It’s busy down here right now. The radio informed me yesterday that there were 900 km of traffic jams on France’s highways – much of it in Le Sud. Today I stayed clear of the A9 and drove north to the one place I knew I could trust to be calm – The Cévennes. The only way I could tell it was the peak of tourist season was a few ‘Bs’ and ‘NLs’ on the occasional licence plate that passed me, plus an old naked German man by the river (this is a guess, but an educated one, I think…they just love to get their kit off).
Most of the time, though, it looked something like this.
The Vicious Cycle 
I remember walking along coast with my wife around cap d’aigle by Nice and a guy was half undressed. Unfortunately it was the bottom half. Odd. But I think French. Along the Rhein here one does see naturists. Swiss German though. And there is the annual nude rides in some cities. More aerodynamic?
The worst example I ever saw was on the Danube, just outside Vienna, so I might be being unfair to Germans.
Good route choice.
I felt the same way.
Thanks for the reminder that it is August and anyone I hope to do work with in Europe will be on holiday. Incidentally, I have learned the same thing happens in Australia each January. So lesson learned, if you want to get away with something really big in Europe or Australia, do it in August or January, as appropriate.
Now I need to get smarter on the clothing habits of old Germans.
Steve, my bakery and veggie shop has been closed for a month. It’s something you just get used to…or not. People are starting to spread out their holidays a bit more these days, but August is still the big one, just because, as you said, if all your clients are on vacation, it doesn’t make much sense to be in the office!
Am planning a bike tour somewhere east and was just reading the best campgrounds in Croatia are the nudist ones (set back to protect unwitting non-German tourists). That’s one way to prevent biker tan.
One reason NOT to tour right now: August in Paris! Everyday is like Sunday.
I’m not sure if I’ve ever been to Paris in August. Sounds lovely, but if it’s Sunday in Le Sud, nothing will be open!