Day 30: Wednesday, 8 June 1983

Start: Campground, Aix-en-Provence, France

End: Campground, Avignon, France

In the morning I pedal into Avignon, find the train station, and locate a helpful, English-speaking ticket agent. Of course, the situation is more complicated than expected. Like in Italy, bikes don't go on the same trains as passengers. Not only that, there's usually a 48 to 72 hour delay in the arrival of the train carrying the bike. Unbelievable. But the ticket agent seems very competent and helpful.

While I'm working this out with him, Keith and his girlfriend Tracey -- from Salt Lake City -- arrive via train from the Spanish border. They're shocked to discover their bikes aren't on the train. The agent gives them the same story and explains their bikes should arrive tomorrow. Eventually I unload all my gear from Bob and give him to the staff at the station. They're going to put him on a freight train and send him north.

Keith, Tracey, and I -- all three laden with battered, dirty panniers and other equipment -- take the agent's advice and walk down the street where we catch a local bus to the nearest campground. We're all experiencing bike separation anxiety. We pool our food resources and they whip up a hot meal on their camp stove, something I'm not carrying. We spend the evening around a campfire swapping bike stories. They're surprised that I manage to ride alone, and especially wonder how I deal with bike and gear when I need to go into a store. A few days ago, when Keith was elsewhere, Tracey went into a shop and came out to discover someone had stolen an entire pannier from her bike. The police shrugged, they never recovered it, and now she carries a bundled up sleeping bag where the pannier used to hang. 

I've already learned this is a hazard of riding without a partner. There's no one to watch the gear while the other one goes into a shop, restroom, or whatever. I vow to be more vigilant about leaving Bob leaning out front when I go inside anywhere. Assuming I can retrieve him after his train ride.

Conditions 

Distance: 80 km 

Weather: Warm 

Road: Good 

Traffic: Moderate 

Terrain: Flat 

Mechanical: All is well 

Physical: Feeling good