Monte do Gozo, Mount Joy, is the last hill on the pilgrimage to Santiago. At the top of the hill you can see the spires of the cathedral, a sight of great joy. Joy is one of the many emotions we experienced at our journey’s end—I was relieved, tired, proud and joyous. Mixed in was the question Why? Yesterday we picked up our compostela...

Thrive and gratitude are the two words or concepts I have mulled over during our long days of riding. Each day I start out reflecting on my many blessings and all that I’m grateful for. And when I’m struggling to get up the endless hills, I work hard to return to this empowering frame of mind. As I ride I say out loud for what I’m grat...

I did not consider how much time I would be looking down as I cycle. We have passed through some grand scenery, yet I’m amazed at what I see in the shoulders and hedgerows we ride along. I put my head down when I’m finding the riding hard, which is often. The first thing I see is THRIVE the model of my bike. I ponder how appropriate th...

Between Burgos and Leon sits the Meseta, a high plateau. The Times the area feels like we’re riding across moors and other times the prairies. We have left Vineyards and Olive Groves, and now see huge fields of grain crops and the few towns in this region have great elevators. We are often riding on the same trails as walkers, or on ro...

Years ago I would bring one book with me on a trip, and along the way look out for other books to read. I loved the serendipity of this approach and would always find some gems along the way, including the amazing Barbarian Days by William Finnegan I found in Patagonia. On this trip I have read very little. The days are long and physic...

I’ve lost three pairs of reading glasses on this trip and have decided to try managing without. The accessibility settings on my IPhone help and the magnifier app is also helpful. Navigating is something we always aware of. With us we have two guidebooks (on my Kobo ereader), the Ride with GPX app, several sites bookmarked; we use Goog...

We woke this morning to rain, put on our rain gear and headed out on the steepest part of our journey, crossing the 1075 metre Roncesvalles pass. The pass is the site of a significant battle. In 778 the Basques defeated Charlemagne; an event that is still recalled as relevant to their independence. In this battle Roland, was killed; hi...

St Jean Pied de Port is a fortified town at the base of the Ronceveux Pass route over the Pyrenees. (Or Roncesvalles in Spanish) Historic pilgrimage routes have converged here, a stopping point for pilgrims to prepare themselves physically and spiritually to make their way over the mountains. Today, most of the pilgrims walking the Way...

The official Eurovelo route seemed to take the long way round out of Bordeaux, to get to St Palais and St Jean Pied Port in the Pyrenees. We decided to take a Google maps suggested route instead. We rode 85 km on two days on straight, flat, low traffic roads. Sounds perfect? The route took us through the Landes Forest , Europe’s larges...

Bordeaux was a fantastic city for our rest days. We spent 3 nights here providing ample time to explore. The city has been an important cultural and commercial centre for two millennia. Wine continues to be a key part of its economy, along with aerospace. The urban development is remarkable. Along with medieval and renaissance building...

It took us well over an hour to ride through suburbs and commercial areas to get to where we are staying in Bordeaux . We zigzagged from the Dordogne River to a hill overlooking the city, then down to the Garonne River and over the Simone Weil Bridge. When travelling in Europe we can get caught up in the nostalgic view— quaint villages...

We just finished sharing the dinner table with our Airbnb hosts. We are deep in the Aquitaine countryside on a farm. They invite guests to prepare their own food with them. The host Marie Laure is from St Pierre Miquelon, so is quite familiar with Canada. This morning our host in Angouleme rode with us to help us find the cycling route...

Our preferred option for accommodation are AirBnBs. The app is easy to use, costs are presented in CDN $, we enjoy the privacy they and we can choose a place with secure bike parking. We also enjoy the uniqueness of each place we stay. I’m writing this from a 15th century house in the medieval town of Chauvigny. The suite is above Le C...

The route we are taking follows the ancient pilgrimage route. Tours was an important stop for pilgrims and we are now seeing more signs identifying Way of St James . I find the signs the source of encouragement and inspiration. They help me see the context for this trip, and connect us to travellers from long ago and to our contemporar...

After a challenging start we have now seemed to find our rhythm. And, the route is now well sign-posted and the wind not so punishing. Loire to Tours was about 75 km, but with lots of opportunity to stop. We took time to explore Amboise, a gem of a town. There are other Chateaux along this stretch of the river and wineries, with their ...

We arrived in Blois after three strenuous days of riding. There were many times I thought what the f*#k am I doing. Yet we saw some amazing sites, stayed in hospitable AirBnBs and finished each day with a huge sense of accomplishment. The first two days wind and navigation were our enemies. Paris seemed to go on forever , from serene s...

Paris was wonderful. The city is very bike friendly, so we were able to explore neighborhoods and sites. We stayed in the 12th arrondissement, in the southwest of the city. A great location, close to the Seine and quiet. We were overwhelmed by the number of tourists in the main part of the city, we wondered if it was due to the Olympic...

Bikes We will be on our bikes everyday for seven weeks, comfort is a major consideration and for that reason we are shipping our bikes to Paris. I'll be riding my Liv Thrive (Giant), and Larry his 40 year old Marinoni. We both ride e-bikes around town, however the weight of these bikes, the challenge of charging everyday and the fact w...

When I was 13 I was given the book Mount Joy by Daisy Newman for Christmas. Published in 1968 Mount Joy was not typical young-adult novel of the time (think Judy Blume). It's the story of Maris, an American college student who decides to use her scholarship money to travel from Paris to Santiago, as a pilgrim on the Way of St James. Th...