Europe 2018 - On the road again....but in the air first

Tuesday - June 19
We are so excited to be heading to Europe with daughters Lori and Megan. Our day began with an uneventful drive to Portland in a rental Ford F-150 pickup loaded with these 4 bike boxes and all our touring gear. We were so focused on getting to the airport early that we forgot to take a picture of the big white truck all packed up. We were so early that we were first in line at the ticket counter, an hour before it opened.

We made it through security with no problems and plenty of time to have a leisurely lunch.  Megan and Lori even had time to play around with Vic Atiyeh, a former governor of Oregon.  We are sure he appreciated the attention. It was 90F when we took off.

Wednesday - June 20
The sun never set as we traveled east. We had a short layover in Iceland where we went through customs. It is always good to see land again after flying over the ocean. It looks like a nice day in France.

Hello Paris...the airport anyway. We landed at 12:55 and the bikes showed up at 2:00 in the baggage claim area. Now the work begins!

It took a couple of hours to get all the bikes put together and loaded. 

A shuttle train took us Terminal 3 which is where the detailed bike directions we found on the internet started. It was 10 pages of pictures and words that proved to be VERY helpful. We had been told that it was crazy to ride to Paris but the train into the city would not take bikes at that hour......we checked.

This called for our first snack of croissants! It was 5pm when we left the terminal.

It took us an hour to reach this bike path and to be officially out of the Charles De Gaulle airport and all its associated businesses.

We had just left the bike path and reached a very confusing part of the route when Claude pulled up and asked where we were headed. He immediately said "Follow me." and we did!

He earned his "Angel of the Road" card in triplicate by taking us to the Canal de l'Ourcq.

Then he stayed with us to make sure we stopped at a bridge where we could see all the way into the heart of Paris. Only then did he bid us farewell.

A giant bike tire seemed appropriate to our journey. There were lots of people in all the parks along the way enjoying the very warm evening. We didn't take many pictures as it was getting late and we wanted to arrive before dark.

It was almost 9 pm by the time we reached the apartment after "only" 22 miles on the bikes. Philippe was a very gracious host, taking us to a local Kurdish restaurant after he got us oriented to our new abode and locale. We are so thankful that David and Becky, who we met in 2011, recommended us to him. It was 11 pm when we all crashed into bed after a VERY LONG DAY.

Charles de Gaulle Airport to Passage de la Main d'Or in the 11th Arrondissement of Paris, France.