Now as you know my dynamic crew are big fans of a picnic lunch – in fact it is the very essence of what Team Tandem Ecosse is all about. Today the”old gal” found a wonderful spot in pretty Kaysersberg – where the vineyards come right down to meet the town. It was all rather special, as can be seen in this video of them outlining the merits of a picnic du tandem Matildas Musings style! Click below.

As my crew enjoyed their picnic goodies in the shadow of the ruins of the medieval castle the “old gal” discovered that France had named Kaysersberg as its favourite village in the country in a recent tv show. It is famous for its half-timbered houses and quaint cobbled streets reflecting its history. Together with the rest of Alsace, Kaysersberg was part of Germany between the Franco-Prussian War and the First World War.

My dynamic crew are serious about their picnics – turning the concept into a bit of an art form!

As previously mentioned this was a day for recharging my crew’s batteries – a bit of a recycling (of energy) day, if you’ll excuse the pun! The “old git” however found a whole new meaning to the concept of recycling when visiting the loos in Kaysersberg with eye-catching urinals for beer, wine and whisky! There was even a kiddies one for cola!

Bringing a whole new meaning to the concept of recycling! The loos at Kayserberg!

I found a new friend with this bit of street bike art in Kaysersberg!

After picking up a few presents in the tourist shops – and another wine tasting – Team Tandem Ecosse meandered on pedalling back into the vineyards .. and up a few more hills! But despite the deliberately slow progress the scenery was just fabulous – never being more than a few feet away from the grapes.

After lunch there were a few more climbs in bright sun up thru the vineyards!

A downhill stretch took us to the colourful ancient town of Turckheim, complete with its three fortified gateways. It is the last town in Alsace where a night watchman walks the streets carrying his lamp and horn, stopping and singing on every street corner at 10pm. Clearly it was too early for that spectacle so my dynamic crew made do with a coffee stop.

The ancient fortified town of Turckheim offered a pretty coffee stop.

Before we left Turckheim, the “old gal” made the rather dubious decision to buy six of the traditional green coloured Alsatian wine glasses as a souvenir of our wine tastings! They were well packed to survive the bumps, but let’s just say it made for an interesting re-arranging of my pannier luggage!

A nice flat ride took us right into the historic centre of Colmar – the Alsatian wine capital, and enjoyed its charms of half-timbered houses, canals and the flower-decked town centre. We quickly found our Cour du Weinhof chambres d’hotes, ideally situated in the shadow of the imposing St-Martin cathedral.

I had the honour of being parked up in a 14th Century garage before my dynamic crew enjoyed showers and relaxed in the comfort of their room before heading out to dinner. The owners had recommended a fish restaurant amongst the canals in an area known as ‘Little Venice’ called Aux Trois Poissons. They were not disappointed enjoying the culinary delights of the Gourmet Menu washed down with a bottle of perfectly chilled Sylvaner wine! A perfect end to a perfect day!

So a more relaxing third day of the Alsace leg of Le Tour de France et Holland du tandem covering just 14.9 miles as my crew recharged their batteries. The route is brought to life in our Relive 3D video – so take a look below:

Day 4 – Incredible tandeming along Canal du Rhone du Rhin back to Strasbourg to end Alsace tour

If Carlsberg did cycle paths! … my dynamic crew thought Eurovelo 15 was fab!

So a fairly straightforward itinerary today as Team Tandem Ecosse plan to leave the vineyards of the Alsace behind  and tandem the 40 odd miles from Colmar back to the centre of Strasbourg along the Eurovelo 15 cycle path which run along the canals. And the good part for my dynamic crew is that canals means no energy sapping hills!

The “old git” and “old gal” felt somewhat refreshed today after a less frenetic day in my saddles yesterday. Their colds had improved and the sun was shining which all meant it was going to be a good day! And even my crew can’t get lost cycling along a canal … I mean they can’t … can they?!

After a lovely breakfast I was retrieved from my posh resting place in the medieval garage at our fantastic Cour du Weinhof chambres d’hotes and my crew headed to the local covered market to pick up food and drink supplies for today’s canal side picnic.

The medieval courtyard and garage at Cour du Weinhof.

Check out the details of our Day 4 route by clicking on the Strava map below.

Our hosts Rachel and Hubert at Cour de Weinhof really couldn’t have done any more to make us feel at home and comfortable – but then went the extra mile this morning (literally) when Hubert cycled out with us to show us the way to the start of the canal path! Maybe he had heard about my dynamic crew’s ability to get lost when following the simplest of directions!

Hubert, the owner of the chambres d’hotes, cycled out with us to get us on the canal path!

Safely on the side of the canal our route firstly took us a few miles along the banks of the Canal de Colmar, which dates back to 1864. This was a great warm up for my crew and a great taster of things to come later when we joined the main Canal de Rhone au Rhin. Conditions were ideal and my crew were in jolly spirits as we soon got into our stride, quickly eating up the miles.

The route to Strasbourg initially took us along the scenic Canal de Colmar.

Just at the join of the two canals we saw the first of several bike repair stations – complete with a variety of handy tools and a tyre pump. This just underlines the whole focus on cycling in France, and the fact that (unlike it would be in the UK) the repair station was in perfect condition and not vandalised shows the ethos of wanting to make cycling easy.

An amazing bike repair station on the canal cycle path shows the focus on cycling.

Now if the Canal de Colmar was impressive – when my dynamic crew joined the Canal du Rhone au Rhin at the village of Artzenheim they felt they had just moved up to the equivalent of motorway standards of cycle paths. Or as the “old git” said – if Carlsberg did cycle paths ….!

The canal path was part of Eurovelo 15 which you can cycle all the way from Rotterdam to Nantes or Budapest. To show just how perfect the conditions were for long distance tandeming on the canal, my dynamic crew shot a short video which you can watch here by clicking below:

The tandeming was so enjoyable – being so flat, easy to cycle and scenic on the eye! A good bit after passing the half way mark to Strasbourg my dynamic crew decided it was time for lunch and the “old git” found another idyllic spot at one of the deserted canal lock gates – Lock 78.

Cheers! The “old gal” enjoying our perfect picnic spot at a canal lock gate.

Canal Lock 78 was deserted and was a great spot for our picnic lunch!

To prove picnics don’t come much better than this the “old gal” shot an impromptu Matildas Musings video which you can see by clicking below:

The cycle paths said 19km to go to Strasbourg, but my crew were happy to get back on my saddles to complete the journey – after a photo shoot to show me off at my classic tandem best beside the canal under a bright blue sky and warm sunshine!

19km still to go – but easy tandeming on the sensational Canal du Rhone au Rhin.

Because my dynamic crew were self sufficient with plenty of supplies,  we didn’t actually leave the canal path – but the regular signposts show minor diversions are available into nearby towns with food shops, bars and cafes.  With the sun at its warmest the “old git” was quite happy to find the route went into a lovely shaded section on the final run into Strasbourg.

The canal offered some lovely shaded sections on the final run in to Strasbourg.

The dedicated cycle path emphasises it green credentials all along the route.

For the last two miles the route switched back on to the Canal de la Bruche. Incredibly after less than 4 hours cycling the whole 42 miles along canal paths we were back bang in the very heart of Strasbourg – exactly at the point we left four days before. Right in front of my crew on the Place d’Austerlitz a glitzy gin bar appeared like an apparition – so there was only one thing for it … time to celebrate finishing leg 2 of Euro Tour du tandem 2017 with a refreshing gin and tonic!

Team Tandem Ecosse’s return to Strasbourg was marked with a celebratory (and costly) gin and tonic!

Appropriately called Supertonic this was the ideal place to sample one of the 60 gins on offer – but they also charged super prices with the bill for two gin and tonics and two soft drinks coming to 30 euros! But the “old gal” says it was worth every cent!

Team Tandem Ecosse then checked back into the welcoming La Celistine, our chambres d’hote in the city where we spent Sunday night. With me safely stored in an internal courtyard, my crew enjoyed a relaxing snooze and showers before dinner. Our host Claude surpassed himself with his recommendation tonight – which took us to Au Pont Corbeau – which turned out to be one of the most famous and renowned restaurants in Strasbourg.

My dynamic due enjoyed a real culinary theatrical experience at Au Pont Corbeau.

Fortunately it didn’t have prices to match it’s reputation but my dynamic crew enjoyed an amazing evening of a real culinary theatrical experience of a lifetime where the owner was at the very top of his game. The Michelin rated restaurant was absolutely mobbed with hardly room to lift your elbows because so many customers had been squeezed in. And the service was the opposite of what you would expect from such an establishment, with the staff treating customers like they should count themselves lucky to be there at all! Incredibly people were being moved tables between courses to make way for bigger groups! But all this didn’t stop the place being queued out the door because of the incredible locally sourced Alsatian food that was served. It really was an amazing night!

So a simply sensational final day of the Alsace leg of Le Tour de France et Holland du tandem covering 42.4 miles, with the route brought to life in our Relive 3D video – so take a look below.

As a quick overview of the second leg of our Euro Tandem Tour 2017, Team Tandem Ecosse had some amazing sights and experiences on their trip in the Alsace. Total distance covered was just short of 125 miles and although we hit some challenging hills in the vineyards, it was a fabulous trip overall – with my crew fuelled along the way by some fantastic food and wine. The overall conclusion from my dynamic crew is that they wouldn’t have missed it for the world!

The final leg takes us to Champagne but before the three hour drive there was time for my crew to sample some of the sights of Strasbourg, which is the intellectual and economic capital of Alsace. The tourist highlight is the famous Gothic Notre-dame Cathedral which traces its history back to 1015. The cathedral’s most popular feature is the Astronomical Clock – the oldest in the world being built in 1550.

My dynamic crew saw the world’s oldest astronomical clock..

My crew were lucky enough to get tickets to see the daily performance as it chimes at 12.30pm – half an hour behind normal time. As part of the movement the 12 Apostles pass in front of Christ who blesses them as a cockerel flaps its wings and crows three times, a reminder of Peter’s denial of Christ.

The “old gal” enjoying a quick drink at lunchtime.

A quick refreshment followed in the busy Place de la Catherdrale – which is a UNESCO World Heritage site – before my crew managed to squeeze in a guided boat trip on the River Ill. This offered great views of many of the city’s key sights including the romantic ‘Petit France’ area of the old town and the Strasbourg base of the European Parliament.

The Strasbourg base of the European Parliament viewed from a river trip.

After an enjoyable few days in Strasbourg and the Alsace it was time to head to Matilda Transport and drive to Champagne for the final leg of our Euro Tour 2017!

Euro Tour 1st leg – tandeming the dykes of Holland

The historic working windmills of the North Holland peninsula were a truly awesome sight!

So after a day for my dynamic crew to familiarise themselves into the Dutch way of life – and of course sample some local food and drink! – it was time to begin our three leg two week Le Tour de France et Holland du tandem. The first of three legs was a three day tour of the North Holland peninsula. It was the first visit for Team Tandem Ecosse to Holland – having been persuaded to give it a try by recommendations about both the scenic and flat landscape, and of course the fabulous network of brilliantly signposted cycle paths.

The “old git” had selected a route which promised “Holland at is flattest” with the peninsula tour “fitting the image that most foreigners have of Holland – with its dykes, canals, clogs, cheese and windmills.” The route selected was a 90-odd mile loop from Amsterdam to Marken and Vollendam before crossing inland to Alkmaar, then back down to Amsterdam through the historic River Zaan settlements.

And in a break from previous years, Team Tandem Ecosse was going completely self sustained and self-guided. Instead of booking through a tour company – which offered step-by-step tried and tested routes and daily luggage transfers – my dynamic crew had booked all their own overnight stops, checked out the routes, and were carrying everything they needed in four panniers!

It was certainly interesting – particularly the routes part … which threw up lots of opportunity for “discussions” about what was the correct way to go!

Day 1 – Tandeming the dykes from Amsterdam to Marken then boat to Volendam

Bright eyed and bushy tailed! My dynamic crew before Le Grand Depart!

My dynamic crew woke feeling very sprightly – all bright eyed and bushy tailed – in preparation for the actual Le Grand Depart of the Euro tandem tour 2017. Excitement was palpable over the brilliant breakfast buffet spread at  our Amsterdam base – the superb Westcord Art Hotel .

The “old gal” looking somewhat perplexed at the electronic bike charging point!

A final check of my panniers and Team Tandem Ecosse were ready – but only after the “old gal” looked somewhat puzzled and perplexed at the electronic bike charger units in the hotel car park – I mean classic tandems don’t have battery power for goodness sake! But it does underline the fabulous infrastructure which exists for bikes in Holland. There was also the matter of taking the “start of tour” picture” for posterity – then we were off!

All smiles and thumbs up at the start of Euro Tour du Tandem 2017! What could possibly go wrong!

Check out the details of our Day 1 route by clicking on the Strava map below.

The first part of the ride was retracing our steps from yesterday along the amazing cycle paths – down by scenic canals – to the front of Amsterdam’s Centraal Station for a ferry across to the north of the city. This was an amazing experience as there were bikes everywhere queuing up for the short five minute crossing to Buiksloterwerg. Clearly this was a very busy commuter route as most people seemed to be heading to work. There were four ferries continually heading back and forth across the water to meet the demand – and whats more it was free! It was actually difficult for my crew not to stop and stare at the scene before them.

Actually I think it was the commuters who were staring at my dynamic crew as they looked somewhat “tourists abroad” with a tandem and all kitted out in their Tour de France King of the Mountain cycling jerseys! However one or two friendly locals did get the joke as the “old git” and “old gal” had deliberately chosen to wear those jerseys because the terrain was so flat!

The “old gal” recorded a short video which captured some of the eye-catching scenes at the ferry which you can view by clicking here:

On leaving the ferry, and all the commuters, we quickly found the cycle route we required – LF7 and pedalled off. It really is quite difficult to describe the incredible network of cycle paths without experiencing it at first hand as it is something which my dynamic crew have never seen before. All the paths are very clearly signposted and intersections with other paths are clearly flagged up. Essentially all you have to do is take a  note of junction numbers and follow your route that way! Easy! And the paths themselves are a real joy – flat, with great smooth tarmac surfaces ideal for road bikes.

My crew easily found the next route – LF21 – which would take us all the way to our destination of Marken. It was fantastic tandeming as we headed along the dykes taking in the spectacular scenery of Lake Markermeer and the village of Durgerdam.

The “old gal” taking a breather to take in the scenery and stylised houses at the village of Durgerdam

Opposite the houses there is a marina for all the villagers boats on the canal.

We pedalled on thru Uitdam – stopping for a coffee in what was essentially someone’s front garden … complete with dedicated bike parking spot! – before heading along the causeway and onto the former island of Marken.

The views were truly spectacular tandeming along the dyke at Lake Markermeer.

The coffee stop in someone’s front garden – complete with bike parking spot!

Good tandeming friends Jane and John – who hosted Team Matilda for the recent Tour de New Forest and who have their own blog Travelling in Tandem – said we had to visit the lighthouse known as the Paard van Marken – or the Horse of Marken in English. Although not open to the public it offers a great spot for some spectacular photos and was well worth a short diversion off the route to the town.

The Paard van Marken lighthouse offered a great scenic spot for photos!

The “old git” even got his remote control bluetooth camera gizmo to work!

Time for lunch and a handy supermarket provided the perfect ingredients for the first picnic of the Euro Tour du tandem 2017 – some freshly baked bread, grapes, ham, local cheese, salads and the obligatory bottle of prosecco which cost the princely sum of just three euros!

We pedaled into the quaint fishing village of Marken for lunch which prides itself in maintaining the authentic atmosphere of the old days – and found a perfect spot at the edge of the harbour wall … even if we did have to fight off some rather aggressive sparrows who were keen to share our picnic!

The “old gal” enjoying the first prosecco picnic of the Euro Tour du tandem 2017 at Marken.

The sun even decided to come out to play allowing the “old gal” to bask in its rays!

A sculpture paying homage to the local fishing community near our picnic spot at Marken.

After lunch there was time to explore more of the village of Marken with its small alleys, drawbridges and closely built houses which sit on top of mounds to protect them from floods. A souvenir shop allowed the “old git” to tick the requirement to get a silly photo wearing giant clogs!

Tick! Silly shot of the “old git” wearing giant sized clogs!

The next part of the trip involved a 30 minute ferry crossing from Marken to the village of Voldendam – which was to be our base for the night. There are regular crossings on the Volednam-Marken Express ferry service which offers a special cyclists ticket which included a welcome coffee and a slice of home made apple pie! Oh if you insist!

Here I am on the back deck of the ferry to Volendam enjoying the sun!

Yum! Apple pie and coffee was a key attraction for the “old gal” on the cyclists ticket!

Volendam is a bit special – its definitely a must see tourist fishing village offering what it describes as “an atmosphere of geniality and romance.” The locals say here are 16 million Dutch citizens and 22,000 Volendammers in Holland – as that sums up the different nature of the local people who are renowned for their hard work and hospitality.

Hoping that the “old git is holding me tight right at the edge of Volendam harbour!

A quick tandem around the village and the harbour saw today’s tandmeing come to an end with a beer at one of the many bars overlooking the picturesque harbour. There is clearly money here given the expensive nature of some of the boats tied up.

My dynamic crew then checked into the historic Art Hotel Spaander which dates back to 1881 – happy to be booked into a room with a balcony overlooking the IJsselmeer.

Time for a bit of relaxation and showers for the “old gal” and the “old git” before a fabulous meal of different types of mussels dishes in a traditional pub setting on the edge of the harbour! Bliss! I can officially say that Team Tandem Ecosse are enjoying their first Dutch experience!

So a great first day of Le Tour de France et Holland du tandem covering 21.9 miles with the route brought to life in our Relive 3D video – so take a look below. (Remember if you are reading this on email, you may need to click on the blog first – via the link at the bottom of the email – to view the video.)

Day 2 – Cheesy but fab ride from Volendam thru Edam to the historic windmills of Alkmaar

One piece of history beside another! Here I am beside the windmill museum.

After a night of deep sleep my dynamic crew were up early and out on the balcony of their room to take in the amazing views over the water with the sun already shining brightly. Clearly it was going to be a spectacular day with a tandem ride to taste Edam in Edam before heading further up the coast then turning in land thru historic windmill country to the city of Alkmaar.

My dynamic crew up early on the balcony of their room taking in the views

Check out the details of our Day 2 route by clicking on the Strava map below.

Team Tandem Ecosse pedalled off leaving Volendam behind with a short tandem of just three miles to our first stop of the day – the historical town of Edam, famous for the cheese which bears its name! My dynamic crew were immediately taken by the beauty of this town which dates back to the 12th Century, and enjoyed taking in the views of some of its many narrow canals and pretty bridges.

Me and the “old git” on one of the many bridges over the canals in scenic Edam.

Now the main aim of visiting this town was for the “old git” and the “old gal” to tick the bucket list item of sampling the world renowned Edam cheese in Edam. They quickly found Henri Willig’s specialty cheese shop based in a 16th century building in the historical centre and popped in to taste some of the many varieties on offer.

The “old gal” – who has a particular fondness for cheese – thought she had died and gone to heaven as the samples kept coming! Eventually my crew decided to purchase three different flavours of Edam – hazelnut, pesto, and the star attraction … truffle.

Sampling Edam in Edam – tick! The “old gal” with a cheese cart!

After taking the tourist must-do pictures with the cheese cart, my crew stocked up with goodies for today’s picnic at a wonderful deli which insisted in packing everything in picnic friendly tubs and recommended a bottle of “local” slightly sparkling vinho verde for me to carry in my la bouclee wine carrier  – emphasising the Dutch-Portugal connections!

Edam was beautiful and offered the perfect stop for a morning coffee.

After a morning coffee it was noon as my dynamic crew set off with nearly 30 miles still to go! But it was truly sensational tandeming again with the sun beating down as we pedalled along the dykes up the coast towards Warder and Schadam on LF21 where we headed inland – to cycle almost right across the peninsula from east to west to Alkmaar, all along the one fantastic cycle path, LF15.

The “old gal” and the “old git” were both hugely impressed with the signposting on the cycle path – particularly the “old gal” who could relax a bit from her map reading duties and just follow a series of junction numbers, all clearly flagged up in big green circles on signposts with direction arrows.

The signposting for the cycle paths was brilliant – just follow the numbers!

The landscape changed as we cycled away from the coast, with us pedalling past neatly lined polders – which are small pieces of low-lying land reclaimed from the sea or a lake and protected by dykes. It was amazingly scenic and my dynamic crew revelled in cycling along a long flat tree lined avenue which seperated two banks of polders. Not surprisingly the miles just flew past with ease!

Tandeming at its best – a long straight flat tree lined path!

We were promised historic windmills on this route and just as my crew were starting to get peckish, windmills suddenly sprung up before our eyes! What a magnificent sight they were. We had arrived at Schermerhorn, the site of Museum Molen or the windmill museum.

A picnic bench in the shadow of the only windmill of the Golden Century which is accessible for visitors offered a perfect spot for my dynamic crew’s late lunch. The whirr of the four mast windmill as it turned in the wind made the experience all the more atmospheric.

What a perfect picnic spot in the shadow of the working windmill museum.

After refuelling there was time for a tour of the windmill – including a great display and video explaining exactly how the windmills were used to raise and lower the water levels in the fields. The big highlight for my crew was being able to go inside the windmill to see it as it would have been all those centuries ago – and to be able to climb up very steep ladders right to the very top.

The “old git” and the “old gal” pose for classic Dutch photo!

The “old git” was virtually speechless – and that doesn’t happen very often! – but back on ground level he regained his composure to shoot a short video of the “old gal” standing in front of the impressive sails as they turned effortlessly in the wind – which you can watch by clicking here:

The visit finished with a couple of purchases in the museum shop – including … yes you’ve guessed a pair of clogs! But these weren’t your normal tourist clogs – oh no! These were authentic clogs – as worn by a Dutch farmer which are going to feature as a garden decoration back at Matildas Rest! The only slight problem was that my crew had to find a place in the panniers to carry them!

And time for the “old gal” to do the silly giant clogs pose!

There was even time for the “old gal” to pose for a silly photo in the decorative giant clogs before we had to leave just before the museum’s closing time and pedal on to our overnight stop in Alkmaar.

Buoyed by such a fantastic history lesson experience, the pedaling was easier than ever – helped by the fact that within two miles of the restart we came across a run of another three of the windmills in a row by the edge of the cycle path. The curator of the museum had told us to look out for them as they had been converted into luxurious homes – and she and her family stayed in the first one.

It was an almost surreal experience and certainly one of the best sights my dynamic crew have ever seen from a cycle path! The “old gal” quickly switched her phone to video camera and shot some footage as we tandemed past, which you can watch here:

The last few miles into the city were a joy despite arriving at the height of rush hour as the bike is the key mode of transport here. We pedaled along very busy cycle paths alongside lots of commuters who were showing great interest in me as an “old lady” classic tandem. One of the best bits was the cycle traffic lights which held up the cars on the dual carriageway to let all the bikes cross in safety – with clear priority over vehicles. The very last stage – right outside our hotel – was a roundabout for bikes on the perimeter of the main vehicle roundabout … and again bikes had priority. The infrastructure for two wheeled travel was simply gobsmackingly awe inspiring!

After checking in to the Amrath Hotel in Alkmaar – and making sure I was safe and secure in the car park – my dynamic crew set about some mundane tasks of life as tandem tourists – with a washing being high on the agenda to ensure cycling clothes were fresh. A handy washing line over the shower in the bathroom helped the process!

Washing done! One of the essentials of tandem touring to keep things fresh!

Washing done it was time for my crew to head out to sample the delights of Alkmaar by night. The “old gal” spotted a rather nice looking Italian restaurant in the shadows of the impressive Grote Sint-Laurenskerk church – and they savoured a reviving gin and tonic before ordering what turned out to be massive pizzas washed down with a cheeky Italian red wine! Yum! Perfect for recharging those batteries before some much needed sleep!

Huge pizzas for my dynamic crew as they refuelled in an Italian restaurant.

There was one rather amusing final act of the day when three Dutch ladies accosted the “old git” in the hotel lift after spotting the flags painted on his toenails and in unison shouted: “S – e – x- y”! Oh how it made his night!

So a sensational second day of Le Tour de France et Holland du tandem covering 29.7 miles with the route brought to life in our Relive 3D video – so take a look below.

Day 3 – Alkmaar cheese market and getting very lost in rain in windmill country on ride back to Amsterdam

The canal networks in Alkmaar have a key role to play in the weekly cheese market.

The final leg of our Holland taster part of Euro Tour du tandem 2017 and Team Tandem Ecosse were taking in the historic cheese market at Alkmaar before the not insubstantial matter of a near 40 mile ride through the beautiful River Zaan area back into Amsterdam in plenty of time for a risque night out for my dynamic crew in the Red Light district! A straightforward schedule surely with the flat landscape and the great cycle path signposting! Surely …. ?!

Check out the details of our Day 3 route by clicking on the Strava map below.

Without doubt, the Alkmaar Cheese Market is the main attraction in the city. And the “old git” and the “old gal” were in luck as this was Friday – the day of the weekly market where cheese is traded according to a tradition that is centuries old.

A cheese market has been taking place in Alkmaar since 1365 and it was certainly a colourful spectacle full of folklore which met my crew in picturesque Waagplein square in the centre of the city which was mobbed with tourists as the bell rang at 10am to mark the beginning of trading. Some 30,000 kilos, or 2200 whole cheeses, were lined up and waiting for customers.

The impressive cheese market building on the Waagplein in Alkmaar.

Fortunately my dynamic crew found a space on the tiered seating and were able to take in all the atmosphere of the spectacle – including watching the  ‘kaasdragers’, or cheese porters, carrying the whole cheeses on their wooden sledges on straps from their shoulders, wearing their traditional outfits of white clothes, straw hats and bow ties – all surrounded by girls in traditional pretty Dutch costume. The sledges carry eight Gouda cheeses, each of them weighing 13,5 kilos. Due to the weight the carriers walk with a special “cheese carriers’dribble” – a particular walking rhythm to make it easier.

The kaasdragers carrying the whole cheeses on the wooden sledges.

Girls working as cheese sellers in traditional pretty Dutch costume.

The “old gal” – who in a classic understatement is known to like a bit of cheese – somehow managed to catch the eye of one of the traders who was sampling the huge round cheeses who gave her a lesson in how to inspect the cheese. This involved more than just looking at its exterior – the cheese is knocked on and then a special cheese scoop is pushed into the cheese to extract a piece, which is then crumbled between the fingers and smelled. And, naturally, it is tasted to assess the relation between taste, and the percentages of fat and moisture. The “old git” managed to video the “old gal” doing the sampling – which you can watch by clicking here:

Not wishing to be outdone, the “old git” had to get involved and found himself being the subject of a weighing in the Waaggebouw and proudly got a certificate saying he was the equivalent weight of 105 kgs of Gouda! Naturally there was a cheesy photo – complete with straw hat!

The “old git” in cheesy pose – weighing the same as 105kg of Gouda!

Surrounding the cheese market was a whole range of market stalls and some sketches of couples on bicycles from a local artist – called Sietse Wiersma – caught the “old gal’s” attention. Obviously she asked if had any drawings of tandems and sadly he didn’t. But on buying a couple of his prints, Sietse quickly drew a personal greeting on the wrapping – complete with a tandem image!

The “old gal” with local artist Sietse and his quick tandem sketch!

As time marched on, my dynamic crew had to pull themselves away from the cheese market – and after a coffee beside one of  the canals, and picking up some picnic supplies, we pedalled out of Alkmaar at 12.30pm confident we would be back in Amsterdam at 4.30pm at an average of 10 mph.

Then it all started to go a bit wrong and got a tad frustrating for my crew who became a bit less than dynamic for a spell! We found the cycle path to leave the city ok and hit the first point of Helios and then headed for the town of Limmen where all of a sudden the route numbers bizarrely disappeared!

At this point we were lost in a housing estate which resulted in several repetitions of a process of asking for directions, interpreting confused looks, cycling on a bit, and getting lost again! Oh and it started to rain … heavily! So much so that my crew’s fetching blue ponchos and my snazzy pannier rain covers made an appearance! Oh how the “old git” and the “old gal” laughed! Not!

No shots of my crew in ponchos – but the rain was heavy – as seen from my back saddle!

After seeking refuge in a cafe, and getting a useful bit of advice from a local cyclist, we headed off with fingers crossed and with a bit of luck rejoined the cycle path and its junction numbers. Why there was a stretch where they were missing is obviously a mystery. But it made my crew feel lots better when we saw several groups of tourist cyclists bemusedly looking at maps and scratching their heads as they found the same problem in the opposite direction.

We had lost nearly two hours shuttling back and forth in frustration – but the rain started to clear as we pedaled through pleasant open countryside – on our route – and into Wormerveer. A quick check that we were going the correct way and we headed on with the “old gal”  and the “old git” impressed to suddenly find themselves tandeming in the sunshine thru the fabulous Zaanse Schans – which is an inhabited recreated neighbourhood in the style of this area on the River Zaan in the 17th-18th Centuries – with its beautiful dark green wooden buildings, bridges and windmills.

This is a favourite shot of me and my dynamic crew as it sums up the Holland experience!

This area was a real highlight although it was clearly a major tourist attraction. Fortunately my crew stopped at a small cafe at the first windmill – where it was still fairly quiet and had a reviving hot chocolate and ate their picnic as a (very) late lunch. Again it was fascinating to discover the heritage here – with these windmills originally being used as industrial windmills for uses such as sawmills.

Another shot of the fabulous windmills in the Zaanse Schans neighbourhood.

Refreshed after some sustenance my crew were feeling more dynamic and embarked on the last stretch of the route back with gusto – enjoying cycling thru scenic parkland around Landsmeer and then along the banks of a canal back towards the Buiksloterweg ferry to cross back to Amsterdam.

It was late into Friday night rush hour now  and the cycle paths were as busy as motorways with people rushing to get home for the weekend. At one junction such was the congestion of bikes that we had the almost unbelievable experience of having to queue and wait with other bikes for three repetitions of the cycle traffic lights to cross a main dual carriageway!

Team Tandem Ecosse finally arrived back at the Westcord Art Hotel just as the sun was setting after a long, but – in the most part – fabulous day on my saddles!

As I was safely locked up in the underground car park, there was time for a quick but very welcome shower for my crew and a quick change before catching the bus back into the city centre for an evening in the Red Light District! They tucked into a hamburger meal before wandering around the narrow streets and canals with their eyes wide open in amazement as they took in the scene and the window displays!

For a laugh my crew decided to pay a visit to the Red Light Secrets museum and the “old gal” even had the opportunity to experience how it felt to sit in one of the windows!

The “old gal” posing in a window at Red Light Secrets!

After an entertaining evening of people watching a quiet drink in a side street brought the evening to an end as my crew returned to the hotel for some much needed sleep.

The final day of the first leg of Le Tour de France et Holland du tandem covered 38.7 miles but there was a Strava recording error due to a mobile phone battery running out. The app still recorded the correct distance but very wrongly had us cycling for nearly nine hours at an average speed of just 4.5 mph. The trusted old fashioned milometer on my handlebars recorded the same distance but in an actual cycling time just short of four hours at a more respectable average of nearly 10 mph. As always the route is brought to life in our Relive 3D video – so take a look below.

So to conclude the first leg of the Euro Tandem Tour 2017, Team Tandem Ecosse really enjoyed their taster tour of Holland with its highly impressive cycling infrastructure – and because it was so flat!  We covered around 100 miles and despite the minor mishap of getting lost – which to be fair was probably the fault of my dynamic crew! – I am told we will certainly be back!

Meanwhile it is time to drive to Strasbourg and tackle the Alsace a velo!

Le Grand Depart pour Euro Tour du tandem and Dutch warm-up ride!

On arrival there was time to stretch my pedals around the canals of Amsterdam!

It’s Tuesday (19 September) and “Team Tandem Ecosse” – the name used by Team Matilda on foreign soil! – have arrived safely in Amsterdam in Holland and are already sampling the local produce!

Between them the “old git” and the “old gal” drove to Hull to catch the overnight ferry to Zeebrugge – then drove to the Dutch capital, arriving early afternoon in the bustling city which is the start point for a 3-leg two week Le Tour de France et Holland du tandem.

My dynamic duo were almost deliriously happy when we first set wheels on Dutch soil as we drove off the P&O ferry, as that meant we had finally arrived for our Euro Tour – after almost a year of planning.

It seems a long time since Saturday night when I was a star attraction at a wedding before a frenzied day of packing on Sunday. My crew were so busy they didn’t even have time to toast the trip – but am sure they will make up for that over the next two weeks as we tandem thru Holland and France!

There will be loads of time for tastings as we pedal along through the Dutch and French countryside – particularly on the last leg which will be in Champagne where my dynamic crew will have to do lots of strict taste tests to see it is up to standards!

Matilda Transport fully loaded and branded up for our Euro Tour 2017.

So Monday dawned and after some much-needed sleep, the alarm was duly set for 7 am and, after much checking, double checking and even triple checking, we set off at 9 am. My crew quickly ate up the miles on the M74 and on to the M6 before a stop at the fantastic Tebay services – where they stocked up on a few additional items for the picnic further down the motorway. Although it was a long trip I was very comfortable in Matilda Transport, I was ratchet strapped in so that my ageing frame was protected from too much shaking en route! You know, the old dears really do look after me like the “old lady” that I am!

The “old git” and the “old gal” travelling in tandem in Matilda Transport! All very comfy!

As you know my dynamic duo are so committed to the cause of tandeming, that in order to fit me into the vehicle, they have to sit in tandem while driving, with one occupying the driving seat, and the other sitting in the single “back seat” that is usable. It is actually all very cozy and comfy and all three of us really feel part of the team. The “old gal” can drive, while the “old git” has a chill and a snooze – and then they swap over every two hours.

The first bit of the journey flew past and we soon arrived at the Port of Hull to catch the P&O Ferries “Pride of York” evening sailing to Zeebrugge Port. This was all very exciting as it is the first time that Team Matilda has been on one of the big overnight ferries and my dynamic crew decided to use the North Sea crossing as the official start of their holiday!

So fairly soon after Matilda Transport was safely parked up, the “old gal” and the “old git” were up on deck having their first cocktail of the trip as we departed from Hull and sailed out into the Humber.

Cheers! The first cocktail of the Euro Tour 2017 to help my crew find their sea legs!

The “old gal” taking in the sea air as the Pride of York headed out into the Humber.

After celebrating our departure, next up was finding our cabin for our overnight stay – and it was actually quite luxurious with its en-suite facilities and even a port hole to see what was going on outside! Fortunately the sea was calm as the “old git” is not known for being the best on the high seas, so he took his anti sea sickness tablets just to be sure! And there was the obligatory bottle of prosecco to be opened just to help them settle in!

The “old gal” getting comfy and settling into the cabin for the overnight crossing.

Those anti sea sickness tablets were probably a good idea as next up on my dynamic crew’s schedule was a pre-dinner gin tasting! And amazingly they were the only people to turn up to the shopping area for it – so it became a private gin tasting – hosted by the wonderful (and the “old gal” said very good looking!) Bruno! He imparted his knowledge of all things gin and went through an informative series of tastings of some of the main – and lesser known – brands.

My dynamic crew with Bruno – their host for the private gin tasting on board!

The highlight was being introduced to Whitley Neill Rhubarb and Ginger Gin – but unfortunately the ship was out of stock so we had to make do with buying a large bottle of one of my crew’s favourites – the Botanist! After the “old gal” endeared herself by giving Bruno her recipe for yummy gin and tonic mussels, it was time for dinner.

Now the “old git” is known to like some of the finer things in life and had made a booking for the luxury restaurant on board – rather than the self-service canteen style eaterie. And what a treat it was as they were literally waited on hand and foot with the restaurant staff keen to make the evening very special as the ship was actually very quiet. The “old gal” relished the experience and both were treated to a gastronomic delight while on the high seas. It was all such fun that the “old gal” was heard to say that going on a cruise might actually be fun!

Enjoying the high life on the ocean wave in the fine dining restaurant on the Pride of York.

There was time for some more shopping and a quick night cap in the cabaret lounge before my crew retired to their cabin for the night – ahead of driving to Amsterdam to begin our three day tandem tour of the North Holland peninsula. 

That will be the first of three legs – one in Holland and two in France – which will involve three bucket list ticks of eating Edam cheese in Edam-Volendam on the North Holland peninsula leg before enjoying Vins d’Alsace while #tandeming the Alsace a velo, before the third and final leg drinking champagne while pedaling through the Champagne-Ardenne, France.

Ready to roll! Waiting for the doors to open to allow us to drive off the ferry!

After dreaming about all the wonderful experiences ahead my crew were up bright eyed and bushy tailed for breakfast as we docked at Zeebrugge before driving off the ship for the near three hour drive to Amsterdam. First impressions of Holland were great – it was very scenic and of course flat … a real bonus for the “old gal” who (as you may know) has a bit of an aversion to hills!

In no time we had found our base – the Westcord Art Hotel – parked up in the underground car park, unloaded and checked in to our fabulous room. After a bit of lunch my crew decided there was plenty of time to get me all kitted up with my panniers then stretch my pedals with a short warm-up tandem ride into the city centre – just to check all was well after the long journey.

You can check out the route of our warm–up trip around Amsterdam city centre below – and don’t forget to click on the Strava map image to get the full date and statistics!

As Team Tandem Ecosse emerged into the sunlight we were immediately met by Batman and Robin – well at least Batman and Robin cows, which were part of a new art trail in the city. The madcap meeting was certainly only the first of many “unusual” sights we would see in Amsterdam! And me and my crew are such innocents!

“So where did you park the Batmobile Robin?!” The bizarre superhero cows outside our hotel.

The first thing we all noticed was the bicycles – there are bikes everywhere! And I mean everywhere! A recent study came up with the finding that there are more bikes than people in the city! And the infrastructure for cycling is something that back home in Scotland my crew can only dream of.

As we pedalled into the city there are clearly marked cycling lanes – going in both directions – with their own traffic light system. And the great thing is that at junctions bicycles have right of way. Yes the bicycle is king in Holland … and it is great to see.

Now I am sure I left my bike here! – the massive bike parking areas in central Amsterdam.

We quickly and very easily navigated our way right into the city centre and happily tandemed down to the front of Centraal Station to find the short bike ferry link we would be using tomorrow when we head off on our tour in earnest.

Something else which couldn’t fail to catch the eye of my crew was the massive bike parks around the station. Every spare inch was taken up with parking for bikes – all supremely well organised with double deck racking systems! Just remember to take a note of the number of the rack you left it in!

Old ferries were docked by the station and turned into bike parking facilities.

Despite the literally millions of bicycles – of all shapes, sizes and functions – I have to say that this “old lady” was attracting a fair bit of attention from other cyclists because there are practically no tandems in Holland … so I am deemed a somewhat unusual bike!

Feeling brave after a ride to the station, the “old git” persuaded the “old gal” to cycle through a bike only tunnel into the bustling city centre so we could do the tourist bit and get a few scenic canal shots.

A typical shot on one of the many bridges over the scenic canals in central Amsterdam.

Then after what seemed to be an accidental turn (or at least that’s what the “old git” claimed!) we suddenly found ourselves in the heart of the red light district of Amsterdam – purely for research purposes for my blog! Now Amsterdam is famous for its museums – but let’s just say the ones we saw here weren’t exactly the Van Gogh type museums! But I was ok as I had my very own red cycling light with me – because that’s obviously what it refers to … yes?!

Amsterdam is known for its museums – but this wasn’t the Van Gogh one!

This kind lady offered to tell me the “secrets” of my red lights on my frame … I think!

After an interesting afternoon – and a ride back through a park – it was time to return to the hotel. My dynamic crew had been told that Dutch gins were rather good so naturally had to sample the local Bobby’s variety. And rather tasty it was too!

While supping the gin my my dynamic crew had time to check out Strava which officially recorded the ride as being a useful warm-up of 7.4 miles. The Strava statistics and our route are brought to life in our Relive 3D video – so take a look below.  (Remember if you are reading this on email, you need to click on the blog first – via the link at the bottom of the email – to view the video.)

My dynamic crew returned – by bus this time! – to the city centre for a tapas dinner – followed by a late evening Lover’s Amsterdam Candlelight Cruise around the city’s canal networks.

Cruising the Amsterdam canal network by candlelight – the perfect end to a busy day!

A planned visit to sample the sights in the Red Light District in darkness was postponed till my crew’s return to Amsterdam in a few days time, as it was time for some very necessary zzz’s before an early rise as we set off on the start of our 300 mile Euro tour adventure on a bicycle made for two.

Fingers crossed! A bientot !

P.S. Eagle eyed readers will be aware that the blog has being written after Le Tour du Tandem 2017 was completed, due to lack of time en route!

Le Tour hi-vis yellow t-shirts, a wedding, and final countdown to le grand depart!

Front view of the new Tandem Quest t-shirts – subtle and understated of course!

Quelle excitement! (see! I am learning the lingo!) I have to admit I am getting uber-excited about Le Grand Depart for our Tour de France et Holland as me, the “old git” and the “old gal” – renamed Team Tandem Ecosse for our Euro adventures – head off from Matildas Rest.

I have actually been finding it difficult to sleep as it is a veritable whirlwind of preparations and packing! And it won’t surprise you to know that the “old git” has drawn up list upon lists – and there is even a list of lists!

The 2017 tour logo

The “old gal” just rolls her eyes and smiles sweetly – knowing it is easier, and far less hassle, than to get in the way! But she has a quiet but firm way of getting her own back – putting her foot down and saying “No, we will do it this way.” And the “old git” has to sheepishly agree, because he knows it makes sense – even tho naturally he is loathe to admit it.

But the “old git” always manages to turn the “old gal” round with the promise of filing up my bidons – water bottles – with wine direct from the vat of wine in one of the many tasting caves along the route! How she smiles at that!

With excitement, it was time for the big unveiling of this year’s tour t-shirts – in electric hi-vis yellow naturellement! – which will certainly get my dynamic crew noticed! Or as the “old git” tells anyone who will listen – the garish t-shirts save us having to wear hi-vis safety tops!

Coming up with an amusing new slogan – which can translate well into French and make people smile – is always a challenge but this year the “old gal” came up trumps again! She certainly had a reputation to live up to. For our first trip in 2014 to Burgundy the design said “Two old farts on a tandem!”. That was followed in 2015 by “Always better when we’re together” – which again attracted considerable attention in France. Last year the slogan was “We’re here for the ride … and the wine!”

Now one of the legs of this year’s Euro tour will be tandeming through the vineyards in the champagne region – to fulfill a bucket list ambition to drink champagne in champagne. So that was the obvious focus for this year’s slogan and the “old gal” came up with “Tandem quest for wine and champagne” – complete with a large tandem logo. The t-shirts are again bi-lingual, with the English version on one side and French on the other!

So after in-depth consultation with the French language experts at Google translation, and a consultation with a friendly linguist, the dynamic duo came up with the phrase: “La quête par tandem pour vin et champagne.”

And rear view – spot the multilingual text! Clever or what!

Wording done, it was then simply a matter of handing over the design artwork to a good friend of the “old gal” called Gill, who along with her husband Kevin run Sprinterz in Perth – who are digital print and embroidery specialists.

The highly professional team at Sprinterz produced stunning eye-catching t-shirts, in that fetching electric yellow colour, made of lightweight Cooltex material. There was even space for the web address for my blog! The arms of the t-shirts have the specially created tour logo on one sleeve, and my dynamic crew’s team names on the other. And on the back they added a Scottish and French flag to mark the “Auld Alliance” between the two countries. Clever guys or what?

Now t-shirts apart it has been a traumatic time for me as this “old lady” has been under the surgeon’s knife in an unscheduled operation! But thanks to amazing 6 star-customer service from John – my personal #tandem bike surgeon at Richards Cycles in Perth City Centre – I am now back on my wheels and ready for Le Grand Depart for Le Tour de France et Holland du Tandem 2017!

My new super strong rear wheel – it was actually painless and I was very well looked after!

It looked like our Euro tour may be in jeopardy when my rear wheel developed an untimely badly cracked rim just two weeks before departure. John said it was no problem and calmed the fears of my dynamic crew – and quickly sourced a new rim from Holland – before undertaking a labour-intensive rebuild of my wheel including resizing my existing super strong spokes to fit … and all to a tight deadline.

After all that, there was a personal home delivery in their fancy van back to my garage! Personal service – and attention to detail – at its best for this “old lady” #tandem. Thanks to all J.M. Richards cycles. My dynamic crew have promised to toast you all as we tour the vineyards of Champagne! Whisper it, but they may even pick up a small thankyou gift along the way!

Now as the final countdown to Le Grand Depart built up speed the “old git” has been getting into the French spirit – literally! And not just le vin!  To help gel with the French and keep the spirit of the Auld Alliance alive between Scotland and France he gamely decided to get his big toe nails painted – one with the Scottish saltire flag and the other with the French tricolour!

The “old git’s” rather eye-catching “Auld Alliance” nails!

A brilliant – and somewhat unusual – job by Louise Raphael Nail Artist  who works with the “old gal” in her hair salon in Auchterarder! And I must admit, although this “old lady” was a bit sceptical the results are quite spectacular and impressive! They will look fab when he has his sandals on when not wearing his cycling shoes.

Wow! What a transformation! On stage as a wedding prop! Could be a whole new career!

Now if that wasn’t enough excitement for the pre departure weekend, then how about this! The “old gal” had fixed up for me to play a starring role at the wedding of Ashley Henderson and Maximilian Glodde at the Church of the Holy Rude then The Albert Halls, Stirling. Seems the happy couple had one of their first ever dates on a tandem – a bit like my dynamic crew – and the bride’s mother thought it would be a hoot to have this “old lady” on the stage as a wedding prop for photos!

Aww shucks! The newly married couple celebrate with a tandem kiss!

It was a fabulous day and I was delighted to be able to share the brilliant occasion with them! My dynamic crew had polished me all up so I was sparkling then the wedding planner added the finishing touches of a basket of flowers and a “just married” sign along with a glittering trail of cans behind me like a car when it leaves a wedding! Oh and if you are wondering the image of the dog is, it’s a lifesize photo of the couple’s dog. There could be a whole new career opening up for me here! And the “old git” is already pondering if I could be rented out to pay for an extra holiday!

It was a very glamorous society wedding with the hall beautifully decorated!

Ashley and Max loved the idea of having a tandem there and everyone crowded round to take photos. Now the story is that Max took his brave pills and took up the rear position! Mind you in the wedding speeches he admitted it was so he could get a good view … of Ashley’s bum!

My dynamic crew had to get in on the photos – even tho they are NOT just married!

My dynamic crew – who both know the bride’s parents – had a brilliant day as well – and managed to forget about the lists for long enough to enjoy a sensational day – including a rather tasty meal and some ceilidh dancing! I was on stage till well after midnight so it was a rather late night before the final packing frenzy.

Caption competition! I thought I would leave the caption here to your imagination!

So Sunday, the day before Le Grand Depart was a flurry of lists and packing and finally it was time for me to be loaded into Matilda Transport! Once I was strapped in, then all the luggage was fitted in! There was just about room for my dynamic crew to squeeze in!

Matilda Transport fully loaded and branded up for our Euro Tour 2017.

It was actually an interesting exercise for Team Matildas Musings after an unscheduled wee prosecco at a post wedding celebration barbecue held at the parents of the bride’s house in Auchterarder. Well they had to be sociable after all, I suppose! And of course I got plenty of comments as to how smart I looked on stage as a photo prop for the happy couple!

Now I know some of my loyal blog readers have sleepless nights wondering about how we all travel! Because I am a classic tandem I go inside the vehicle! My dynamic crew fold down most of the seats, including the front passenger seat, and I can squeeze in comfortably taking up every inch from tailgate to dashboard!

Oh the glamour! The three of us squeezed into Matilda Transport ready to roll!

Now this means that because my crew are so committed to the cause of #tandeming, that they have to sit in tandem during the drive – while one drives, the other occupies the single “back seat” behind the driver! But it is all worth it in the end! And we all feel part of the team  – and it is actually great fun! One can drive, while the other chills and has a snooze in the rear – and they swap over driving duties every two hours to eat up the miles!

Matilda Transport is all branded up with the tour logo so we are finally ready to roll! First bit is to drive to the Port of Hull to catch the P&O Ferries evening sailing to Zeebrugge Port before driving to Amsterdam to start a #tandem tour of the North Holland peninsula. 

The tour will involve three bucket list ticks of eating Edam cheese in Edam-Volendam on the North Holland peninsula leg before enjoying Vins d’Alsace while #tandeming the Alsace a velo before the third and final leg drinking champagne while pedaling through the Champagne-Ardenne, France.

As always when touring abroad Team MatildasMusings  has even been given a temporary nickname of Team Tandem Ecosse for this pre-Brexit tour and my dynamic crew  promise to do as much as we can to boost the entente cordiale with our Euro partners! I am sure the Auld Alliance (or Ancienne Alliance) between Scotland and France will survive no matter what! Well it will as long as there are not too many comments of “elle ne pédale pas”!!

So I hope you enjoy our adventures over a planned 270 miles or so of #tandeming on our Euro tour – and please do get in touch to wish me and my dynamic crew “Bon Voyage” and “Bon Chance!”

“Pedal”!!!

Tandeming relaxation around Bayeux in Normandy

The sunny warm weather was just perfect for some gentle tandeming and sightseeing.

Monday 19 September – final lunch in the Loire Valley and travelling north to Normandy

So after Le Tour de Loire Valley du Tandem it was time for Team Tandem Ecosse to enjoy some rest and recovery by heading north to a mobile home near Bayeux in Normandy.

Before we could head off to Normandy there was the small matter of getting back to the start point of Le Tour at Blois to recover Matilda Transporter. My dynamic duo were not sure about taking me on the French trains you see! Bikes are common place, but tandems can often present a problem on trains.

As it turned out, it wouldn’t have been a problem as the “old git” reported there was plenty of room on the fast 2-hour train trip he took back to Blois, accompanied by John from Team Yukon. The “old gal” and Nancy decided they would stay behind for some sightseeing around Angers.

After recovering Matilda Transporter from the car park, and stopping off to buy some local wine, the the pair drove back down to Angers and I was carefully packed in for the journey north.

Just time for a quick final lunch with John and Nancy – which appropirately was held at a nearby Scottish pub, called the Black Peat. However my dynamic duo said it was just a Scottish-themed tourist attraction rather than a traditional Scottish pub.

The Black Peat Scottish pub in Angers – venue for the final lunch in the Loire Valley.

One final toast to Team Yukon, and Team Tandem Ecosse were on the road for the three hour drive to a mobile home and camping site called Camping Port’land – situated on Ohama Beach at Port-en-Bessin just a  few miles from Bayeux.

And the good news was that we were meeting Ann and Jack there – good friends of all three of us! – after they had driven over from the UK in their motor home to meet up with us.

We met up at the local supermarket – as you do! – to stock up on supplies for the week, before a celebratory first meal on the campsite and a toast to real friends!

Tuesday – a restful day of acclimitisation!

After a welcome sleep – without being wakened by an early morning alarm call – the first full day saw my dynamic duo explore their luxury chalet mobile home and the campsite.

Our fantastic “cottage luxe” – luxury chalet – at Camping Port’land at Port-en-Bessin.

The chalet was described as a “cottage luxe” and was a brilliantly designed modern chalet with not one, but two en-suite bathrooms as it could easily take a family of 5. It had every luxury – equipped with a television, a dish-washer, and an outdoor terrace with a lake view. And as it said in the brochure, it provided the ideal base to relax and unwind.

The campsite itself was beautifully landscaped and also featured a bar restaurant, shop and two swimming pools – an outdoor one (only open in July and August) and a heated indoor one.

After Matilda Transporter was unpacked I was parked up against the front of the chalet – and allowed a day’s rest with the promise of a ride to stretch my spokes tomorrow.

After a smorgasbord alfresco lunch on the terrace – my dynamic duo headed for a walk with Ann and Jack to the nearby fishing harbour village of Port-en-Bessin. This was a lovely working port with some beautiful seafront bars, cafes and restaurants – and a well stocked deli and wine shop.

This visit obviously required the purchase of some wine for that nights bbq, and the sampling of some local cider in one of the bars – before heading back up the steep hill to the campsite. On the walk back up the 18% gradient, the “old gal” firmly stressed that she wasn’t cycling down this road to the port! Fortunately there were other roads into the town!

On returning to the campsite the “old gal” and the “old git” decided a bit of fun was in order and went to the swimming pool.

Camping Port’land had a great indoor heated swimming pool.

After much laughter – involving playing with a ball – they worked up an appetite and eagerly joined Ann and Jack for a bbq, washed down with a few glasses from the 3 litre bag of red wine that we bought on day 5 of Le Tour de Loire Valley du Tandem! And, I am told, very tasty it was too! Well worth me carrying it around that day on my ageing frame it seems! Glad to be of assistance!

Wednesday – tandem ride to Bayeux – market, cathedral and tapestry 

Wednesday dawned and I was so excited as we were heading back out on the road again today – with a leisurely tandem ride to the the medieval city of Bayeux, just 13 km away.

I was really looking forward to getting some air between my spokes again – and my dynamic duo were keen to get on my saddles again.

And there was the promise of a market in Bayeux, as well as a visit to its famous cathedral and of course the world-renowned Bayeux Tapestry.

You can check out the details of our route on our trip into Bayeux and back to the campsite on the scenic cycle path on Strava below – and don’t forget to click on the map image to get the full date and statistics! 

We went on the direct route, on the local veloroute paths, easily getting into our stride again. Synchronicity took over and my dynamic duo were pedalling along at an average speed of 16 km/hr. An uphill stretch towards the city proved no obstacle – and we were soon pedalling down through the quaint historic streets to a bicycle parking area near the town hall.

First stop was the local market which was in full swing – with the “old git” and the “old gal” making a few purchases – with local fromage again being one of the key elements on the shopping list!

A few presents were also purchased, then it was a visit to the magnificent Bayeux Cathedral, described as “a gem of Norman architecture”.

The magnificent Bayeux Cathedral dates back to 1077.

The cathedral was consecrated on 14th July 1077, by Bishop Odo of Conteville, in the presence of his illustrious brother,William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy and King of England.

It is believed that Odo commissioned the Bayeux Tapestry. The masterpiece from the Middle Ages was probably intended to be hung in the cathedral nave.

Selfie time outside the Cathedral complete with hi-vis Tour shirts!

After a selfie outside the cathedral – with the “old git” and the “old gal” still attracting attention in their lime green hi-vis t-shirts, despite me being nowhere to be seen – it was time for lunch. The traditional meal in Normandy is a galette – or savoury pancake – washed down with local cider, which was enjoyed by all.

Refuelled the tour of the conservation area continued with a walk to one of the “must do” visits when in the town – the Bayeux Tapestry.

At the entrance to the World Heritage site of the Bayeux tapestry.

Now it would need to be said here that the “old git” wasn’t overly enthusiastic about going to see a tapestry – thinking it would be quite a dull experience. But he soon changed his mind, when on entering the museum visitors are kitted out with a head set which – complete with music and illuminating commentary – brings the historic tapestry to life.

The tapestry itself is nearly 70 metres (230 ft) long and 50 cm (20 in) tall, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England, culminating in the Battle of Hastings, 950 years ago in 1066.

And believe it or not this “old lady” is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry! Well at least someone called Queen Matilda is – or Mathilde de Flanders. This turns  out to be the wife of William the Conqueror, and not a classic tandem! Shame!

Famous! Matilda gets a mention in the Bayeux Tapestry – but unfortunately not as a tandem!

On return to the bike parking area, we found lots of other Mathilde references – a street, a bridge and a hotel! Fame indeed!

Along with Ann and Jack we headed back this time following the more scenic cycle path through some beautiful countryside to the campsite – with one downhill stretch seeing my wheels fair whirring round to hit 47 km/hr!

A quick swim, a meal and some more excellent local wine finished off an interesting day.

Thursday – trip to see Mont-Saint-Michel and the start point for Le Tour de France 2016

The captivating sight of Mont-Saint-Michel on the edge of Normandy and Brittany.

Today’s schedule was for a visit by car to the famous sight of Mont-Saint-Michel. Now I was getting very excited about this as the landmark was the spectacular starting point for this year’s Tour de France and I had visions of re-creating the start on the causeway.

Unfortunately however, with the “old git” the “old gal” and Ann and Jack in the car there was no room for me, so I had to stay at home. But I knew my dynamic crew wouldn’t forget about me – and they didn’t disappoint!

One of the first things they did on arrival at the massive car parks was to take a picture at the official sign marking the start of the race.

The “old git” and “old gal” at the sign marking the official Grand Depart of the 2016 Tour de France.

The Mont-Saint-Michel is one of Europe’s most unforgettable sights. Set in the mesmerising bay where Normandy and Brittany merge, the island draws the eye from great distances.

Selfie time at Mont-Saint-Michel on a brilliant sunny clear day!

Apart from monuments in and around Paris, Mont-Saint-Michel is the most visited tourist attraction in France. This remarkable mediaeval walled city, crowned by its great gothic abbey, is built on a small granite outcrop standing all by itself in the flats of the estuary of the Couesnon river, in an area now known as Mont-Saint-Michel bay. It was one of the first monuments to be classed as a UNESCO world heritage site, as far back as 1979.

The views from the top of the Mount are amazing and mesmerising in their beauty.

On arrival we headed for a tour of the Abbey situated right at the top of the Mount. Again it was brought to life with a highly informative and interetsing electronic tour guide.

The “old git” at the end of a row of pillars on the edge of the cloisters.

Amazingly the Abbey dates back to the early 8th the construction itself was clearly an amazing achievement. One of the most interesting areas is the cloisters which seem almost to be suspended between the sea and the sky.

The “old gal” in the spectacular cloisters of the Abbey on Mont-Saint-Michel.

After a fantastic tour my dynamic duo explored the walkways around the Mount and had a quick look at the busy tourist shops which cling to the narrow steep streets.

After a cooling drink it was time to head home, but the “old git” it seems couldn’t resist a picture as if he was on the start line of the Tour de France! The fact that he didn’t have a bike with him didn’t seem to bother him – although I am reliably informed he got a few strange looks from passers by!

The “old git” doing his start of Le Tour de France – minus a bike!

As my crew travelled back across the causeway to the car parks, they found an eye catching sculpture made out of bikes – which again had been installed to mark the departure point of Le Tour de France.

The “old git” and the “old gal” at the bike sculpture to mark the start of Le Tour de France 2016.

Jack and Ann also found the sculpture interesting – with Jack attempting to blow up some tyres!

The holidaymakers headed home via dinner at a fantastic seafood restaurant at Port-en-Bessin where the “old gal” and the “old git” were able to induldge in a wonderful fruits de mer (seafood) platter which included some fanastic local oysters!

The gorgeous fruits de mer platters for dinner at a great seafood restaurant near the campsite.

All in all a great day it seems. the “old git” said it could only have been bettered by arriving at Mont-Saint-Michel by tandem! Next time it seems!

Friday – tandem run to visit war sites at Arromanches and Gold Beach

Team Tandem Ecosse in all our resplendent glory on Gold Beach in the sunshine.

Today was forecast to be the best day of the week for warm sunshine – and it didn’t disappoint as we woke to bright early morning.

The “old git” had planned a ride for today to visit some of the World War 2 landing beaches and museums along the Normandy coast at Arromanches.

So after  a hearty breakfast Team Tandem Ecosse – accompanied by Ann and Jack – set off on what turned out to be a beautiful ride through relatively flat countryside and scenic villages. And the good thing was that it was if they hadn’t been away for my dynamic duo – with even the “old gal” admitting to how easy it was to pedal today.

You can check out the details of our route on our trip to Arromanches and Gold Beach on Strava below – and don’t forget to click on the map image to get the full date and statistics! (The actual distance was 44km but again we had post picnic operator error!)

On arrival at Arromanches the “old git” and the “old gal” decided to bypass the little sea front town and head on to Arronmanches 360 – a circular cinema which sits on a point high on the clifftops above the town and which overlooks the spectacular bay which was the focus for the D-Day invasion on 6th June 1944.

Selfie time for Team Tandem Ecosse at a viewpoint near the Arromanches 360 circular cinema.

After taking in the views, my dynamic duo and Ann and Jack watched the excellent “Normandy’s 100 Days” short film made up of 19 minutes of unseen archive footage which depicts the horror of the terrible 100 days of the Battle of Normandy on 9 massive HD screens. The film is a tribute to soldiers from all countries and to the 20,000 civilians who were killed during this battle for the liberation of Europe, battle which gave rise to so much hope.

The most moving part for the “old gal” was the fact that there was literally a stunned silence at the end of the film – with people leaving the circular cinema shaking their heads in disbelief, many in tears.

After that sobering visit, we tandemed on in beautiful warm sunshine further along the coast to Gold Beach – which was the beach where the British forces came ashore. Today it is just a wide open beach, and it is difficult to imagine what it would have been like all those years ago when the British 50th Infantry Division stormed ashore, meeting stiff resistance from the German 352nd Infantry Division.

The “old git” on the spectacular wide open expanse of Gold Beach.

After a walk along the beach it time for a picnic – but only after I got to show off my new shiny red leather accessory – my la bouclee wine carrier – which perfectly matches my paintwork! And it looked all the better in the sun.

My new red leather bouclee wine bottle holder accessory!

And it clearly works as, despite the warm temperature, the clever design keeps the bottle cool with the air flowing past the bottle generated by cycling.

After I was parked up, it was time to introduce Ann and Jack to the delights of a Cremant picnic – on a picnic bench which had the most amazing view overlooking Gold Beach.

Cremant picnic time with Ann and Jack right on the edge of Gold Beach.

After demolishing the picnic, the “old gal” and the “old git” decided it was the perfect spot to take a view “portrait” shots of Team Tandem Ecosse. Ann was roped in as photographer and did a great job capturing the team. Indeed the “old git” was so pleased with the results that he is talking of using the shot in this year’s Team Matilda Christmas card!

A contender for this year’s Team Matilda Christmas card photo – expertly taken by Ann!

Back on the saddles we tandemed further along to Ver-Sur-Mer to sit and enjoy the sun while having a much needed coffee. The temperature was probably the warmest it had been today, and the “old gal” was lapping up the sunshine. And despite having to apply regular coatings of factor 30 suncream, the “old git” was enjoying watching his skin turn brown instead of bright red!

The “old git’s” Auld Alliance Scotland and France wristbands showing off his tan!

As we pedalled back towards Arromanches the sun was perfectly placed for the “old gal” to take an arty shadow shot of the three of us tandeming along. You know, she is getting quite good at this photography lark!

The sun was perfectly placed for an arty shadow shot featuring Team Matilda!

As we tandemned into Arromanches you cannot fail to notice the military reminders as no other port is more closely linked with the liberation of Western Europe after D-Day.

Arromanches is a very moving place. Here, in the midst of the D-Day beaches, you still get a strong sense of the huge effort involved in the Allied invasion to liberate France and the rest of Western Europe from June 1944 on. Troops deliberately did not land at Arromanches on D-Day itself, to leave the coast here clear for a portable harbour (nicknamed Mulberry Harbour) being tugged over from southern England to be put in place, free of any debris.

The port was meant to be temporary,  lasting maybe three months. It served for some five months. The Arromanches Mulberry Harbour became known as Port Winston, after British wartime leader Winston Churchill, who was closely involved in its conception. A staggering 2.5 million men, 500,000 vehicles and 4 million tonnes of supplies arrived via Port Winston.

The “old git” outside the Musee du Debarquement – beside one of the reminders of its military history.

A visit was paid to the Musee du Debarquement which is built looking out to the staggeringly big concrete blocks which remain in the sea. This central museum focuses on the D-Day landings and the crucial months of Allied action afterwards. It goes into fascinating detail about the setting up of the Mulberry Harbour via models and displays.

Despite all its somber reminders of the shattering war effort, Arromanches has a good deal of charm and after the museum visit, I was parked up in the bike parking area and the “old git” and the “old gal” wandered round the town.

An old military bike caught they eye of the “old gal” in a shop display in Arromanches.

There are reminders of the military links everywhere, with most shops having artefacts in their shop windows and shop front displays. An old military engine-powered relic of a bicycle caught the eye of the “old gal.”

Perhaps the most thought provoking image of the day was painted on a wall just beside a main road junction at the main square – depicting the plea from children for “please no more war”.

The thought provoking wall mural at a busy road junction – nothing more needs to be said really.

It was time to tandem back to the campsite and I must say my dynamic duo had one of those moments on the return journey when all three of us on Team Tandem Ecosse feel as if we are part of a finely tuned machine! We climbed hills as if they didn’t exist and effortlessly tandemed along on the flat – even outpacing Ann and Jack in their pesky e-bikes!

A quick stop at the supermarket resulted in every corner of my panniers stuffed with supplies, before we returned to the campsite after a fabulous – but very moving – day.

Jack’s impressive skills with the bbq provided a fitting meal to end the day – with the wine I carefully carried up from the supermarket providing suitable refreshments!

Saturday – Omaha Beach and the American Military Cemetery

After yesterday’s Team Tandem Ecosse pedal to Arromanches and Gold Beach, today my dynamic duo decided on a morning visit by car to the American sector – Omaha beach and the American Military Cemetery.

Along with Ann and Jack my crew drove just a few miles to Colleville-sur-Mer where you overlook what is now known as Omaha Beach where the American forces landed on D-Day – 6 June 1944.

Overlooking Omaha Beach – where it is easy to imagine the D-Day invasion scene.

Today the beach itself is beautiful, but it is easy to imagine the D-Day invasion scene – and what a frightening prospect that must have been for those involved.

The “old gal” overlooking Ohama Beach which stretches for miles and offers little protection.

On walking down towards the beach there is a Monument to the 5th Engineer Special Brigade – built on the remains of a blockhouse – which commemorates those who died protecting movements between the landing craft and the beach.

The monument to the 5th Engineer Special Brigade above Omaha Beach.

Next was a though provoking visit to the American Military Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer which contains 9,387 white marble gravestones which are perfectly lined up on the field that overlooks Omaha beach.

The American Military Cemetery is a thought provoking visit – with its 9,385 stark marble crosses.

An impressive memorial includes a massive bronze statue, “Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves.”

On the Walls of the Missing, in a semicircular garden on the east side of the memorial, are inscribed 1,557 names. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified.

The impressive visitor centre contains numerous exhibits which bring home the stark reality of the D-D Landings. The cemetery itself receives more than 1 million visitors a year.

The American Military Cemetery visitor centre brings home the stark reality of war.

As the “old gal” said – you cannot fail to be moved by the size of the cemetery and that it contains the graves of so many soldiers. Thought provoking indeed.

The “old git” at the viewing platform which outlines the D-Day battles fought on Omaha Beach below.

Back at the campsite, a relaxing afternoon followed – allowing the “old gal” a chance to chill and do a bit of reading. Evening saw a lovely dinner at the Camping Port’land restaurant – including the now almost obligatory cocktails to mark the last full day in Port-en-Bessin.

Unfortunately we start the journey home tomorrow ….

Sunday – packing up, market day, fabulous lunch, the British Cemetery and the long drive home

Sunday was our last day and the morning passed in a flurry of cleaning and packing with me safely secured in Matilda Transporter for the journey home. The “old gal” was delighted with the extra space around me in the new vehicle – allowing plenty of room for the boxes of wine that she and the “old git” had purchased during the holiday!

After checking out of Camping Port’land – and thanking them for a most enjoyable stay – it was time for a farewell lunch with Ann and Jack in Port-en-Bessin. But only after we discovered that it was market day in the town and my dynamic duo eatgerly rushed around the stalls buying up some wonderful looking local cheeses from the various fromagerie stalls.

Ann and Jack had the luxury of going to be spending at least another week touring around in their motor home – but sadly Team Tandem Ecosse had to head home. But there was a wonderful final lunch of moules-frites to be eaten at a brilliant restaurant looking out on to the fishing harbour.

A final lunch of moules-frites (in white wine sauce) – proved to be a gastronomic delight

After a long – and most enjoyable lunch – it was time to bid “au revoir” to Ann and Jack after a great week of companionship.

Having visited the American Military Cemetery the “old gal” and the “old git” were keen to see the British version and allowed time for a visit to The Bayeux Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery – which is the largest Second World War British military cemetery in France.

The visit to The Bayeux Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery was moving.

A fitting tribute to a young Scot  who died aged just 19.

The Bayeux War Cemetery marks the graves of nearly 5,000 soldiers. This includes nearly 4,000 British soldiers but also graves for military personnel from ten further nations, including a large number of German soldiers. A memorial honours the memory of a further 1,807 Commonwealth soldiers missing-in-action.

Construction of the Bayeux War Cemetery began two days after the D-Day landings. Since then, the simple crosses on the graves had been replaced by stone headstones. In contrast to the American and German war cemeteries, headstones here are not totally uniform with the top ends slightly different for the respective nations.

Also, in contrast to the American practice, the inscriptions on the headstones in the Bayeux War Cemetery are personalised. In addition to the traditional names, rank, dates of birth and death, headstones here also carry images of the regiment or country, as well as personal messages from family members.

After a truly moving visit, with the clock ticking towards 6pm it was time to bid farewell to Bayeux and get into Matilda Transporter and start the 800 mile trip direct back home to Matildas Rest in Perthshire.

And with the two hours on – two hours off – rota system employed by the “old gal” and the “old git” we whizzed up the French motorways arriving in plenty of time for our Eurotunnel crossing.

Then the last part of the journey, round the M25, up the M6 and M74 before the welcoming A9 and back to Matilda’s Rest where we arrived before 6am – just 12 hours driving from our departure from Bayeux.

And although I was missing the warm French sunshine – it is always nice to be back home. And the “old git” and the “old gal” had even got a new French-style sign for my garage signifying it was a “Place des Cyclistes”! How very true!

Here I am glad to be back home safely at Matilda’s Rest – complete with my new French sign!

So the end of another fabulous French adventure – which leaves only two things to say – what a holiday … and when can we do it again!!!

I hope you enjoyed reliving the adventures of Team Tandem Ecosse through my Musings – and I promise I will have the “old git” and “old gal” back in the saddle very soon so I can continue to recount my adventures as we travel around Scotland. Speak soon!

Reflections on Le Tour de Loire Valley du Tandem 2016

Big smiles from the “old gal” when she saw how flat the cycle paths were!

During the week of relaxation and recuperation further north at Port-en-Bessin, near Bayeux in Normandy, there was plenty of time for Team Tandem Ecosse to reflect on what was an incredible Le Tour de Loire Valley du Tandem – and an amazing sense of achievement in completing the route.

Although it was hectic, and very full-on, the “old git” and the “old gal” are already missing their days of togetherness in the saddle while on the the quiet cycle lanes and back roads of the beautifully scenic Loire with its chateaux and vineyards.

This shot really sums up the “We’re here for the ride … and the wine” message on the dayglo shirts!

The scenery was fabulously eye-catching and a real joy to experience and provided real brain food with stunning images as we  tandemed along – experiencing an incredible contrast between the serenity of the vineyards to the bustling towns along the route – while all the time being at one with nature.

Before we set out we always said that “the journey” was going to be the holiday – not racing from place to place – and sticking firmly to that agenda Team Tandem Ecosse all enjoyed long warm sunny days on the road giving a fantastic in-depth experience of the vineyards and chateaux of the Loire – and the area’s friendly people.

Selfie time for my dynamic duo at an  ornamental love garden at a chateau.

That journey was so much more satisfying for my dynamic duo being self-propelled at the slower pace of a tandem, rather than travelling by car. Every view of a vineyard or eye-catching chateau lasted so much longer – as did the picnics and wine tastings en route!

Travelling by the relatively fragile mode of transport that a tandem is certainly exposed us not only to the warm sunshine – and one day’s biblical rain! – but to the physically demanding exertions of progressing from place to place.

Team Tandem Ecosse posing as drowned rats in their official matching ponchos!

It also brought us into close interaction with lots of local people, many of whom tooted their support and issued friendly “bonjours” as they passed Team Tandem Ecosse – unmissable in their multi-lingual day-glo cycling shirts. Many enjoyed pointing out our tour tag line of “We’re here for the ride … and the wine!” And of course the other cyclists we met along the way – with whom we shared a special bond, even if some had those pesky e-bikes! – and not forgetting our saviour ‘Saint Michael’!

‘Saint Michael’ – the man who came to Team tandem Ecosse’s rescue with his divine intervention!

But perhaps the most important thing is that my dynamic duo of the “old gal” (aka Diane) and the “old git” (aka Colin) did it as a real team – laughing and smiling all the way even when frustration levels increased as energy levels fell! And that was the case even when pedalling back on ourselves to the previous junction to take the “correct” turning; or when we emerged from the trauma of the holy trinity of our triple puncture; or when we left the maps behind and had to go back and retrieve them; or when neither could see an inch in front of their face for the monsoon-like rain!

After all my dynamic duo believe in the twin mottos of: “It’s the Smiles that count, not the miles!” and “Its always better when we are tandeming together!”

Having a laugh – showing it is the smiles that count, not the miles.

Here is a video montage of our amazing Le Tour de Loire Valley du Tandem back in September – featuring lots of pictures of the trip set to music. It brings back wonderful memories for all three of us  in the sun-kissed French countryside, tandeming through vineyards against a backdrop of fabulous chateaux, going from wine tasting to wine tasting, and of course our now infamous Team Tandem Ecosse cremant picnics! (And don’t forget that if you are reading this on email, you need to click on the blog first – via the link at the bottom of the email – to view the video.)

In conclusion, this “old lady” is proud to say they resolutely supported each other every pedal and every kilometre of the way – and emerged from the experience even more together, and in love!

And even after 260 kms and 18 hours in the saddle all three of us on Team Tandem Ecosse experienced another fabulous adventure – and we wouldn’t have missed it for the world!

Now where is that brochure to start planning next year’s trip!

Cheers! End of Le Tour toast for my dynamic duo after 18 hours in the saddle!

Finally here’s the review that Team Tandem Ecosse posted on the website of the French holiday company Cyclomundo. You can also read it on-line on their website here  – (scroll to October 15 2016 if necessary). It also appears on TripAdvisor under reviews of Cyclomundo here.

Incredible journey on two wheels – cycling, chateaux and cremant in the Loire Valley.

We cycled the Fairytale Castles along the Loire River tour from Blois to Angers on our classic tandem – called Matilda – which really did offer double the fun on a bicycle made for two!

This trip is based in the majestic beauty of the Loire Valley with spectacular scenery every day. The route involved tandeming a route through amazing French countryside which provided an ideal contrast from the serenity of vineyards and forests and scenic villages to imposing chateaux and the bustling main towns. I mean – what’s not to like!

Chateau de Villandry and its wonderful gardens was one of the stops on Le Tour.

Le Tour de Loire Valley du Tandem was made all the more memorable by the warmth of the sunshine – and the friendliness of the many locals we met along the way who – despite our lack of French – were understanding and helpful and enjoyed the spectacle of our tandeming efforts.

One of the highlights for us was undoubtedly cycling through some of the most famous vineyards in the world which were literally groaning with grapes ready for harvest and into beautiful wine villages keen to offer tastings in their caves – which allowed us to sample many of the local wines and Cremant en route! It more than lived up to our own tour t-shirts which bore the logo: “We’re here for the ride … and the wine!”

A great tasting of  Saumur wine in a troglodyte cave at Turquant.

The organisation by Cyclomundo was exceptional – all hotels knew of our impending arrival and the luggage transfer was brilliantly easy. Our bags were actually waiting for us in our rooms when we arrived at our accommodation each day. And each hotel was a joy to stay in – more than living up to their reputation for being cycle-friendly.

Special mention for the Hotel Plantagenet in Chinon where the owners went the extra mile to dry out all our cycling gear and make us warm and comfortable when we arrived looking like drowned rats after a day of cycling in biblical rain!

Arriving at Hotel Plantagenet in Chinon like a drowned rat! But the hotel went the extra mile.

As regards the directions and cue sheets and maps we would recommend a thorough read-over of the day’s route before leaving each day – including double checking it on the maps provided  – as some of the directions can be ambiguous and open to interpretation … and result in “discussions” between couples – especially when, as we were, on a tandem!

We got badly “lost” on the last leg from Saumur to Angers due to unclear directions which resulted in us taking an alternatively signed route to our destination – disappointingly missing out on some of the key attractions of the final day.

Just before we got “lost” – an unusual road sign aimed at cyclists, but does it apply to us tandems?

Also you need to be aware that the detailed directions provided are only to/from a central point in the towns where you stay, like a railway station. This therefore requires a bit of self-navigation on departing and arrival in order to find the route out of town, or your hotel – which can be a bit stressful. This is one aspect which could be improved upon as we have travelled with other tour operators in previous years, who provided individual tailored instructions direct to and from accommodation.

With most of the route along designated cycling paths – including the wonderful Loire a Velo – it felt very safe and the area is perfectly set up for cyclists. Coming from Scotland – where there are very few dedicated cycle paths – it was amazing to see the cyclist being given such a high priority. The paths themselves were mostly flat and well surfaced which made tandeming a real joy and easy to cover the distances required.

The cycle paths of the Loire a Velo were mostly flat and included many wonderful tree tunnels.

Another key element of our enjoyment of our tandem tours is our picnics and the comprehensive route notes contained several good suggestions for picnic stops – follow these and you will have wonderful venues for alfresco lunches.

We were easily able to stock up on supplies of local bread, meats and cheese from the boulangerie, charcuterie and fromagerie in towns before heading off for the day on our tandem. And of course there was a bottle of local Cremant to wash it all down with!

The “bon appetit” sign added to the decadence for Le Tour picnics – complete with Cremant!

In conclusion this tour was one of those rare occasions when you wish you could award six stars in the ratings!

Doing a trip like this really is a fantastic experience and will provide a wealth of great memories!

And if you do it on a tandem – like we did – it does bring you closer together!

You owe it to yourself to do it!

We wrote a blog of our adventures on our tandem – called Matilda’s Musings – where our tandem (aka Matilda) gives her in-depth account of Le Tour de Loire Valley du Tandem. You can read our adventures here: https://matildasmusingsdotcom.wordpress.com/

Have a bite! Delicious fresh apples straight from the tree!

Day six – getting properly lost on the last leg of Le Tour

Team Tandem Ecosse walkie-talkies – the chat was somewhat fraught when we got lost!

Day six  for Team Tandem Ecosse and wakening up in the splendour of the Hotel Saint-Pierre in Saumur, the sad realisation dawned that today was the final stage of Le Tour de Loire Valley du tandem!

The sun was shining as Team Tandem Ecosse and Team Yukon feasted on a wonderful continental breakfast, while looking over the maps and guide for the day for the last leg from Saumur to Angers.

The “bible” – the guide and detailed directions provided by French-based cycle touring company Cyclomundo – said: “Today’s journey gives you the opportunity to fully enjoy the beauty of the Loire Valley – discovering many scenic villages, medieval churches, chateaux, forests and rivers.”

Sounds idyllic – albeit a longish tandem of around 70km – but what could possibly go wrong?! Well the little matter of crossing the Loire at the wrong place and getting totally and utterly lost by going in completely the wrong direction, that’s what! But more of that later!

You can check out the details of  our route on the sixth and final stage of Le Tour de Loire Valley du Tandem from Saumur to Angers on Strava below – and don’t forget to click on the map image to get the full scale map and statistics! Note where we crossed the river – while the planned route was to continue along the left bank of the Loire to Bouchemaine then up the side of the Maine river to Angers. And the actual distance covered was 72 km – but some bits missing due to operator error again!

As they say it all started so well as we tandemed out of Saumur on a blissfully sunny Sunday cycling along the banks of the magnificent Loire full of the joys of life. The first section was extremely busy with cyclists all fully kitted out in team colours,  and then the “old git” noticed the road had all been very recently resurfaced and all the traffic calming and pavement areas had been spruced up. It was only when we stopped a bit further on were we told that this section had been used as the start of Stage 4 of the 2016 Tour de France – the longest stage of this year’s race from Saumur to Limoges.

So this “old lady” can honestly now say she has tandemed along the Tour de France route – albeit just a few kms of it! And all the lycra clad fit cyclists were all part of the huge groups who cycle the whole Tour de France route just for fun! Not sure why the “old gal” was spending so much time ogling at the cyclists – but I guess it must have been their bikes she was looking at rather than their ultra fit bodies and steel like bums!

Soon we were in the town of Gennes which traces its history back to the prehistoric period as it has several dolmens – megalithic tombs – in the vicinty. More recently during the Gallo-Roman era it was a busy crossing point of the Loire. Today it was an ideal spot for a morning coffee for my dynamic duo, marking the 20km mark!

Here I am with the “old git” and another stunning view over the Loire at Le Thoureil.

Back on the saddles we tandemed on taking in the amazing scenery of the villages and chateaux of the Loire before heading into Le Thoureil  – which is known as one of the prettiest riverside villages. It was truly beautiful.

Then just about the 30km mark we entered the village of Saint-Remy-La Varennne and had to carefully negotiate our way round some slippy cobbled areas under a bridge – taking care not to fall in.  This was where we saw a most unusual sign – warning cyclists of the dangers of pedalling into the water!

Unusual road sign targeted at cyclists on river bank – does it apply to us tandems?

Maybe that took minds and focus off the map reading – but this is the point where things went very badly wrong – or at least in the wrong direction. Looking back at the “bible” afterwards the “old git” agrees it is at best confusing! And it wasn’t helped by the fact that there are two signed Loire a Velo cycle route options into Angers – although to be fair Team Tandem Ecosse and Team Yukon were not aware of that at the time! But a little more time discussing the directions would have helped and ensured we headed the desired way!

So despite the map clearly showing we stay on the left bank of the Loire, the majority verdict (but not including me and the “old git”) conspired to rule that we cross the Loire on a busy bridge and head into the town of Saint-Mathurin-sur-Loire where there were cycle path signs for Angers. “So it must be right, then”! Wrong!

We then headed off on totally the wrong cycle route to the maps and ended up tandeming away from the Loire inland. Again to be fair the “old git” realised we were going on the wrong route to Angers at this point – but the corporate decision was taken to keep going as it was signposted for Angers anyway. The chat on my dynamic duo’s walkie-talkies was somewhat fraught, as you can imagine the “old git” was not best pleased at this point – especially as we then cycled for dull km after dull km through uninteresting farmland. So dull that the most exciting thing that  we saw was a field of asparagus growing – exciting as the “old gal” had never seen that before!

But even the “old gal” agreed that even the excitement of the asparagus didn’t remotely make up for missing picture postcard villages and riverside restaurant boats – called “guinguette” – and other highlights like Les Ponts-de-Ce – a town which has the characteristic of being crossed by three rivers – the Loire in the centre, the Authion at the north  and the Louet to the south.

It would need to be said that this was a low point of Le Tour! However one benefit of the “wrong” route into Angers was a first for this “old lady” and indeed a first for both Team Tandem Ecosse and Team Yukon was a trip on a self-propelled chain ferry!

All of a sudden the path we were tandeming along came to an abrupt halt at the river’s edge with a small boat at the other side. Closer inspection revealed a chain at a small concrete jetty and a sign (all in French) which indicated it was indeed a small self-operated chain ferry.

The “old git” and John from Team Yukon loading the bikes on to the chain ferry across the Authion.

It seems we were on the Authion river, a canalised river which is controlled by 8 dams, which flows into the nearby Loire. So once the boat was pulled over to our bank I was loaded on board  along with the two solo bikes and then both crews boarded before the “old git” took command and started  to heave on the chain and pull us all across the other side. I was impressed as he quickly pulled the load of bikes and passengers across the almost still water to the other bank to allow us to disembark.

The “old gal” decided that Team Tandem Ecosse’s first trip on a chain ferry was way too good an opportunity to miss and decided to film the incident in a video the “old git” has dubbed: Who Pays the Ferryman?! Watch the video by hitting the play button below, spotting the now redundant map reader on the “old git’s” back! (Remember if you are reading this on email, you need to click on the blog first – via the link at the bottom of the email – to view the video.)

Safely across the water we continued along the “wrong” cycle path for the last 10km to our destination. This involved pedalling through the startlingly bleak landscape of the former slate mines at Trelaze. But then we came into a picturesque forest stretch complete with more tree tunnels, and therefore a quick stop was required for another selfie.

A break in the dull landscape with a wonderful tree tunnel on the “wrong” path to Angers.

And would you believe it – just as energy levels were dropping, and frustration levels were rising – we ended up tandeming the final few kms through an industrial estate desert. We also narrowly avoided a road which would have taken us on to the city motorway – which would have been interesting to say the least – as we headed into Angers the back way, thus missing out completely on the beautiful countryside around the confluence of the Loire and Maine rivers and along the Lac du Maine.

It was at this point that John had a full scale strop and decided to head off on his own, following his sat nav on his mobile phone, to the end point – the Hotel d’Anjou in Angers. The “old git”, the “old gal” and Nancy from Team Yukon gamely stuck together, cycling through some rather dismal backstreets before emerging into the centre of Angers.

A quick pedal down one of the main thoroughfares of the city and its was time for high fives and a euphoric cheers to mark the end of Le Tour de Loire Valley du Tandem. Except that there were only three people involved in that little ceremony as John was nowhere to be seen!

High fives! The “old git” and the “old gal” celebrate the end of Le Tour – take one!

About 20 minutes later John somewhat sheepishly reappeared having got even further lost! Unfortunately for him when he headed off  alone, he had simply entered the name of the hotel – and not its checked its address – and ended up a similarly named, but much more downmarket property, in a completely different part of the city!

It was still early in the afternoon and it was a beautiful warm day, so my dynamic duo decided to head off and follow the map in reverse to see some of what we’d missed and to have a private moment for Team Tandem Ecosse to celebrate the end of Le Tour on their own.

We headed down past the imposing Chateau d’Angers and easily found the “correct” cycle path which took us through the massive Park Balzac and down the side of Lac de Maine. And my crew were so glad they did as it was a gorgeous area which reminded the “old git” of Central Park in New York.

Cheers! End of Le Tour toast for my dynamic duo after 18 hours in the saddle!

We all tandemed on a few more kms to the path down the side of La Maine river near where it joined the Loire at Bouchemaine to find an ideal picnic spot. Plenty of time too for a cool celebratory drink of Cremant de Loire – with the “old git” raising a toast to the “old gal” and to the fact that it is “truly always better when we’re together” – even after 18 hours in the saddle! Awww shucks!

The “old git” as Pilot, raised a toast to the “old gal,” as Stoker!

While enjoying the fizz and the tasty picnic the “old git” checked my trip computer – with today’s 72 km stretch taking the total to 260 km for this trip. With a moving time of 18 hours, our average speed saw us tandem along at around 15 km / hr.

After over 160 kms my dynamic duo were still talking – albeit sometimes only via the walkie-talkies!

For Team Tandem Ecosse the whole journey is always very much the experience – its not  a race to get to the next destination as quickly as possible – so with the multiple stops for chateau, wine tastings and picnics the total journey time was well over 30 hours. And for the record, our top speed of the trip was a staggering 58  km/hr – actually achieved on not one, but two separate occasions!

For the record, all three of us on Team Tandem Ecosse – otherwise known just as Team Matilda when back home – had a tremendous sense of achievement and satisfaction – mixed with general knackeredness –  at completing the trip.

The “old git” celebrating on the banks of La Maine – complete with riverboat!

And this “old lady” was fair chuffed when both “old gal” and the “old git” happily did a joint toast to “Matilda as she was the star”!  Fortunately I managed to complete the whole trip with not even the slightest mechanical breakdown along the way – other than the holy trinity of a triple puncture – much to the relief of the “old gal” who didn’t need to use her skills as chief engineer!

After the last fabulous picnic of the tour we cycled back along the lake and through the park and into the city – with the “old git” having to use all his “pilot” skills to guide us through the rush hour traffic back to the hotel – and a final cheer to mark journey’s end!

The “old git” and the “old gal” at the end of Le Tour de Loire Valley du Tandem – take two!

At the hotel I was parked in an underground car park room especially for bikes, before Team Tandem Ecosse met up with Team Yukon’s John and Nancy again for a final toast to the Le Tour – opening another bottle of fizz in a lovely sun-kissed terrace. The “old git” and the “old gal” were almost moved into singing a rendition of “Auld Lang Syne.” Almost!

There was even some talk of my crew visiting the remote Yukon area of Canada – though quite how they will transport me there could prove a bit of problem.  I mean, surely they wouldn’t go without me … would they?!

The end of Le Tour toast for Team Tandem Ecosse and Team Yukon.

It was then time for my crew to enjoy a most welcome shower and change for an end-of-trip dinner. As it was Sunday many places were closed so the hotel restaurant was the venue for a celebratory meal – with the dynamic duo in the mood for some wonderful food. And to add to the celebrations the “old gal” decided that some local Saumur wine was in order – purely to toast the success of the trip!

What with all the Cremant this afternoon, and then the fruity red, whisper it again, but the “old git” and the “old gal” were just a tad tipsy by the end of the meal. But I guess that’s allowed to celebrate the end of the trip! After a quick check that I was ok, my dynamic duo retired for some much-needed sleep!

And although it was officially the end of the Loire Valley part of the trip,  Team Tandem Ecosse are tomorrow heading north to the Normandy coast to a lakeside mobile home park in the shadow of the WW2 landing beaches near Bayeux – to meet up with our good friends, Ann and Jack, for a week’s rest and recovery! And after the intensity of the last week, that sounds like an enticing prospect!

There will however be time for a ‘Reflections of the Tour’ Musings …. as well as a couple of more leisurely tandem rides. So stay tuned!

Day five – sunny tandeming to more wine tastings

Team Tandem Ecosse – in Canadian shirts – with Team Yukon at the Joan of Arc Monument in Saumur.

Day five for Team Tandem Ecosse and the first thing to be done today was to retrieve the cycling gear from the laundry room. And good to their word, the staff at the Hotel Plantagenet  had dried everything after yesterday’s soaking it received when the monsoon-like rain hit.

In fact the very first thing the “old gal” asked when she awoke from her slumbers was: “Is it raining?” The “old git” made her very happy when he reported that the biblical rain had disappeared completely overnight – as had the clouds, leaving a bright blue sky with warm sunshine forecast for the day ahead.

After a somewhat difficult – and indeed uncomfortable – day in the saddle the three of us on Team Tandem Ecosse were looking forward to getting Le Tour de Loire Valley du tandem back on track with stage five from Chinon to another wine city of Saumur. The “bible” promised a 30 odd km canter along the Vienne river, through beautiful villages, to join the Loire again – with a wine tasting in the troglodyte caves before arriving in Saumur dominated by its chateau. Sounds blissful! Oh and the paths are flat most of the way which is a bonus for this “old lady” who is feeling a bit creaky after all the water got into my joints yesterday!

You can check out the details of  our route on the fifth stage of Le Tour de Loire Valley du Tandem from Chinon to Saumur on Strava below – and don’t forget to click on the map image to get the full date and statistics! (Note no operator error again today!!)

Team Tandem Ecosse in their maple leaf-designan cycling tops.

Today was deemed Canadian day in honour of Team Yukon, so after breakfast it was time for a joint picture with John and Nancy who had kindly presented the “old git” and the “old gal” with maple leaf-design cycling shirts.

The huge Joan of Arc statue in the square that bears her name provided an inspiring backdrop for the photo. In 1429 the teenage Joan of Arc came to Chinon to meet the Dauphin Charles VII, who was holed up after losing most of his kingdom. Joan succeeded in inspiring Charles to reclaim his kingdom, after which Chinon became his capital and enjoyed a century of prosperity.

A quick stop for picnic supplies and we were off, immediately crossing the impressive Quai Danton bridge over the Vienne river. The “old gal” was so traumatised by the rain yesterday that she had to take a photo of the sun on the bridge – just to prove it existed!

The day started in glorious sunshine on the bridge over the Vienne river.

We then tandemed along some beautifully flat cycling paths along the side of the river before heading through a forest area including some wonderful tree tunnel sections – which with the sun streaming through were just demanding photos.

The route included some spectacular tree tunnels in the forest.

I have to say here that despite the rain yesterday this “old lady” was in fine form today. It was one of those brilliant tandeming stretches where the “old git” and the “old gal” were pedalling in total synchronicity and with the ultra flat paths we were moving along without any real effort at around 30km/hr, reaching a top speed of over 40km/hr at one stage. It really was one of those moments when my pilot and stoker both felt they were part of a finely tuned machine – that’s me we’re talking about incidentally!

The sunshine streaming through created a nice effect in the tree tunnels.

A rather amusing aside here was that John from Team Yukon was always looking for ways to shave a few km off the journey. Today he decided that he would take what he saw as a direct route to where the Vienne and the Loire rivers meet – while Nancy joined us in cycling through the forest. So he headed off on his so-called shortcut, allowing Nancy to cycle along at a faster speed than normal with us – even taking the time to carefully photobomb one of the “old gal’s” photos.

Nancy of Team Yukon photo bombing the “old gal” in the forest.

The funny part came when we arrived at the bridge where we were to meet up with John again – only for there to be no sign of him! Several minutes later a rather flustered and somewhat out-of-breath John arrived from behind. His planned shortcut had in fact hit a dead end and he had to retrace his route, before taking the path we had cycled. The “old git” had to be careful not to snigger under his breath too much!

The “old git”, the “old gal” and Nancy on the bridge overlooking Candes-Saint-Martin.

After a brief stop at a farmer’s market to add some local goats cheese to the picnic supplies – we pedalled along the Loire a Velo into the idyllic adjoining villages of Candes-Saint-Martin and Montsoreau –  officially classified in the list of most beautiful villages in France and featuring picturesque small houses built in white limestone as well as troglodyte houses dug into the cliffs.

Here I am parked up outside the impressive Chapel Saint Martin.

The imposing Château de Montsoreau.

The highlight of Candes-Saint-Martin is the fortified church and the Chapel Saint Martin, which dominates the village. The church was built in the 12th century, although much of the decoration was added three centuries later. It is especially known for the many statues that decorate its facade, and for the stained glass windows tracing the story of the relics of Saint Martin.

A coffee pit stop was followed by a tour of the impressive chapel before tandeming through the charmingly quaint cobbled streets of Montsoreau which lies at the foot of the imposing chateau immortalized by Alexandre Dumas in his novel La Dame de Montsoreau.

Montsoreau is a former fishing village and the small harbour is now home to a variety of houseboats and restaurant boats built along the lines of the traditional gabare boats.

The “old gal” beside the restaurant boats based on the traditional gabare design.

The next stop – on what was a truly fabulous day of tandeming – was a Saumur wine tasting at Domaine des Amandiers, one of the small family run businesses in one of the original and fascinating troglodyte caves at Turquant. The owner, Marc Rideau, took lots of time to ensure my crew tasted everything they wanted, which had been produced directly on the premises.

The “old git” tells me he felt sure the atmospheric surroundings added to the taste – but he assures me the wines were among the best sampled during Le Tour!

Cheers – The “old git” enjoying the wine tasting in the troglodyte cave.

All of a sudden I had a 3 litre bag attached to my frame as a wine carrier!

Some purchases were obviously made – including the obligatory bottle of Cremant de Loire for the picnic and a 3 litre wine bag which was duly strapped to my frame for ease of carrying!

Just before our picnic the “old gal” got Nancy to take a video of us tandeming in our matching maple leaf cycling tops for posterity! You can watch the video by hitting the play button below. (Remember if you are reading this on email, you need to click on the blog first – via the link at the bottom of the email – to view the video.)

Team Yukon and Team Tandem Ecosse then found a picnic table and the bottle of Cremant had one of the shortest ever “wine miles” trips – being consumed within a couple of kms of the cave during a sun-kissed picnic! As the “old gal” said: “What a difference a day makes!”

Picnic time after the wine tasting and the opening of the local Cremant!

Revived after the picnic goodies, it was an easy tandem the last 5 km of the day along the banks of the scenic Loire to our base – the Hotel Saint-Pierre in Saumur.

This very stylish hotel had a perfect place for me to park, in a beautiful inner garden courtyard – even if it did raise a few eyebrows as I was was pushed past reception.

Since it was so sunny and it was early afternoon Team Tandem Ecosse and Team Yukon decided on a relaxing toast to Le Tour’s self-proclaimed Canadian Day – just to ensure that the earlier bottle of Cremant was as good as this one!

A toast to Team Yukon and Canada with all decked out in Maple Leaf-design cycling tops.

La bouclee

After a shower and change, there was time to explore Saumur – with a look at the local market and some of the interesting shops.

One of the things the “old git” and “old gal” couldn’t resist was a present for me – a bright shiny red la Bouclée, which is a cleverly designed leather wine carrier which safely holds  a bottle and neatly attaches over my handlebars, mainframe  or panniers. It has “Les Vins de Saumur” tastefully engraved on the front – and the red colour perfectly matches my frame. It is going to look so cool back home in Scotland. I am fair chuffed! My dynamic duo really do look after me you know!

After a bit of retail therapy my dynamic duo took to another form of transport – the local tourist train which went around the city pointing out the sights including the wonderful Chateau Saumur.

The tourist train allowed my dynamic duo to get a good shot of Chateau Saumur and its vineyards.

Saumur is a major cycling centre and a the guide on the tourist train said it was a real hotspot on the Loire a Velo – being at the crossroads of a number of cycle friendly routes which criss cross the region.

The city is also host to the famous retro cycle festival, called Anjou Velo Vintage, for two days every June. Thousands of retro fashionistas and vintage bike lovers descend on Saumur for a weekend of rides and partying.

The “old git” and “old gal” were really taken with the potential of attending the Anjou Velo Vintage in the future – and with me already being a classic tandem then Team Matilda is perfectly suited for such an event!

The tourist train disembarked my crew right at the door of Les Vins de Saumur which were offering another wine tasting, which of course they felt duty bound to sample – picking up another locally produced Cremant for tomorrow’s picnic!

The evening ended with a tasty dinner with John and Nancy in a busy square in the city while discussing the final 66km stage to Angers tomorrow. Yes you read that correctly – a 66km final stage for Le Tour de Loire Valley du Tandem!

And after such a fabulous day’s tandeming in the French sunshine it was soon time for sleep!