Day 1 - Villepinte to Draveil

Light rain this morning, but it stopped about as soon as we started pedaling. We picked up the official EV-3 route about 2 miles from our hotel. 

The route took us straight into central Paris. We started our ride on le Canal du  l'Oureq which took us from our starting point at Villepinte (near Charles de Gaulle airport) into Paris and the mighty Seine River. 

Alas, in Paris I had my first flat tire. Fortunately, Mo is a Master Bike Tire Wrangler, and found the itty-bitty sliver of metal that was the culprit, and we were soon back on our way. 

Cloudy skies, but the Eiffel Tower stands proudly on the horizon. 

Our original plan was to cross the Seine right at Ile de la Cité, but a rerouting after the tire repair brought us to the Seine a little south of there. 

We crossed athe Seine several times including an epic crossing at the mis-named Écluse No. 1 (Lock #1), which was actually the second lock we encountered. The crossing involved four flights of steep stairs with loaded bikes at each side of the lock....

Views from both sides of our crossing. 

Hilarity ensued  at the end of our ride when we spent an hour circumnavigating the area of what turned out to be a non-existent campground (a single rental house, rented by the year -- no camping grounds whatsoever).  But once again, Kate's prowess with booking accommodations in foreign lands on her phone prevailed, and we ended up lodged (and eventually fed!) In Viry-Chatillon. Life is sweet!