Kurt's Bike Trip in France - Part I

Days 1 and 2 (August 1 and 2)

With hopes of minimizing the impact of jet lag by getting a jump on the time change, I woke up at 4:30a Monday morning in Boulder (the equivalent time in France is 12:30p). My last 24 hours or so have gone swimmingly…
· The airport shuttle picked me up on time.
· I got to the airport, checked in and got through security quickly.
· The plane to Charlotte took off on time and it was a smooth flight
· The transfer in Charlotte was fine. The only “almost hiccup” was my own fault as I misread the boarding time and had to speed walk to the gate. Everything was fine, as the jetway door was just about to open when I got there.
· The overnight flight from Charlotte to Paris was smooth, and I was able to get a couple of hours of sleep (I think), with Ambien playing no small part in that.

It’s been a pretty uneventful morning, afternoon, evening and another morning thus far, which, when traveling, is perfect. [NOTE: I’m typing this part of the write-up at 9:30a in the train station at CDG, waiting to go to Grenoble. So the day isn’t over, but so far so good.] I have about a 2-hour train ride to Lyon ahead of me, where I’ll transfer to another train and spend another hour and a half getting to Grenoble. My hope is to remain active and alert until at least 8:00p.

Update: 11:40a local time. Well, my traveling luck may have come to an end. The train I’m on has come to a complete stop north of Lyon, and considering my train to Grenoble leaves in 5 minutes, my being on that train looks pretty unlikely. There was an announcement on the PA system about what is going on, but unfortunately, it was the only one this trip that they didn’t repeat en English. I thought I heard the word “animal” in the announcement, but don’t hold me to that. I do know there are trains running north – two have gone by since we’ve stopped – so perhaps they’re down to sharing one line. I’m hoping that either 1) the people who run the train system here account for such delays and hold the train or 2) my connecting train is also caught up in this delay somehow and will leave later than scheduled. If neither of these two “potentialities” transpire, I believe (and hope!) there are other trains to Grenoble and that they leave every 2 hours or so.

Update: 1:15p local time. While I did indeed get into Lyon later than scheduled – by about 50 minutes – there’s little disruption in my southerly trek. From what I can tell, trains to Grenoble leave about every 30 minutes or so. I just missed the 12:45p train, but wasn’t too upset for it allowed me a little time to grab a quick bite to eat (and get pestered by one of the local kids good at squeezing 50 euro cents out of travelers.) Next stop: Grenoble (hopefully)… my home for the next 2 nights.

Update: 3:40p local time. I arrived safe and sound at my hotel about 50 minutes ago. DEFINITELY a little weary… for nearly the last 24 hours, I’ve been in the seat of an airport shuttle van, an airplane or a train. I was able to catch a couple of winks on the train ride into Grenoble – I could feel myself fading a bit – so I do feel OK, all things considered. This’ll probably be my last update for the today… I’m going to take a shower to freshen (and wake) up some, and then perhaps stroll around Grenoble some and get some dinner.