For the past couple weeks I've been on vacation, seeing Paris, Nice, Italy, and now Switzerland. In all that excitement I've not found the time to put up a new post. But, here we go; I'll try and catch the world up on my adventures the way a middle-aged father would tell his distant relatives about what the families been up to for the past couple years. Slideshow !
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| Bam, Nice. |
Start you off here with a beautiful panoramic view of the Nice bay. This is really a land of paradise. Sunny weather complements gorgeous mountains backing up to gorgeous surf. Brilliant. I was here for about a week and got in some really solid riding. Finally filling the hunger for climbing I've forsaken for so long in Strasbourg.
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| Peace and bikes, yo |
Looking hip and hipstamatic here. So Europro.
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| I can tour myself, thank you very much. |
There was a sign at the Hostel I stayed at (Villa Saint-Expury, I highly recommend it) advertising trips to three different countries all near Nice. Not sure why they think it takes three different days though, I managed to hit all of them on one killer ride. I set out for about four hours one morning and followed the coastline through Monaco and straight on into Italy.
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| The Italian border was essentially non-existent. The Eurozone is a huge boon for cycling. |
It was a fantastic ride with beautiful blue skies, at first. About halfway through though things started to turn gray and I decided to stop in an Italian restaurant for lunch. Because, hey, I'm on vacation.
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| Would you like some cheese with that wine? |
I know I'm from Portland, but when presented with the decision between Italian dining and riding in the rain, I choose the prior. I had a great meal and managed to drag it out long enough that the storm passed right over me. Then I was able to spin back to Nice with two more hours of beautiful weather.
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| Nice waterfall. I road my bike up this. J/k. |
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| This is just a bus stop map. But the title of the map is special. |
You know that bike that one American company makes? The Madone? It's named after this region. I know, pretty cool, right?
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| Mid-ride mandatory Instigram. #whereiride |
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| I drank Absinthe in France one time. That was pretty cool. Not sure how it relates to cycling though. |
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| Here's a hip photo of me in Paris. I didn't have my bike with my there, but I just want to show you how cool I am. Did you know I'd been to Paris ? Pretty wicked. Wicked pretty. |
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| Got the new team kit this week too! Pretty sick, I'm psyched about the design. Flahute racing, Trailhead Coffee Roasters, represent ! That said, it's not very pro how I'm blocking the sponsor's name with my hands in this photo. |
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| A sneak preview of what's to come... |
So that's what I've been up too. Right now, I'm writing this post from a hotel in Switzerland. That's the view from my room. I'm doing a badass guided cycling tour here with my Dad. Super tight. Sit tight for more about that in the next few days. But until then, keep pedaling.
Kyle McCall
@UpwardProgress
