All aboard the Orient Express!
Paris. Nothing can prepare one for the first time. Breathtakingly stylish, elegant, beautiful, creative, intelligent, erotic, decadent.... it seduces and mesmerises instantaneously and then, you're done for. Insatiably smitten.
'It is a beautiful spot, Paris' mused fellow South African rider, Jaco Cotter, as he gazed at Gare de l'est, the magnificent railway station across the road from our hotel. 'But, jong, the people are stubborn!' We arrived in Paris after a magnificent 2000km, 3 day transit trip across Austria, Germany and France to discover that the hotel we use each year for the start of the expedition was under new management and had not computed that a group booking of cyclists might possibly involve bicycles too.  'Impossible.' said the new hotel manager. 'Non. No bikes in rooms. No bikes in foyer. No bikes anywhere here. D’Accord?' We encountered stubborn, alright.
Thanks to a dollop of steely diplomacy, which masked an equal if not more resolute streak of intractability, our tour co-leader, Shanny pulled it off and by the time the riders started arriving a space had been cleared out back for the assembly and storage of 40 bicycles. A rider briefing, bike assembly, last moment food shop and a baggage inspection filled our bustling, busy day. The realisation that 46 of us are going to be sharing a magical two month journey with each other hit home. The excitement is palpable.
Some numbers:
Female riders: 12
Male riders: 28
Canadians – 18, Australians- 3, Americans - 9, South Africans - 3, New Zealanders - 3, British - 3, Swiss – 1; Dutch – 1.
The oldest rider: 81
The youngest rider: 27
Average rider age:Â 54
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Posted May 31, 2008 by Theresa Brown
France |
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