Warning: regular blog readers, you are about to see parts of my life that aren’t related to cycling (there aren’t many, mind you…). If you aren’t interested, wait till my next blog post!
I’m not sure why it is, but these Wrap-ups are getting more and more challenging to do. I think it’s possibly because, in the Facebook and blogging era, most of what I compile here won’t be ‘news’ anymore. So, please excuse me for not doing anything you didn’t already know about. I’ll try harder next year.
FACES
Because my memory has never been very good, if you and I met this year without photographic evidence, you may not show up in this Wrap-up. Luckily I am pretty quick with the smart phone camera, so there’s a good chance you are here.
Below are two new friends (Ryuichi and Tsunehito) from Japan who visited the south of France this year. They both ‘ran’ (I think there was more drinking than running, from their account) the Medoc Marathon before coming over our way. We met up in Avignon for a nice little Corsican meal and a basically-successful chat in three different languages.
I think we’ve had family visit us every year we’ve been in the sunny south of France. I wonder why that is..? We’re not complaining, though – it saves on flying back to Canada to see them. Here’s Susie and Scotty, with Dinah and Richard, displaying how surprisingly cold it can be along the Mediterranean in May.
Not really visitors, since they come every year and stay as long as The Metropolitan Opera will allow, Stephen and Rebecca definitely deserve a place here. Stephen is one of my summer riding buddies and Rebecca is a wonderful cook who doesn’t mind that 2nd glass of rosé. Could there be a more perfect couple?
Mom and Tom made another visit in 2013, too, meeting me in Nice at the end of a week-long cycling race I was trying to finish alive. Here is Mom on a steep street in Le Panier, Marseilles, proving that she’s still got some legs at 82.
And the two of them, doing what you do in France.
Proving that the virtual world most of us live in can sometimes cross over into reality, we got a visit from Tom and Ally (aka ‘Mr and Mrs Tootlepedal), who were kind enough to take one of my self-guided tours, and Susan, an intrepid France-by-bike adventurer who I’ve ‘known’ for a few years now, but never had the pleasure of meeting till this fall.
This next face has been around for some years, but appeared much more in 2013. John is my partner in the cycling tour business and my main riding buddy here. We have grandiose plans for the business so, with a little luck, you’ll be seeing more of his mug in years to come.
Below is my step-brother Rob. Rob is also my coach and, although in his late 50s, is one hard-ass athlete. More on him later, but although I have included him in ‘Faces’, it’s only because I didn’t have an ‘Asses’ segment, since that’s what I saw most of as I tried in vain to hold his wheel on our 7-day race through the French Alps last summer.
I’ve had the great pleasure of giving lots of tours of various lengths and sizes this year, and have met some really great people from all over the world in the process. Cycling Languedoc has welcomed riders from The US, UK, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Holland, and the most epic of them all, Colombia (below). I had a feeling that making my hobby my business could be fun, but I hadn’t thought about the fringe benefit of making lots of like-minded friends.
I’m typing this in Japan, by the way. This is my first trip back since 2007, so I’ve been spending a lot of time reconnecting with old friends and colleagues. There are many, so I’ll just post a representative photo of Nigel (and Maki and Kei-chan), a good old friend from my teaching days…and a cyclist, of course. This is as close as Kei got to me the 3 days I spent with them. I haven’t lost my way with Japanese girls, it seems.
PLACES
Other than the trip I’m on right now in Japan, we happily stayed close to home for most of our travels this year. Below is really close to home – a 20-min walk in fact.
A little further away, but still nearby, the walled crusader town of Aigues-Mortes is always a hit with visitors, and we brought Susie and the crew here in May, I think.
We’ve been making regular trips to Marseilles this year because it’s such an interesting place to be, but also because it was the European City of Culture this year, which meant a general clean-up and a couple of new museums to visit. The building on the right is one of them – MUCEM – the only national museum in France that is not in Paris. To the left is Fort Saint Jean, with a very cool concrete walkway connecting the old with the new.
This is not Marseilles, but close by – the Calanques.
After 21 years I have a car again and it has opened our world up considerably. Toulouse is now a long day-trip, for example. Below is the nave of Romanesque Basilica of St. Sernin, going about as high as you can without a flying buttress.
The car also took us to Venice; our first trip there. It was a bit of a shock to the system, arriving on a day when 7 or 8 cruise ships decided to dock, but the place grew on us and we found some quiet streets away from the hoards of the wrong kind of tourist. Favorite quote from this trip: The gondola rides here are good, but the guys don’t sing, like in Vegas.
The Tour de France always comes near home and Shoko and I made our way out to see it, as usual. Here is the peloton flying through Provence on a hot, dry Mediterranean day in July. In case you’re wondering, no, it doesn’t get much better than this.
And of course Japan. Tokyo was a difficult place to live for me at times and I was not expecting to enjoy this trip much, to be honest. However, I’d forgotten how much history I have with this country (I lived here 9 years) and I still have a surprisingly large number of friends here. I’d also forgotten how kind people are and also that I could still speak the language (sort of). This trip has been a nice reminder that I have another ‘home’ to go back to.
RACES
Well, not really ‘races’, but ‘cycling’ doesn’t rhyme with ‘faces’ and ‘places’. It’ll have to do. 2013 saw me ride farther and harder than I would ever have thought possible just a few short years ago. I don’t have all my stats here with me, but I think I clocked up 15,000 km this year.
The origins of this next idea are lost in the mists of my memory, but needless to say, whoever came up with it probably practices self flagellation in his free time. My main cycling goal for 2013 was a 7-day event that runs from Geneva to Nice, covering three countries and cutting straight through the French Alps. The race was over 800 km long and had us climb over 20,000 vertical meters. Possibly this means nothing to you. Just be impressed…it’s a lot!
Rob, my long-lost step-brother, and I, formed a team of like-minded maniacs through my blog and ended up with a great crew of guys from Canada, USA, Scotland, Holland and Ireland. We named ourselves Vicious Cycle, the name of my blog, but also quite appropriate when talking about the hobby of road cycling, once you are good and truly sucked into it.
Before the sh*t hit the fan – Geneva.
The most amazing action shot I’ll ever have taken, I’m pretty certain of that.
Haute Route (the race’s name) is really an arena for middle aged men and women (with exceptions on both ends of the age scale) to experience a little of what it’s like for pros in the Tour de France and other ‘Grand Tours’. An Individual Time Trial up the highest through-road in Europe helped bring some authenticity to the event. We even had the guy doing the last 5 seconds of the countdown with his fingers. Very pro. This is me, starting the hardest 1.5 hours I’ve ever spent on the bike, with Rob in the starting pen right behind me.
Our team finished well up in the rankings, thanks to our Irish watt-producing machine, Mark. Rob and I also did well, finishing next to each other I think, around 123 and 124 out of 600 riders. It was an incredible event and I’ve written extensively about it in the blog already. If you’d like to see more just search for ‘Haute Route’ or go to August in the drop-down menu to the right.
Cycling Languedoc, my little bike tour business, took a turn this year and I now have a partner – John. I’m not sure how I compliment him, but he certainly brings some very useful talents to the table. He can whip up quite elaborate spreadsheets in no time, for one, and has brought words like ‘database’, ‘agenda’ and ‘organization’ to my world. He’s also a good friend and a strong cyclist, which doesn’t hurt either.
We have given many more tours this year than before, getting to know some great folks in the process. Here is a small selection, plus a few other random shots from our tours.
THE ARTIST
Shoko is in her 4th year at the Ecole des Beaux Arts and has only one year left before becoming a world-famous artist. She has been doing video, photography and installation/sculpture this year, with a focus on the urban environment. Here are a few photos that are part of a project called ‘Danchi’. She doesn’t have a website yet, but sometimes posts her stuff on her blog: http://blogs.elle.co.jp/languedoc/
THE ROAD AHEAD
It’s hard to believe, but Shoko and I just passed our 5th year in France last summer. This milestone comes with a little plastic-encased card called a Permanent Residence Permit, which means we can both work in France and we don’t need to worry about renewing our permits each year, like we’ve been doing till now. It makes us feel less ‘temporary’, and gives us more confidence in planning our future in France. There are many more ‘unknowns’ than ‘knowns’ in the upcoming year, but those are the things that keep life interesting (along with adding a few new grey hairs…) and we look forward to seeing what 2014 has in store for us.
Here’s hoping your year ahead has open roads and sunny vistas. Bonne Route!
Congratulations on the many milestones Gerry. As always, great photos and great stories. All the best in the new year.
Luc, thanks for following along throughout the year. Happy New Year!
Morning Gerry. Thanks for the 2013 wrap up and congrats again on Haute Route and burgeoning bike touring biz. Bonne année to you and Shoko!
Same to you and Ginette, Pierre!
Hi Gerry,
Great wrap up, thanks. Since I love it so, am glad to see you two got to spend some time in Toulouse, there is a lot of great art there. And Marseilles must be on my next year’s list. Stephen and Rebecca work at the Met? Roy used to, but that was a long time ago. Now you and Shoko really need to visit NYC … once it’s warmer.
2014 will surely bring you equally good adventures!
I just realized I never answered this one, Suze. How rude of me! Rebecca is in the chorus at the Met. I remember you telling about Roy working there before, too. When was his last year?
Beautiful, Gerry. Best wishes for the new year–I am curious what challenges you will tackle and hope to join up end of July in Bedouin. Maybe a double Ventoux?
I’m curious, too, Jan. My main objective is not working out now, it seems, so I need to look around for more motivation. Looking forward to our 1, 2 or 3 ascents of Ventoux this year!
Looks like you’re living the dream, Gerry. Great pictures!
Looks can be deceiving, but yeah, it’s not too bad I suppose 😉
It was great to meet you again and we really enjoyed your tour in spite of not having to climb Ventoux three times.
I’ll talk to John about including the Triple as an option for future tours. Looking forward to seeing you and Mrs. T soon.
Love the year end summary. And thanks for the great ride in August. All the best to you and Shoko in 2014.
Too bad we won’t be riding again together this year, but at least we know what we’ll be training for in ’15.
Hello old friend! So fun to read about your adventures from time to time. You look terrific! Happy New Year to you and Shoko. Congratulations on your new status.
Hey Carolyn! Ok, this proves that these Wrap-ups still have some purpose, if I can get a comment from an old friend like you 😉 All the best to you and yours!
Aw Gerry, I am so proud to have made your year wrap up, even though the only bike I ride is my “wicked witch of the west” shopping bike here in the city. And I will forgive you for mis-leading your readers about how much wine I *might* enjoy (ahem) because you said I’m a good cook, bless you. Happy New Year to both you and Shoko!! See you soon!
Bring ‘The Witch’ over this summer and you’ll be sure and make the Wrap-up again next year!
I saved this for a blustery, rainy day in Goolwa. Great read! May you charge into 2014 with the cavalry trumpets blaring!
Charging into the New Year with a cold, but I suppose that means it can only get better. All the best to you and all the Bechtolds!