Perhaps the most striking effect was how rapidly we left behind day-to-day concerns. Holidays and travelling by no means guarantee this. People often travel "to get away from it all" but they usually take their mental baggage with them, finding it impossible to escape from themselves. Lying on a beach and scooping up the local alcohol in foreign bars is not likely to give reliable peace of mind. Riding a bike is different. One must concentrate to steer, grip the handlebars, navigate kerbs, potholes, roots, gravel and the like. Not to do so risks missing the route, an unfortunate and losing encounter with a heavy lorry or perhaps disappearing into a canal.
This is not to say that the journey has been a white-knuckle, clenched-jaw test of endurance. There have been long stretches of well-surfaced, clear routes where it was possible to achieve a state of mental flow, thinking and quietly taking in the varied landscape, wildlife and buildings. Former railway tracks are particularly good for this, pine forests much more boring. There is something particularly satisfying about mixed, deciduous woodland and mature trees were a big feature of this trip. We both found that we relaxed fairly quickly and because I brought up the rear at Cath's pace, I mostly had a fairly steady time of it. It took longer than she expected to develop the muscles in her legs, arms and shoulders. Controlling a bike with two reasonably heavy rear panniers takes a fair amount of strength, especially during low speed or walking manoeuvres as the bike tends to pivot about the front wheel and tip over. By the final third of the journey she had picked up the pace and was confidently able to achieve 80 kilometres (50 miles) a day and still have capacity. We were struck anew, over and again, by how efficient and robust a machine a decent bicycle is.
As I mentioned in my previous post, the daily routine of travel, eating, washing and sleeping left time for little else. This simplification is relaxing in itself, particularly since it promotes long and restful sleep. It also puts all else into perspective. Our physical and mental health have been much improved, despite taking only two days off, in my case, and three for Cath. Moreover, although there were occasional minor irritations, we did not grow to loath each other's weather-beaten faces, despite a continuous month in each other's company. Cath has had 39 years' exposure to my random witterings and outbursts of noise and we can still make each other laugh every day. She is also prepared to put up with my need to stop regularly to take photographs of brickwork, door handles, signs and rainwater goods.
So, overall I think that this was a wonderful experience, during which we both reflected on nearly 50 years of visits to France and I will write about this separately. We had very little rain but the winds were a major nuisance and, unfortunately, it turned out to be a very cold April across Europe. On many days the conditions were ideal and we had some beautiful morning starts to our day's adventure. It was blissful to be out in the fresh air, whizzing along and threading our way through towns and villages in a country that we love. We did not have youth on our side and the only revolutions were those of our wheels (apologies to Tim Moore) but Wordsworth's lines on the French Revolution do come to mind:
OH! pleasant exercise of hope and joy!
For mighty were the auxiliars which then stood
Upon our side, we who were strong in love!
Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,
But to be young was very heaven!--Oh! times,
In which the meagre, stale, forbidding ways
Of custom, law, and statute, took at once
The attraction of a country in romance!
OH! pleasant exercise of hope and joy!
For mighty were the auxiliars which then stood
Upon our side, we who were strong in love!
Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,
But to be young was very heaven!--Oh! times,
In which the meagre, stale, forbidding ways
Of custom, law, and statute, took at once
The attraction of a country in romance!
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