Day 1, The Alps

October 14, 2014
Bourg D'Oisans

I think I need to write up a summary of all of Blaze's issues and how they got resolved because I write my blog but also post updates to Facebook and it all gets confusing to me who knows what.

1. Broken frame. ICE sent replacement frame to Lyon. I was 200 kms away. A local man found a shop that did a repairing weld and I crab-crawled my way to Lyon

2. Rear hub ball bearings. First afternoon out of Lyon, I found it unbelievably difficult to pedal hills. Even the flats were a challenge. Local mechanic who put me up for a few days found the bearings shot and got me and my tire to a bike shop for repair

3. Front end pull. Christophe, the mechanic, spent hours working with me both in his living room and out on the road getting Blaze aligned. Then, ICE sent video which started process all over. Problem is, ICE dealer in Lyon routed cables incorrectly:(

4. Rear dereilleur pressing tire and dropping off on climbs. Did adjustment to stop dropping and got to a bike shop in Grenoble who found the NEW dereilleur mount bent. Luckily dealer in Lyon gave me old one.

5. Rear wheel grind. Rear fender has caused much problems since day one. Piece of crap gear. Many repairs over the years. Christophe tried to get it to stop rubbing, but problem became worse and it was actually shredding rear tire. Finally I threw it away!

6. Front dereilleur chain knotting. This one is intermittent and I think is due to a gunky chain. I try to clean it often but it builds up inside the links. Chain holds onto gear all the way around and doubles up jamming dereilleur. Weirdest thing! I have to loosen dereilleur and pull it up to let chain drop away. Oh well. Quirks!

Yesterday Blaze felt great. Slight front end pull but won't be resolved until cable routing corrected.




(Visited the Chateau of Vizille)

So yesterday was an easy start up into the Alps. Climbed about 1000 ft over 20 miles. Road mostly has wide shoulder until you see this sign



Then I guess you're on your own to fight with the cars! Note arrow on pavement and biker symbol.

Spent the night in a field off the main road with an amazing rock formation for the view



Livin' the life,

BagLady

Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman

Blaze's Issues Continue

October 7, 2014
A new dilemma was resolved by a stranger. Yesterday, after leaving Lyon with Blaze fresh from the bike shop she had a hard time when we hit the hills. Acted like the brake was on, but it wasn't. I could barely bike on the flat. Almost in tears. I can't cross the Alps like this. Don't even think I can make Grenoble. But stopped for water, then, although it was only 4 pm, I asked if I could camp. Too tired to continue. And later that night, when Dad came home, I found out he was a machine mechanic! How lucky was I? In the morning he figured out, with much difficulty it was the rear wheel ball bearings that had gone. Off to the bike shop. They didn't have them. He found then in a parts store. Came home and he got her all back together. Yippee! But a stomach bugs that's been annoying me for a week now has me laid up here an extra day. Rest now. Bike tomorrow:)

October 12, 2014
Vizille, France
(Outside Grenoble)

What a vortex! I spent 3 nights with the Poulet family. Every day Blaze was grunting and groaning about leaving. He pulled to the left. His fender ground. Always something. I would be packed to go and he wouldn't want to...and the family invited me to stay. Thursday morning, when yet again after hours the night before and that morning working in his tracking and fender scraping, he was making noises, enough was enough. The family couldn't deal with me any more and the energy changed. I couldn't blame them. I needed to take my bike and my gear and my grinding noise and move on down the road. I was sorry it turned a tad sour at the end with one too many requests for Christophe's help. And I totally understand. They were so wonderful to me, this strange American woman on an even stranger bike. Thank you for everything!!! Food, laughter, assistance, and patience! Such a treat to spend time on your "farm".










So with her butt grinding away intermittently with the rhythm of her tire, I pedaled on down the road. Can I make it to Grenoble 95 kms away with this sound? Many hours of work, remounting fender, analyzing things had not figured it out. It only happened when I was riding. The added weight did something back there. And then just as mysteriously, it stopped. Then it only happened now and then. Keep going. Get to Grenoble.

Then on a long downhill I realized the pulling of the brakes was quite serious. Normally on a trike you need only brake with one hand. It stays straight. But this day if I didn't keep both hands on the brakes, I'd have crashed. Scary. Another problem needing adjustment.

Then, the chain kept dropping off the rear low gear, sometimes just after I got it on. And that damn dereilleur was pressing the tire in the lowest gear, braking the wheel. I DONT NEED ALL THESE ISSUES! I'm not a bike mechanic!! I'm learning, but forget just as quickly. Age is a wonderful thing...not!

So there I am, standing on a hill on the side of the road googling to find out which screw turned which way stops the chain from dropping off largest gear. Ok. Got it. Slight turn of L to right. Nope. Dropped again. A bit more. Of course at first I thought it was H and messed with that for a few times. Dropping chain again and again before I got it all figured out. Arghh! That's better. I can at least keep pedaling now.

Then one time the chain doesn't shift even though the shifter had moved several clicks and I dismount and go look. OMG! It's hung up and severely twisted. Don't break! What's going on back there????

Do you now have a feeling for my misery? Someone on FB suggested I get a bus to Grenoble. I'm in rural France on small one lane back roads. No busses here! The only way out is riding or walking. If rather ride if I can. It's a tad but faster....but only a tad:)

Gotta mention the storm the first night out from the Poulet family's place. I found a sweet spot by the side of the road around 4 pm. And I was tired of issues and ready to quit. And a storm was brewing.




And as always, the rain didn't start until the tent was up. Thank goodness! Yup started raining about 5 pm and didn't stop all night! 12 hours of rain!! And thunder. And lightening! Shook me a bit and I love thunderstorms! My tent held up well and I survived.

Made it to Grenoble yesterday and I had a bike shop all picked out. They guys were standing around when I arrived so I figured they weren't to busy. He was only interested in the dereilleur issue. Not the fact the cables were routed all wrong (thank you, Lyon), or the front end pulled left again, or the fender rubbed, or the brakes pulled. He got him up on the rack, dismounted the dereilleur and using a measuring tool determined that the metal mounting plate was bent. They were trying to straighten it when I said it was new on Lyon and the mechanic there have me the old one. "Get it. We'll put that back on." Ok. Good to carry spares!

Got him back together and on the ground. "All fixed," says he. But what about the brakes? Ok. They readjusted them. I could tell I didn't want to get into rewiring the cables and redoing the tracking. No. Not feeling it with this guy. I'll just adjust it a bit more myself. I know my toe-in alignment is compensating possibly for the incorrect cable routing. One offsetting the other. Hope it doesn't cause too much tire wear. But at least I know how to adjust it and Christophe gave me the right wrench.

So now I'm sitting in a campground at the base of the Alps. Weather forecast is severe T storms this afternoon and tomorrow. I've decided to wait until they've passed before venturing up into the mountains. What's one more day?











Oh, and in Grenoble I saw tent cities of homeless for the first time. I didn't feel comfortable taking pictures. How will the make it through the winter in so little a shelter? Quite large communities right by the main road. Hmmm. My homelessness is so comfortable and there's so difficult.


Livin' the life,

BagLady

Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman

October 6, 2014
East of Lyon, France




A week off the bike has a price. But I think there's more than a drop in conditioning going on. Blaze has a new rear end and I was hopeful we'd be able to sail (or grind) our way over the Alps.

I have to thank Guilluame, my fabulous Warmshowers host in Lyon...and I mean FABULOUS! Especially when a 2-3 night stay turned into a week. He, Isabel, and son Victor were so kind feeding me, giving me a room with a French doors to the backyard, key to the apt, and lots of directions on where to go and what to see. Come to Colorado in a few years and I'll try to do the same for you!

Since Blaze's surgery took longer than expected, I did get away to visit Edelweiss, a PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) hiker I met 4 yrs ago, at her home in Chambery in the Alps for a couple of nights. Delightful family. Quaint town. Amazing mountain cottage. Delicious local food! Great time!






Back to Blaze. So today we cycled out of Lyon. The worst traffic and truck filled roads. But a bike lane helped. Then I pulled onto the hilly farm roads and as I climbed it felt like the rear brake was on but intermittently. I unhooked the brake so it couldn't be the problem and it continued: grind, free, grind, free. Almost the pace of my pedals. My left knee began to throb from having to work so hard. Even slowly trying to roll downhill it would pull to a halt. Yet if I picked it up, the back wheel spins freely as do the front. Perplexed! I'd say it's a hub issue that's affected by the weight. I don't think I can ride the 100 kms to Grenoble. And I know that if it isn't fixed, I won't be crossing the Alps. I can't even push it. It does it then too. And it's not the dereilleur hitting the wheel, which happened in Ireland. I had to quit at 4 o'clock today because I just couldn't continue. I've unloaded Blaze and looked her all over. Nothing obvious. When I have issues like this, I begin to think I'm imaging it, but I know I'm not. Something is seriously wrong.

But I'm on a delightful family's small farm tonight. I saw Nicole taking the trash to the road and stopped her for water. Then feeling the wind whipping around me, sensing a change in the weather, knowing I couldn't go up another hill tonight, and seeing lots of camping spots, I asked about camping. Yes. And now I've been invited to dinner too. That's good because it's too windy to cook:)

I opened my food pannier after a week and realized I had left veggies in there and they're composting! Yuck. Cleaning the pantry just got done.


Livin' the life,

BagLady

Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman

What a Day!

September 27, 2014
In the woods near Lyon, France



Breakfast!

I decided to go the longer, quieter route today and what a difference it made. I was pedaling up the road and saw a woman watching me out the window, so I did my usual wave. I'm a friendly gal:). By the time I was in front of the house she, her husband, and daughter were by the gate to see me go by. So I stopped to chat. And got invited in to lunch. I hesitated because I have this date with Lyon for repairs, but decided quickly that I had time. So we rolled Blaze into the courtyard. I spent a delightful couple of hours with John Luc, Marie Christine (I think), Sandra, and Luc...their kids.


You know I love to talk but my lips move faster than my mind and I jumble all the tenses up. But they seem to understand. We had lettuce and vegetables from a garden, her father's I think. And roasted duck, which I've never had before but was delicious. And green beans from a garden. Dessert was fromage blanc, white cheese, which is freshly made cheese not yet aged or hardened. It was delicious! I also got some help on a route into Lyon which Luc printed out for me. So off I went papers in hand, worried that he was sending into the mountains and the roads would be steep. I was right! They were! Thanks Luc:). Some were so steep that I would set my eyes on a point 50 ft ahead and push to get there before I could stop. Up and up these quiet, beautiful single lane paved roads. Up into farmland and views.



And then a big road and a several mile downhill to end the day! Yippee!

Found a woods with tables and a bathroom for the night. And as this family was leaving they were admiring Blaze so I went over to talk. Everyone wanted a ride and of course I said Yes. The kids too! Such fun. They even invited me to come and stay at their house for the night, but alas it was getting late and I was mentally and physically done for the day...but the offer warmed my heart, and I told them. Didn't get names. Oops! But they're going to make a BagLady banner tomorrow for me to see if I ride by:)). I hope I do. This is when I don't like deadlines. Have to push on to Lyon.



Livin' the life,

BagLady

Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman

Fun Kids!

September 26, 2014
St Symphorien de Lay, France



Been finding some great camping spots: outside the walls of a medieval town last night and in a town park with bathrooms (water, power, cold showers) tonight. Both times led here by locals. It pays to talk to people.

I got some "fromage de chèvre" (goat cheese) the other day and made my version of Mac and cheese last night: macaroni, peppers, onions, tomatoes, and goat cheese...yum!



Today while I was hanging out in a small town eating flan from the patisserie for breakfast a group of people stopped to chat. Oh, my French is so broken but I do try and tell what I'm doing. It was 2 social workers with kids from a special school in that town. Mostly early teens. They were such fun! The kids were shy but I was able to get a couple of them to try and ride Blaze. Oh the smiles! And they all had a bit of English that they spoke to me. We shook hands and shared names (but you know my memory:))...Marion was one of the adults. I have a picture I'll share if they're able to get the parents permission. But at least I have that photo for my memories even if I can't post it. That's why I travel!! To see those smiles and the joy I'm able to bring for just a moment. Thank you for stopping to chat with me...it made my day!!!!!


Then on to the laundromat! Oh happy day! Found it okay. And a smartly dressed woman was there doing some washing and showed me how it worked. But she misunderstood the soap bins and I only had soap in the prewash (I found out later reading the wall sign). And then I put my 2 sleeping bags (a 50* and a 30*...gotta control my temps) in their own dryer. I had scrubbed my Chaco hiking sandals to use as tennis balls. Too bad I didn't worry enough about making sure they were thoroughly dry. They aren't. So here I lay tonight in two damp down bags hoping my body heat helps finish the job. I tried to use the sun this afternoon, but no luck. But at least the bites seem to have eased up.

Livin' the life,

BagLady

Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman

Pictures

I've learned that portrait photos are causing the upload problem. I have to resize them. Let's see if I can upload some.















Livin' the life,

BagLady

Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman

Chantelle and Christian

Livin' the life,

BagLady

Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman

Life's Getting Crazy

September 24, 2014
Lapalisse, France

This has been one crazy week and it's wearing me out. Maybe I'm too old to be touring alone. It's terribly stressful at times. But, as always, the kindness of strangers pulls me through.

Now let's see if I can remember all that's happened. You know about the tire then the broken frame.

Sunday came and I wasn't ready with food shopping so I scraped the bottom of the pannier. The next day around midday I got to a village and parked in front of a small grocery store. I needed to write my bike shop because Blaze is running like a crab. Her boom is tilted. When I looked up, it was CLOSED! For 2.5 hours! I felt at the breaking point and just wanted to cry. This life is not as easy as it sounds. There's so many unknowns every day. I cycled through town and found a patisserie and got a bread and a flan. Then I looked and my solar panel was missing! Oh no! It must have dropped off when I left the grocery store. I'm lost without it. LOST! POWERLESS! I race back looking along the pavement. It's not there. Oh no! This can't be happening. Check everywhere! ...there it is, tucked away...ahhhh. You should try living with me!! This brain is frightening and so forgetful these days. That doesn't help.

So on I go. Down the sweetest back country roads. Learning more about letting go. I don't itch that bad. I have a second warmer bag to use. I have enough food for the night. PB & J is always there. I'm okay. And I'm in France! And it's a beautiful day. Getting near camping time. Time to find some water. I look for people outside. Or listen. Look. There's a couple. Of course, they're staring at me:). J'ai besoin de l'eau. My standard phrase. It's a farm family. Mom, dad, and daughter. Yes. Of course. Then I ask if perhaps they have a place I could camp. And I end up in the garden:). Wonderful people. Got to watch mom milk 35 head of cows. I'll never take dairy for granted again. It took 1.5 hours to put them in their stantion ( 8 at a time), scrub teats, apply milking machine, treat teats after, and release them...then sterilize equipment while next 8 ladies load. Quite an operation and it's done twice a day, EVERY day. Whew!

They had gardens and chickens, turkeys, geese, a pig and "les enfants" (calves). All ages. They're separated from mom right away. A couple were a week old. It's a business...but Edith knew the name of every cow! Invited in for dinner too, so that solved my food problem. Amazing family. Such fun! And I'm so grateful. See you on Facebook, Monica!




Last night it was getting quite late and I wasn't finding a spot. I heard a woman trying to quiet her dog do I turned around and went back. I'd seen a grassy spot a couple of houses away and was hoping she'd know if I could use it. She and her husband offered they're yard. Yea! And in the morning coffee and conversation....and red peach jam and apples for the road. Thank you Chantelle and Christian.

Tonight a campground, wifi, power, and a shower. Living it up!! Both families offered a room indoors but I do prefer my tent!

Oh and another challenge is finding my way. I like Google Maps to give me a route. Much easier. But it doesn't know that I want paved roads so it gives me this



Or this




Or worse yet, this




I ended up carrying her across the deep water and squishy sand. Then 3 trips to get all my gear across! And those back roads are so much slower, but sure beat 20 kms on a road with no shoulder and big trucks going both ways like I did today. Glad to be here. Now I'm going to enjoy it. Shower!!



Livin' the life,

BagLady

Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman

Deleted photos of repair

Livin' the life,

BagLady

Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman

Deleted photo of break

Livin' the life,

BagLady

Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman