July 16, 2013 to July 17, 2013
French Revolutions: What the hell does that mean Bear?
There was no sign of the sun when I climbed out of my tent. How the hell was I going to navigate now?! I tried to recall the Bear Grylls book. Something about moss growing only on the north side of the tree. Or was it the south side? I studied the trees around me closely. The moss was growing on the ground. What the hell does that mean Bear, what the hell does that mean?!! I tried my best not to panic, but this was fast becoming a survival situation. I resisted the one piece of advice I could remember from Bear Grylls which was to start eating the ants and instead made my way back to the road by a combination of listening for the sound of traffic and also a little bit just by remembering the way I'd come from the night before. I started cycling and before I'd even had a chance to drink my own urine the sun came out and I knew everything was going to be okay.
I used the sun to guide me east for the rest of my time in France. I had to race a bit because my good friend Steffen was throwing a party on Friday in Germany and I wanted in. By 'race' I mean I cycled very slowly as is my way, but from sunrise until sunset almost non-stop, so as to cover some respectable distance. That worked out okay though because in rural France there really isn't that much else to do. The roads were blissfully quiet but so were the sleepy little villages that appeared every four or five kilometres, and I was lucky when I found someone about that I could ask to refill my water bottles. Each time that I did, the conversation followed a similar pattern:
Me: “Je voudrais d’ l’eau sil vous plait” – I want some the water if you please.
French Person: “Oui, oui” Followed by a load of impossible to understand French spoken very fast.
Me: “Je ne parlez pas Francais, je suis English” – I don’t speak French, I am English.
French Person: More impossible to understand French, ever so slightly slower.
Me, making a best guess at what they might be saying to me: “Tour du monde” – Tour of world.
French Person: “TOUR DU MONDE!” Followed by even more impossible to understand French, spoken twice as fast as anything that has gone before.
Me: “Err, Oui. Merci beaucoup. Au Revoir!” – I wish I could talk longer, I really do, but I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re saying, and I have a party to get to.
I really do wish that I could have talked more with people. I was daunted thinking of the fact that the next English-speaking country I plan to get to is Australia. Also, out of all the countries before then, French is the only language in which I can even ask for water. Come to think of it, I should really have treasured those special conversations a little more for they may be the longest I have for some time. Oh dear, I hope Daniel comes with me!
FRANCE SUMMARY:
Time: 2 days, 5 hours.
Distance cycled: 323 kilometres.
Baguettes consumed: 2.
Best things: Quiet roads, occasional fields of sunflowers, camping by fields of turnips, those special roadside conversations, Parisian girls.
Worst things: Parisian traffic.
Top touring tip: Free maps can be obtained from tourist information centres in many towns.
16/07/13 - 148km
17/07/13 - 127km (87km in France)
Today's ride: 235 km (146 miles)
Total: 323 km (201 miles)
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