2014 The Twelfth Day

            Being so close to Reims, we had a very late start, not leaving until passed 11.  I was very excited for Aaron to see the cathedral in Reims.  This beautiful building is certainly in the top five of French cathedrals.

            Everything was rolling fine when, with Aaron behind me, we both heard the dreaded sound of a spoke breaking.  Ping!  The tourist center was next door to the cathedral.  The attendant directed me to Go Sports but they did not do repairs.  The attendant then gave scanty directions to Hubert Cycles about 3 kms away.

              After lunch and much too short visit to the cathedral, we were off in search of Hubert Cycles.  Hopelessly lost, we asked directions several times.  Finally, three of Reims’s finest not only gave directions but had us followed them.  This was one of those special moments!

            The technician at the Hubert’s was excellent.  He actually found a second broken spoke and he quickly mended them both.  The overall weight was the problem.  He suggested staying in the area and he would change all of the spokes.  We had to be on our way.   

            I have always had difficulty finding my way out of Reims and this time was no exception.  Eventually, we found 980 toward Dormans.  Forty kms and late afternoon would have been a problem the day before but this time we knew the campground in Dormans.  Travelling east, we had stayed there.

            I tucked myself into my slow and steady and I will make it mode.  Aaron flew off so fast that he lost his cap on a quick downhill.  The ups and downs were very long.  I made several stops for water, snacks, and for looking at the beautiful countryside.  The villages were as picturesque as ever.  The heavy traffic was the only downside.  Cars and trucks scooted by in their race to nowhere.

I finally caught Aaron about 3 miles from Dormans.  While he set up camp, I replenished our supplies and checked for restaurants.  I found a very nice one in the town square.

            Interestingly, there was a huge, boisterous crowd at the bar next door and nobody at the restaurant.  When I returned with Aaron 50 minutes later, the crowd had moved from the bar to the restaurant and was far more serene. 

            For the second night in a row we had a delicious dinner.  A lot of this has to do with timing.  Arriving too early, we would snack often to the point of not needing a full dinner.  The last two nights we cycled until passed seven, time for a shower and a complete dinner.

            Aaron and I frequently joke about the next observation.  Nearly all of the campgrounds have removed the toilet seats for sanitary reasons.  And hardly any provide toilet paper.  We started to rate the campgrounds on the criteria of no seat, no paper, no nothing.  Only the campground in Bar-le-Duc provided both.

            We head back toward Charly today, Aaron’s last full day of cycling.  We will either stay at Charly or find something closer to Cyrill’s.  We need to make Cyrill’s by 10 a.m.  Aaron must return the rental equipment by one o’clock Saturday.  Of course, we are hoping to stay at the Abbey in Fuoarre but they are not responding to our e-mails.  Of course, this all depends on avoiding the dreaded curse of the broken spokes.

            Much joy!!!!

            Hardy