Third Update
- Charleville Mezziers to Strasbourg
Day 12 Charleville Mezziers to Doulcon Thursday 03/08/06
Just when I had finished packing the tent up from the
previous nights camping, it decided to hammer it down, so my planned
early start went out of the window as I cowered from the rain beneath
an overhang near reception. I was about fifteen minutes waiting, and as
it was the last major downpour (torrential type!) of the day, it was
time well spent. Finding my way out of Charleville Mezziers proved to
be no easy task, and convinced that I had gone wrong a long time
before, I miraculously found myself on the right road. I love it when a
plan comes together! My route towards Verdun followed all the back
roads, and whilst this meant I barely saw a car all day, it did mean
that I had to go up and down every hill in France! A little bit
knackering. I got as far as Doulcon, which is 30kms short of Verdun,
and a sign saying campsite lured me in. It's been my lowest spending
day yet at 5 euros, and I also clocked up my fastest speed so far...
53.7 kmh!! I told you those hills were steep! The campsite was quite
full, and I got the impression it could be the start of the French
'grande vacance', when basically the whole country goes on holiday.
This means that the shops will be shut even more than usual (is this
possible?!?). And whilst talking about shops, I'd just like to comment
on how useless the ones I seem to come across are. The concept of a
general store has so far eluded the French in the towns I've been
through! And that's ignoring the two hour lunch break, and the fact
they don't open on Sundays. Apart from flower shops which appear to be
open all the time. Which is a bonus. Still, I'll be in Germany soon,
where hopefully, they have their act together!
Day 13 Doulcon to Verdun Friday 04/08/06
It rained a lot last night, and was still raining in
the morning, so I decided on a bit of a lay in, and left at nine. There
was only a 34km cycle ride to Verdun, so it was relatively easy,
despite
the hills and rain! Stocked up in a hypermarche (civilization! it did
not close for lunch!) and then concentrated on eating, as I felt i
needed too! The campsite was quite a good one, but why not put seats on
the toilets? To sit on the throne is one of lifes pleasures1
Day 14 Verdun to Chateau Salins Sat 05/08/06
The first hour and a half of leaving Verdun, it was
back to the hills again, and then ... flat!! I had a good couple of
hours cycling along at a fair pace before hitting some more hills and
then rain, again. Joy. I passed through some pretty towns, and bought a
quiche Lorraine.. I was in the Lorraine region! It was a struggle at
times, but I eventually made it to Chateau Salins. Quite tired, I
booked into a hotel and filled my belly. I made the most distqnce so
far, and an incredible top speed of 63.2kmh. I must admit my arse was
flapping at that speed, sitting on a wobbly bike steaming down hill in
a light drizzle with the brakes barely working.
Day 15 Chateau Salins to Saverne Sunday
06/08/06
I left at 8.30, and it was a bright, sunny morning! The
roads were good to me, and i covered 20kms in the first hour, before
stopping off for my daily chocolate eclair. After that, it was just
head down, and onto Saverne. There were a few steep, energy sapping
climbs, and just before Saverne, I climbed up 420 metres and then
rocketed down into the town below, which was great fun. Unfortunately,
the campsite was back up another hill, so I had to climb another 200
metres... oh well. When I had set up in the campsite, I cycled back
down into the town again for some supplies, and had a look around. It
had some great, wooden fronted buildings which were quite pretty. The
evenings culinary delight was pasta and tuna... for a change.
Day 16 Saverne to Strasbourg Monday 07/08/06
Another day with good weather to cycle in. I hit one of
the
major roads to get some miles under my belt, and then with 16kms to go
to Strasbourg, I cut onto the minor roads. You could tell that I was
getting close to the German border, as all the towns started to have
German sounding names. The architecture of the buildings also changed,
with more wooden fronted buildings of varying colours. The ride took me
through picturesque villages and cornfields, until I arrived on the
outskirts of the city. I made my way into the centre of Strasbourg, and
found the campsite with my normal mixture of skill, blind luck, and the
occasionally well placed road sign. Once i had set up camp, I showered
and made my way back into the centre. In the centre, it took me about
an hour to achieve my main goal of finding a McDonalds. Once that was
done, all the secondary tasks such as finding a map of Germany so I can
see where I am going next, buying gas cannisters for the stove, and
food came easily. The centre of Strasbourg is quite nice, but I didnt
bother to take any pictures as I dont think its that nice! On the way
back to the campsite, two police officers were directing pedestrians
around a newly filled body bag which was laying in the street.
Strangely, French body bags are more like huge plastic bags which leave
the feet sticking out. Back qt camp, I discovered that the washing
machines were five euros, so it was back to washing pants in the shower
again.
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