Second Day Biking

Second Day Biking

            Bonjour!

            If you look up hilly in the dictionary this area would be in the top ten.  With town names like Montrol, Montrocher, Montmezery, and Montrollet, you quickly get the idea.  There was not a flat to be had all day.  I have mentioned before that towns were either located in the valleys along rivers for commerce or on the top of hills for protection.  Employing the high ground is Maxim #1 in Military Tactics 101.  Having the enemy struggle up hill is always preferable.  Today I had a mixture of both.

            I putzed along all day with a goal of seeing Oradour-s- Glane.  This was the sight of a notorious Nazi atrocity during WW II.  The Germans surrounded the town and machine-gunned and burnt over 600 villagers, men, women, and children.  The town has been left as is to act as another reminder of man’s inhumanity to man.  Unfortunately such actions toward the weak and helpless continue today as we have seen in Serbia and Uganda.

            One good about setting shorter goals is that the trip can be more circular than linear were I wanted to pile on the miles.  Today I branched off looking for a prehistoric site but failed to find. And finding no campground I bicycled backwards to find one in Junien.

            I hesitated in Lesterps where there is a Tenth century Romanesque styled abbey church with thick walls and rounded arches.  A very interesting courtyard led into the church with three aisles of thick columns, very unusual.

            Lunch was in Oradour-s-Glane.  I bought bread, tomato, ham, and Swiss cheese for sandwiches and a beer.  I decided to visit the memorial tomorrow and backtracked to Junien.  The trip was nearly all done hill, not a good sign for tomorrow’s ride back.  There was lots of traffic in town caused by road construction.

            I found the campground easily.  It was near a huge stadium complex filled with various size fields and tennis courts.  The young receptionist was thin and tall, brown hair and wore glasses.  She was enthusiastic about having someone from California, the land of the movie stars.  She had a nice smile and navigated the language barrier with passable English.  My rudimentary French has expanded to include some colors and numbers.

            One difficulty stands out, when to weigh or not to weigh fruits and vegetables.  Some stores weigh at the register while others want you to weigh in the produce section.  The trip goes well when this is a problem that stands out!

Avoir!