Oh what a day this was! As I said to Susan somewhere along the way, this is what I came to France for.
It was just Susan and me riding today; Suzanne and Janos decided to drive to the chateau. They took our panniers with them, which was a big favor to us. I think I ended up taking nearly 2/3 of a pannier anyway so I could be prepared for any eventuality, but it was great to ride without a full load.
Susan created a lovely route that took us south along the Moselle for a bit, then a sharp turn west up onto a plateau full of fields of grain, down into another watershed, then up a wooded ridge to the chateau. Started out cool and sunny with huge fluffy clouds, a sparkling day to ride out of Metz.
It’s easy navigating the cycle paths along the Moselle, especially with the great signage. There were several crossings of the river and its canals and channels. If you have to have a bike/ped bridge, this is a pretty good solution. Susan’s gone to check out the river.
Scott AndersonGreat that you found a bike that’s working for you. I was a little worried about how you’d do on an upright. Reply to this comment 3 months ago
Kathleen JonesTo Scott AndersonI was worried too, but I was sitting almost upright and it was so adjustable I had no problems. Except dealing with a too-large frame and a real heavyweight. Reply to this comment 3 months ago
Remains of a 2nd century Roman aqueduct built to supply the thermal baths and fountains of Metz, starting in what is now the village of Gorze, which we will pass through later. This is near the town of Jouy-aux-Arches.
One of many things I learned at Susan’s knee during this tour is to be sure to take your elevenses. I’m no stranger to elevenses by a long shot, but it’s critical for mental and physical health on a tour, I’m convinced. She likes something sweet, and I have no problem with that. I had gotten ahead of her and stopped to wait for her at our turn to the west from the river. I also wanted to see if there was a boulangerie. There was, right where we had to make the turn, and it was open. We checked in by phone where I gave her the good news.
Madame was quite the character and we both ended up buying more than we had originally intended. I got a good meat pastry at Madame’s recommendation for a true Alsatian food, and a slice of custard tart.
We sat on the steps of a nearby medical building and fortified ourselves for the elevation changes ahead.
Susan in the midst of fortifying herself for the rest of the ride.
The hills weren’t all that steep, except for a spot here and there. Big Red just rolled right on up, and Susan of course had no difficulty. The hills did make for a very nice change from the canal riding, and oh the fields! Wheat, or is it barley? And canola and barley - or is it wheat? Corn just recently planted. Fields of Charolais and Emmentaler cows. And some other breeds Susan mentioned but which went right out of my head. The road turned into a farm road, then back to a regular road, all very low traffic thanks to Susan’s planning.
Bill ShaneyfeltTo Kathleen JonesThanks for the confidence, but most of my IDs are based on internet searches and eyeballing photos for similarities, so they are often highly suspect. Reply to this comment 3 months ago
The village of Puxieux turned up at just the right time for our lunch. Another thing I learned from Susan was to head for a church because they usually have steps to sit on. I stopped to take photos in the center of Puxieux while Susan went to the church. She told me later that she was trying to get my attention to let me know where she was but I was intent on what I was doing, plus I had seen her turn into the church. A couple of men across the street from her were watching this little tableau, smiling.
In Puxieux, at the intersection of Grande Rue and Rue de Morez, one of two intersections in town.
When I was done I joined Susan by the church, which had no steps to speak of but did have benches near the war memorial obelisk. Every village has one of these, often with a waiting woman statue. It seemed to me that most villages that we rode through in this area had WWI memorials more than WWII. Verdun is not far away, and there were trenches and fighting all around here.
But this one in Puxieux did have WWII names engraved on the obelisk. It’s so sad to see many of the same surnames on both lists.
After we’d eaten most of our meal, one of the men who were smiling at me and Susan earlier came over and asked if we would like a bottle of water. Mai oui! So we met Michel, who lived across the street from the church and whose uncle was the first in the village to die for France in WWII, and who was featured on the obelisk.
Michel gave us a lot of information about his town, the population decline, where the jobs are (some in Belgium!), the tradition of giving water to cyclists during an annual ride through there, and a lot of other things. Susan thinks she caught most of it, but it went right past me since I know so little French. He was a lovely man, though, and it made a great day even better to have this interaction with him.
The beauty of the fields and the vistas continued to make me feel like my heart was coming out of my chest. Even the clouding up of the sky couldn’t diminish how wonderful it was to ride through this part of France.
