"Planning" for a Trip to Paris!

   You'll find that not much planning goes into my trips. I try to have the right gear, a general direction of travel and usually a destination, that's about it. I always try to find something amazing to see or experience during my travels. On some trips I try to visit historic sites and others I'll try to find places that are new to me that I can share with my family and friends. Long weekends are great for trips.

   Veteran's Day is kind of a big deal to me. Being a veteran, and coming from a family of veterans and proud military supporters, this day has a special meaning in my life. Where I work Veteran's Day also means a four day weekend. Naturally, to me, that means more time to travel and to explore Europe on my motorbike. Last year, Veteran's Day fell on a Friday meaning I would have Thursday and Friday off along with the weekend. 

   On Tuesday I looked at my new map and tried to decide where I should go for the long weekend. My eyes went to Venice first. It looked like a trip to Venice would be about a ten hour ride.

   

   Venice is one of those places that I knew I had to see! It's a city of canals, old dudes singing in boats, art, historic sites and of course nice roads to ride on as I leisurely make my way through the Alps on my way there. 

   

   My good friend, Andy, lives in Garmisch which is about half of the way to Venice so I thought that would be a good place to spend a night on my way to and from Venice. I picked up my phone and dialed Andy's number, to ask him if I could borrow his couch as I traveled when Paris caught my eye.

   

   Paris is a much larger and more colorful dot on the map, which is probably why it drew my attention. I also knew that France saw a significant amount of action during both of the World Wars and that there are several American cemeteries in France that serve as the final resting place for thousands of American Soldiers and Marines. 

   I hung the phone up and thought about how amazing it would be to visit an American cemetery in France on Veteran's Day. Even better, this Veteran's Day would be 11/11/11. I decided that nothing would be more fitting than to ride to Paris for the long weekend. I could leave Early on Thursday morning, stop in a town near one of the cemeteries, spend the night, visit the cemetery for Veteran's Day and then cruise on to Paris to see the City. 

   Wednesday morning, one day before my trip I went to work and excitedly chatted up my journey with my coworkers. Most of them said I was crazy for riding my bike that far. I asked my new friends, new because I had only with them for a few weeks at that point, if there was anything I should look out for in Paris. The standard answer I got from everyone who had been there was: "Traffic is nuts!"

   There were also the other fun statements like: "The people drive crazy there!" and "Don't drive in the city, it's a walking city!" There was also the one statement that really made me think: "Watch out for the big traffic circle, it's like five unmarked lanes of crazy people trying to merge!" 

   I wasn't too nervous at first, after all, my more formative riding experience came from close to a year of commuting to Washington D.C. from Maryland. Nothing can be as bad as that, right? I was, however, very intrigued by this giant traffic circle. I decided right then and there that I would avoid this giant round-a-bout of death at all costs. I just couldn't find it on my map. Oh, and nobody could tell me exactly where it was either. The best information I got was. "It's by the big Arc de something-or another." I will tell you now that I definitely should not have been looking for a boat. 

   When I got home from work I packed for my trip. The first two things I loaded were my map and my compass - I'm a quick learner. I remembered how cold I was in the evening on my Prague trip so I opted to pack my Gerbing heated jacket liner and heated gloves from Bob's BMW instead of, well, nothing. I also packed a change of clothes, hygiene kit two water bottles and my sleeping bag, just in case. 

   

   I went to bed early Wednesday night so I cold get an early start on my trip. I turned on some music and went to sleep thinking of how great it will be to ride through the French Countryside on my way to Paris, desperately trying to avoid the big boat when I get into the city. 

   When I awoke on Thursday my plan had already crumbled. I wanted to get an early start in the morning but I overslept! I had some trouble sleeping the night before. I kept waking up in a cold sweat after having terrible nightmares of being trapped in the center lane of the round-a-bout of death, circling a big wooden boat, trying to change lanes so I could get out of town as an angry Frenchman, wearing a suit of armor and a Rutgers hat, stood on the boat throwing burritos at me yelling that I must leave or he will smite me again.