Day 6: Suippes to Verdun

May 5, 2014

This morning there was ice on the tent wë had to wear our gloves to pack up. I hate mornings! On the other hand, we kind of asked for it, by starting at 5:30 a.m. I guess there is also a perverse pleasure in watching the temperature gradually rise on the bike computer, and feeling the pain slowly leaving the fingers and toes.Next comes the decision points: Is it time to take off the heavy hoodie? Time to put on the short finger gloves? If you jump the gun, you'll suffer and if you delay too long, same thing. But match your clothes to the weather just right and cycling is fun again!

We started out in the green and gold fields, which makes sense, since that's where we left off. However by mid day we had entered the Argonne region, which is hillier and more forested. Just before that was the town of Valmy. It's coming was signaled well in advance by signs about the battlefield and the windmill.

Conditioned to World War I and II stuff, we were surprised by what we found. After taking a turn in the town and heading up a hill, we came to an emplacement dug into the hill that was a book and gift shop, washrooms, bus parking, and even an elevator to go further up the hill. This was an unusually fancy treatment, though we have seen the equivalent at some battlefields in Belgium and certainly at the Canadian memorial at Vimy. But no, this was something else again, and no doubt every French child is well aware of it!

In a nutshell, at the time of the French Revolution (1789) the other monarchs of Europe were concerned about the threat to monarchy. By 1792 armies from Prussia and Austria marched into France and headed for Paris, to put things right. French generals confronted them - here, on this hill! In the battle of Valmy the invaders were turned back and the Revolution saved. So that makes this place Valley Forge or Gettysburg or the Plains of Abraham or something like that. It is the birthplace of the modern French nation. The Grampies simply stumbled up it. duh!

When we get to uploading photos we will include the outdoor panels that explain the whole story in fascinating detail. We would know more if the interpretation centre/gift shop had been open. (We would also feel better if the washrooms had been open. we would feel stronger if the bakery had been open! Oh well.)

The story about the Prussians treking toward Paris, and being stopped here made us think. This is not just the Voie de la Liberation, used by the Americans and whoever in 1944, it is the main line for anyone going either way - Prussians, Napolean, WWI and II invaders and liberators, and so on. It also occurred to us that no matter how famous all these groups and generals may have been, there is one team on this road that has an edge on them all. That team is The Grampies. Our edge - we are top of the list in chronological order, the latest, freshest ones heading for the Rhine. Eat your heart out, Napolean!

The windmill on the height of land at Valmy

The book we really needed - through the visitor centre window

Speaking of eating, it is hungry work learning all this history. And Monday is so close to Sunday that most French business has not yet got around to opening. Or, maybe they are closed to gear up for Friday, which after all is almost Saturday! Looking at the map, it seemed our first chance to find something would be at Ste Menehould. Ste Menehould did not disappoint. First off, they style themselves at the entrance to town as being the pig's feet capital. That's a start, though pig's feet for brunch did not really sound that tempting. In town was something much better - a market in full swing and an open bakery at the edge!

Our first step was to the bakery, where two chausson pommes would supply the energy needed to check out the market offerings. This market, as do many, blended clothing and knick knack sales with produce. So dodie was able to buy a pair of lightweight long pants to help ward off these chilly mornings. But the market's two stars were two chicken BBQ trucks. These had not only chicken but paella, pork, and pate en croute (meat pies).

While Dodie bought the pants, I fielded UQs from an asparagus seller. He had relatives working in the canadian oil fields. Then the first BBQ man - knew all about Montreal, Ottawa, etc. He also gave us big meat pie tastes and then sold us four for the price of two. What a nice man. Often other such folks hand us stuff like that at markets.

Then is was around to the other BBQ - pork tenderloin - flavourful and moist, and a large container of roast peeled potatoes - 2 euros.

All these restorative foods were good, because it was a long long hill out of town. Half way, a man who was walking up faster than we cycle stopped to talk. He had worked in Saskachewan, as well as all over eastern Europe, again in the oil industry. This however is where he lives (technically the town of LaGrange). He only works 6 months of the year, because he said, of the disincentive of high taxes. Hah, we work zero months of the year!

Anytime one of us is left alone, we attract someone who is full of questions. No matter, we enjoy talking to people about the trip.

The cars and vans are so cute here, I want to take them all home -- like this Renault Trafic

Local cows. We stopped at the farm house to ask for water.

Hills and forest now replaced the green and gold fields

Grampies appear to be rolling along quite nicely - for them.

We mailed the grandkids each a post card from this yellow box.

Hills. Of course they never look as steep as they are.

Despite some long and reasonably steep hills, we did make it to Verdun. However, a minor problem that Dodie has been coping with upped its game a notch and started to become a major problem. It's not an exciting body part - just an ingrown toenail. But of course torturers know that nails are a good way to make people suffer.

The pain from this one began to sap Dodie's energy, and we compensated by pouring lots of that good local food into her. Then we stopped her in to a pharmacy. Pharmacists here are more like doctors than at home, and they had a look at her toe, recommending she apply Betadine, which they then sold to her.Aside from the minor cost of that antiseptic, there was no charge.

Before Verdun, at Bar le Duc, we passed the Voie Sacree. We knew nothing of this at the time, but have since looked it up and found the following:

"La Voie Sacree - which came to be called the 'sacred road' and was simply called 'La Route' at the time - comprised the main road supply artery used by the French Army and which ran from Bar-le-Duc to Verdun.

Some 60km in length and with an average width of 7 metres this minor road, surfaced with crushed stone, saw a continuous, congested stream of army supply vehicles pour bumper to bumper into Verdun once the French government determined at an early stage that the ancient city was to be held at all costs against a ferocious German offensive launched in February 1916.

The German Verdun Offensive - geared as a means of 'bleeding France white' by Germany Army Chief of of Staff Erich von Falkenhayn - ultimately resulted in almost one million casualties, around half of which were fatalities. France's determination to retain control of Verdun was matched by von Falkenhayn's resolve to capture it; the failure of the latter ultimately cost Falkenhayn his job.

Verdun has at least two Campings, but we decided to put Dodie into a hotel, for a little better rest and the hot water needed to soak the toe. We resisted grabbing the first place we saw, and contnued right into the downtown. Our hotel looks very quaint from outside, and it was not lost on me that across the street lie not one but two bakeries. Inside, we have the same utterly basic arrangement that the equivalent of $80seems to buy in this region.The last place seemed to have only one pillow for a double bed, and this one seemed to have no pillows. I snapped a picture of that, and Dodie accused me of being too picky. In fact, we did find two very flat pillows under the cover, but I went and asked for another one. So now I have Dodie properly propped up, and I am happy.

Once we got organized I naturally popped across to check out the bakeries. One was already shut tight. Actually, so was the other. But, I got the lady to open up, met her husband the baker, and kept her from having two eclairs and two fruit tartellettes left over.Tomorrow we will go see what he whips up in the night.

100 years later, WWI remains good tourist business here. The folks ahead of us checking in to the hotel, and us, got a map and description of the battlefield and monument locations. We will not be able to follow up on it though, because we have something else on our agenda: Dodie's rear brakes.

Like in all vee brakes, the brake arms pivot on a bushing that is essentially part of the frame. For an unknown reason, Dodied left rear bushing snapped off today, leaving the arm with nothing to attach to. As far as I can see, there is no fix for this. The snapped off piece is in my hand, and the rest is brazed into a fitting on the frame.

Tomorrow we will start out (after the bakery) at the bike shop, just to see if they have any bright ideas. Beyond that, it looks like Dodie has 4500 kms ahead with 1/2 brakes. For the lady who wears out two sets of pads each trip, this is not a good development!

Just thinking aloud a bit more on this: Back at Bike Friday, I am sure they would cut off the entire braze on fitting and start again. But one kind of fix could be to drill out the remaining bushing bit and reaffix another bushing into the braze on. To do that, a shop would need the right drill, the right replacement bushing, and a way to affix the bushing. Ordinary bike shops are not set up for work like that. Maybe tomorrow will prove me wrong. Any other ideas would be appreciated!

We have our bikes stashed in the hotel garage, which does not open until 8. That, plus the planned bike shop visit means we will not make it to Metz tomorrow. That's ok, because our plan allows until Wednesday for Metz. Beyond that would be our first panic stations.But for now we're cool, in the two bakery hotel, with our toe in a waste bucket of hot water and our brake arm in our back pocket!

Today's ride: 69 km (43 miles)
Total: 310 km (193 miles)

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