July 11, 2023
Ardennes
Douzy to Mouzay
I had intended for today to be you something of a quieter day. I did start out quite slowly come up not leaving the campground until maybe 10:30. I also booked myself into a b and b comma giving me a set destination that was only about 40 kilometers away. By the time I had actually made it there, my trip recorder indicated it had become a 50 kilometer day, perhaps because I went to slightly different way, and because it adds in all of the side trips.
A somewhat major event who's that I had to change out my saddle, which is sort of like changing courses midstream - definitely not something you want to do in the middle of a bicycle tour. But the brook saddle that I had brought, which I had originally bought used on eBay, had worn out. You can keep tightening a Brook saddle, because they're made out of leather, for a while. But eventually the leather is fully stretched out and there's no more bolts to turn in order to stretch it further. Mine was like that. And my perenium was hitting the top of the seat post. That's not quite as horrific as it sounds like, because the top of the seat post is quite rounded, which is I think part of why I didn't notice before I left home. But in the event, I bought a new saddle. I'm not super happy with it, it's a little bit narrow and a little bit hard, so I may try yet another one. It was only 20€.
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Although this was supposed to be an easier day, it turned out to actually be rather difficult. Or, at least, not easy. It was quite a hot day, unfortunately the last hot day for what seems like a while. And then it was no longer the paved bike route next to the river, but just side roads, then even at a few junctures some roads with significant numbers of cars. And then it was quite hilly. Not super steep hills, but long spread out ones. Part of the Ardennes.
At the end of the day, I ended up at this bed and breakfast, and also dinner it turned out. La Maison des Beaux Arts in Mouzay. It is a huge building with what seems like 8 or so rooms, plus a second story music room that has a grand piano (put in by lift through a window), organ, two harpsichords, and a variety of guitars and wind instruments; plus a giant barn. It is run by a single woman, Lisa, who also made dinner (and ate with us). The guests this evening were just me and two Dutch cyclists who had lived in Chicago for a while. The house is over 200 years old, but seems to have been very well maintained, and is the sort of place that you would expect maybe a novel to be set in. It seems reminiscent of the house in John Crowley's Little, Big, except French.
When I asked where I could wash my clothes by hand, Lisa directed me across the street to the public wash house. I went back and got my camera, because this is the probably only time in my life I will wash my clothes in a French public wash house. The water was ice cold.
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This is probably not good to put soap into what is effectively a stream, but I want to have clean clothes tomorrow and I'm not going to argue with my host.
And then had a lovely four course meal that Lisa prepared, including (in two cases) accompanying liqueurs. It was quite late by the end of that so that's why I'm not posting my journal entry until the next morning. Today (for I am writing this on Wednesday) I'm off to Verdun, or perhaps a bit further depending on how I'm feeling.
Today's ride: 50 km (31 miles)
Total: 516 km (320 miles)
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