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Travelogue
Yesterday's blog post closed by saying that it was raining and raining hard. In fact it rained harder than either M1 or M2 have ever experienced from within a tent and our MSR tent was pushed a little beyond its limits. Small amounts of water started to pool on top of the inner part of the tent, apparently having found their way through the seams of the fly sheet. This was not a problem as most of it ran off when there was enough mass to overcome the resistance due to viscosity.
But then it was a problem. Water started to pass through into our sleeping compartment and drip on important stuff like sleeping bags and.... us! There wasn't a lot of dripping. But with the whole night ahead of us, it was a bit alarming, especially for M2 on whose side of the tent most of the dripping was happening.
M1 offered (gallantly) to switch sides with M2. The offer was rejected. M1 then remembered that the camping bag contained an unused, brand new emergency survival bag, bought for his 2022 solo trip! It was retrieved and M2 and her sleeping bag slipped inside it, safe from the evil drips!
We eventually slept and at some point in the night the rain must have stopped. We didn't drown. The tent didn't get washed away. In fact, by this morning it didn't seem any worse than it had been before we fell asleep, which was fortunate.
We took the wet tent down and packed it away. Our wet clothes from yesterday were packed into plastic bags and stowed in our panniers to be dealt with at the next opportunity and ..... off we went.
Our first stop was about 100 metres from the campsite. Probably less. And it was a bakery. M2 chose an apple pastry. M1 chose an apple pastry. M1 also chose a pain au chocolat (PaC), greedy croissant hog that he is.
The bakery did not sell coffee so we wheeled our bikes around the corner to the main street and found a tabac which had a coffee machine. All set with the mandatory breakfast (when in France) of pastries and coffee, we ate, drank and were ready for our day.
It was drizzling when we set off and basic waterproofs were worn for a while. We enjoyed the reflections in the waters of the canal that the early morning conditions produced as we followed Eurovelo route EV 6.
With about 35 km cycled, in Montbeliard we spyed a cafe right by the cycle path and screeched to a halt. More coffee was ordered and M1, being the Cochon de Croissant that he is, also bought a PaC. M1 is a growing lad. He needs his croissant!
After a few hours the sun showed itself. M1 dug the solar panel out from the pannier it had been banished to for the last couple of days and set it up on The Mule, charging his power bank.
Today was a great day for wildlife. We saw many Grey Herons and best of all, a number of White Storks. We witnessed a pair of storks coming into land in a field, their long legs extended. It was very cool. We also saw a pair of crows locked in aerial battle with a Grey Heron which had presumably landed a bit too close to the crows' nest.
And there were swans. Lots of swans, including at least one cygnet. And Greylag Geese.
As always there were smaller song birds as well. Chaffinches, Black Birds, Pied Wagtails and, never seen but often heard, the Common Chiff Chaff with its instantly recognisable but incredibly monotonous "cheap cheap cheap cheap".
In Valdieu-Lutran, we enjoyed cycling down alongside a whole series of locks that acted like steps, allowing boats to descend and ascend. M1 shot some video of this part. If you watch carefully, you'll see a Grey Heron on the opposite bank of the canal.
Arriving in Mulhouse, we stopped at a supermarket we'd identified as being closest to the campsite and bought mush ingredients. Today's mush was the standard recipe, with a couscous base to which we add tomatoes, avocado, tuna fish and pesto.
At the campsite, we had to wait for reception to open so we could check in so made ourselves comfortable and ate bread, cheese and tomatoes for lunch. Another couple arrived on very heavily laden bikes, one of them towing a trailer as well. It turned out that the couple was in fact a party of three because their dog was riding in the trailer! We chatted and found that the German couple had been touring for a year and were now on their way home. They'd cycled in Turkey, Greece, Spain, France and the Balkans. It sounded like an amazing trip.
We chose a nice spot to camp in but before getting set up, laid the tent and groundsheet out to dry. M1 also rigged up a washing line between a tree and the handlebars of The Mule and hung out wet clothes and towels to dry. When the tent was dry, we put the inner part up first and pinned back the doors so it could get a good airing.
Showers were had and we felt human again.
Mush was served and ate and as usual, was delicious.
We read for a while and then slept. The night was meteorologically uneventful.
Tomorrow, we leave France and cycle into Switzerland!
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