June 15, 2008
From Bar-le-Duc to Vitry-le-Francois: Rain - all day
The moment we get on our bikes it starts to rain and continues the whole day. We are well prepared for rain but after riding for hours there is little you can do to keep condensation and sweat from accumulating on the inside of your rain gear, regardless of how high-tech the fabric is.
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We have a flat, uneventful stretch today, not much to write home about.
Vitry, similar to Karlsruhe, is an example of early city planning. In 1545, Francois I appointed the military architect Girolamo Marini to build a new city on the site of the watermen's village of Maucourt, located a few kilometers south-west of Vitry-en-Perthois, which had been burnt to the ground. It would take the name of Vitry-le-François. Marini organized the city according to a square grid pattern, arranged around a central square.
The city suffered severely in both World Wars. In World War II, the city was completely destroyed. Vitry was rebuilt after the Liberation and Marini's layout was kept but the only genuine remains of the XVIth century city are one house and parts of the city walls.
Today's ride: 53 km (33 miles)
Total: 791 km (491 miles)
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