Day 18: Guebwiller to Bisel

April 13, 2018

One of the pitfalls of staying at a B&B is that they are not necessarily located in a city centre. Because of that, there may not be a lot of food sources in the vicinity. Of course by definition there will be breakfast, but in the evening - could be a problem.

That's the way it was for us last night. We did pass some grocery stores on the way in, but we were too focussed on getting there to think about food. After we arrived I did fire up the computer to see what was around, but somehow I spotted nothing, and our bikes were securely locked away. All we had was that giant loaf of spice cake that we had bought the day before.

I can now attest that I am cured of spice cake, if not permanently, then at least for a good while!

Our hosts, Mireille and Pascal, were very friendly and in breakfast Mireille included some excellent pancakes, into which she had engineered a prune filling. Knowing our background, they apologized that they had no maple syrup to offer with the pancakes!

There is no use recommending this B&B, because Mireille and Pascal are giving it up and moving to another town. The reason they give is Pascal's knees, which are hampering him in maintaining the place. t of politeness we did not ask him about exactly what is the problem or whether he is on a list for knee replacement. But seeing him hobble around definitely reminded us of one special member of our own team!

Mireille and Pascal - thanks for the pancakes!

We knew there was a likelihood of rain, so we set off with our raincoats already on. But soon we were adding the Rain Legs, putting up the hoods, and so forth, because a cold rain had begin to fall in earnest.

In planning a Spring trip we obviously had to make decisions on how much heavy winter quality stuff to bring. Obviously we were not going to bring gaiters, full length waterproof pants, waterproof gloves, down sweaters, etc., but you know, all that would have been welcome on this morning.

It was actually breathtaking to watch just how quickly our stuff disintegrated as we traversed rain swept pathways out in the fields. For example, we had brought "Windstopper" gloves by Gore. That is wind, not rain stopper. These heavier gloves had served well on some of the dry cold days. But today, they turned quickly to wet dishrags that we could not even get our hands into. And our lovely hydraulic rim brakes - lost 50% of their stopping power immediately. Then as we traversed muddy tracks, the pads began to grind sand into the rims. Dodie's shoes - filled with water. They were nicely waterproof, but their main water skill was keeping the water in.

To add to this picture, we had only a sketchy idea of how to reach the town of Bisel, where Jean Paul and Chantal would be waiting for us. So it was a sorry pair that huddled under a town gate in Cernay. Fortunately from this point we spotted an Office de Tourisme and for some crazy reason it was actually open. They provided a map that gave us a better idea of where we were going, and they also gave us some Easter eggs and gummy bears. The chocolate and gummies helped generate some internal heat, and generally cheered us up.

But gummy bears and a map really would not have done the trick. I estimate we had about an hour left in us before we would be forced to find shelter and/or generally give up. But fortunately in that time the rain tapered and while the sun did not exactly come out it did warm up a bit. Add to that the fact that on the roads we were using we frequently found bits of cycle way, and if not, the traffic was not ferocious anyway.

Here we made our fateful decision not to jump on EV 6 (seen below) but to continue to Bisel village.

So we went from almost having to quit to sailing along quite happily. Before long we were on the last road to Bisel, and finally arriving in the little village without problem.

Chantal and Jean Paul were there to greet us, and quickly grabbed our soaking shoes and other stuff, to dry it out. Jean Paul then dragged out some solvent, brushes, and a hose and we cleaned up the bikes. While we were at it, we readjusted the mount for one of the handlebar bags, put Locktight on the seat bolts that had been loosening, and lubed the chains. I apologized to Jean Paul for attracting so much work, since when we arrived he had been busy preparing their own recumbents for their coming trip through Spain. But Jean Paul said that as a Warm Showers host he was used to people arriving with things that needed to be put right. In fact, he said, often they were shy to ask and just went to hide in their rooms. In such cases he might do things like lubrication for them anyway, like an elf working at night.

This Jean Paul's bike - he WAS working on it when we arrived.

Jean Paul worked on mechanical things all his life, so we had fun monkeying with the Ortlieb bag mount.

With the Grampies fairly dried out, it was time for a tour near the village. As is always the case, places that start out as just a name on the map for us reveal themselves as the places where people and families have spent lifetimes, generations. Bisel, of course, is just like that. The famiies of Jean Paul and Chantal have been here for hundreds of years, and their lives have been entwined with the unique history of the place.

In the middle ages this area was French, but in 1870 it fell to the Germans. It remained German until the end of the first World War, when it returned to France. The Germans ended that in 1939, but of course the French reclaimed it in 1945.

Bisel is very near the German border, not to mention the Swiss border. As such, every army that tromped through tromped over Bisel. In the First World War the population was basically evacuated and only the military remained. Eventually most of the town was destroyed. Jean Paul was able to take us through the town and to point out which few buildings were original.

Jean Paul and Chantal's family roots are more on the German side and have members that fought that way in the various wars. But that does not mean they speak German. Rather their native language is Alsatian. However if not speaking French to their child or grandchild they might speak a little English. The reason was the pressure from the French government to foster the French language here. Jean Paul found that having a German (Alsatian) accent in French was not helpful. So that makes Alsatian something of a dying language.

On the way into town we had noted a large dairy farm, and asked about it. As a result Jean Paul took us over there and introduced us to the farmer, Louis, who had created it. Now about 80, he has given over the reins to his son. He spoke to us in French but his language is also Alsatian. So when he could not understand us or vice versa, Jean Paul would step in in French or Alsatian to sort it out. What impressed me most was that this 80 year old and our 71 year old Jean Paul would have known each other for decades and decades. Jean Paul further knew Louis' father, and brother - where they had lived, how they made a living, etc. In Canada, where many people are immigrants and where people move around a lot, such deep ties are not common.

As might be expected, everything in this farm was immaculately clean. I mean, the tractors were cleaner than our newly cleaned bikes! Plus, the equipment was huge and the pieces numerous. It was amazing that basically one man could have accomplished so much, and amazing that today the whole place is operated by his son, with a little hired help, and two grandchildren that we saw helping out.

But in this I am leaving out Louis' wife. As we peeked into the milking parlour all we heard was some screeching, but could not see anyone. Eventually a little old woman emerged from the among the giant cows, dripping with milk. Apparently a machine had gone beserk, giving her an unwanted milk bath. As interesting as that was, there was the fact that this 80 year old was still in charge of the milking. We later met Louis' son, and it seemed totally normal that his 80 year old mother was in there jockeying the huge animals around. Actually I too would not have wanted to tangle with this feisty looking lady!

Scenes from the farm:

Louis created a huge dairy operation out of nothing.

This fresco on the side of the house features Louis' grand daughter.

Jean Paul also took us around to the neighbouring village of Feldbach, where there is a 12th century church. This was another of those affiliated with the powerful Cluny abbey. Thirty nuns lived here, but in 1790 this was discontinued and the building became a parish church. It is notably austere, but interesting for its pure Romanesque style. I did find one golden Mary in a back corner, but it was so dark inside that my picture is blurry.

It turned out that Chantal is an amazingly wonderful cook. After yesterday's diet of plain spice cake, this was a big change. Chantal started with here own invention of a flaky appetiser containing eggplant, tomato, and cheese, and then moved to a giant "Munster" meat pie. (The Munster region is just adjacent to Colmar, somehow we managed to miss it!). In case we were still hungry, Chantal then brought forward a blueberry custard pie, plus some yogurt with homemade preserves on top.

Chantal's daughter in law works in a very famous cheese shop called Antony, in the nearby village of Vieux-Ferrette. Her son, Olivier, brought over some samples to build up our dessert! There were three large chunks of cheese - one Compte, some Munster, and a Camembert. Each one was full of flavour. A bit too full, probably, for Dodie - as she let me finish hers.

Of course this meal had wine, and though Jean Paul and Chantal understood that we don't drink, we were still up for sampling. We learned that Riesling from this area is superior to that from Moselle, but we were anyway given Pinot Blanc, which they said is milder. We also talked about vin "cremant", which is a word we had seen on many signs. It simply means sparkling, and it refers to wine made in the manner of Champagne. Chantal and Jean Paul allowed however that cremant is made from the lower quality vines found on the flatter lands. Jean Paul filled my glass full - too full - but I admit as I sit here typing I seem to be drinking it up!

Chantal's tour de force:

Munster pie and other treats, plus tomorrow's breakfast is rising now!

As always happens in a Warm Showers situation, the blog gets put aside in favour of chatting. However Dodie and Jean Paul have turned in, and Chantal is reading up on Andalusia, for their trip starting next week. That leaves me to finish up here by putting in the photos. Enjoy.

Today's ride: 61 km (38 miles)
Total: 1,013 km (629 miles)

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