Forget Us Nicht: Hello there…

Hello everybody,

It’s been a while since last I blogged and do I have things to write about.

Let us all have a moment of silence as we say goodbye to my dear and close friend, ol’blue.

Fifteen great years of mountain biking bliss… I couldn’t ask for a better bike, but it’s time to move on so…

Say hello to my new little friend, greeny. A new chapter in trail riding and hill climbing begins.

I’ve come to realize that training going up hill helps my lower back immensely. Sooo, the last month or so I have been really pushing the limits of my old mountain bike and finally it said, NO MORE and committed seppuku.

I’m am going to try to revive ol’blue by making it into a single gear…well see.

Ok now for some updates,

Two weekends ago L and I headed to Gigondas, France with a friend of ours to help him buy wine. It was a quick three day weekend of long drives, wine tasting and developing a palate for these bold wines.

Our first stop was in the small village of Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes. I believe this village is located in the northern part of the Cote the Rhone, near Châteauneuf-du-Pape. But their popular Grenache grapes from the Cairanne appellation are quite good.

“Red wines in Cairanne are mainly made from Grenache Noir which must comprise at least 50% of the blend. This grape is supported by Syrah and Mourvèdre (which must together comprise 20% of the blend) and then all of the other nominated grapes varieties for the Côtes du Rhône appellation which include Counoise, Cinsault and Carignan among others.”

Ok that was for all the wine experts out there, which I am by no means near approaching. Below is a picture of the town market. I bought some really tasty chorizo and French sausages.

below is a picture of one of the wineries we visited, this one was the Sainte Cecile local.

The Gigondas wine valley.

If you are interested in reading about the Gigondas wine click on the link -

http://www.gigondas-vin.com/terroir/encepagement.php

Rhone Valley

Gigondas

The Maison de Gigondas is where most of the wines from the local villages are collected and sold. We stopped here before we were off to the wineries. I completely forgot to take pictures of the wineries, every time we arrived at a winery I became enchanted by the owners and I would forget to document our visit.

Stopping in a local restaurant for some lunch.

Approaching the village of Séguret, France.

L taking in the fresh air of the Rhone valley from Domaine de Mourchon a winery located in the hills of Séguret.

If you ever get a chance to visit France,one must visit Séguret, but don’t tell anyone we have to keep it a secret.

Below we headed towards the village of Pommard, another fantastic place to visit. After our wine travels we headed back home, but before we left France…

We stopped in our favorite villages of Givry and Mercurey looking for those final purchases that would round out our wine selections.

One final pictures leaving Givry and headed back towards Germany. We had a fantastic time and we got to stay in Lyon for two days, which was an added bonus.