I think we were both a bit tired today. A loop of Laon wasn’t on the itinerary, proof perhaps that navigation muscles need as much warming up as any calves or thighs.
The steeds just needed a light chain oiling and they were rearing to go. We riders needed coffee (three doubles) and lots of food. Lots. And maybe just one more hard boiled egg, Justin Casey. And another Madeleine, to be sure to be sure.
We found ourselves back on some of the official Via Francigena route. In one place, the 10% gradient on a washboarded, rubblised sandy surface would have been fine for hiking boots, walking poles and penitence. It was extra tough with panniers and narrow tyres. There was another stretch of 6 km on grass by a canal: probably quite pretty but at 16km/h it required unwavering concentration. Elsewhere backroads with no traffic were enjoyed and short interconnections on national routes with crosswinds were loathed. And there was a lovely four km roll through a forest on a soft, sandy but potholed track best suited to large wheeled industrial vehicles. An hour for lunch was taken in the shade of yews and pines by the gates, outside a cemetery. A bit of everything except it’s been dry, wonderfully dry these first five days. The skies over Reims this evening reminded me that rain must get involved sooner or later.
Reims cathedral wasn’t too packed at 5 when we visited. First thoughts were that restoration funds would cripple small nations. Second thoughts were about the savagery of war that shelled and burned this city. It carries on in Ukraine today with criminal intent and precision designed to erase all traces of Ukrainian culture. The inhuman parallels are weighing on me. Our education systems must be failing if history can repeat itself cyclically.
Our end in Reims should be better than that Jeanne d’Arc found in Rouen. Burned at the stake before her verdict was overturned, her statue is the cover of the Via Francigena guide that’s not as useful for Our Francigena as we expected.
You’ve come so far already!
Keep going, gentlemen.
max
I’m trying to think of a word for what your post evokes and I think it’s ‘persistence’. Or maybe ‘endurance’. You’re great, the way you can keep going for such long distances when conditions are against you. I couldn’t do it. I don’t think many people could.
So, as max says, Keep going, gentlemen
I recall visiting the cathedral in Reims in the late 60s en route to Cavalaire in the South of France and being blown away (pun unintended) by its beauty and history. Keep up your unending strength lads.
It’s great to have an armchair view of the progress of the pedalling pilgrims. Congrats on the short-toed tree creeper and Cetti’s warbler which I wouldn’t have spotted in a month of Sundays! I’m loving the food commentary and photos – but I wouldn’t be willing to put in all the effort needed to justify the quantities.
History is too big a subject for young heads IMO, which is why many drop it as soon as they can. Perhaps Ethics as a mandatory item on the school curriculum would better serve the planet/universe and all its life.
What is your percentage completed now – at end of today 19th Sept?
Wishing you continued fair weather and decent surfaces.
To max, Lia and Sheila:
25% done tonight. We gentlemen hank you for your supportive comments. It’s one o’clock in the morning as I type this having been woken by military jets on night manoeuvres. Another thing to look out for, the Robinson Air Base is a noisy front-line French Air Force fighter aircraft base.