This year while watching the Tour de France and the beautful countryside in France I was reminded of a dream I had for riding in France. In 2005 I had ridden my bike about 12,000 miles on the three bikes that I own. I was planning on doing a lot more tours in 2006. One was to ride all way across the USA from coast to coast, one was to ride cross country in Thailand to raise money for cancer of the blood research, Another one was to ride my bike on the west coast of France to see the WW ll battlefields. All of this was possible I had the money then and I was in the greatest shape of my 63 years of my life.
Elsewhere in my blog I posted a little about my accident on December 23 rd of 2005. That accident ended my dreams of bicycling touring. I broke my leg at the knee in 40 places and I have never recovered from that. For the first few months after that I did not give up my dreams of bike touring but after a while it became apparent that I would never be able to do the bike tours of my dreams. Although I could still ride a bike pretty good my walking left a lot to be desired and it still does.
It been about 5 1/2 years since that accident and watching the Tour de France has awaken my dreams of bicycle touring again. Riding across the US is out of the question and so is biking across Thailand but I have begun to feel touring on the west coast of France is a possiblity now. Riding the distance involved is the least of the problems that I will have to accompish this. The tour is much shorter than I am use to and I actually would like to ride for a much longer distance than the organized tours has on its schedules. Perhaps I can work this out and do more miles or kilometers as they say in France. I like to do about 300 miles but then that is all the way cross France. It not much bigger than South Carolina acording to the map, so I will just be content with staying on the French Coast.
Last summer I rode my bike sometimes averaging 35 miles a day in Lancaster on hills that I thought I would never be able to master. I did very well although hills was never easy for me even when I was in great shape. My average speed was actually a little higher on the hills than it was before my accident. I don't dred the hills as bad as I once did. France should be a piece of Cake to do on a bicycle. Sure as heck a lot easier than riding the hills in Northwest Kansas.
I have decided to do some research on bike touring in France to see how much it would cost me to do it. I would love to be able to do some bike touring in France. I know my wife will think I am crazy but if I don't do it in this life well I will never be able to do it.
I still have to do a lot of research about cycling in France and so I will see how this goes. Maybe I will, Maybe it will not be possible but I hope not. It a dream that I really like to fulfill.
The world is full of dreamers. And rightfully so, God created us that way. But at some point in our lives, we have the choice: to keep the dream for sleeping, or to wake up and live it.
