Epilogue

The tour in general was really nice, we had a fantastic time, but I felt the weather really let us down, the rain and especially that wind, I'd take hills over wind any day.
From the cold and wind my ears got wind-burned and hurt quite a bit, it took over a week for them to get better.
Monique's new bike the Trek 7.2FX WSD came through without a problem, it handled great and she felt comfortable and safe on the bike, loaded and unloaded.
Our new tent, the Jack Wolfskin Worlds End RT really proved itself in the storms, wind, rain and heat, we are really happy with it, worth every penny, I will recommend this tent to all.
The level of comfort really outweighs the extra kg's we had to carry. It was real easy to set-up, and roll-up.
France is a nice country to visit but the French people should realize that not everyone speaks French and should not expect people to learn a language so they could visit their country for 2/3 weeks. All of the other countries I've been to spoke some English, especially in train stations and other places where tourists pass through. I found that to be very arrogant of the French and if I don't visit this country again it would be for this reason.
Spain for instance was the opposite, everyone spoke some English and it was very helpful to us and other tourists we spoke with and I don't think the Spanish feel they are loosing their language.
The only problem I found in Spain was their camping grounds are expensive and were not as clean as those in France.
I was also real disappointed about ANWB, I thought they had some standards they went by, but after seeing the camping's they promoted I'm not that sure anymore.
Paul Benjamince's book was OK. I really feel like I have seen all of the French country-side and farmland and don't have to see anymore for a while.
The tour had some climbing and anyone thinking of doing this ride should really do some smaller rides first to get fit.
The Massif Central mountains were really beautiful and I would love to go back and check out the rest. Some of the directions are quite complicated and it took some imagination to follow. I also think Paul B. should have added some places to get re-supplied, we met a few other cyclists doing this tour and heard the same from them.
As for visiting Barcelona, DO NOT ride your bike there, find a camping on the north of the city (not Playa Sol) or west in the hills, (probably much better and quieter) and get a bus into the city.
My biggest surprise was my wife, she rode very good, and handled the weather and disappointments really good, she climbed over those hills with no problem and she really enjoyed the tour, so much so that she can't wait to do another.
And that makes me a very happy man.
 

We hope you all enjoyed these pages, till next time, safe travels, George and Monique.