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That time, I had a holiday, didn’t blog for months, read books, and turned 50!

Writer's picture: Shelley BairdShelley Baird

It's quite the title, isn't it?


The last few months have been busy, and my attempt at blogging stalled again while I was doing that life thing. To quote a millennial classic… Sorry, not sorry.


What's my excuse?

Europe. Now, before you say, 'Oh, like the rest of the privileged few,' there's a story and a decade of saving behind said Europe trip.


Just after I turned 40, I was feeling a bit ho-hum about life. So, I set myself a goal to see the Tour de France (TDF) live before I turned 50. I'd watched it for years, and it's the reason I started cycling. The TDF also gets me through winter in Australia. Somehow, staying up late, drinking coffee (and the odd glass of port), munching on chocolate and cheese while taking in the dreamy French countryside makes the cold and the grey more bearable.


Fast forward through a decade of saving (and significant life events), and there I was, boarding a flight to Spain to see the start of the 2023 Tour de France and follow the first five stages. It was July, and my birthday is in September, so I ticked off the goal with only a few weeks to spare.


Plot twist

A few years ago, my then new partner, now husband, floated the idea that cycling in France and watching the TDF would make the trip much better. Without hesitation, I agreed. I found a cycling tour group where we could follow the race and cycle parts of the route, booked us in, and did my best to train for the mountains. Steep, steep mountains.


I intended to blog but didn't.

The experience was beyond even my highest expectations, so I didn't write anything except social media posts. The opportunities to make memories became the priority.


Some standout moments include the Teams' Presentation in Bilbao – a crazy cacophony of chatter, cheers, and free merchandise. The first day of riding, 65km around San Sebastian, saw us climb through the Basque country along roads where the mountains met the Bay of Biscay and crossed the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route. The group slowed for a gentleman making the trek with his donkey. I wondered how far he'd come and how cooperative that donkey had been.

View on the first ride - the Bay of Biscay from the hills around San Sebastian.


The next day, we rode a 40km loop near Guernica, described as 'mostly flat' (um, no). It was another morning of roads that tracked along the coast, swept us inland through stunning hills (mountains) with dense forests and then looped back towards the ocean in graceful arcs, allowing us to overlook beaches at Laida and Lada. The route was complete when we descended down, down, down, left, right, left, through Nabarniz and back to Guernica. The TDF stage that day included this 40km loop, and our climbs were made easier by cheers from locals setting up roadside marquees and barbeques in preparation to raise their voices for the pros in the afternoon.

The steep hills around Guernica delivered dense forests and beachside rest stops.


In France, I cycled from Argelès-Gazsot, where we were staying, to Lourdes and back – a special day even for someone who doesn't believe faith exists in a building.

Just a casual ride through a French valley on the way to Lourdes. HA!


My final ride of the trip involved two of the major peaks that regularly feature in the TDF – Col du Soulor and Col d'Aubisque. Postcard views and pinch-me moments from start to finish brought tears of happiness on the way back down, and my cheeks ached from smiling.

The stickers on the signs are legendary and almost encouraged. And yes, that 30km back down to Argeles-Gazost, where we stayed, saw me on the brakes a lot.


That's me in the green top on one of the flat(ish) sections between Col d'Aubisque and Col du Solour. It's as stunning and as steep IRL.


I could write more, and maybe one day I will, but back to my TBR pile.


Before departing, I pulled out some long-standing items and some new ones. The long-standing items didn't get opened, but the new ones were devoured and then added to with another new book. As I've said before, My TBR Year isn't about buying fewer books; it's about being more intentional with my reading. Here's the first part of my holiday book report.


Graft by Maggie Mackellar (a 2023 addition to the TBR)


If you haven't heard of Maggie or read her incredible books, Core of my heart, my country, When it rains and How to get there or her Substack blog, The Sit Spot, you should. I posted this review of Graft on Instagram in July, but here it is with some amendments and additions.


I've just finished Graft by Maggie Mackellar, and I'm weeping on a train somewhere between Toulouse and Paris. I saved this memoir for the flight to Europe, figuring I would inhale it in one sitting because Maggie's writing is so intoxicating. However, I had to slow down because I needed to stretch out the experience as long as possible. I read a few pages every night, or percentages, to be precise because I read the e-book. I re-read some sentences over and over as the imagery and deft descriptions of emotions require revisits!


In the pages of Graft, Maggie captures so many intimate connections between day-to-day farming life, motherhood, lessons and reflections from her life before she lived in Tasmania, and, of course, birds. I own the e-book and hard copy versions of Graft and loved seeing the gorgeous bird illustrations in hard copy when I arrived home. Bravo, Maggie! When you read the acknowledgements at the end (if you don't read these in books, please start), you understand this book was hard won, but every page was worth the effort. It's an amazing memoir, no matter how fast you read it.



Now, where was I?

In my last post, I said I would get back to Viktor E. Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, but I haven't yet. I'm a week into being 50, so perhaps now is a good time?


Also, I'm planning the next milestone holiday - the target age is 55. I'm not waiting another decade to create jaw-dropping, heart-stopping, breath-taking experiences. Currently on the list – walking the Camino (of course, I already have a book in the TBR pile about it) or another incredible cycling trip. Why I can't think of 'exploring the Greek Isles', as a friend suggested, is beyond me. I suspect that's not how my brain works.


Oh, and I'm considering another book cull—an actual one this time, not the soft attempt I made a few months ago.


Tell me, what have you added to your TBR pile, and what have you been reading?


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