flojohntravels.com
We were supposed to going to Viana to do some wing foiling, but a few days before leaving I pulled my back out. Not wanting to cancel, we decided instead to do some biking in the area instead, using our Super 73 bikes where I can sit up more vertical so it wouldn’t bother my still-sore back very much.
Continue reading “Viana do Castelo”We’ve been spending some time the year exploring the coastline south of Lisbon, between the coastal towns of Milfontes and Odeceixe, known as the Vicentina Coast. Well, actually the North-central part of the Vincentina Coast, as it actually stretches all the way down into the Algarve. Most of it lies within the South-East Alentejo Natural Park. It’s quite picturesque, and so far away from the crowded streets of Lisbon. Fortunately my blog doesn’t get a lot of visitors so I don’t have to worry about me being to blame for changing that!
The week before we were to head to Cinque Terre from Nice, the weather forecast said it would be raining the whole time we’d be there. And the day before we left it did, indeed, rain. But then the skies opened up, the weather Gods looked fondly upon us, and we ended up with clear blue skies during our whole trip, until we returned and the clouds started rolling back in. Lucky again.
Continue reading “Visit to Cinque Terre”
We’ve been wanting to venture farther from the coast with our bikes, but not having a car to take them has made that difficult. So we looked into taking a train and found one that goes leaves to Tende, a small town that sits alongside the Italian border in the national Mercantour park, and allows bikes on board. The train follows what was the old “Route de Sel” or salt route.
Continue reading “Train (and bike) Ride to Tende, France”
This past winter I bought a drone (Mavic Pro) so I could update the aerial images we have on our MLS real estate website back in Mexico. On our return to Europe I brought the drone with me as I really wanted to film one of my favorite bike rides and take advantage of the “tracking” the drone can do. By that I mean you can launch the drone, select a target on the screen, (in this case, me on a bike), and it will follow you.
Continue reading “Drone-Filmed Bike Ride to Forte Revere”
Spring has definitely arrived in the Cote d’Azur and I’m making the most of it by getting out and biking before the weather gets too hot. I’ve been revisiting my favorite rides and discovering some new ones. This past week I made my way to Mont Chauve, a mountaintop behind Nice and near the small hilltop village of Falicon.
Continue reading “Bike Ride to Mt. Chauve”
Every now and then we like to do a trip on the spur of the moment, especially in the fall when the weather can be iffy. We choose a few places in different parts of Europe, and then as we get close to the time to leave, we go with the one where the weather looks best. This year the Lakes District of Northern Italy won out. So we loaded up the car with paddle boards and put our bikes on the bike rack, and hit the road.
Continue reading “Exploring Lake Como & Portofino”
I’ve covered many biking and boarding opps along the coast of Cote d’Azur that are most worth going to and reachable from Nice. But there’s a lot more happening up in the hills behind Nice, but to get to them I need transportation. This past weekend a friend lent me her car, and as Flo was out of town, I could use the bike rack and put the paddle board in the back of the car and head out and do some exploring.
Continue reading “Biking & Boarding on the Cote d’Azur”
This is the third day of a long weekend of biking and boarding along the Cote d’Azur. The other day activities are mentioned here. I knew at the beginning of this trip that I was perhaps taking on more than I could manage, but rationalized it by saying I’d start low and slow and work my way up, I knew that if it became too much of a climb, I could just turn around and glide back to where I started.
Continue reading “Bike Trip to Valberg”
Since we’ve been back I’ve been getting in a lot of biking while waiting for the ocean to warm up. The weather has been exceptionally cold in the evenings in Nice, so the ocean is especially cold for this time of the year. Even biking early in the morning it can be a little chilly so I’ve been going out with a sweater overtop of my biking outfit.
Continue reading “Bike Ride to the Grande Corniche Park”