What is my theme of the year?

Make Book DNA lovable ❤️. 

I am focused on creating something readers love so much that a chunk pay for a premium subscription.

It is my first time building a B2C SaaS, and I’m looking forward to learning and all the challenges this will bring (especially around mobile apps).

My big 3 goals for the year?

1. Live a life of adventure and spend more time in nature.
2. Support my wife in any way possible with some health challenges she is facing. This is continued from last year as she navigates that “fun.”
3. Stay out of the burnout cycle. Find my chill place and surf it (2025 was good in that regard). 

2025 was a great year, full of fun and wonder.

One of the best parts is that I didn’t fall into my normal burnout pattern. I hit a little bump in March, but course-corrected, and everything went well after that. It helped that Shepherd had a new direction, and I spent 2025 optimistic about what I am building. I’ve had a lot more energy after work to play with Calico and be more present.

And, this was our first full year in Bordeaux. It was wonderful to be in a home and city we love. It feels like home! It has been wonderful to see how happy Lindsey is in Bordeaux as she builds her community.

The Amazing

Lindsey and I celebrated our eleventh anniversary! We are in a great place, and that feels good. I love her, and we’ve had so many great dates and laughs this year.

Calico turned nine years old; he is a good kid. We had so much fun this year, and he makes me laugh so much 😂.

It was the best biking year ever! I spent the month of July biking the Black Forest in Germany, and then did a 1,200+ km bike tour from Belgium through Switzerland to Nimes in September. I wanted to challenge myself with some bigger climbs, and I did. Then my dad and I did a 7-day bike tour over Puglia, Italy, and had a blast. I’d like to do more of those!

What fun stuff did we do this year?

• I watched the original Star Wars movies with Calico! That is a dream come true, given how much I loved them as a kid. We’ve been doing a family movie night every weekend and breaking out the classics (Star Wars, Ghostbusters, Willow, Tron 1, Back to the Future, War Games, Mission Impossible 1, Sneakers, Real Genius, Karate Kid, Pirates of the Caribbean, Knights Tale, Hook).
• I visited Serbia to meet my 18-month-old nephew Viktor for the first time (and hang out with Nick and Isadora). I am hoping to see Viktor again very soon, as I missed him this summer. He is action-packed, and now he has a “running” mode!
• We went to Valencia for Spring Break. The trip was a big bust for me, but it helped me realize what I was doing wrong. And future trips went much more smoothly as I made sure I had enough free time to enjoy them. The trip ended well, and Calico and I stayed in a rural Basque farmhouse to bike, eat steak, and explore.
• Calico and I had a fun father/son weekend in Carcassonne and Cathar Country. He loved the castle, and we stayed in a really cool Airbnb. We also found a Cathar castle ruin and explored caves and mountains.
• We went up to the Pyrenees mountains for an adventure weekend! This was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, with stunning scenery. I had some amazing bike rides and broke some big elevation records. We played in icy-cold mountain streams, ate some of the most amazing steak I’ve ever had, and explored this part of Spain.
• We did an epic road trip through Ireland with Mom and Tony! I had so much fun and got to know Ireland so much better. Plus, we got to hang with Rose, Steve, Evie, and their newest member of the family, Arlo! I was so excited to hold the baby 😀.
• While Lindsey and Calico were in Arkansas for a month, I went to the Black Forest near Freudenstadt to work and ride gravel (pictures here, here, here, and here). It was some of the best gravel riding, and the weather was nice and cool. Marton met me there for the last week, and we did some fantastic rides.
• Calico and I rode a 131km over 3 days on the Vennbahn route. He knocked out two 50km days, which is impressive. We had a good time and ended at a fancy hotel with a pool. He was especially proud to say that he biked through 3 countries (the route started in Luxembourg, went through Belgium, and finished in Germany).
• We had a chill family vacation in Belgium. The only downside was that the Airbnb wasn’t great (and it was super expensive). It had a rooster and church bells that were extremely loud, and we slept poorly. We had an amazing trip to the Euro Space Center, and Lindsey surprised us with a trip to one of the best zoos in Europe. The zoo was the highlight for me! I also got to explore a lot of World War II history, including the Band of Brothers, the Battle of the Bulge, and the Battle of Bastogne. And a fair bit of biking in the Ardennes region.
• I did a 1,200+ km bike tour from Belgium through Switzerland to Nimes in September. So much fun even with a fair bit of rain 😀. And I explored lots of Roman history along the way.
• My dad visited Bordeaux for a month, and we had an awesome time (good food, beach visit, sub base, lots of game nights)! I was happy he found France so welcoming and that he would be glad to come back. We also did a late-season bike tour of Puglia, Italy. The weather was wild but calmed after a few days. I would love to do another one with him, where I had my bike, and maybe Calico can come as well. We ate some good food 😀.
• We went back to Valencia for Calico’s fall break. That was a good trip, and the first few days were so warm we got to go swimming 🤿. I got some good rides in, too. It was sad to see the severe flood damage.
• Calico is very serious about Halloween, and his costume was amazing. We had a fair number of trick-or-treaters as Halloween is catching on in France.
• Christmas was quiet and just us this year. Lindsey and Calico got sick in the weeks before it. But luckily, they were much better by that day. I was fighting off something and slept a ton, but otherwise ok.

The Challenges!

French taxes and politics 😐
We hit some major issues with the French tax system, and that was incredibly stressful. We did so much planning before we moved here, and then the government changed a massively important rule that mainly affects Americans. We also learned how important it is to hire a really competent expert, and we won’t make that mistake again. It was an expensive mistake. Now we know what we need to do and have a plan for the future. The big unknown is French politics and what the next few years bring. The USA, Spain, and many other countries are suffering through that.

Adulting sucks 😐
Owning a home is stressful; Lindsey takes the brunt of it, but we have so much we have to do. Prune trees, check the roof, fix shutters, repair leaks, fix washing machines,  and so, so, so much more. And there is so much paperwork to do in France and Spain. I got really frustrated and bogged down in all the bullshit paperwork that serves no purpose, but you have to do it. I know they are working to improve it, but they are failing right now. Spain is especially bad, France has good online systems most of the time.

Lindsey’s Health
This is a repeat of last year, but better. Lindsey has learned so much and is in a much better place mentally. I’m doing everything I can to support her.

Calico’s Health
We had a pretty serious health care issue with Calico, but luckily, subsequent tests have been fine. We will continue to monitor, and the French health care system has been good to us. I wish Americans had a system like this.

Shepherd
2025 was a better year, as I have a new direction, and I am excited about what I am building. I am also excited to work with Marton as a co-founder, and I’m almost done finalizing the legal side of that.

How did I do on my 2025 goals?

I had three main goals for 2025, and completed all three.

1. Shepherd is in a much better place, and I figured out where I want to go.
2. My year was full of adventures.
3. And I supported my wife as she faced some really frustrating health issues (she confirmed I did well as I like to check 😂).

2026…

A longer 2026 post is coming soon…

For 2025:

• I did 442+ hours of tracked workouts (2nd best year on record👏).
• I worked out on 237 days in some form

How do I feel about this year?

This year was awesome!

The only downside was that my back only felt great 91% of the time, which is my 2nd-worst year on record (since I started tracking it in 2019). The good news is that I did a massive research project using AI (and my limited knowledge) and redid my weekly workouts. I’ve been doing those new workouts for six weeks, and I have zero back pain since I made that change. I think some of what I was doing was hitting my back too hard. I am also working with a kinesio to check form and run everything through him (100% covered by health insurance in France 🤯).

Biking

• I rode 297+ hours on my bike (my best year on record🏆).
• I biked 140 days of the year.
• I rode 5,422km.

I was a magical year when it came to biking.

I spent July in the Black Forest in Freudenstadt working and riding (pictures here, here, here, and here). Marton met me there, and we did some fantastic rides that week.

Then August was in Belgium and Calico, and I did a 3-day biking adventure along the Vennbahn route. Calico knocked out two 50km days which is awesome.

Then Lindsey and Calico drove back to Bordeaux to start the school year, and I set out on a 22-day solo bike ride from Belgium through Switzerland and down to Nimes. I rode 1,269km over 18 days (rested for 4). I wanted a challenge, and I had 12 days with 700m or more in elevation gain and 5 days with over 1,500m. It was an awesome trip!

What biking records did I set in 2025?

I’m not a fast biker; I just look at my longest rides, elevation, and fastest 50km/100km.

• My top 3 biggest climbs were all set this year (1,234m, 1,228m, and 1,042m)
• My top 3 rides with the most elevation gains were all set this year (1,835m, 1,695, and 1,669m)
• My #2 most watts in 60 min (256W).
• My #3 most watts in 20 min (280W).

Strength Training (Rehab)

• I completed 108 hours of strength training over 116 days this year (an average of 2.2 hours per week).

What is crazy is that it is identical to 2024, down to the minute and the number of workouts! That is bonkers 🤡.

In 2026, I will continue my new workout regimen and aim to get my average closer to 2.5x per week.  But I am pretty happy with my setup. I just want my back to hurt less then in 2025.

What else?

Sick
I was sick for 7% of the year. That is almost identical to 2024 but much better than 2021/2022. Things have gone well lately; I have a prepared response when my sinuses go wanky. And we’ve been running an air purifier between the bedrooms, given some data showing how much it helps.

Not 100%

I was “not 100%” 21% of the year (versus 19% in 2024). This is a vague metric, but it helps me see how my energy is doing. I was super happy with my energy levels this year, even though that number was high. I didn’t burn out like I usually do.

Sleep
83% of my sleep was rated good, which is an all-time high.

And 72% of the time, I got enough sleep (7.5+ hours). That is also an all-time high. I am going to try to remove screens from the bedroom this year (apart from the ebook).

Back
My back felt great 91% of the time this year. That is my second-worst year on record, but as mentioned above the new workout is helping.

How did I do on my 2024 goals?

What goals did I dump?

• I tried a weight ruck sack in the first part of the year. I LOVE it, but I was getting some weird knee pain, although now I think that was due to another exercise I was doing. I’ll try this again soon, as I believe it is great for around the house as well.

What goals did I do well on?

• My bike base, bike tour training, and overall year were fantatsic.
• I did great on my ST, averaging 2.2 sessions per week (I am for 3, but with travel/sick, feel good there).
• My weight feels good. I’d like to lose 5kg and see how that feels (~21% body fat). I’m trying to change some habits around portion control.

What are my goals for 2025?

1. Maintain a good base on my bike so I can do long bike tours.  My base is 3 rides a week (2x 90 min in zone 2, 1x 120-240 min in zone 2), and I sub in a HIT bike workout every 10 days for one of those.
2. Do my rehab 3x a week: two upper-body sessions and one leg session. Raise my average number of workouts per week to 2.5 (up from 2.2).
3. I will work on bad portion control. I’d like to get closer to a 21% fat ratio and see how that feels. I think it would be easier on my knees and overall body to trim that off.
4. Try a short walk after dinner. I enjoy it, and it helps me feel less drained at the end of the day.

Past years: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 workout summary.

Since 2010, I’ve participated in an annual challenge to read 100 books, and this year I read 121.

• Loved – 51 books
• Liked – 49 books
• Meh – 19 books
• Dislike – 2 books

Plus, another 8 books I didn’t finish because I gave up.

My 2025 goal was to apply a bit more intent to what I read, but I didn’t do great there. I continued my study of the rise of Fascism before WW2, but I didn’t read as many books as I’d intended.

For 2026, I am doubling down on increasing my focused reads. I’ve got two big books lined up on Fascism, and plan to read history books around some trips I’ll be taking.

(Note: You will notice this is different from my favorite reads of 2025 on Shepherd; that is because the Shepherd book year runs from October 1st of the previous year to September 30th of the current year for me. )

If you only read 3 books this year, I recommend the following…

1. The Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman

I kept seeing recommendations for this book on Shepherd, but I was reluctant to try it. Many years ago, I tried a progressive fantasy book, and it left a bad taste in my mouth. This was a colossal mistake on my part because Dungeon Crawler Carl is a work of genius.

This book is one of the funniest, most beautiful books I have ever read. The satire is biting, and I love the characters from the bottom of my heart. If you love the TV show “Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” you will love the dark, absurd humor of this book. And this book isn’t all laughter; the characters often moved me to tears as they try to hold on to their humanity in the face of utter inhumanity and insanity.

I read all seven books in two weeks and recommended them to a friend, who also devoured them. This series is truly special and I can’t wait for book eight in 2026.

2. The Century Trilogy series by Ken Follett

This book series is pure magic. It’s hard to put into words what Ken Follett has accomplished.

I read a LOT of historical fiction, and I’ve never found another series that lets you live through history with characters you love, while also showing the sweeping forces that shape the world.

It makes for intense reading because you will experience the day-to-day reality of fighting for women’s right to vote in England or resisting the Nazi party’s slow takeover of Germany, and you do this through the eyes of characters you have grown to love. You feel what it is like on a daily basis, frustrated with the pace of change, and also just living the regular ups and downs of your life. It feels like the life you are living right now.

At the same time, you can see the big waves coming and want to scream at them to do more, even though they might not be able to do more. And sometimes you watch as the waves break over them without any warning or care. But throughout it all, you understand why these waves are happening with incredible clarity.

When you finish these books, you will have likely cried, laughed, and have a profoundly intimate understanding of the key historical events of the 20th century. It is one of the few books that has helped me better translate the day-to-day beats into the broader, big-picture historical moments you read about (which is a “fun” thing to do in the year 2025).

3. The Kingsbridge series by Ken Follett

Joel recommended The Pillars of the Earth to me in 2009, and I bought it but never read it. I should have!

These are utterly STUNNING books that illuminate incredible periods in history! They start with 12th-century England, then jump to 14th-century England, then to 16th-century England, and finally to the late 18th and early 19th centuries. There is also a prequel (997-1007), which was good, but not as good as the other 4.

They are stunning because they show you the history, power structure, sorrows, and how hard life was through incredible characters and moments in time. They are long books but I blew through them and enjoyed every minute.

What else is noteworthy?

Science Fiction

The Sun Eater series by Christopher Ruocchio

This was almost my #3 pick for the year, and it is some of the best science-fiction I’ve read in a while. It is HUGE in scope and the books are massive, but the world he creates is amazing. I love the characters and enjoyed every minute of their journey. The final seventh book came out this year and it was a pleasure to finish it off.

Old Man’s War series by John Scalzi

I had read books 1 and 2 many years ago, but realized I had missed all the sequels. I read them all and it was solid science fiction. The stories are not as inter-connected as I wanted, but that was ok as they were all in the same world and timeline.

Not Till We Are Lost (Bobiverse #5)

I love the Bobiverse books and this was fantastic. They are some WEIRD sci-fi with a great sense of humor. I am excited because the latest ones are going heavy into AI, and a rogue AI that escapes controls.

Grimm’s War series 

I’ve been reading these for years and they are just fun adventure military science-fiction. I read #8 this year and can’t wait for book #10. If you want some old school pulp fiction this is a great one. I’ve pre-ordered #9 and I’m looking forward to reading it this April!

Fantasy

The Bloodsworn Trilogy by John Gwynne

This is like the movie speed but set in a Vikingesque fantasy world with a big dose of magic. It is fantastic and I read all three in the Black Forest of Germany which made it extra special. Great charcters, action, and just fun as hell.

The A Solder’s Life series by AlwaysRollsAOne

This is litrpg, which I usually don’t like as a genre but this one works. It is set in an Ancient Romeesque word and really fun for some reason. Unfortuntly book #5 was a bit lost, and they don’t seem to know where they are going. I’ll try book #6, but might bail on this and just be thankful for the first four books being amazing.

A Tide of Black Steel by Anthony Ryan

This is a new fantasy series that is heavily Norse esque. It took a while to settle into the world, but once I did it was great. I am looking forward to reading book #2 shortly. I’ve read some of the author’s other books and enjoyed them.

The Hierarchy series by James Islington

I loved the first book as the characters, writing, and world are great. They are set in an Ancient Roman world with a heavy dose of fantasy. Book #2 was good, but felt fractured and was harder to love. I’m looking forward to book #3.

Non-fiction

Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams

I hate Facebook with a passion. I quit it after 2016 and the Cambridge Analytic data scandal where it massively helped Trump get elected and the Brexit vote. Facebook is one of the most unethical shitty companies out there, and if you have any doubts bout that, read this book. I think in 20 to 30 years we are going to look back at social media as a huge cancer on society and we will regulate the living shit out of it. The fact that we have ceded the future of our country to TikTok and others is concerning.

Other Rivers by Peter Hessler

Peter is one of my favorite authors and I read everything he writes. He got the chance to go back to China and teach, and this is a weaving narrative reflecting on his time in China in the past, and where China is now.

Sapiens

I can see why this book is so popular; it is an amazing pitch for how to view humanity and our history. I recommend everyone read this, even if some sections are not accurate or need updating; the entire thesis is incredibly thorough and provocative.

They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45 by Milton Mayer

I’ve been reading this one for a while, since it’s a paper copy I don’t carry around as often. This book was fascinating and part of my ongoing study of the rise of fascism. It was an interesting read, very raw, as he listens to 10 German men explain themselves to him (and maybe really themselves). Putting this in the scope of time and what followed was interesting. It was eerie at times to hear the 10 men, as it sounds so similar to what I hear from many Americans. And maybe what you hear from most people around the world who are just peasants. Lots to think about.

A few others

The Persian by David McCloskey (and all his books)

I read all 4 of David’s books this year and they are some of the best thrillers I’ve read. He is former CIA and they read gritty and realistic. My favorite out of the four was his latest, The Persian. The ending was just perfect and I cried. I’ll buy every book he writes from here on out.

The Venetian Heretic (Christian Cameron)

This book was fantastic. Christian is one of my all-time favorite authors, and he makes the historical world come alive. I finished it in two days, and I want more. I can’t wait for more books with these characters. Venice comes alive during an amazing time in history!

Rereads?

I reread 5 books this year. I reread the first two books in the Old Man’s War series to refresh myself before finishing the entire series (solid science fiction). And I reread Project Hail Mary on audiobook with Calico, Ender’s Game, and Rogue Squadron (I haven’t read them in a long time).

Fun versus serious books

In 2025, 93% of the books I read were fun, and 7% were serious.

If you want some reading ideas from past years, check them out here: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.

What an interesting little dude he is becoming!

He fills my life with fun, challenges, and wonder 😀.

Calico had a rough start to the school year. He volunteered to help a new boy in his class, and that kid is a mess. Calico is learning a lot about bullying and how to navigate a kid who is taking his own baggage out on other people. It has been hard to watch, but I’m proud of how he is handling it (the school is doing better with it now, too). 

Otherwise, Calico loves his school! It is small and taught in both English and French by fantastic teachers (UK model). We wish the French lessons were a bit more intense, but he is getting better. And Lindsey found three local teenage girls to give him French lessons three days a week, which has helped a lot! 

One of his favorite holidays is Halloween, and it is cool to see trick-or-treating is catching on in France. Even on our small street, we got at least 8 trick-or-treaters. Calico dressed as Luke Skywalker and made his own costume. He dyed the Karate robes with Black tea to match the movie, picked out a belt, and then augmented it with duct tape and add-ons to match the film. Funny kid 🙂. 

We celebrated our 11-year anniversary today!!! Congrats to us ❤️.

This data is interesting! It shows how much it actually costs to employ someone on a 60,000 Euro-a-year salary across the EU. I always struggled to find this when I was at WWWH LLC, and was excited to see this graph in a Substack.

In France, it costs 95,303 to employ that person. That is roughly 50% of their 60,000 euro salary. And their take-home is only 39,501 (France has a very good health care system, but their pension system is collapsing due to a lack of reform).

How does that compare to the USA?

At a previous company, I think we paid around 22% of an employee’s salary in costs to employ them (PEO fees, 100% of health care insurance, taxes).

And this graph from a really interesting post on Substack here.

We drove to Valencia for part of Calico’s Fall break. It was a nice break, full of sunshine and good food (although I was working).

It got up to 80+ degrees the first few days, and we even went swimming in the Mediterranean. Lindsey rented a bike and rode out to the beach. She did great, and I captured this beautiful shot of her waving hello at me 🤣.  Calico and I had a blast playing in the waves (he did great as his swimming skills are growing). Followed by some AMAZING Mexican food.

And finally, some shots of the Via Verde route that leads past the Zoo and out to the countryside. Last year’s flood utterly destroyed it, and the path is just gone. It is sad, as this was one of my favorite bike routes, and I hope they can improve and rebuild it.

Calico did such an amazing job with his costume this year. It blows me away how much work he put into this one. He wore it to his school costume day, went trick-or-treating, and visited a friend’s house to play on Halloween.

We had a fair number of trick-or-treaters (and saw many kids out). It is cool to see this holiday grow in France.

We had a great visit with my dad in Bordeaux. He did a super chill pacing, which worked out really well over a month. I am so glad he has found a newfound love for the French after a few bad experiences historically :).

We had a lot of fun afternoon-to-evening game nights and dinners. I took him to the sub pens and a few bike/walking rambles, and we all went to a nearby beach (with great ice cream). Lindsey took him all over as well! Plus, he and I did our biking trip to Puglia (need another one!).

One day, I hope he can see Valencia and Spain, as I think he would really like it, and he hasn’t seen it since the 1970s.

The picture with Calico and him cracks me up, they were having a discussion about something :)

Totals?

• 389km
• 19.5 hours of riding
• 2,838m of altitude gain
• 7 days of riding (no rest)
• Average km/h of 20

Fun ride, but some wild weather :).

And unfortunately, both my dad and I got a cold. My dad’s cold faded toward the middle of the ride and was relatively mild. I got struck the night before our last riding day. And that made my last few days rough because I was not feeling well. That is a bummer, as I really wanted to see more of Lecee, and I will have to go back. It is hard to bike for 3 hours when you feel so bad. And then my flight home was rough as the pressure exploded my sinuses (still recovering).

The food was AMAZING and I love focaccia (among many other things). It was fun to introduce my dad to some different foods :).

Italy is beautiful, and I’d love to come back to Puglia one of these days. We got to see vast swaths of countryside and small cities. I especially want to spend more time in Lecee and Matera to see more of the history and sites. Taranto also looks interesting.

That said, Puglia is one of the poorest areas of Italy, and I think my dad might have enjoyed a ride in Spain or France more. Puglia had a lot of trash on the side of the road, and the community is working to rebuild and showcase its history. I think my dad might have liked some routes in Spain or France that are just stuffed with historical sites.

What would I do differently next time?

• Take my own bike :). My rental bike was really bad. I wasn’t expecting much, but it shouldn’t be rented out. The front hub broke the last day, the chain came off once, when it went over any bump, the derailer would shift gears, and I couldn’t use the top or bottom seven gears because the chain would come off. Given that 70% of the route was super rough, it should have been a mountain bike or a well-built, sturdy touring bike.
• I would plan the route and stops myself. The tour company made some weird choices for stops (tied to some of their hotel choices). The hard part is how to get luggage from hotel A to B if you are not packing all your own stuff (which I understand most tourists wouldn’t be comfortable with).
• Add a rest day, going a straight 7 days is tough. A rest day after 4 days would have been nice for our bodies.

54km / 3 hours  2 min / 243m gain

I am posting this late, as I got sick and am slowly recovering.

Our last riding day was gorgeous, but a bit hard as I caught a cold that my dad had and was feeling super run-down. Then my front hub broke, and the wheel wouldn’t spin easily (so a bit more effort to get to the last hotel). I wish I had been feeling better because I wanted to go swimming, but the weather had prevented it until today. Oh well, next time Italy!

Day 5:

58km / 2 hours  48 min / 369m gain

A beautiful day with very high winds, but luckily pushing us to the side or from behind. We had one 5-minute surprise rain shower that was ice cold; otherwise, it was smooth sailing.

For lunch, we got some stuff from the grocery store as no restaurants were open (end of season). And for dinner, we had some snacks as we didn’t feel like going out. Dad has a bit of a cough and has been fighting a cold.

We stayed the night in a small town up at the top of this area. It was a converted farmhouse, and we both slept well. Breakfast was delicious, featuring a variety of homemade items!

Day 6: 

48km / 2 hours  45 min / 527m gain

We turned North along the Adriatic and started heading directly into the wind. The first couple of hours were not terrible, but the last 40 minutes were an intense wind experience. We cut 8km from the route, as Dad is recovering from a cold, and with the high winds, that made sense.

Lunch was at a fantastic seafood restaurant. Dad had Octopus, I had a seafood risotto, and we split some anchovies.  Dad joined me for gelato later in the day. Dinner was a simple meatball sandwich, as we are both pretty stuffed (or at least I am).

Tomorrow is our last day! I hope to find a place to swim along the way, as it should be nice.

58km / 2 hours  37 min / 229m gain

A beautiful day of sunshine as we make our way down to the coast and around it.

The town we are staying in is gorgeous, and we had some good food for lunch (Dad got an octopus salad). It is very windy, but luckily the wind is moving with us (we shall see how long that lasts).  And we washed our clothes in the laundry mat.

I wandered around town in the late afternoon and ended up at a small fort in the old city. It had some cool art exhibits and spaces to explore. I am hoping my back feels better tomorrow as I did something to tweak it yesterday. It is better today so hopefully its “perfect” tomrrow.

62km / 2 hours  57 min / 245m gain

We started a little earlier so that we might avoid the coming rain. That worked out for us, as a small shower hit about 30 minutes after we arrived, and more is expected. Luckily, our ride was sunny with a bit of wind. We passed numerous olive trees on a mix of rural roads and busier backcountry roads.

We are staying out in a big olive tree grove a few kilometers outside of town, so dinner will be here tonight. Lunch for me was a few focaccia I stuffed in my bag, and for my dad a coffee and a creme croissant.