J’aime la bicyclette (by Helen)

Will, Ben and I have each written a snapshot of our travels in France- and Clara has written a poem. Here is mine, written on day 5 of our trip along the Velo Francette. We went into this part of our travels with very little planned and nothing booked, and discovered a new part of the world that we love. 

***

Today was a perfect cycle-touring day. It’s off-season and our bikes are fully loaded. The added weight is worth the total freedom. We can decide in the moment how far to pedal and know that there will be a patch of grass waiting. So far, these have been at a farm, a bouncy-castle-camping-super-site, a deserted municipal camping site, and an orchard. 



Each night brings a different set of bird sounds. The first had several roosters (“in the books they only call once!”, says Ben). Another had fighting pigeons. The orchard has owls. 

We have one pannier for food, which we fill up when we can. Even the supermarket food is delicious, and a fabulous epicerie helped us through a french Sunday: Croissants, flan, cider, baguettes, and tins of chilli for our tiny camping pot at night.



Today we stopped in a little village cafe for lunch, which ended up being a fixed menu 3 course meal including tiramisu. The cost-to-luxury ratio for this trip is absurd, with sites costing about 20 euros a night. 

The best part, of course, is the cycling. Everyday we pass the unexpected. Today it was people riding an unusual machine down old railway tracks, a huge poppy field, and an information display about badgers. Clara is making up a story about people who are so tiny that they can ride on mice and cross the river in coconut shells pulled by ducks. They are currently battling their way out of their coconut bed after an unprecedented snow storm. We manage to mix in some multiplication practice. 



Cycle touring makes you a team. We can all see what has to happen and tackle it together. Today that included washing and folding our clothes. They, and we, are ready for our next few days on the road. 

Comments

  1. MonicaJune 19, 2023 at 6:16 PM

    love this and all the new cool things you are discovering as a family!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJuly 4, 2023 at 6:23 AM

    I'm finally catching up on reading about your journey to get to us and see some of your pictures. We are so inspired to more cycle touring now that we've seen you guys do it so successfully! <3

    ReplyDelete

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