Roarpedallers

18/8/26: Glasgow to Paris

It was quick wake up and get out of the hotel to get before anyone discovered our extra child hehe and to meet our uber. It was a smooth process to check in then we spent what seemed like hours in the bookshop finding a new book for Oliver and Arthur. They both finally settled on Harry Potter, then poor Patrick wanted a book, he is so desperate to read but isn’t quite ready yet so we found him a book we can read together which kept him happy. We then had to rush to our departure gate, we thought we were late however it turned out we were quite early….then our flight was delayed – 5hrs! The boys read their books for a while, then we were given a food voucher which was great so we went searching for food. Naturally McDonalds got the kids attention so they spent their voucher there while Rhys and I took a little longer to find a place we wanted, I was having decision issues so we did walk around for a while due to me – oops. When we finally found a spot where I could get a cup of tea we settled in, the kids loved doing their sticker pictures (thank you Aunty Megan).

5hrs went quit fast and when we boarded everyone was quite excited to be starting our new adventure. When we landed in Paris we had confirmation from both StoragePal and the hotel that our bikes had been delivered. We grabbed an uber to our hotel, it was lovely to see our bikes behind reception as soon as we walked in. It was rather late once we checked in and dumped our things in the rooms so we went straight out to look for a place to eat. We are staying in Montmartre which we assume is a poorer suburb of Paris as just down the road is a little street of shack like homes in saying this it had a safe vibe and we were comfortable to walk around in the dark to find something to eat.

We found a funky restaurant on a corner which had middle eastern influence which meant the food was absolutely delicious. Bellies full we wandered back, seeing a few rats on the way, yuck, then Oliver and I went into our room as Rhys, Patrick and Arthur went next door to snuggle up for a good nights sleep.

19/8/26 – Paris

Oliver and I had a lovely sleep in and were woken by the others walking into the room to see if we were ready for breakfast. We enjoyed a free buffet breakfast downstairs (we just walked in and helped ourselves….whoops), the boys thought it was great to use the juice machine to get every flavour juice you could think of. After a filling breakfast we divided and conquered. Rhys and Oliver got started on the bikes while Arthur, Patrick and I finished their diaries. They had a great time cutting out and sticking in all the things from the commonwealth games and Tour de France. Oliver and Arthur then switched places and by the time the bikes were completed everyone was up to date with their diaries – happy days. Rhys then went on a mission to find a post office to see if we could send our bike bags to Stornoway. I decided to take the boys to do the laundry and have lunch and lucky I did as Rhys ended up walking quite a way and discovered postage was going to be over 300euro, plan B activated (store them at the hotel and return to Paris at some point) and he returned to the hotel. In the meantime the boys and I had a great time in the laundromat working out how to get the washing machine to work. As we waited for the washing to finish we found a great boulangerie where the lady behind the counter liked the boys so much they got a free pastry with their baguette. We ate our baguettes in a concrete park being entertained by the pigeons. 

After meeting back at the hotel we decided to take the bikes for a test ride to the Eiffel Tower, the ride through Paris was fantastic. The suburb we are staying in is quite poor, just down the road from the hotel is a slum area with people living in shanty homes. A few blocks away the streets are suddenly cleaner, shop fronts look more expensive and the buildings are the stereotypical Paris buildings. The whole way Arthur kept asking where is the Eiffel Tower and finally he got to see it as we passed through a round-a-bout, it was so exciting. Oliver yelled out saying he saw it, everyone was on a high seeing it for the first time. As the boys said they have seen it in movies and books and now they are seeing it in real life. We made our way closer, watching it get bigger and bigger the closer we got. 

Rhys did an amazing job navigating the streets but to be honest the cycling paths around Paris make it very easy, they are incredible. We found a spot to park our bikes, then walked to the entrance. The boys were very keen to go up to the top so we purchased some tickets, taking the cheaper option of walking to the 2nd floor before getting the lift to the top. As we started walking the stairs the weather gods turned on us and it started to bucket down, we had seen the grey clouds and had certainly felt the wind as we were riding but didn’t quite expect the rain we got. Thankfully we were quite sheltered from the rain as we walked up the steps but the wind was another story, it was so strong. When we got to the second floor the rain had settled in and the wind was making everyone quite cold, thankfully we still got quite a nice view of the Paris. The elevators to the top were closed so after doing a rather quick lap we decided to head down, get our refund and make our way home. I was quite worried as I had left the windows to our rooms open and was worried all our things (kids diaries and our computer) were going to be drenched from the rain, both Rhys and Oliver reassured me the rain couldn’t get in so we would just have to wait and see when we got home. 

Trusting Oliver and Rhys and with the rain having stopped instead of rushing home we went for a quick walk around the park at the base of the Eiffel Tower before riding home. Unfortunately the dark clouds returned as we rode home and we were caught in a pretty large downpour, everyone did very well not complaining of being cold as we rode through the streets home. Patrick didn’t say a single word the whole way and when we asked him why he simply said “I wanted to be quiet so I didn’t think about being cold”. As soon as we arrived at our hotel all 3 kids ran upstairs to jump in the hot shower. Rhys and I then sorted out the bikes and ordered some takeaway dinner. When I went up stairs to check on the boys I found Arthur and Patrick cuddling in one shower and Oliver enjoying the second shower. The day had got away from us and now with so many wet clothes Rhys decided to go back to the laundromat while I put the kids to bed. It was around 11:30pm when Rhys finally got home and could jump into bed. 

20/8/26 Paris to…..well technically still Paris! – 28.8km

15 years of being married to my incredible wife Raelene, and I was the first to wish her a happy anniversary…..how could the day get any better than that! As it turns out, after a slow morning of getting packed and ready to start the European leg of our cycling journey we rode out through the city of Paris and our day was amazing! 

First things first though, we need to sort out what we would do with the bike bags…as it turns out the solution was easy, we could leave them in the storage facility in the hotel with one minor catch….we needed a reservation. After a quick brainstorm we decided to come back to Paris for 2 nights around the start of December to see the Christmas markets and to pick up our bike bags and take them with us back to Scotland and then home….Easy! And for no extra cost, apart from the hotel room booking!

It was a lazy 1100 by the time we had our bikes packed and taken the obligatory pre ride photo we set of south toward the seine. It was here we were meant to pick up the Eurovelo route 3 (EV3) which would take us south out of Paris and eventually down onto the Eurovelo route 6. We rode the same route as yesterday and were already picking up the trend of cycling in Paris, pushing though red lights and moving with the flow of the traffic…perfect. I must say though the cycling infrastructure is absolutely next level, coupled with the fact that drivers are actively aware of you and give you right of way a lot of the time, makes for a pure European cycling experience. I now know that the Europeans whom we met on the TA meant when they were shocked by the lack of cycle paths etc….it seriously is next level. At one point t we were riding on a whole road that was just dedicated to bicycles…in the middle of the city!

As we neared the Concorde, arthur mentioned again that he would like to see the arc de triomphe and ride up the champs élysées like true Tour de France riders! We tunrned right and rode up the slow uphill def that has decided many a sprint finish of the Tour de France over the years, before arriving at the arc de triomphe and getting some classic shots out the front. 

From here we decided to make the most of the sunny day in Paris and cycle back to the Eiffel Tower for another look. The riding was once again incredibly easy and it wasn’t long before we glimpsed the tower another the trees. Patrick in particular enjoyed spotting it and yelled out ‘o see the Eiffel Tower!’

We stopped for an orange and yet more photos and then decided to continue down towards the start of the EV3. As we cycled past a magnificent looking building, we all remarked ‘wow, that’s incredible what is that place?’ We said this in earshot of some tourists who rather abruptly told us it was the Louvre….of course it is, they were probably astounded with our naivety! 

Once again we stopped off for some more tiki tour photos of the louvre before continuing on our way. 

Hunger hit and before we could make it to Notre dame cathedral we stopped off at a delightful little brasserie for some burgers and cheese and charcuterie. They boys especially like the views of the Eiffel Tower from our seats and in all honesty it was such a beautiful moment, I wish I could have freeze framed it and made it last longer. 

Onwards to the Notre damn cathedral though to see how it looks after its rebuild AND to get some reenactment photos of Oliver from 10 years prior….he did a great job of sitting on the ground and looking like he was still a baby boy. Furthermore the cathedral looked incredible from the outside, with the line up to get in insanely long, we were limited to just this, so wonderful to see the craftsmanship and commitment to bring the cathedral back after the devastating fire all those years ago. 

From here we were now on the EV3 and it felt rather exciting to begin our journey proper. We joined on with some incredible cycle paths down by the seine river and followed these out of the city, quickly racking up 15km in a quarter of the time it took us to do 10 around the city. 

Our late start and tiki touring caught up on us though and while technically still ‘in’ Paris we decided to look for a place to stay before it got too late. Lo and behold bookings dot com came through with an absolute score, a whole apartment for only €38! We quickly booked and I rang the owner who said we were her first customers and proceeded to give me some complex instructions on how to access the apartment. 

We made our way there, via the supermarket where we scored some stove fuel, things for Oliver and all the other stuff we needed, then proceeded to try and figure out how to access the apartment. Thankfully I listened enough to get the key and then we were in! It is amazing to see how parisiens live within an apartment complex. This was a 2 room place with a generous Lounge, small kitchen and bathroom with seperate toilet. The apartment blocks are built around a green zone complete with play equipment, mini caged soccer pitch and some exercise equipment. Many people were hanging around enjoying the afternoon and it really seemed as if It was a well utilised central meeting and recreation place for the tenants of the flats. 

After we got the kids to bed at a good time – for the first time in a long….time. Raelene and I sat up enjoying reflecting on the day, our last 15 years and what we have to look forward to, all over a quality €6 bottle of wine! 

21/8/26 – Paris to Melun – 59.23km (88.03km)

Gosh we all had an amazing sleep, to my surprise the trains did not wake anyone up early and it was well after 8 by the time we all got up and made a cuppa. We enjoyed yummy croissants for breakfast then the boys went down to the soccer field while Rhys and I packed away our things. Thankfully the kids came back to help us carry all our panniers down the 3 flights of stairs to load the bikes. 

We had a lovely morning riding beside the River Seine, Arthur loved pointing out all the white swans. We saw quite a few barges travelling down the river with heavy loads of something….and the boys had an education in how a river lock works. They found it fasinating and hoped we would see a boat in a lock but it wasn’t our luck today. 

It was a lovely flat ride and the bike paths were amazing, Oliver has grown a little so we went in search for a bike shop to get him some new shorts. The the large shopping centre we had lunch, unfortunately we had no luck finding Oliver some shorts. 

Back on the bikes we found the river again and enjoyed some lovely bushy areas, we passed some beautiful houses on the river bank. It felt so good to be back on the bikes and doing our thing, we had a few stops but honestly just riding along the river with no hills made the day pass very quickly. When we reached Milun we found a supermarket to get dinner supplies then made our way to the campground. To our relief the campground has cheaper sites for bike riders and as we set up the tent the boys ran straight to the playground then grabbed the soccer ball for some more fun at the soccer nets. Rhys and I thought they had seen where we were setting up the tent however they didn’t and all got a little worried when they couldn’t see us. We then had Oliver and Arthur both tell us off for not letting them know we had left and where we had gone…..

As dinner was cooking we enjoyed a saison beer as the boys found the swimming pool and had a swim. Just as it started to rain the boys ran back freezing so we told them to run straight to the warm shower and they enjoyed a lovely warm shower together. Thankfully the rain didn’t last long so we could enjoy dinner outside reminiscing on how great it was being back on the bikes and camping. It did not take much convincing for the boys to go to bed to read a little before putting on their eye masks and going to sleep. Rhys and I then enjoyed our ritual of diary writing and a cup of peppermint tea. Cycle touring really is the best. 

22/8/26 – Melun to Nemours – 51.5km (139.53)

Today we got to continue along the river seine, riding through the stunning forests of Fontainebleau, weaving our way through the light dappled trails. 

As it warmed up we felt it was time to sort some lunch. We found one of the abundant supermarkets along the route and grabbed some stuff, we then sat beside the river in the shade eating our fresh rocket, tomato, salami and cheese baguettes. Lunches are totally sorted in Europe! 

Our next section of the route South was interesting. I knew we were meant to be joining some canals but didn’t really know much more about them. As it turns out we soon turned onto the Loing canal and began to head ‘up’ it. The canal was quite pretty however the water was a bit green and most likely affected by algal blooms due to its relatively stagnant nature and the intense heatwave that has affected Europe this summer. It appears that the Loing canal is part of a greater network that joins the Loire River to the Seine River to allow farmers to move goods to Paris etc. 

The infrastructure was still in perfect working order and routinely used by river boats, The boys were fascinated as we passed lock after lock, hopefully we get to see a boat in over the next few days! 

At one point the boys found some ‘blueberries’ growing profusely next to the canal. Turns out they were Sloe berries and are a bit tart, the kids still happily ate them though, telling themselves they were sweet and delicious! 

It was a really great ride today and as we neared our campsite we managed to grab enough stuff for dinner over the next few nights as we have found that France pretty much shuts down on a Sunday! There is nothing open and we’d hate to be caught out for food. 

At around 17:30 we rolled into our campsite just south of Nemours. It is a popular place for rock climbers who want to climb the boulders in Fontainebleau. The campsite rates for cyclists are really reasonable. It’s great to see cycling and walking so encouraged by making the campsite fees markedly cheaper if you arrive on a bike and stay in a Tent. 

23/36/26 – Nemours to Montargis – 39.88km (179.41km)

Rhys cooked up delicious scrambled eggs and bacon which was a great start to the day, after picking up our bakery treats Pain de Raisin we rode out joining the canal just after 10. The ride along the canal was lovely, about 3km along we realised we had left our food in the fridge so Rhys unloaded his bike and raced back. The boys and I sat by the canal enjoying throwing in rocks and searching for bits of pottery/ceramic on the path. We passed so many locks however have not seen a single boat floating along the canals.

Around lunch time we passed a sign promoting a town just off the path so after a family vote we agreed to visit Chateau Landon. The small back road gave us our first French hills which was quite nice and as we weaved through the countryside a gorgeous town appeared. Chateau Landon is a beautiful small medieval town with a huge church in the centre. We made it just in time before the bakery closed and got some warm day old baguettes and found a beautiful stairway to sit in to eat our lunch, peanut butter baguettes. They were delicious and the view was wonderful, at the bottom of the stairs we could see into a walled veggie garden which was thought looked like the Mr McGregors Garden and we all laughed how much fun Peter Rabbit would have in the garden.

After lunch we wandered around a little, as it was Sunday no one was around and all the shops were closed. Back on the bikes we went a different way back to the canal and found ourselves riding through fields of corn/maize and old sunflowers. It was beautiful and took us back to our riding in NZ as we had a few climbs and rough gravel roads. So far the riding has been so easy so having a few challenges were quite nice and has made me realise just how challenging riding NZ was. I am sure our riding will get harder so it is nice to have easy flat trails to ease us back into bike fitness. 

The afternoon disappeared riding beside the canals, when we arrived in Buges a large information sign informed us the canals were built due to the poor road infrastructure. Farmers would use the canals to send their produce to Paris which was much quicker than the roads, it was here at Buges that the 3 canals intersected. Canal de Orleans, Canal de Briare and Canal du Loing (the canal we had been following). These canals joined the Loire river to the Siene River. Throughout the day Arthur would insist on a hill climb and sprint challenge, he is obsessed with collecting points for the polka dot jersey and sprint jersey. At this stage he is in polka dot and Oliver is in the green jersey…..

We made it to camp mid afternoon which was lovely, the campground is huge however very empty so we had our pick of sites which was lovely. The boys enjoyed playing soccer amongst the oak trees and Patrick game up with a new game – 5 bottle bowling….he uses the soccer ball to knock down our drink bottles. All in all a very pleasant day on the bikes exploring the French countryside. 

24/8/26 – Montargis to Briare. – 58.90km (238.31km) 

Our last day on the Eurovelo 3 before we intersect the Eurovelo 6 in Briare this evening! Poor old Patrick woke with a cracking headache this morning and even managed a small vomit before having another laydown. After some breakfast, some Panadol and some water he bounced back surprisingly well and was ready to roll! 

We left the stunning Montargis which is affectionately known as the Venice of Gatinais. This is due to the multitude of canals and stone or steel bridges that are found in the town centre. 

After riding out of town we continued along the Briare canal, cross crossing it occasionally as the trail switched sides. At one point we were riding along and saw something swimming in the water, it was pretty large, like an otter but we figured it was probably more like a giant water rat! We did a bit of googling and found that the big ones can grow up to 60cm long and 9kg! 

We made good progress initially (following a pretty late getaway of around 1100! – we win the award for the laziest cyclists) and then stopped off for lunch in a small town who’s boulangerie was still open! The boys wanted to try some sweet treats so we indulged in some apple and fruit tarts along with a couple of baguettes to get our energy up!

After lunch we hadn’t gone far when we finally got to see a river boat in a lock!  We were riding past and saw a lady leaning over the side and talking into the lock. As it turned out a boat had just traversed the lock and had been lowered to the water level we had just ridden from. We quickly jumped the fence and watched the gates open and the boat sail out of the lock. It was a huge vessel and we were amazed it even fitted in the lock. The passengers onboard said they were on a six night cruise down the river, looked a bit flash really. We hung around to watch the gates close and before our very eyes the lock began to refill, for such a large space the water level rose extremely quickly, it was impressive to see. 

Slightly further on we came to the small village of Rogny-les-Sept-Écluses. This small village is home to the incredible 7 lock staircase of the old Briare canal that was completed in 1642! These canal systems we had been cycling beside the last few days, had been the work of King Henry 4th to connect the Mediterranean to the English Channel! All this back in the 1600’s is just crazy to think, however here it was. The reason it’s not still in use today (the modernised canal is just to the right and skirts the large hill) is that being near the top of the hill, the issue was the water supply. They simply couldn’t keep up with the huge amount of water each lock displaced and this would cause it to be closed for months at a time. 

We rode beside the old canal for a time which was quite cool to see before we began to go down hill! This was a bit mind blowing and I didn’t quite realise that the Briare canal went up and over a ‘summit’ and incredible piece of engineering back in the 1600’s. Ultimately the canal uses 36 locks to rise 41m from Briare to the ‘summit’ then it falls a total of 85m to where it intersects the Loing and Orléans canals where we rode yesterday. Pretty cool. 

The last 20km of the day went really fast. Arthur was on a mission and put in huge pedals! He even said to raelene that he loves the feeling of going fast on the bike on the flat ground, he really enjoys his riding! 

Thankfully we reached the beautiful town of Briare by about 1800. Patrick and I went and got the groceries while Raelene and the boys got to camp and set up. By the time Patrick and I arrived at the campground, Oliver and Arthur were playing mini golf with mum and a dip in the pool wasn’t far away! 

25/8/26 Briare to Cosne sur Loire – 38.79km (277.10km) 

When I woke Arthur was reading, Patrick was still sleeping and I assumed Oliver was also however when I sat up and found his mattress empty I was surprised. I found him outside happily playing mini golf…It was a lovely morning getting packed away. I picked up our yummy pain de raisins and pain de chocolate and before we rode off we all had a game of mini golf, I do not like it any better than real golf…..

We rode around Briare finding lunch supplies, when I was holding the bike I moved to put something in the back pannier and my knee gave way, argh! Gosh it hurt and caught me off guard. I hate my silly knee now! I took a few moments to gather myself and was grateful the pain was so short lived. As we rode off I remember thinking thank goodness it doesn’t hurt on the bike. 

We found the canal which flowed over another canal and the river! Yes a canal bridge had been built over the top of another canal. It was epic, it’s impressive to see the infrastructure and to see it still being used today. 

We then hit the Eurovelo 6! (woohoo! this is the cycle path we will follow all the way to Budapest) and then followed the canal until we found a lunch spot. On the way Arthur and I spotted another huge water rat sitting on a log, we watched it enter the water and swim for a while, they are massive and kind of cute. 

Lunch was another delicious baguette, salami and cheese then we continued to follow the canals, Oliver was already feeling a little tired so as we rode we agreed to have a rest day tomorrow. Oliver stating he is tired because for the first 2 days he had his front brakes stuck on which we hadn’t noticed, therefore his legs were extra tired, fair point. 

In the distance we could see huge chimneys from a power station, telling the kids they were cloud makers. They were doing a very good job as the clouds grew darker and eventually we got a little bit of rain. Luck would have it that we arrived at an information centre which had a great nature display in which we could hide away from the rain. We also discovered the water rats we had been seeing were not actually water rats, they are Coypu. I had never heard of a Coypu so it was great to learn about them, they are kind of like a beaver but with a rat like tail. Oliver enjoyed looking through the microscope at all the different sediments and rocks, Patrick found it tricky to focus but eventually got the hang of it and was difficult to get away. 

When the rain stopped we got back on the bikes and continued along the path, poor Oliver was really struggling by this point and after a bit of convincing he switched places with Arthur. Arthur loved being on Bloom for the last 7km while Oliver enjoyed resting on the back of Trunkie.

When we rolled into camp energy levels seemed to improve and as Rhys and I enjoyed a cup of tea and our pain de raisin Oliver and Arthur did the tent and set up the inside. Patrick had been upset he couldn’t ride bloom on the track so he zipped around the campsite on bloom having an absolute ball. With all the jobs done the boys discovered the very cool common room full of books, colouring in, boardgames and it had a soccer table and pool table. While Rhys rode into town for dinner supplies I played around with the kids. It will be a great spot for a rest day tomorrow. 

26/8/26 – rest day! Cosne sur Loire. 

With fatigue mounting over the last 6 days we were in need of a rest day! The campsite we were staying turned out to be perfect as it had a great shared space complete with colouring in, kitchenette, foosball and pool tables, and some comfy couches! 

It was also conveniently placed beside a permanent fair ground sort of thing that was home to a mini roller coaster, a spinning swing seat worry go round thing, mini golf and some huge inflatable water slides. 

After breakfast and diaries we wandered over to check it out. Turns out the prices were not too bad so we headed in and the boys were stoked. They went on pretty much every attraction and ride possible, they loved the mini roller coaster and the roundabout seat swing. As the day warmed up they also had a crack at the huge slides and little wading pool. 

Thankfully we could take our own food in so I hit the supermarket to grab dinner and lunch to keep the costs down for the day. 

Arthur was hanging out for some dad time today which was cute so we headed off to play mini golf together which he loved!

Man kids say some random stuff, at lunch Patrick just turned to me and said ‘hey dad, when you die can I have your phone?’ This then prompted a chat about what would happen I was to die and different ways the boys would remember me and how it was all be ok etc, the conversations you have on the road with your kids eh? It’s great. 

It warmed up a bit too much so we retreated back to our campground and into the relative cool of the shared space building. Oliver and I played a couple of games of pool which he enjoyed. 

Raelene and I then headed over the road for a rest day beer by the river at a beautiful little bar. The boys wanted to stay put at the campsite and when we got back they were right where we left them, relaxing inside and making the most of the rest day! 

I gave the bikes a once over and replaced my rear brake pads, now I have working rear brakes which is a bit of a novelty, they’ve been on the blink for a while! 

There are a lot of other cycle tourists in camp tonight, though most of them are not overly friendly. We certainly haven’t found the community that we had in NZ however the language barrier would certainly be a factor….