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Travelogue
Today involved a relatively short ride of only 62 km (39 miles) from Luxemont to the town of Joinville. We cycled along a path by the River Marne and adjacent canal for 99% of the whole ride. We cycled up river, so it was uphill but the gradient was so slight, we barely noticed it.
Cycling by the canal, we saw swans and a heron and we heard the unmistakable sound of frogs in an adjacent pond. And deep in the countryside, we also heard a ferocious roaring sound we couldn't at first identify. It turned out to be the sound of a fighter jet. We passed a military airfield on the other side of the river and every now and again, they'd fire up one of the jets.
We'd left the campsite at Luxemont at about 8:30, both ready for our breakfast but aware from research the previous evening, that breakfast would be some time arriving. There's little around Luxemont and certainly no bakeries that we could see. So, we had to cycle 25 km, all the way to Saint-Dizier for breakfast, and found a cafe there close to the Town Hall and an attractive looking theatre. M2 had pain au chocolat. M1 went a bit wild and had a pain au abricot (yes,. that's the correct spelling). Both Ms seemed pretty happy with their choices, washed down with large (by French standards) cups of coffee.
After our late breakfast, we cycled to the south of the town to find that bikepacking Mecca, Decathlon. As explained yesterday, M1 and his sunglasses have parted on the most unfortunate terms. They won't be speaking again and lawyers are involved. Meanwhile though, M1's eyes have become a target for every flying insect and it has become imperative that new sunglasses be acquired. Given M1's track record with sunglasses though, it's equally imperative that said sunglasses be cheap.
Decathlon did not disappoint! M1 came out of the store sporting a new pair of sunglasses, purchased for a very reasonable 6.95 Euros. Result.
We cycled another 35 km, almost entirely by the canal. There were quite a few leisure boats on the canal and one rather strange craft.
The weather was pretty wonderful all day. Sunny but not too hot. We contended with a bit of a headwind for a while, but it was nothing to complain about.
Arriving in Joinville, we cycled straight to the house we'd rented for two nights. Joinville is a small, attractive town and the house we're staying in is in a quiet sector and reached via a narrow street between houses.
On arrival, we took our bags inside but left the bikes outside and M1 set to work washing them and cleaning their chains. Tomorrow, the chains will be re-lubricated.
Clothes are washing. We've been to LIDL and bought a fair amount of food. We're all set to research our second week and to book accommodation. And to rest. We're both ready to give our legs a break but feeling we had a great first week.
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