We all have breakfast together and our first proper chat as a group. Richard the 1st meets the rest of the guys for the first time and before you know it we're off. We'll be doing about 250+ miles today so hopefully the weather will be kind...
Being Sunday and France, it is dead first thing. Not a cloud in the sky and nothing moving. The temperature starts at 10 deg C but drops outside of St Omer to a low of 5.5 dg.C brrrr
Nothing and no-one is about. The air is still and you could believe that Time has stopped as we travel the deserted quiet little country roads. The fields have that soft misty clumps in the lower parts and the cows in those misty ground clouds are stock still, except of course for their 24/7 mouths chomping on the dewey grass.
Peaceful.. and so quiet... and then the accident....
Richard the 2nd was back-up to Richard the 1st (our leader) when a dog hurtled out of a farmhouse to have a go at the lead bike before being struck by Richard the 2nd. I saw the dog spinning in circles on its side as it bounced back towards the kerb. It hobbled back into the farmhouse on three good legs. I saw it a minute of two later walking on all four and it headed round the back.
Al and the two Richards headed after it to let the farmer know what had happened. The farmer's wife had to be woken up (Sunday remember) and we explained what had happened. All smiles, all seems well, lot's of "C'est Bon" - whatever that means and we were on our way again. Glad we were tail-end-charlie!
This is the farm it ran out of....
After coffee we stopped at a memorial to the 14-18 war. It was a memorial to a group of footballers who set up their own battalion.... not that it protected them, I get there impression they were wiped out : (
Me and Al at this memorial -
(Remember that all of these images can be seen bigger if you double click them!)
After this we went round the South African memorial grounds. These were huge and well presented, almost numbing what happened here just under 100 years ago. There were thousands of British and South Africans killed in this wood alone, with the natural hedge lines called after London streets
Lunch in Peronne. Thought Al was offering me a drink at first, until he pointed out that it's a place and anyway Peroni is Italian! After that we headed off through the Champagne area, ooooh chance to have a slurp at 'Moet and Chandon' or 'Verve Cliquot' as we pass by their vineyards, but Al didn't stop, not even when I shouted.... AAAARRRGGGH !
Well we finished up in Sainte-Menehould in a rather nice hotel - Le Cheval Rouge. Long day and a bit miserable weather wise in the afternoon but some great roads and no dramas. I disappear off to bed early as I find the others are ordering snails.... Al promises me he's not having some too...
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