Not that we didn't absolutely love Norway, but it wasn't really that summery up there. Sure, we did see sunshine, but also snow. Say no more!

So come Autumn and return to the South I had in mind at least a few weeks of sunshine to make up for that lack of a real toasty summer. This kindof worked, but, then there was a change of plan.

You see: we were supposed to travel all the way to the bottom of Spain or Portugal for winter, but only made it as far as Porto (beautiful place that is too) before returning to France to attend to some business. Oh well, but it will hopefully be worth it.

At least, after the Norwegian experience, we know how to make the most of cold, grey weather

As previously mentioned - you do read everything here, right? - we had a short period at the start of summer in which to wait for some parts for our motorhome, which meant staying within easy reach of 'base' around Frankfurt.

This wasn't really a problem, as even a few hours from here will get you to the Black Forest in Germany and Vosges region in France.

We hadn't been to the Vosges before but there's plenty of great cycling there it would seem (the region is a regular feature in Le Tour) and upon arrival it didn't disappoint (well - aside from getting caught out in a brief rain shower that is).

The Black Forest was one of our favourite spots in German from a previous trip (Black Forest & Lake Constance, Aug/Sep '12) and again provided some fantastic cycling, walks and food.

This short interlude dealt with (and said parts fitted) we headed North for the main event. A quick stop in Copenhagen seemed a must and is included here, but for the rest of the summer it would be on to Norway! Or at least that was the plan!

The start of our second European adventure! We will be meandering all over this time so instead of trying to break down entries by country let's just call this, "Spring 2015".

After much deliberation I managed to talk Pratiwi into trying to live for many months - let's not tell her, "years" - in a motorhome. Neither of us have tried this before, but lots of people are doing it - just search the web for more useful blogs than mine regarding the subject - so how hard can it be?

Of course the first challenge is to actually acquire said vehicle for everyday living. A little trickier than you'd think, but after much research this saw us land in Frankfurt, Germany after the usual long flight from Sydney. We are so lucky that Pratiwi has friends in the area we can catch up with and get local advice from so that's a bonus.

We started by renting a car for just a week. The plan being to visit local dealers and line up the motorhome in this time. Fortunately this worked out well and we soon decided on the model we'd like that was in stock nearby. Sadly though, things aren't quiet as efficient in Germany as you might think paperwork along with other preparations would take a further two weeks. Doh!

Not to worry, we extended the car rental by this time (or rather, were forced to return the car we had and take another one for some unknown reason) so took the opportunity to venture to Holland and see this year's Amstel Gold Race, enjoying mostly German countryside along the way.

Once we took delivery of our new 'home' the choices seemed to be, head South for some sun or take a trip to the UK to visit family & collect a few things that had been left for safekeeping in 2012. Sadly, or happily - take your pick - the later won

Once in the UK it would have been rude not to see a little of the more picturesque parts (& a much hyped bike race there) so wondered around Yorkshire and up to the Lake District. Lovely but the weather reminded me why I moved to Australia rather quickly! Brrrrrr!

This was the cue to return to the continent. Our motorhome needed a little more work too so we did that and stayed close to 'base' to enable a quick return for parts fitting when they arrived. Not that this was a hardship - we've visited some beautiful parts of Germany while waiting.

It's not like we planned it this way, but one cannot visit France while Le Tour is on and not got and see a stage. Unlike 2012 this was a short trip though, so just the one stage this year.

However, the chosen stage was the final foray into the mountains for the race and we managed to position ourselves on the final HC climb. Usually one would take a bike and ride up the final climb before finding a spot to watch. Due to injury this wasn't an option, but we found a great spot on the first decent kick of the climb a couple kilometres from the left turn to Hautacam. And sat. And waited.

In previous years I've enjoyed taking 'serious' pictures at races but again, due to only the single stage this year, decided to stick to 'fun' pictures that tried to capture the atmosphere. Hopefully that comes over.

As the race came by I stuck a fisheye lens on the camera and held it in my uphill hand with one finger on the shutter. Yes, this produced a lot of rubbish, but it also got a few good shots and importantly it meant I could watch all the action up close without being stuck behind a viewfinder.

The most interesting thing about the whole day was that you'd think this would feel like hours of waiting - but not at all. So much happening, people to chat to and things to see. Even with the 2-4km walk up and back it's highly recommended... but next time we'll be on a bike for sure!

It's been so long since we got out of the 'city' (such as Sydney is) an Easter break was on the cards.

Pratiwi was missing the rolling green hills of Europe and Kangaroo Valley in Autumn is probably one of the closest places to Sydney to find that. Who was I to complain, as it's also one of the closer places with some half decent road climbs would be nice to test the legs and see if they still work on 500m+ climbs. Luckily all good in that department!

And also lucky: perfect weather all weekend and beautiful views from the cottage accommodation.

Smiles all round

It's someone's birthday mid-January, so after the Christmas festivities our plan was to meander back up to the UK and be in London for that date.

But... what route to take? We really wanted to head back over to the Pyrenees and see what winter there was like so I guess that made the choice easy. A big 'L' shape across the bottom of France and then up the West coast-ish.

Even though we'd been lucky with snow in the Alps, seems like winter was late to Europe this year as the outdoors was still very enjoyable. We had some great, sunny, encounters with bird life, seeing large flocks of Flamingo in the Camargue then almost stumbling across a flock of vultures near Lescun - wonderful!

We also learned you can't go past a spot of hiking through the snow to a frozen waterfall, or, further North, lunch in an old village famed for it's wine. Lots of variety in this leg and as usual, it's all good!

Well... I'm not sure if this is all entirely the Luberon, but that's what we're calling this segment of the trip, so...

After what was probably the last of the summer down on the coast, the time had come to return inland and see if we could cope with the winter conditions and add to our experience of Provence by exploring this more Southern Part. The timing was also chosen to kill a few weeks before (hopefully) returning to the Alps for a spot of skiing.

The question seemed to be answered that early in the season, in this part of France, it's chilly, but not unbearably so. Nice!

A word of warning though: you'd think Something-les-Bains would be a top choice for a winter's break. Thermal spa to enjoy and all that? Hmmmm... not so. We were very disappointed that all these spas seemed to be for medical purposes only. No tourists allowed to come and poach themselves in the steaming waters. Doh!

We had wanted to visit the Gorge du Verdon in summer but this just didn't happen, so was very glad to drive thought there a few times in this stint. It has to be said that this really is the highlight of the region. Amazing even in the dim light of a winter's day - surely a walk in the gorge will be a 'must do' experience on a balmy summer's day? Or a bicycle ride along the rim of course!

When in Rome... erm... I mean, when in Italy... it would be rude not to visit Rome, so here we are.

A very pleasant few days of galleries and piazzas and lots of walking in between. That is despite the rather overcast and wet weather there was to contend with.

Annoyingly we lost a few shots from the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain. Doh! Oh well... next time?

Il Lombardia. The race of the falling leaves. Last one day classic of the season. This was another not-really-planned event that it turned out we couldn't say no to.

After being re-scheduled to run the day we were due to arrive in Tuscany, a few calculations showed that so long as we catch the field early on the course there would be plenty of time for the drive South. Luck threw us a break when a hotel a few kilometres from the first and highest climb was found.

We spent a very nice couple of days pre-race here. Walking at the pass and also riding what is actually the very challenging climb up to Passo di Valcava (see elsewhere for details). Come race day though, the horrendous forecast proved correct and the heavens provided incredibly challenging conditions for the field. Only around a quarter of the almost 200 starters finished if the images here aren't proof enough.

On that note of abandonment, I'm sure we saw at least two of the field riding back to hotels/team buses down in the valley as we headed South. That, or it's usual in Lombardy to roll side by side, race numbers attached behind seat & in head to toe team kit. Sadly we passed too quickly to be sure, and one of the riders in question had a scarf covering their face. They looked pretty much like a pros trying to be inconspicuous to me!

I'm sure the weather also put a slight dampener on crowd numbers, but there were still numerous brave souls up on the top of Passo di Valcava with us.

It was great to see a 'classic' race and great to stand at the top of a HC climb as riders came by. Shame it wasn't a beautiful sunny day, but then... one may look back and say conditions added to this occasion. Time will tell.