Home again, home again

Well, we made it. Dave’s performance was nothing less than awesome. My performance as navigator … awe-inspiring (awwww, look at the puppy; awww, look at the sheep and cows; awwww, listen to the cow bells!!!). Dave couldn’t say it any better – we experienced a lot during this trip, learned a lot during this trip, discovered a lot (including small towns that aren’t on any map and small roads that Mo-hos should NOT be on).

We spent our last three days in Bedoin. It’s a quaint little town that was incredibly fun. It was filled to the brim with bikers of all ages, shapes and sizes – all either attempting to climb Mont Ventoux or just seeing if they could pick up chicks in their spandex. We drove Gerry to Nice on Wednesday and, upon getting trapped in traffic by the airport and finding absolutely no place to park the Mo-ho overnight, decided it would be best to say our good-byes to Gerry at a hotel near the airport that had a shuttle for him the next morning and make our way out of the city. Not fully knowing where we were headed (only OUT of the chaos called Nice), we set the wheels to the pavement, started back toward Mont Ventoux and didn’t stop until we reached Bedoin around 9 that night. We actually parked in the same camping ground that we stayed the evening before, which turned out to be extremely convenient (a 5-minute walk to town), quiet and peaceful. We went into town, had dinner and wine and settled in for the evening.

Dave rode around the area, checking things out. He came home feeling great. I did, too. I was able to go into town and shop while he rode. Yee-hah! We decided to rent a bike for me for Friday so I, too, could enjoy the area. He threatened to take me up the mountain. I threatened another panic attack, followed by a heart attack!

Friday dawned HOT. Regardless, we went and got my rented bike – a Giant with a triple chain ring (granny gears!!). Perfect! Off we went. Did I mention how out of shape I am … no? Well, halfway through the ride, I thought I was going to keel over and die!!! Luckily, I have a very patient husband who stopped and poured water over my head. That revived me enough to get back home. Thankfully, it was also downhill to get home!! He, of course, had plenty of energy, so he went out and did a mere 75km around the area. I returned the bike and … went shopping!

Saturday – RACE DAY!! Dave decided he needed to climb Mont Ventoux yet again. Will this ever end?? He got up early and rode up, meeting and riding up with a guy from Denver who kept good pace with Dave. He got down in time to meet me to watch the caravan that precedes the racers. I don’t know how many of you have seen, or even know about the parade of sponsors that come before the racers, but there’s a parade of about an hour of vans, cars, “floats” and motorcycles who throw out everything from caps to keychains, musette bags to t-shirts. FDJ (a team) even threw out a few jerseys. We were lucky enough to score a couple of things, but I had to trample the little kid next to me to get them. The kid was ruthless!!!! Then, along come the racers. A breakaway group of about 9, then the pelaton with Lance, Alberto and Co., followed by the rest of the riders. They were there … then they were gone. In a matter of about 15 minutes, all that we waited for was over. We, along with the rest of the fans, rushed into town to the three or four TVs set up near bars to watch Tony Martin and Juan Manuel Garate duke it out to the top in an exciting finish not to be outdone by the cat-and-mouse game put on by the Schleck brothers, Contador and Lance. Outstanding and so exciting to be there. Race done, we got some food, beer and then I shopped some more … J

Sunday, our final day, Dave decided to … what else? Climb Mont Ventoux again. This time, he found the north route and rode up that way. He arrived back at the Mo-ho with a huge smile on his face. That’s what it’s all about!! He was feeling great, relaxed and full of satisfaction! It took a few days to sink in, but he now was extremely happy with his accomplishment. We packed up and started back to Nice. Which is where we sit … in a rest area about 25 minutes from where we return out Moho-away-from-home tomorrow (Monday). I must admit, I’m excited to be getting back home. We miss our kids, our dogs, our family, the phone calls, our friends. We’ve had such a great time and experienced so much, it’s just not possible to write it all in this blog. We can’t wait to share (bore?) everyone with out pictures, memories, mementoes, etc. We are so thankful for all of your support – especially during the uncertainty that was the first week-and-a-half. We can’t believe how fortunate we are to have friends like Fred and Gerry, who both stepped in to save this venture with little notice. And to our family and friends who never stopped encouraging and supporting, without you, this trip wouldn’t have been possible.

We’ll have more to post when we get back to the States, so watch for pictures and the “aftermath.”

-Julie