Dale Majors
Father, Entrepreneur, Adventurer
Europe Bike Tour 2017 Category
Day 60: Day in Venice
Posted on August 19, 2017 Leave a Comment
We drove to point Sabioni to take the ferry to Venice. After buying the 7 euro one way fair we took the 20 minute boat ride into Venice. There were cheaper options had we planned better. From there we walked the streets and allies of Venice. We were all surprised with how many of the […]
Day 59: Drive to Venice
Posted on August 19, 2017 Leave a Comment
We made the drive into Venice, and instead of staying right outside of Venice we drove the extra hour to stay along the beach where we had 20 campsites to choose from. After 2 misses with no availability we found a good place. Our campsite is right by the sea, so we were able to […]
Day 58: Zermatt, Switzerland and the Matterhorn
Posted on August 4, 2017 Leave a Comment
Woke up early this morning to head up to see how close to the Matterhorn we could get. We needed to catch a “shuttle” (actually a train) up to the city of Zermatt. That’s the last village before heading up to the Matterhorn. You need a special permit to drive a car into the city […]
Day 57: Interlaken to Tasch, Switzerland
Posted on August 3, 2017 Leave a Comment
We are grateful to be traveling with the Stewarts. Dan has been navigating and taking us on some very scenic Routes over mountains. We have really been enjoying the scenery! The ride today has been beautiful. We pulled up into camp and it has a huge boulder right where we set up the tents. The […]
Day 56: Lauterbrunen, Switzerland
Posted on August 3, 2017 Leave a Comment
We went to the tram and were pretty surprised by the cost. 75$ per adult and kids were 15$. Thought it would be one tram up but it was 4 trams that took you through some mountain villages. The views were incredible. Once at the top I was glad for my wife’s forethought to bring […]
Day 55: Drive from Walstut Tiengen to Interlaken Switzerland
Posted on August 2, 2017 Leave a Comment
Wild raspberries where we camped Gas station with the most amazing view anywhere in the world! They had a playground right next to it. Found a new campsite for the night about 20 minutes up the canyon from Interlaken.
Day 54: Car trip from Tübingen to 10k outside of Waldshut Tiengen
Posted on August 1, 2017 Leave a Comment
We went to church this morning, walked the mile and a half there and back. Packed up camp and were out by 12:30.we then drove towards Frieberg so we could see more of the black Forrest. The drive was beautiful. We’d promised the kids some mcdonalds on this trip and we fulfilled that promise today. […]
Day 53: finishing up in Tübingen / Stuttgart
Posted on July 29, 2017 Leave a Comment
We booked our tickets to leave from Stuttgart, and since we made it here about 10 days early we decided to rent a car and explore. We don’t have our itinerary set in stone yet but we’re thinking of Interlaken in Switzerland, then the Dolomites and Venice in Italy. Dan and I rode into Stuttgart […]
Day 52: Schömberg to Tübingen, 38 miles
Posted on July 28, 2017 Leave a Comment
We rode from 2200 feet down to about 1100. We had a strong tailwind as well, could not have been a better day for riding. Even though we weren’t on an established route, they have bicycle paths connecting all of these towns, it was very easy to navigate and remain on a good bike paths. […]
Day 51: Rest day in Schömberg
Posted on July 28, 2017 Leave a Comment
We all slept in and didn’t leave the tent until around noon. That means a couple of the kids stayed in the tent and watched a movie on the iPad while Brittany and I slept in a bit. I felt a bit tired and sick until dinner time, something about building a fire gave me […]
Day 50: Tuttlingen to Schömberg, 28 miles
Posted on July 26, 2017 Leave a Comment
We left the eurovelo 6 today. I’m laying here in my sleeping bag and my phone clock reads 4:18 am. The riding day wasn’t particularly hard yesterday, hilly, but less overall climbing than the day before. We also didn’t have to climb from 1,000 to 3,000 feet in elevation, before coming to rest around 2k. […]
Day 49: Radolfzell to Tuttlingen
Posted on July 25, 2017 Leave a Comment
We were able to set up camp without rain, it was nice to not pack up a soaked tent, though the rain fly was still wet. I’m still not sure whether I prefer the heat or the cold, this morning was in the low 60s, but we have clothes to keep warm. The problem with […]
Day 48: Schaufhausen to Radolfzell
Posted on July 25, 2017 Leave a Comment
Distance: 31 miles The morning started early with Brittany waking me up telling me she heard something outside our tent. She’d heard something before we went to sleep but I brushed it off and we just went to sleep. At 2:30 we heard something again. By the time I was fully awake she’d gotten dressed […]
Day 47: Rest day in Schaufhausen
Posted on July 23, 2017 Leave a Comment
This campsite that we’re staying in about a mile outside of town is amazing. You don’t have to pay for the washer and dryer, they have a fridge / freezer to use, and very clean bathrooms. It’s also right on the river, great environment overall. It’s sad I listed all those other simple things before […]
Day 46: Waldshut Tiengen to Schaufhausen
Posted on July 22, 2017 Leave a Comment
We luckily had some good weather to put away our tents, and we delayed or 930 leave time until 11. Chill morning, it was good to sleep in until 8:30. We discussed what it would look like to Rent-A-Car and go for a five-day excursion to Venice, the Alps and possibly Monaco. We decided that […]
Day 45: Basel to Waldshut Tiengen
Posted on July 22, 2017 Leave a Comment
Distance: 38 miles Cool sights, shopping on the Germany side for cheap, long lunch at a park, and lots of rain to close out the day. The riding was much more hilly than we are used to. Nothing too crazy, but small up and downs that are tough when fully loaded and carrying kids. The […]
Day 44: Rest day on the Rhine
Posted on July 20, 2017 Leave a Comment
We spent the morning and early afternoon at the pool while Brittany hand washed the laundry. Who got the better deal? Dad at the pool with the kids, or Mom doing laundry? Brittany joined us for a bit, I love how much she loves the kids. Hazel embracing her inner European. Ada cruising down the […]
Day 43: Mulhouse to Basel Switzerland
Posted on July 20, 2017 Leave a Comment
The Mosses left us today to continue their adventure in Switzerland, they’ll be doing day hikes and other things like that. We may rent a car in the next week or two and do some of the same, we’ll see. They were a great addition to the group. Because of the 55 mile day yesterday, […]
Day 42: L’isle sur le doubs to Mulhouse
Posted on July 18, 2017 Leave a Comment
We rode 53 miles today. It was hot, but the riding along the canal was easy. We did have a long climb at the beginning of the day, but the grade was gradual and we all did fine. We did our shopping about 18 miles in while the kids played at a splash pad, they […]
Day 41: Besançon to L’isle-sur-le-doubs, 40 miles.
Posted on July 17, 2017 1 Comment
Today’s riding was very different, we are entering more of a mountainous area and there are rock walls on either side of us, so for a few hours this afternoon we were able to ride in the shade. We rode 18 miles and got all of our shopping, then rode another 10 and had lunch […]
Day 40: Rest day in Besançon
Posted on July 16, 2017 Leave a Comment
We made it to church 15 minutes early, we had a 1 mile gradual climb to get there then a 1 mile descent, it was nice to be on time. After church we stopped by the intermarche supermarket to buy diapers since I forgot to pack some, and to pick up lunch. Dan invited the […]
Day 39: Dole to Besançon, 45 miles
Posted on July 15, 2017 Leave a Comment
We rolled out to the campsite reception to find out that Kimball had a flat tire. We tried to get the slime to activate by pumping it up again but it wasn’t holding air. We ended up putting a new tube in. The kids were pretty moody this morning, after about 30 minutes of riding […]
Day 38: rest day in Dole
Posted on July 14, 2017 Leave a Comment
We started the day with dropping some laundry at the laundromat and getting some clean clothes. We swam, hung around he campsite to get organized then at about 4 we did a walking tour around Dole. One funny story about swimming. About 5 minutes in the camphost angrily approaches us and points towards Dan, turns […]
Day 37: Verdun sur le doubs to Dole, 46 miles. Ada profile (6 years old)
Posted on July 13, 2017 Leave a Comment
The plan was to ride about 30 miles a day until we reach Besançon where we would rest on Sunday and go to church. An hour into the ride one of the kids asked if we could just ride two 45 mile days, and rest tomorrow. We did the math on the map, and it […]
Day 36: Chagny to Verdun sur le doubs. 35 miles.
Posted on July 13, 2017 1 Comment
We rode 35 miles today, which was great for the group considering we rode 56 miles yesterday and we’re a bit tired. I felt some pain in my left shoulder, so I’m experimenting with fore (am I spelling that right?)and aft saddle positioning. Melanie is also having some shoulder pain, I hope our adjustments help. […]
Day 35: 56 mile day to Chagney – 700 miles in thus far – Bennett profile
Posted on July 11, 2017 Leave a Comment
Long day today to get to a non “Naturiste” campsite (see yesterdays post) 56 miles. Highlights: Getting bolt for cleats stripped out and passing a guy doing metal work in his front yard, he ground down my cleatbolt so we could unscrew it with a flat head screwdriver. Making a deal with the 6 year […]
Day 34: Bourbon Lancey to paray le monial, spotlight on Hazel
Posted on July 10, 2017 Leave a Comment
Distance: 28 miles Easy riding day along the canal. We lost James for 2 hours, but someone from the search party found him about 6 miles ahead. Turns out he was in the back and stopped for a bio break, and the group turned off the path into a town and no one noticed that […]
Day 33: Rest day in Bourbon Lancey
Posted on July 9, 2017 Leave a Comment
It was so nice to sleep in! Hazel and I woke up about an hour before the rest. We walked around the little lake to the playground, but not before having breakfast number one of Arroz con Lèche, then breakfast two of scrambled eggs with ham. I’ll include some pics to provide an overview of […]
Day 32: Decize to Bourbon Lancey
Posted on July 8, 2017 Leave a Comment
Distance: 32 miles We woke up at 7:00 for an 8:30 departure and started towards a supermarket that was on the outside of town. Riding was relatively easy at first, but as the day wore on we rode quite a few hills! Ada has had it rough these last three days! She crashed two days […]
Day 31: Nevers to Decize
Posted on July 7, 2017 Leave a Comment
Today we rode about 28 miles to get to Decize. We took the canal route most the way instead of the eurovelo 6. Each morning we transfer Hazel into the stroller so she can continue sleeping while we put our gear away. First stop of the morning was to a boulangerie for some pastries. A […]
Day 30
Posted on July 7, 2017 Leave a Comment
We spent some time swimming in the river, very shallow with a slow current. Playing frisby in the Loire! Picking up the Moss family from the train station. They’ll be joining us for a time. We’d talked about doing this for a while, and I randomly ran into them on a hike about 9 months […]
Day 29: Rest day
Posted on July 5, 2017 Leave a Comment
Today was pretty chill. French toast for breakfast sponsored by the Stewart’s! One of their daughters had a birthday. Swam in the river, skipped rocks. Stayed in the very shallow parts, the current is relatively strong. Shopped. Hung around and got some rest, and a little bike maintenance. Nice beach for digging in the sand. […]
Day 28: La Charité sur Loire – Why we bike tour
Posted on July 4, 2017 Leave a Comment
Distance: 16 miles We rode a short distance today to get to our campsite, which puts us near N9evers to pick up another family from the train station Thursday afternoon. Ada rode the whole way on her own without getting in the trailer, for an almost 6 year old she’s doing so well. We arrived […]
Day 27: 30 mile ride to Saint Satur
Posted on July 3, 2017 Leave a Comment
We were going to make it to Nevers tomorrow with a 45 mile day today, then a 35 mile day tomorrow in order to meet another family that’s joining our trek. They’re from China, and are friends of Dan. They ended up renting a car and gaining some flexibility, so we called off the 45 […]
Day 26: Rest day – rundown of a typical day of touring
Posted on July 2, 2017 Leave a Comment
Rested all day with a constant drizzle outside. Kept the kids entertained with the playground and other random things to explore at the campsite. We did our own little church service and played some games afterwards. Lazy day thus far as I write this sitting at the playground with the kids. The logistics in dealing […]
Day 25: All day rain, rest day tomorrow.
Posted on July 1, 2017 Leave a Comment
After two weeks of riding in he sweltering heat I couldn’t imagine being in the cold. Now I can. We were wet all day, and it was nice to take a Luke warm shower to end the day. One benefit of the rain and overcast skies is food preservation. You don’t have to be as […]
Day 24: Orleans to Sully-sur-Loire
Posted on June 30, 2017 Leave a Comment
Distance: 25 miles Another wet day today. It’s cold and wet, but we’ve got good gear for it. Hazel is warm and cozy in the trailer. The kids are warm and dry in the Weehoo. Kimball is doing well riding in the rain too. Don’t know what else to write tonight. I’m tired, and have […]
Day 23: Muides-Sur-Loire to Orleans.
Posted on June 29, 2017 Leave a Comment
Distance: 38 miles with amazing tailwinds. (Gratitude is noticing that the wind is at your back) Quick review of our group. Majors – That’s Brittany and I, and our 4 kids ages 2,4,6,8. Stewarts – Dan and Melanie, and their 6 kids aged 6 to 16. Pugmires – Matt and Ashley, and their two year […]
Day 22: Another rest day and an explanation of how we carry it all
Posted on June 28, 2017 1 Comment
We had another rest day today, Brittany has had a bad cough and could use the rest, and another family in our party wasn’t feeling too hot either. We asked a few of the kids what they wanted to do, and it was an easy decision to stay here another day. We did a run […]
Day 21: Rest day in Muides Sur Loire – Staying connected on the trail
Posted on June 27, 2017 Leave a Comment
Location: Camping Chateau des Morais We were able to sleep in until about nine, make some scrambled eggs, granola, then swim for a few hours. The Stewart’s made French toast and graciously shared it with us. It’s definitely nice to sleep in and get some rest. Right as we were getting up Ada told me […]
Day 20: Blois to the Chambord Castle to Swimming pool paradise (Muides-sur-Loire)
Posted on June 26, 2017 Leave a Comment
Distance: 18 miles. Riding conditions. Mostly flat, good temperature around 80 degrees and relatively easy riding. Big ears. At church yesterday I noticed Bennetts ears and thought, “Man, his ears really poke out, how have I not noticed this before, oh well.” Later on that day Brittany noticed them and knew it wasn’t normal. They […]
Day 19: Rest day in Blois
Posted on June 25, 2017 Leave a Comment
We left camp at 8:30 and barely made it to our 9am church in Blois. Wandered down the hill through Blois on the way to a park for the kids to play and passed by their huge Cathedral. Kids played at the park by the river and adults did some shopping for dinner. Had Kababs […]
Day 18: Amboise to the Davinci Museum to Blois
Posted on June 25, 2017 1 Comment
Distance: 37 miles The da Vinci Museum is pretty cool, not much for the kids to play with in the house, but the outside grounds had several different things for them to play with as well as a playground when we were done. I didn’t know he had so many inventions for war tools like […]
Day 17: joue-les-Tours to Amboise
Posted on June 23, 2017 Leave a Comment
Distance: 28 miles We broke camp and left at 8:30 instead of 7. The forecast only called for 82 degrees, which is much more bearable. The ride to Tours was nice and easy, and for the second day we’ve had a healthy tailwind. In Tours (pronounced more like “Two” than Tours) we stopped by the […]
Day 16: Villandry Castle and nearing Tours
Posted on June 22, 2017 Leave a Comment
Distance: 34 miles Kenny got on his flight without any hiccups, good news. Too bad he had to go home early, but he handled getting himself to Paris like a champ. We had to move some gear around, since he was helping us carry three sleeping bags, and a few fuel canisters. The group helped […]
Day 15: rest day, Kenny headed home
Posted on June 21, 2017 Leave a Comment
Kenny went home today, bummer. The logistics were all super easy though. One call to united and 88 dollars later we had his awards flight changed to fly out of Paris on Friday. I got him a Taxi ride to Saumur to take his bike back to Decathlon and then a ride to the train […]
Day 14: Saumur to Savigny-en-vernon
Posted on June 21, 2017 Leave a Comment
Miles: 15 Temperature: High of 98 degrees Maintenance issues: Kimball had a flat tire and a small hole in his tire sidewall. Fixed with GU wrapper and gorilla tape. Might overnight new tires from online retailer based in Europe. Very hard to find 20 inch road tires. Highlights: Saumur Castle, Cemetary with water spicket, church […]
Day 13: Montsabert to Saumur
Posted on June 19, 2017 Leave a Comment
Distance: 25 miles It was in the 90’s today, even with our 7:30 start time it got hot pretty quick. There was a point at about 10 miles in where we should have taken a left in order to avoid hills, but we went straight and had tons of climbing! Each of us was exhausted, […]
Day 12: Rest day in Montsabert
Posted on June 18, 2017 Leave a Comment
We spent the day here, doing some laundry and just resting. First thing this AM Ada and I went to pick cherries. At first Ada sat on my shoulders and got the hard to reach cherries, and eventually the camp host provided a ladder, we probably got 10 pounds of cherries that the group has […]
Day 10: Ancenis to some little town 28 miles away:) I’ll update location later.
Posted on June 17, 2017 Leave a Comment
The riding got really hot today, so much so that by the end of the day we decided that we would start leaving earlier. We looked at the forecast and over the next few weeks it is going to be super hot. Getting up to 95°. We bought a bike a few days ago at […]
2017 Family Bike Tour Overview – Eurovelo 6
Posted on June 17, 2017 Leave a Comment
A few years ago, My wife Brittany and I cycled for 2 months with our three children on the Eurovelo six route. We loved it so much, we decided to do it again now that we have four kids. We also invited a few families to join us. Our kids are ages 2,4,6 and 8. […]
Day 11:
Posted on June 17, 2017 Leave a Comment
Ada crashed today, twice:( first time she just went down in gravel, then the second time she went over her handlebars. She was good each time, but we’re realizing she just may be too young to put more than a mile or two here and there. 10-15 miles might just be too much. We got […]
Day 9: Belle Riviere to Ancenis
Posted on June 16, 2017 Leave a Comment
We rode about 20 miles today, the miles went quick and after a few breaks we arrived at camp around 12:30. Kenny had been split up from the group two days ago and having some bike issues, I encouraged him to stay there in Ancenis and figure it out so he could be ready once […]
Day 8: Rest Day at Belle Rivierre
Posted on June 15, 2017 Leave a Comment
We took the day to get our bags a bit more organized, go back to Nantes and do more shopping and also just take a break from Paris. This campsite is so chill, and it’s nice to have a break. The kids spent the day playing on the playgrounds, they all play quite well together. […]
Day 7: Train from Le Mans to Nantes, camping at Belle Rivierre
Posted on June 14, 2017 Leave a Comment
The importance of staying together in a group – the awesomeness of bike tour dynamics. We slept in until 10:30 – yep, it was amazing. We rolled out of the campsite after a nice shower, and some granola for breakfast. The ride down to the train station was very fast, we took another more direct […]
Day 6: packing bikes for first time, and taking a train half way.
Posted on June 12, 2017 Leave a Comment
We spent the morning packing our bikes to be ridden for the first time, I knew it would take long, and it took about five hours. We pulled out about an hour later than we had planned. We sent Kenny ahead to go to the bike shop for a few new parts, and repairs. When […]
Day 5: church and the Louvre – and how this all came together.
Posted on June 12, 2017 Leave a Comment
Church was about 8 miles away from where we were staying, so we left about a hour and a half early. Riding through the city with 14 bikes and 4 baby strollers is quite the ordeal. I guess I should explain how we all got here. 3 years ago Brittany and I took our three […]
Day 4: Versailles, the gardens and the temple.
Posted on June 11, 2017 1 Comment
The funniest part of the day was probably when I needed a knife to cut something off of Kenny’s bike. Brittany said she had a knife. She then threw it at me but I missed the catch and blocked it. It hit the ground opened, and appeared that she threw it to me with the […]
Day 3: Sleeping in, Notre Dame Cathedral, Camping Stoves, the Eiffel Tower and a ride back to camp at 11pm.
Posted on June 9, 2017 Leave a Comment
Today I woke up from some of the best sleep in recent memory, at 10:30, it was amazing. Some of the others didn’t wake up until 11 and noon. Going to sleep at about midnight or so, I didn’t wake up once, not even for the rainstorm that the others were telling me about. It […]
Day 2 – getting to camp and the Arch de Triumph
Posted on June 9, 2017 Leave a Comment
We landed in Paris around 8:30am and by the time we made it out of customs and collected our bags it was 9:30 or so. We immediately walked towards the meeting place that Matt had identified by checking out the airport map online, and we were the first ones there. A little later Matt and […]
Day 1 – Salt Lake to Paris, through Toronto
Posted on June 7, 2017 Leave a Comment
Brittany and I finished wrapping up all our loose ends and got to sleep at about 2:30. Not a great way to start a trip with our kids, but it could have been worse! We got up at 5:00 and were out the door by a quarter to 6:00. The check-in process went really well. […]
Bike Trip – Leaving tomorrow
Posted on June 6, 2017 Leave a Comment
Three years ago we rode 1300 miles across France, at the time we had a 1, 3 and 5 year old. We decided we’d do it again, and our now 8 year old can ride his own bike. Here are a few of the quick facts about the trip: We invited another family with 6 […]
Dale Majors 