Continued… Another excruciatingly long ride through snow later, and I had convinced myself that I was actually crazy. The snow was sticking and it was well below freezing when I got to Lyon. I won’t bore you with the dangerous details again; there is too much to say about Lyon. I had smartly made arrangements to stop about halfway to Lyon, if the weather was bad enough. I decided the conditions were passable, and they were. These cold rides are affecting my face. I feel like I am aging, and I don’t like it much. I am lucky though, my colleague is pioneering a cutting edge anti-aging treatment; all I have to do is volunteer! Lyon is my favorite French city, thanks to three amazing hosts and my old friend Jessica who I had the pleasure ... read more

Continued... In his other hand he held a tangerine. I waved him off, but thanked him for the gesture. It was time to leave Poitiers. By the next morning, I was on the road again - this time toward the capitol of the Limousine Department, Limoges. To save you a trip to the Wikipedia page for Limousine, the name of the stretched luxury vehicle apparently comes from the fact that the monks in this region of France used to wear hoods over their head, resembling the overhang on the first horse-drawn limousine carriages for rich folks. Though the overhang disappeared when luxury carriages became mechanized, the name stuck. My ride to the Limoges area was also a lesson for me in European traveling. The lesson: if you are expecting to pay cash for your fuel, be ... read more

Continued… I bit down and did the only thing I could do - I emailed an emergency help request to every SERVAS member in Poitiers, leaving only my phone number for them to reach me - and located the town’s hostel as a backup measure. Then I hit the road. I had to hurry, as it was already 2pm, and the ride was at least three hours to Poitiers. I was lucky to have a clear sky and no rain, and that was enough for me. About 70 kilometers West of Poitiers I rode through one of the most beautiful towns/landscapes I’ve ever seen in my life. If I have ever seen a place to start a bed and breakfast, this is the place. I’m looking at a map right now… it looks like it must ... read more

Continued: …the blood spilled out, first as a trickle, then as a solid stream from my thumb. After some wandering around we were able to break apart a tongue depressor and turn it into a pressure-applying splint to stop the bleeding. After all the good times in Bonnetable, it was suiting that this would happen just before my departure. I wondered if the Gods were telling me to stick around. Nevertheless, I hit the road the next day, traveling through Le Mans to arrive in Angers that night. It seemed that each day I traveled, the weather was getting just a little bit colder. As I went, I passed several areas under re-pavement. It really looks like this whole country is being repaved. Then I smelled something odd. My Russian friend Irina had told me that ... read more

Continued: ...I peeled back to the right, just in time to miss a speeding black Renault. I looked around, and everything was still except for water pouring from above. No other cars from either direction. That was enough for me. It wasn't safe to continue. Why did I have to be here in DECEMBER? Obviously it's my own stupid fault for undertaking this at all, let alone doing it in winter. So when the rain was so bad that I couldn't see, and my hands were so frozen I could hardly hold the phone, I called my hosts for the night and told them to expect me the next day. Nogent is a nothing town, in the middle of absolutely NOWHERE. But still, it surprised me. I barged into a bar/hotel in a forgotten corner of ... read more