September 4, 2015
From Bapaume to Roye: 'The Roses of Picardie
Ken Writes
We ate at the flash hotel last night. The last of the big spenders! The breakfast was also excellent. I walked along to the boulangere for lunch suppllies and Tricia rang Matthew to wish him a happy twelth birthday. Then we were off on the road to Langauaval. We had done this 7 years ago on a nice warm day. Today it was cold but the wind was occasionally behind us,
The country was undulating again, treeless and devoted to growing wheat, sugar beet and lots and lots of potatoes. In spite of its obvious productivity it is bleak with no sign of habitation or animals between villages. Farmers were carting huge trailer loads of potatoes. We've figured out the process. The digger delivers the potatoes with lots of dirt into the trailers. These are then taken about 20 tons at a time to large sheds where a process is carried out to separate spuds and dirt. We see equally large trailers of cleanish spuds and others of dirt emerging. In NZ the separation occurs in the field.
After 12km we came to Flers which the NZ devision reached om 15th Sept 1916 on the first day of their assault starting in Longuaval. It is now a picture of calm country living. On to Longuaval and up the side road to the NZ Memorial to the 1200 Kiwis who died over the three weeks of the offensive. We then went along the road to the Caterpillar Valley Cemetery where there are well over a thousand graves, 200 of them Kiwis and in addition the names of over a thousand other Kiwis on the memorial wall. The last Pokeno soldier we had to find the memorial to was J Pendergrast. We had had trouble finding him on the internet as some different spellings had been used. We found his memorial with the NZ Rifle Brigade and duly left a poppy and took a photo. Our mission was completed.
From there it was back to Longuaval were there was a small bar . We had a coffee . Unfortunately before we left I had a look in at the next room where there was a huge display of shell caps and shell casings and other things no doubt dug up over the years. Then I saw the shell caps were for sale for 10E. When the owner got one out I discovered what I should have known that although it had a brassy covering it was lead! I then tried to change it for a small packet containing 2 live 303 rounds and lots of shrapnel. I had just got out of rhe bar when I realised the difficulty I would have on the aeroplane so back in to swap again for the shell cap. It weighs about a kilo so I doubt it will make it home.
We then started on a very nice journey on small roads through rural very non touristy Frane, We crossed the Somme River, went past the spot where the British Commonwealth and French armies came side by side. We were now in Picardie and Tricia was looking for roses.
The hamlets are small and don't look prosperious. The farming is very large scale. Lunch was on some church steps at Chaulnes - no seats around here. Then on to Roye passing a few French Cemetries, They are not nearly as well kept as the Commonwealth ones.
Tonight wehave an excallent room in the Budget Ibis beside a huge shopping centre. Tricia had booked in advance teling them we had bikes so they have given us a very big disabled room on the ground floor so the bikes can sleep with us
Today's ride: 64 km (40 miles)
Total: 1,766 km (1,097 miles)
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