Cluny > Poncin 95km

July 29, 2014

Cluny > Poncin 95km

[Originally posted Jul 29, 2014]

Another day in the saddle (better than in the office - or the classroom - that is for sure). Another day when that saddle was covered in a cheap plastic bag from the local InterMarché to prevent damage from the rain. My saddle, a Brooks B-17 Honey colored leather saddle, is the one unifying piece of equipment most touring cyclists carry (I guess along with Schwalbe tires and Ortlieb panniers - kind of the industry standard). Brooks has been making saddles since before the invention of the bicycle (originally horse saddles) and continues to make them the same way today. The saddle is leather and very stiff. So stiff in fact that you can knock on it with one of your knuckles and it won’t budge. To the inexperienced cyclist the first question is - don’t you want something soft, if you’re going to be sitting on that thing for hours every day for the next 9 months. And the answer is no. Ideally all of your weight will rest upon your ischial tuberosities (or sit bones) and no weight will be placed on soft tissue (compression of soft tissue leads to poor blood supply, tingling, nerve compression and the speculation of decreased fertility). A leather saddle also will “break in” similar to a baseball glove. The only real problem with a leather saddle is excess rain exposure (the saddle becomes floppy - this happened to me only once on a 12 hour ride in Northern MI) and so a simple plastic bag does the trick. Our ride today started out with hopes of sunshine. In fact, during our second breakfast of bakery deliciousness (we seem to have adopted the meal schedule of the hobbits - breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner, and, later in the evening, supper) the sun managed to poke its beautiful face from behind the clouds. But three hours into our ride someone unzipped one of the large clouds from above and splash - we were soaked. More squishy socks. At times it felt like the log ride at an amusement park when the water is just spraying up all over you.

But we reached Poncin, had our warm shower and are now discussing bike touring locations. The hosts we are staying with, Germaine and Anne Julie, have toured in SE Asia, from San Francisco to Denver and from southern Patagonia to Peru. They said the South American trip was their favorite - and so this fits in nicely with my jokes to Katy that I’m about ready to start considering extending (doubling) the length of our trip. I guess in the ideal world.

Tomorrow we will leave France and enter Geneva, Switzerland (although we will return briefly to see Chamonix and Mont Blanc before our final exit into Switzerland and the Alps). Very strange. And somewhat sad. And likely expensive (I remember three years ago being in Switzerland and trying to find dinner with my family - I think that a bratwurst was running around $12-15. That along with the Alps leads to a deadly combination I call rapid weight loss). But it marks a time to reflect and think about what we’ve enjoyed, what works well, what we would like to change and continue our ever present argument: are you pedaling? France has been superb. Top notch food (that is actually made by humans - think abut all the american food that likely never see human hands). Wonderful people (despite their reputation). Lots of interesting history. Beautiful castles. What has also been fun is working on my French. I studied for two years in Junior High, and magically the other night was able to have a somewhat decent conversation over the dinner table with a couple that doesn’t speak English. As I’ve tried to figure a little more French out one interesting part of their language has stood out. Common greetings in English are hello (to greet someone) and goodbye (when you part ways). In French, bonjour (literally: good day) is used to greet someone and au revoir (literally - till seeing again). And it is the use of the word “good” that interests me. In English it is “good” when someone is leaving but in French it is “good” when we greet someone. (or at least that is my take on it) Why do the French call meeting someone "good" but the English language calls leaving someone "good"? I am not sure. It is true, however, that the French don’t enjoy the reputation of being open or friendly. Indeed, in public Katy and I rarely are approached for conversation. But upon entering someone’s home to stay for the night (and specifically when we have dinner with them), Katy and I have always felt like we are reuniting with old friends.

Just had dinner with Germaine and Anne Julie. It was as expected - a celebration of good people, stories from previous adventures and laughs about the peculiarities of our own countries.. Finished with the typical cheese and then fruit for dessert - I had two peaches (cause I’m cycling). The highlight must have been our comparison of American and French cheeses. Germaine was telling us he had tried some “shed dar” cheese in America, to which Katy responded, Huh? After deciphering the pronunciation we told them about Grilled Cheese Sandwiches - served with ketchup and they just said, wow - laughed - and then, I guess this is possible in America.

And so tomorrow morning we are off to Switzerland - with more people to meet, roads to pedal, food to eat and and memories to make. We are loving this trip.