It’s been said that people are creatures of habit. I find it interesting how quickly we have settled in to our routine and cycle touring habits so to speak. We awake early each morning with the rising sun. Peacefully snuggled up in our sleeping bags we coax each other up out of bed. Often we pack up in silence enjoying the bird songs of the morning chorus, contemplating the ride ahead. We strive to get a few clicks under the belt while searching for a patisserie before we continue on to a sunny spot trail side in time to brew up our morning cup of java. Without question early morning is my favourite time to ride. There is a peacefulness early in the day, and the miles seem to come easily. Perhaps I am still half asleep?
Morning dew and the odd night of rain mean we are often packing up a soaking wet tent. On good days, when the sun is shining we break midday to perform our tent drying ritual which consists of pulling the gear out of our panniers. We carefully drape the tent, fly and groundsheet over our bikes and let the sun’s rays do their work. A wonderful system when the weather cooperates!
Throughout the day the toll of distant church bells lures us off the cycle path into small, quaint French villages. A welcome excuse to hop off the bikes, rest the legs and “walk the town.” As a closet history nerd, I find myself fascinated with the stone walls, shuttered buildings and majestic churches. The architecture is impressive to say the least. We seek out encounters with local residents and attempt to converse. Sadly our French, or lack of, limits us from meaningful conversations, but we usually share a few nods, and chuckles. I feel confident saying that we have not offended anyone to date, although time may prove me wrong.
By far our evening habits are the most refined and dare I say regimented. Once we agree on when and where to stop for the day we spring in to action. Likely thoughts of dinner and a warm bed are the motivating factors. Within seconds we have the gear off the bikes. Rob channels his inner bike mechanic and gets to work tightening the racks, cleaning chains and pumping tires. It’s amazing what can rattle loose over the course of a day. While Rob tends to the bikes I work to set up the tent. Once our chores are complete we settle in to enjoy a hearty dinner, and I am sure you will agree a well earned meal.
I suspect these habits balance out the uncertainty of a day on the bike and provide a bit of structure to the adventure. At times structure can be comforting. One thing is certain - we are definitely creatures of habit.
Giggle of the day
One habit we need to improve is our focus, especially when it comes to following clearly marked route signage. Today, as we were approaching the small town of Marseilles Les Aubigny we started fantasizing about cold lemonade. Tired and thirsty, lemonade was the one and only thing on our minds. Our pace picked up and we literally sprinted to the town centre. Who knew that our legs could pump this hard late afternoon? Unfortunately not a single shop was open, no drinks to be had. Insult to injury we managed to lose the trail. Blinded by lemonade we both missed a clearly posted sign directing us away from town. After several wrong turns and a few errant kilometres along a gravel Dyke trail we managed to get back on track. A high price to pay for an empty glass of lemonade.
P.s. I am happy to report that Rob, “the Rock”, my Rock has successfully repaired my handlebars. I am no longer jackknifing and catapulting over the front tire. Life is good.
