Cutchogue Woman Opens Home To Stranded French Cyclists

If you're a cyclist with a flat tire, stranded in a foreign land, the North Fork is the place to be.

That might be the motto of a story related by Cutchogue resident Susan Tyler, who said she was home on Sunday when a French couple, Adeline Voinchet and Marc Locatelli, who are in the process of riding a tandem bike around the world, got a flat tire near her house.

"They told us they were fixing their flat and would we mind if they put their tent up in the backyard to sleep," Tyler, who wrote about her experience on Facebook, said. "It was starting to get dark and by the time they had the tire fixed it would have been too late to bike on. So we said 'sure.'"

Tyler than asked the weary travelers if they'd like to join her family for dinner and asked if they liked steak.

"They said they eat anything. They had monkey meat in China, kangaroo in Australia, moose, etc." She laughed, "They either loved the food or were just starving; not sure."

Featured on the menu were salad, steak, baked potatoes and corn from Harbes.

Next, Tyler said, the couple took showers. "I couldn't let them sleep out in the yard — I felt bad — so they slept inside in a recently vacated bedroom."

Tyler's son Justin recently left for college last week.

"I made them pancakes for breakfast and they were on their way," Tyler said. "They are going to spend a couple days in New York City, then Philadelphia and then take the train to Washington, DC and head south from there."

According to Tyler, the couple has been on their journey for 29 months and have one more year to go, planning on being back in France next summer.

Tyler said she plans to follow their blog. "What interesting stories they had to tell. They have no cell phones, no GPS. Just a map and a small laptop to chart each leg of their journey, always watching the weather."

With all of their gear and themselves on the bike, Tyler said the couple has estimated it weighs 550 pounds. They'd never ridden a tandem bike before they set off, she added.

The couple were also sighted at Skipper's, where they stopped for water.

Both young, 27 and 31 years old, Tyler said the initial planning of their trip took three years. "Their families thought they were crazy," she said. "Such nice people. I'm really glad we let them stay. What an experience."