Bike Rides

A big part of what we do here is bike riding. We usually ride about 4 days per week. Most people would probably get sick of riding as much as we do, but fortunately it is something we both really enjoy. We see the beautiful countryside, discover new places, and get fresh air and exercise all at the same time. And, it justifies the good dinners we have in the evening.

Sometimes we ride from our house, sometimes we put the bikes on the back of our car so we can start from a more distant point and cover more area. We almost always pack a picnic lunch (tomatoes, cheese, baguette, apples, and a pain au chocolate) because we have found that most of the towns we ride through don’t have any places to buy anything, or that they are all closed during the long lunch hour.

Our rides range from a quick 12 mile loop to a maximum of about 40 miles. The area is hilly but nowhere as steep as the area around Orinda and the Bay Area generally. We ride through farmland and small villages, and stop frequently to look at ruins or check out a town. Most every small village is centered on a picturesque and often historic church, some going back to the 11th century. On the edge of the village is usually an impressive home and an adjacent farm and farm buildings, also made of stone, and all within a stone wall.

The area is also rich in WWI history, and to a lesser extent, WWII. We are about 2 hours from the Belgian border, so there are many war-related sites and memorials. Each small village, while having maybe only 50 inhabitants total, has a memorial dedicated to those lost in WWI showing as many as 20 names.

Below is a selection of pictures from various rides. You can click on any image for more detail. The pictures do not do the beauty of the area justice.