A day in rainy Riems

The Glory Days of French Motering - how is this for style!

Fortunately, I decided not to ride today but to spend my time visiting some of the many museums here. I saw three - the fine arts, the antiquities/history and a car one (for Tony's benefit)! I think the French really know how to organise their "stuff". And beautiful stuff it is. Both the fine arts and antiquities are in beautiful buildings. In particular the antiquities which are in a building attached to the Cathedral of St Remi. It such an amazingly beautiful light filled limestone structure. Relatively unornate but stunning. Sorry there should be a photo but just share in the pleasure of my mind!

Oh, by the way the car museum was in a tin shed - where else really! It was delightful in its own way - lots of old French cars from the "golden era" the 1930s. Ever heard of a Delahaye. A futuristic car from the 1950s.

May move on tomorrow if the rain stops. It has rained continuously today. Something we Victorians have forgotten about.

Je suis arrivé à Reims!

Well today I have a qwerty keyboard so perhaps it will be faster. I am in an internet cafe in Reims so it will have to be!

I came late today after an 80 km ride across northern Champagne. Tres fatigee! Also a bit sunburnt even though it rained all of last night. Such is summer in Europe. Sorry but this part of Champagne was all wheat and other grain crops, no vines except very close to Reims. Lucerne is grown here in a very big way for stock food. Sorry only my family understand the significance as my dad grew lucern too. If Lorraine was the granary of France this area is the super granary. It seem like agrobusiness not the little French farmer tending his tiny fields. There are hundreds of hectares of crops and no fences across a landscape of rolling hills.

The route I rode through was again a front line during WW1. Here the French and Germans went up and back and up and back for four years. Reminds me a bit of Mokoan! Eventually the Americans came and in the last months of the war helpt a lot. Whilst some might say that the Americans were too late, I do not agree. Without them, the war could have extended into 1919 and even more killing. Some may not understand that President Wilson was essentially a pacifist and it took him until his 2nd term to be pursuaded that America needed to support the Allies. The French know and will always be grateful for their support. By the end of the war the Americans had 2 million men in France. They wern't there long enough for many to be killed but those that were are mostly located at the big American Cemetary in western Lorraine. All the grave stones are magnificent white marble. Quite a contrast to the French and German gravestones.


Enough of my view of Modern History. I will stay here for two nights before leaving to see Australian, British and other Dominion monuments. I will then bore you with my view of all that.

I have already had a quick look at the beautiful Riems Cathedral of Our Lady. It is classical gothic and was were most of the Kings of France were coronated. Not now of course. Riems seems a beautiful city but a bit too big after the camping ground at Grandpre in southern Ardenne where I was last night, in a tent listening to the rain all night. Tonight it is a little two star hotel very close to everything so I can "do Riems" with speed.

I am glad I don't have to pronounce Riems to you. I find it tres difficile. Denis, in his engineer/academic way tried to explain it in terms of dipthongs but in the end just said, it sounds like this!

Not sure how to reply to comments but yes Vince it was genuine quiche Lorraine. The evidence is in my stomach.

Andrew, I will have you know that I am doing my pilates. It is almost as important and essential as my French!

Barry, if you are looking, I would like you to know that I am checking my bolts regularly. Well, this morning anyway. Bike okay so far.

Sophie, nice to know you have got the house ship shape. I wouldn't think you would be doing otherwise!. It will be good to experience your newly developing culinary expertise when I come home. Why should the two Becs get all this lasagna?

That's it for now. I might post again tomorrow before I head north for more battles. Before that a little art will be on the menu and should be a nice change.

I am accumulating photos but my transfer these later at someones place.

Photos From Heillecourt

Wednesday 28, 2008

Here is Denis. This is NOT a blognapping: I simply write these few lines in Heillecourt to show the last photos of Bernie with the Maillets last sunday: Bernie with Shandra and Farida, with Denis' father, with Sarah and Shandra and with Denis, Shandra and Nicolas.

Verdun

Part of the cemetary and the ossuary at Verdun

Today, i visited the memorials to ww1 battles in the fortress area above the city. Travelling by bike makes this quite easy. Although going through all the monuments is quite tiring. Although, not as tiring as it was for the French and German soldiers who, in 1916, fought for 300 days continuously.

The main monument is the 'ossuaire de Douaumont'. It is a spectacular art deco building of 1930's origin. Very grand and a little to fascist in style for me. I imagine that wasn't the intended effect!

The 1916 battle was the idea of a german general Falcon.... who thought it would 'bleed France dry'. The problem is that it bleed both France and Germany dry! How silly can you get.

Had to climb the hill to get there but coming down got up to 50 km/hr which is not bad for the old Mongoose.

I am a bit 'war fatigued' now so am looking forward to a few days on the road and a more natural contest with the wind, sun and rain.

Je suis arrivé à Verdun!

I arrived in Verdun today, tuesday 27 may after two days and 120 km. This took me from Nancy (and the 'protection' of the Maillets), across the Moselle and up onto the Lorraine plain through endless small villages and fields of blue green wheat and pale green barley and a sprinkling of rape, oats and barley. This is the granary of France. The Wimmera with a scale difference and more rain! It is sad that the villages look a bit lifeless but perhaps they have always been slow. I camped at lac de madine last night and it rained all night. Fortunately not before the tent went up! Today was drizzly but it now looks like clearing up. I have taken a hotel tonight and probably tomorrow and then more camping as I heqd east.

Tomorrow, i will visit the Verdun first war sites. Verdun is located on the Meuse River and is bounded on the eastern side by an escarpment that is q natural defence against attackfrom the east. I know because rode up this escarpment! It is here in 1915, 1916 and 1917 that major battles were fought and over one million French and Germans died. Such a waste!

i had a problem with my derailler but i got help from a bikeshop in Verdun. It was q minor problem and shows how impractical this engineer is! Overall, the Mongoose is going well, touch wood!

If you see a strange 'q' it should be an 'a'. Boy i hate this French keyboard!

c'est tout e au revoir.

Maybe, just maybe, this is the year of the Magpie!

Arrival in France, preparation and beginning the journey

Thursday 22 May, Melbourne - the bike fits in the bag!

Denis and I recharging batteries at Vitry-le- Francois

The journey begins

Denis met me and, more importantly, my bike at CDG Paris. After negotiating heavy Parisian traffic, we passed through Champagne to Nancy.

Bike reassembled and after a very pleasant lunch with the Maillets and we did some shopping to complete my equipment.

Vince, did the Magpipes really win ?

Monday 26 May, the journey begins.

The night before

Packing your bike the night is probably not advised if you haven't done it before. Good thing Jim came round. Of course, I could have done it on my own!? As they say in teen land ...."as if!!".

Still, all is well that ends well. Now ready to go and within 20 kgs more or less. Well a touch more really. If Qantas get picky you will all hear about it.

Salut, ma professeur Veronique et mes collegues de la classe du francais - Nicholas, Pia et Anita.
Je suis un peu triste parce que, je suis absence ce samadi. Donc, je doit parler francais dans la realite!

Je e'cris plus tard.

(excusez-moi il y n'a pas accent)

Why and why now

I should explain why I am doing this but my psychiatrist would say not to. Well never mind, here goes, into the deep end.

Since taking up bike riding two years ago seeking variation from the pounding of feet and knees that is running, I have found a new freedom! A bit melodramatic perhaps but riding a bike has a sense of freedom not experienced in any other method of getting from point A to point B.

Another reason is turning sixty and an awareness that capacity to do some things may be on the wane. Better do it now.

Bill Hansen's story about the death of his grandfather on the Western Front a month before the end of the war as he was about his work as an army chaplin moved me to visit the memorials and graves of Northern France. His mother never to see her father. Starting with Verdun where half a million of the flower of France and half a million of the flower of Germany met and died. Such a waste. To visit all this across the rural and rolling hills from the Moselle to the Somme will be an experience. I will follow the Somme from what was the Hindenburg line and the end of the last campaign by the AIF down to Villers Bretonneux. What better way than by bike!

There are the Danes, those marauding warriors that I worked with many years ago in Hong Kong. Well, the marauding has reduced to prowess in drinking Akavite but it is still marauding. A lovely sense of humour with a unique capability to speak English with a wryness and a twinkle.

Berlin, an imperial city, nearly crushed, always daring, the forty years, grim, isolated and uncertain but now rejuvenated.

Finally there is beautiful France and my very good friend Denis and his family. A friendship over 34 years since Stanford and in spite of the distance still going strong. Perhaps rejuvenated by the arrival of email. He will meet me at Roissey. The test of my halting newly acquired French awaits.

The week before

It is now a little over a week until I leave for France. I am quite prepared but there are many little things to do. I also have some important work targets to meet.

The big news of this week is mostly in this part of the World - the Burmese typhoon, the Chinese earthquake and Wayne Swan's first budget!

We need to be proud. Not many countries are ruled by a Kevin and a Wayne and, sorry I forgot Julia. It is not quite Wayne's world though. Seriously, I think it was a good budget but after 11 years of Howard and Costello and, sorry I forgot Abbott, they could have given us gruel and I would still be happy.

I can't wait for the trip to begin! I am sure you can't either in the vain hope that this drivel will end.