You might say the second adventure of our summer started in a small town in Brittany. That is where I met Sophie when she bravely (or foolishly?) followed a skinny American guy on Paris-Brest-Paris off the main route through the tiny village of Uzel, down a very long driveway, to a little cluster of houses—our gite. Bob (the skinny American) was one of “our” riders who had a drop bag at our place. Sophie was a French woman from Provence riding her third PBP and was tired enough of being wet and cold to take 
him up on his invitation to follow him to this (alleged) gite. By the third turn, she was beginning to doubt her judgment, but she said when she saw me she felt much better! We found them both a place to sleep for a couple of hours and gave them a hot meal before sending them off again. As they left, I tucked my card in her bag. When she got home she found that card, wet, but legible and sent us an email. We emailed back and began talking of other rides and when she mentioned she would like to do the Rocky Mountain 1200 in Canada, we invited her to come stay with us, and we could all go up to Kamloops, BC together.
Because this ride goes through a lot of territory where there are not many “facilities” the BC guys have to limit the number of riders on this ride to about 100. If they get more than 100 applicants they have a drawing for the first 100, and then the overflow get put on a waiting list. Thus things were a little up in the air with our planning on this one, but Rick and Sophie both got in so it was a “go!”
Since Kamloops is nearly impossible to get to from France without renting a car, and since Sophie had never been to either the US or Canada, coming to our place first was a very good option for her. For us, it was a chance to repay some of the kindness we had received on our trips to France and to give at least one French woman the best experience abroad that we could. of course, as her arrival time approached, I stewed and worried. Would we, our home, our town, America all be a disappointment to her? Would she be terrified by the traffic on the roads here? (French drivers mostly are very courteous to cyclists, Americans not so much.) Would we be able to communicate? We had been emailing in French, which is easy enough if you have enough time and a translation program, but…
I need not have worried. The stars aligned to make her visit all it could be, and Sophie was just as easy-going in person as via email. It took us no time at all to realize her English was WAY better than my French, so we pretty much stuck to that. She was fairly certain her bike would not arrive with the rest of her luggage as it had been so difficult to check in on the French end. It was one of the first bags off the belt, followed by her small checked bag and her bicycle wheels, all together, all undamaged. The weather on her arrival was gray but was followed by two weeks of upper 70s, low 80s both here and in Canada. Sophie had forgotten a bolt for her bike but pas de problem, we drove the five minutes to our favorite bike shop where the owner found her a pin and put it in, free of charge. A couple of other trips to the bike shop over the next couple of weeks were enhanced by our friends Cory and Heather who work there and speak fluent French. We had a warm-up ride out to Boston Harbor where we sat on the deck and watched the boats go by for a bit.
Then, on the way back, we ran into our friend Curtis who offered to take us sailing. We had a perfect cruise back out to Boston Harbor that afternoon and then sailed all the way back to town.
Rick, Sophie and Curtis
The next day we met some fellow randonneurs at the town of Ashford near Mount Rainier for a ride up to Paradise (Sophie thought that was funny!)
It was another stellar day and the mountain was as you always hope it will be (but seldom is) for guests…stunning.
Left: Rick, Cory, Sophie, Mark, and Bob
Below: Bob and Sophie (and Mount Rainier)
Our recent, unprecedented purchase of a NEW car (a Honda Element) made this whole trip a breeze. (Obviously the randonneur's car of choice, ours is the center one!) Getting Sophie’s bike (in it's
case) from the airport was no problem, and now we learned that we would not need the bike rack we thought we would. Rick managed to fit all three of our bikes and all our gear inside with plenty of room for us to sit comfortably for the 6 hour drive to Kamloops.
Even the border crossing was pleasant. Sophie was worried, as the airport folks had been less than welcoming. The Canadian guard asked us to park and come inside so they could “stamp our passports” when he heard one of us was from France. Inside they were pleasant and even managed a bit of humor (“well, she looks a little shifty, but I guess I’ll let you go…”)
In Kamloops we met up with Bob, our friend who brought us Sophie in the first place, and several other Seattle Randonneurs. Bob told Sophie that the president of the French Randonneur Club and his wife were in town as guests of the BC Randonneurs and that they were looking forward to meeting her. Sophie was somewhat dubious of this news. She pulled me aside on our way out of the restaurant and said, “I think Bob is kidding about the Lapartels being here?” I said I thought he was serious, and sure enough he was. These folks have been avid cyclists and the heart and soul of the Paris-Brest-Paris ride for most of their lives. Now in their eighties, they are making their way around the world, visiting some of the other randonneur clubs that have all sprung from the Audax Club Parisian. For Sophie, this was better than meeting the president of France (although these days, that may go without saying for most
Frenchmen.)
She was thrilled and honored. Sophie was the only French rider so it was only natural that they focused on her. They were there to see her off at 10pm on Wednesday night, and they were there with flowers (photo left) to greet her a mere 64 hours later. (There is a 90 hour time limit on this ride, and by the time Rick rolled into town Sophie had had a shower and a nap, had taken me out to dinner, and then had a good night’s sleep!) Poor guy. At every control as I drove the course, I checked on “my” riders. Sophie? She left here hours ago! Who is that woman???!
Above: Rick on the Ice field Parkway and Sophie waves as she passes Mt. Robson
The ride itself was a mixed bag. The road out of Kamloops was OK but traffic was heavy, the Ice field Parkway was gorgeous and no commercial trucks are allowed so that was a relief, but the road back to Kamloops was the Trans-Canada Highway. Since this rides' conception, traffic along this route has increased greatly and even repeat riders said they would not do that part of the route again. Driving it was bad enough. Heading down the long grade after Kicking Horse Pass, I noticed the construction, the truck traffic, and the horrible condition of the shoulder (where there was one!) I shuddered to think of Rick flying down that hill later that night, no doubt in the dark. It was a thought I had to put out of my mind.
Happily, no one fell off a cliff, was hit by a truck or mauled by a bear (there were bear sightings by bikers.) Sophie saw her first moose and I think everyone saw elk, deer, and coyotes. The volunteers were wonderful and I hear the food at the Beauty Creek rest stop was fantastic. Rick and our friend Jim from West Seattle rode together most of the way. Jim laughingly pointed out the signs advising people to "remain inside your vehicle" if they should see a bear... right. There were riders from Japan, Australia, Brazil, Germany and the UK besides Canada and the US.
"Taking her time" (her words) Sophie broke the previous women’s best time by about 8 hours. She came in 8th overall and the next woman to finish was about 10 hours behind her. Sophie is now famous in Canada and the US, and back at our place she received an email from a famous French cyclist that she had met briefly but that she thought would not remember her. Au contraire, he had been following her blog and followed her results in the RM1200. I think she will soon be famous in France, too. At any rate, she has a place in our hearts and we are looking forward to seeing her again…next year in London for the London-Edinburgh-London ride!
Left, the awesome Athabasca Falls
Bow Lake
Fastest woman meets fastest man. Ken Bonner of BC Randonneurs, who is almost always the first guy to finish!
him up on his invitation to follow him to this (alleged) gite. By the third turn, she was beginning to doubt her judgment, but she said when she saw me she felt much better! We found them both a place to sleep for a couple of hours and gave them a hot meal before sending them off again. As they left, I tucked my card in her bag. When she got home she found that card, wet, but legible and sent us an email. We emailed back and began talking of other rides and when she mentioned she would like to do the Rocky Mountain 1200 in Canada, we invited her to come stay with us, and we could all go up to Kamloops, BC together.Because this ride goes through a lot of territory where there are not many “facilities” the BC guys have to limit the number of riders on this ride to about 100. If they get more than 100 applicants they have a drawing for the first 100, and then the overflow get put on a waiting list. Thus things were a little up in the air with our planning on this one, but Rick and Sophie both got in so it was a “go!”
Since Kamloops is nearly impossible to get to from France without renting a car, and since Sophie had never been to either the US or Canada, coming to our place first was a very good option for her. For us, it was a chance to repay some of the kindness we had received on our trips to France and to give at least one French woman the best experience abroad that we could. of course, as her arrival time approached, I stewed and worried. Would we, our home, our town, America all be a disappointment to her? Would she be terrified by the traffic on the roads here? (French drivers mostly are very courteous to cyclists, Americans not so much.) Would we be able to communicate? We had been emailing in French, which is easy enough if you have enough time and a translation program, but…
I need not have worried. The stars aligned to make her visit all it could be, and Sophie was just as easy-going in person as via email. It took us no time at all to realize her English was WAY better than my French, so we pretty much stuck to that. She was fairly certain her bike would not arrive with the rest of her luggage as it had been so difficult to check in on the French end. It was one of the first bags off the belt, followed by her small checked bag and her bicycle wheels, all together, all undamaged. The weather on her arrival was gray but was followed by two weeks of upper 70s, low 80s both here and in Canada. Sophie had forgotten a bolt for her bike but pas de problem, we drove the five minutes to our favorite bike shop where the owner found her a pin and put it in, free of charge. A couple of other trips to the bike shop over the next couple of weeks were enhanced by our friends Cory and Heather who work there and speak fluent French. We had a warm-up ride out to Boston Harbor where we sat on the deck and watched the boats go by for a bit.
Then, on the way back, we ran into our friend Curtis who offered to take us sailing. We had a perfect cruise back out to Boston Harbor that afternoon and then sailed all the way back to town.Rick, Sophie and Curtis
The next day we met some fellow randonneurs at the town of Ashford near Mount Rainier for a ride up to Paradise (Sophie thought that was funny!)
It was another stellar day and the mountain was as you always hope it will be (but seldom is) for guests…stunning.Left: Rick, Cory, Sophie, Mark, and Bob
Below: Bob and Sophie (and Mount Rainier)
Our recent, unprecedented purchase of a NEW car (a Honda Element) made this whole trip a breeze. (Obviously the randonneur's car of choice, ours is the center one!) Getting Sophie’s bike (in it's
case) from the airport was no problem, and now we learned that we would not need the bike rack we thought we would. Rick managed to fit all three of our bikes and all our gear inside with plenty of room for us to sit comfortably for the 6 hour drive to Kamloops.Even the border crossing was pleasant. Sophie was worried, as the airport folks had been less than welcoming. The Canadian guard asked us to park and come inside so they could “stamp our passports” when he heard one of us was from France. Inside they were pleasant and even managed a bit of humor (“well, she looks a little shifty, but I guess I’ll let you go…”)
In Kamloops we met up with Bob, our friend who brought us Sophie in the first place, and several other Seattle Randonneurs. Bob told Sophie that the president of the French Randonneur Club and his wife were in town as guests of the BC Randonneurs and that they were looking forward to meeting her. Sophie was somewhat dubious of this news. She pulled me aside on our way out of the restaurant and said, “I think Bob is kidding about the Lapartels being here?” I said I thought he was serious, and sure enough he was. These folks have been avid cyclists and the heart and soul of the Paris-Brest-Paris ride for most of their lives. Now in their eighties, they are making their way around the world, visiting some of the other randonneur clubs that have all sprung from the Audax Club Parisian. For Sophie, this was better than meeting the president of France (although these days, that may go without saying for most
Frenchmen.)She was thrilled and honored. Sophie was the only French rider so it was only natural that they focused on her. They were there to see her off at 10pm on Wednesday night, and they were there with flowers (photo left) to greet her a mere 64 hours later. (There is a 90 hour time limit on this ride, and by the time Rick rolled into town Sophie had had a shower and a nap, had taken me out to dinner, and then had a good night’s sleep!) Poor guy. At every control as I drove the course, I checked on “my” riders. Sophie? She left here hours ago! Who is that woman???!
Above: Rick on the Ice field Parkway and Sophie waves as she passes Mt. Robson
The ride itself was a mixed bag. The road out of Kamloops was OK but traffic was heavy, the Ice field Parkway was gorgeous and no commercial trucks are allowed so that was a relief, but the road back to Kamloops was the Trans-Canada Highway. Since this rides' conception, traffic along this route has increased greatly and even repeat riders said they would not do that part of the route again. Driving it was bad enough. Heading down the long grade after Kicking Horse Pass, I noticed the construction, the truck traffic, and the horrible condition of the shoulder (where there was one!) I shuddered to think of Rick flying down that hill later that night, no doubt in the dark. It was a thought I had to put out of my mind.
Happily, no one fell off a cliff, was hit by a truck or mauled by a bear (there were bear sightings by bikers.) Sophie saw her first moose and I think everyone saw elk, deer, and coyotes. The volunteers were wonderful and I hear the food at the Beauty Creek rest stop was fantastic. Rick and our friend Jim from West Seattle rode together most of the way. Jim laughingly pointed out the signs advising people to "remain inside your vehicle" if they should see a bear... right. There were riders from Japan, Australia, Brazil, Germany and the UK besides Canada and the US.
"Taking her time" (her words) Sophie broke the previous women’s best time by about 8 hours. She came in 8th overall and the next woman to finish was about 10 hours behind her. Sophie is now famous in Canada and the US, and back at our place she received an email from a famous French cyclist that she had met briefly but that she thought would not remember her. Au contraire, he had been following her blog and followed her results in the RM1200. I think she will soon be famous in France, too. At any rate, she has a place in our hearts and we are looking forward to seeing her again…next year in London for the London-Edinburgh-London ride!
Left, the awesome Athabasca Falls
Bow Lake
Fastest woman meets fastest man. Ken Bonner of BC Randonneurs, who is almost always the first guy to finish!
1 comment:
Que de beaux souvenirs!
Chers Barbara et Rick, votre hospitalité et votre gentillesse ont enrichi mon voyage. J'ai la joie d'avoir réussi la RM1200, et une joie encore plus grande: d'être votre amie!
Sophie
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