Pit Stop in Augsburg

After a month of serious pedalling and a little train journey across the Schwarzwald we have reached our Pit Stop, the Grandhotel Cosmopolis in Augsburg.

The Friedensakademie starts on Saturday and together with some other artists we're getting ready, preparing ourselves for a week of workshops with some 20 to 30 refugee children. Expect the unexpected and lots of fun!
http://www.grandhotel-cosmopolis.org/

And then it's time for the Augsburger Velocamp with a weekend full of bicycle action!

Blogging hasn't been easy at the best of times but the last four weeks have been particularly tricky as we have been on a bit of a mission to get here on time. But now all is different, we have a room, a bed, a fridge, an in house bar and an excellent internet connection, so there is time to share some blogs we been meaning to write.

 Ist das nicht ein Basler Fasnacht ?

Velo Science for the Universe at Pres-La-Rose, Montbeliard

Velocampus at Besancon et L'association Gaia a Baumes-les-dames. 

Glorious Gardeners - La Gloriette a Tours

Looking for Hok Braz and other Giants

Looking for Hok Braz and other Giants

On our search for giants in Brittany we came acroos the legend of the giant Hok-Braz and retold the story Kamishibai style in a workshop with children at a school in Erquy as part of the Don Quichotte affair at Cap Frehel. 

More to follow on Hok-Braz in the future when we return to Brittany and spend some time in Basse Bretagne.

 St. Jacut de la mer

and the giants we discovered there

and Bernard the Rock or Roche Bernard

 the little finger of Gargantua at Fort-La-Latte

In addition to Gargantua other giants for us to discover on our return to Brittany include Aspicin, Calabardin, Goulaffre, Marcou Braz Struthan, the gentle giants Rounflets and the nasty giant Charagine or buckwheat of Haute Bretagne who eats a whole cows for lunch.and kidnaps women ..

Ist das nicht ein Basler Fasnacht ?

Beautiful model bicycles in the window of a butchers in Huningue

 

and buzzing Basel

41 degree celsius on a display in Basel

We also came across a  wonderful Masken, Schemen, Larven workshop in Reckingen, and were really moved, excited, and inspired  to come back in the Fastnacht season to experience carnival in this region..

Larve (Maske) und Schnitzelbank

Velo Science for the Universe at Pres-La-Rose, Montbeliard

We came acroos this Science Park at Montbeliard and were intrigued by the text on this sculpture...

....all is explained below.

 "L'univers DÉROULE ses ÉTATS SUCCESSIFS comme un CYCLE CONTINU DE FORMES NOUVELLES”   Henri Bergson

and an Exhibition which was unfortunately not open at the time of our visit...

PDF dossier file

Le Pavillon des sciences / Espace GaliléeParc scientifique du Près-la-Rose25200 Montbéliard

Velocampus at Besancon et L'association Gaia a Baumes-Les-Dames

Besancon, we like Besancon, very down to earth and we met up with Quentin and the Besancon Velocampus where we improved our bikes with a bit of velo brico.

Picked up a great handwashing tip.- put soap on your hands as usaul dip your fingers in dry used coffee grains rub around in your hands wash et voila ! Really works !

Genius use of inner tubes too, very comfortable very firm, nice !

Velocampus Besancon

And then we arrived in Baumes-les-Dames and came across a little arts and crafts market and L'Association Gaïa à Baume-les-Dames, our second encounter with an asociation - we spent some time and drank coffee with some ladies in Saint Symphorien on the Doubs - we like associations !

L'association Gaïa à Baume-les-Dames

Glorious Gardeners - La Gloriette a Tours

A wonderful cycle route intoTours, inviting, friendly, green and easy - makes you want to stay !

PLUS this glorious garden La Gloriette was right there on the cycle route in to Tours. On our way in and out of Tours there was lots of other community, allotment, potager, gardening activity going on.

INSPIRING we are definitely going back to spend more time here.

  

La Parc de la Gloriette

La Petite Rennes a Rennes - Vive la velorution !

This week we visited Rennes and La Petite Rennes a beautiful little bicycle recycling and auto reparation project. We met Simon and Nicolas who are there running the project and have both been invovled in workshops in the U.K., Simon in London and Nicolas in Bath.

We performed our emmisarial duties as Bicycle Ambassadors from the Bristol Bike Project and bought all the mechanics biscuits from the amazing bakery in Rue Vasselot (the yellow one). I could have spent all day in there, but went back to the workshop to meet yet another interesting couple...

.... Jean Baptiste et Evan, two Velotaxi cab drivers. We crancked up the soundsystem on Raymundo and went for a little spin round the streets of Rennes with them, in search for tourists to take a ride in the taxi, but picked up J.B's girl friend Berengere and found a nice beer garden instead.

Jean Baptiste and Berengere are preparing for a life on bicycles and will be setting of in a months time themselves. we whish them a velo happiness!

  This is the most amazing chain link remover (derive-chaine) we have ever seen. It's a real 'VAR-bon' as opposed to the modern 'VAR-shit'. It's lasted many years and looks like it will last many more. 

Come to La Petite Rennes and try it out for youtself!

If you do go and visit, they are looking for a Raleigh Chopper gear shifter and will shower you with biscuits if you bring them one from England.

Malheureusement we didn't get to meet the Bears on cargo bikes who are Toutenvelo and do removals up to 300kg by bicycle! 

We would love them to deliver 300 litres of cidre for the Mr.Berridge Challenge.

Pourquoui La Petite Rennes ???

  La Reine Bicyclette

The phrase "la petite reine" has passed into the French language as a term for a bicycle. The origins are in 1891, when Giffard wrote a history of bicycle development, La Reine Bicyclette.The expression was made more emblematic by the picture on the cover, of a young woman wearing a modern bicycle as a crown. The title was intended to describe the spirit that the bicycle had brought to her life. Cycling enthusiasts adopted the name, calling their machine "la petite reine".

La fete de la musique a St. Brieuc

The 21st of June all of France celebrates the Fete de la Musique with music in the streets. We loaded Raymundo up with tunes and had fun with Burn the Curtain, Cyclewest, Velo-utiles et all the velobus cyclists cycling the streets of  St Brieuc.

We danced to Retro Users (the best band in the whole town, right by our backstage area...) and ate lots and lots of lovely food which St.Brieuc city council laid on for us, yuumy chocloate cake, protein meets, cheese of course...

 

 

Cap Frehel avec la Cie Burn the Curtain

The Coyote Gang is back - ready to rumble in the Shark Pit!

We had a whole week in Erquy with our friends from Burn the Curtain, preparing the show, practising our lines - au au auuuuuu, riding up and down the brand new cycle path along the windy Cap Frehel, running away from every scene.
Sadly we only did one show in the end because of very high winds. The location was out by a lighthouse, no trees, just the heath and the birds and the wind. 
Here's a little news item from the French TV http://burnthecurtain.wordpress.com
"C'etait Epoustouflant! " dit Michel.

Nantes to St Nazairre,

A little late with our blog, these pictures are from the 21st May,

A giant cow, a coffee machine and a road sweeper on front loading bikes in Nantes

Is this the helmet of mambrino that we are all searching for ?

'La roue de legumes a la Claudine'  yummy yummy merci beaucoup Claudine

Some giant threw this house into the river !

Le Pont Nazaire in the distance we crossed this in high winds

with an incoming storm, aaagh !

There be giants here in the Canal St Martin !

These giants been knocking over trees also !

Kinya Maruyama “Le Jardin étoilé” a Paimboeuf

We love this place, inspiring, simple,open and friendly, charmimg and would really like to do something here.

Kinya Maruyama “Le Jardin étoilé”