Comedy or Tragedy?

Or should i say, "Dumb and Dumber"...Bastille Day is a day the French hold above all else. It's also a day where the country completely shuts down. So, imagine our surprise, with a double-dose of dismay, when we realized that we were going to run out of gas, well before our rendezvous point at the hotel. Hmmm...what to do.

A quick thinking colleague advised us to hover near a petrol pump in the hopes of 'paying off' one of the locals- giving them cash in return for using their credit card to access the pumps. Because guess why? The 24-hour pumps here only use the European style credit cards, which have a special chip in them, which leaves us out in the cold. Or in this case, out in the cold by the side of the road!

So, our Angel of the Evening finally showed up, and we thought, "BAM! We are on our way".

The Gods, as well as being 'Crazy', can also be fickle. Our enjoyment was short lived. Turns out my esteemed colleague, and car mate, unbeknownst to me, put the WRONG FUEL INTO THE TANK. So...5K down the road, our car was no longer capable of attacking the asphalt.

Well, the COMEDY of ERRORS was well underway by this point. We called more troops into the mix- thankfully a bevy of co-workers arrived to aid us- and after switching bags into a few other cars, we realized there was no place to put our bikes. No problem! (we thought)...we were 'only' 62 Kilometers from our hotel, we'd just ride in.

And so began the Quest for the Pillow (as in, i was already really tired). Did i mention, the sun set approximately 25 minutes after we started our ride?? And did i mention my riding partner thought it was OK to leave me behind as he motor-paced off of a car, but i did not get in the draft?

Well, this story could go on forever, so i'll end by saying, I got to see fireworks exploding off to my left as i hammered into town, I got to the hotel after being escorted by a car full of my TV teammates, and i got to appreciate that no journey ever goes the way you plan. So, you'd better enjoy the 'ride'.