Fortune smiles upon us! My husband has been awarded an art residency - 4 weeks of pure creative time in Brittany this summer, in the town of Rochefort-en-Terre. The residency provides housing w/ kitchen, and a studio in the ol' Chateau for him. (We need to cover airfare, car rental, meals, etc., so we must be clever with our money, as usual.)These things do not usually include significant others, but this residency does! The joy of that is that I need the writing time for my novel almost more than he needs the painting time. And we haven't had a special trip like this since our honeymoon almost 19 years ago.

Now, the thing is, I've also signed up for the 2010 Southern Tier Ride w/ Womantours to celebrate turning 50. (I have no idea how we artists are gonna finance that past the partial scholarship they gave me, but my life approach is just work hard, prepare, and believe in miracles.) So, I need to be riding while I'm in Brittany. Any tips on the best way to do that, and what gear is worth bringing? I will bring my helmet - I hear the French don't wear them and my guys at the brain injury rehab make me promise to wear the lid at all times. Shall I just plan on renting some kind of touring bike as available and add in as much hiking and calisthenics as possible? I wouldn't think that bringing my road bike with me is feasible.

What has worked/not worked for you? Thanks for your help! lg