Above the waist, below the waist. That's how Wobbly Wheels packs each pannier. It's become a defining factor of the trip and makes me laugh not least for a brief insight into the ridiculousness that sometimes possesses the man I married. I've explained my 'less is more' approach to packing, cyclewear in one bag, casual wear in another, etc. I think it's easy but maybe this too is odd and it is as much my idiosyncrasy or oddity as the above is for WW. Socks, jocks...

In Paris you can spend four hours waiting in line to go up the Eiffel tower, half a day waiting to get tickets into Musee D'Orsay, or the Louvre, pay $20 for a bad coffee on the Champs Élysées and crowd around the Arc de Triumph for an obligatory photo. And you should, it's what Paris is famous for and you don't take a 24-hour flight to miss these and several other amazing experiences. But there's a reason to come back to Paris each year, whether it's the shopp...

Riding into Paris is guaranteed to be adventurous and a buzz. There will be numerous wrong turns, questionable directions and necessary detours. As you'd expect the arterial roads get thicker and the traffic seems faster. The closer you get the further away you feel. You'll find yourself on major roads with no shoulder and an exit plan consisting only of the grassy verge running adjacent. You will be scared, frustrated, happy, angry, desperate, smug and eventuall...