Epilogue - Airport Adventures and France 2014

I arrived back in the East Texas heat on Tuesday evening.  Monday was an 8 hour drive from the Pyrénées to Paris to return the Renault.  The original plan was to fly to Cincinnati followed by Atlanta on Tuesday, where I would spend the night, and then fly to Houston on Wednesday morning.  When I checked in at Charles de Gaulle, the Cincinnati flight was over booked and they were asking for volunteers to take a later flight.  They were offering $400 if I had a 4 hour delay and $1000 if I had to spend the night in Paris, so I signed up.  Delta managed to book me on an Air France flight to Atlanta that left 3 hours later than I was originally scheduled ($200) and I would arrive in Houston on Tuesday evening instead of Wednesday morning.  I arrived in Atlanta on time, but the bike didn't.

I have had bad experiences with Air France at the Paris airport before and should have known better.  Air France and the Paris airport do not have the capacity to transfer two bags between planes in 3 hours.  According to the Delta baggage agent, there are two Air France flights a day from Paris to Atlanta, and they manage to lose or delay 20 bags a day.

I have been on the phone with Delta several times a day since Wednesday trying to track down my missing bicycle. While everyone that I spoke with was trying their best to be helpful, the information that I received was slightly different each time and no one could tell me anything concrete. However, the person that I spoke with Friday morning was absolutely amazing. She contacted a baggage supervisor who confirmed that the bicycle was in Atlanta. She said that she would try to expedite matters and gave me a $100 credit for my trouble. My bicycle arrived on my doorstep about 4 PM Friday afternoon. I suspect that it was sitting in Atlanta since Wednesday because there was a TSA inspection ticket inside the case dated 8/7.

• Lesson learned: Avoid Air France the Paris airport unless Paris is your final destination.  If you are flying to Paris go carry-on.  If you are going to the Alps, a much better option is to fly KLM to Amsterdam and then to Geneva.  If you are going to the Pyrénées, try KLM to Amsterdam to Toulouse.

Other lessons learned.

• Honey Stinger Waffles ($1.50 each in the U.S.) can be purchased in 6-packs at the grocery stores in France for less than 3 euros.
• Many French drivers like to tailgate and pass on blind curves.
• Cycling fitness doesn't directly into hiking fitness.  Don't go hiking up mountains with 11 and 12 year-olds.
• All motocycles should be banned from the Alps.
• Watching the Tour de France up close and personal on Mont Ventoux on Bastille Day is definitely worth it, but only once.  
• Climbing Mont Ventoux from Bédoin is hard but worth doing---only once. Stay in Sault and not in Bédoin.
• If you are watching a Tour stage that ends on a mountain, don't watch from above the barriers.  It will take you an extra two hours to get down.
• You cannot gear your bike too low for climbs in the Alps and the Pyrénées.  Just ask all of those people walking up Mont Ventoux.  Check out http://www.cyclingcols.com for climb profiles.
• Guiding cycling tours in France is interesting but is also hard work.
• Recommended places to stay in the Pyrénées are the Lanterne Rouge and Les Deux Vélos.  If you are in Sault stay at the Hôtel d'Albion.  In Saint Jean de Maurienne stay Hôtel Saint-Georges.  Avoid Le Bourg d'Oisans and stay in Le Freney d'Oisans.  The best hotel in Albertville is Hotel Million, but I really enjoyed my stay at Chambres d'Hôtes Les Pierres Taillées in nearby Thénésol.  A chamber d'hôte is a French bed and breakfast.
• The Vosges in Alsace are worth exploring further.
• Get a PayPal account.  Many of the smaller lodges and chamber d'hôtes do not accept credit cards, but they may accept PayPal.  U.S. banks are not good at anything that involves a foreign transaction.  The banks in East Texas don't have a clue.
• If you are in France for more than three weeks, consider leasing a car.  Renault Eurodrive has some excellent deals.  Go for diesel instead of gasoline.  It's cheaper and the mileage is better.  All of their cars come equipped with GPS, although my GPS lied to me a few times.
• Carry plenty of cash for the tolls on the autoroutes.  One and two euro coins work well.  Do not expect your credit card to work.  European credit cards are on a chip and PIN system.  Your American card probably only has a magnetic strip.  Most merchants can handle this and they work fine in the ATMs.  However, don't expect your card to work in railways stations, at toll booths. etc.
• Get gas or diesel at the super market.  It's cheaper.  Just make sure that there is booth with someone there to take your money because your American credit card will not work.
• By a French SIM card for your unlocked phone or buy a pay-as-you-go phone in France.  Using your U.S. phone can get expensive.
• A French heat wave isn't as bad as a normal summer day in East Texas.
• Knowing some French can be useful.

I am now in planning mode for France 2014.  Rumors are already out for next years Tour de France (http://www.velopeloton.com/2014_tour_de_france_route.html).   TDF 2014 will start in Yorkshire, England and should arrive in the Pyrénées during the third week with big mountain stages on July 23 and 24.  I would like to organize a group of four to six riders for the Pyrénées for next summer, probably July 17-27 or so.  We would stay at the Lanterne Rouge in Saint Savin.  You will run out of time before you run out of new cols to explore.  Contact me if you are interested.