| Day 2 - Longvilliers to Behen via Rue |
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| At last! - Onwards and downwards/flatwards!! |
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| All disappeared for coffee.... or maybe something else.... |
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| More flat, level roads - what it is to be spoiled...! |
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| Agricole Francais! |
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| This says it all..... |
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| The restored church at Rue - click on picture above to find out what it was like last time we visited - close up of porch on right |
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| I'll just sit here until my orange juice arrives..... |
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| Canal du Somme - a boat - and a bridge - a very low bridge....!! |
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| Two boats are coming! Down with the barrier! |
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| Les Alleux, Behen - click on picture for info from last visit |
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| Who are you looking at...? |
| Relaxing before dinner |
| 'No more hills!' came the plaintive cry from three posterior-bruised cyclist comrades. ' No more hills!' I promised - which wasn't strictly true, but now these were heading downwards, and, for some reason, were therefore deemed acceptable. What a difference of a day. Before long our average mph had climbed above 10. We were cruising - all the way down the valley towards Rang du Fliers. A quick coffee and nature call stop here, and then on to the flat plains and marshland that bordered the coast all the way to the Baie de Somme. |
| The wind had dropped, the sun was shining, and the temperature was a comfortable 21 degrees C - and on top of all this we were now nearing 11 mph average speed. Perfect cycling - with the added bonus, for about 15 km, of a new, purpose-built cycling-annexe as shown on the left. Seems everyone was happy, and it gave us a chance to pile on the miles which had been sorely (appropriate adverb) lacking yesterday. When Paul and I last cycled this route, in the opposite direction, back in 2004 (click for the gritty truth) we had taken two days to cover the distance we were now going to cover in one day, but we did stop in St Valery and have the hills the other way that time. |
| It was more enjoyable this way round. Our progress was now matching prior expectations. We were on target to make Rue for lunch, and found a welcome pizza restaurant slap bang opposite the clock tower (see the 2004 trip for pictures, using the link available via the church picture below). Rue is quiet but welcoming, not somewhere I would recommend staying for any length of time, but a good place to break a journey for lunch, as we were doing. The day was heating up even more. Still bearable but more like 23 or 24 degrees C now. Great for enjoying a couple of beers and stocking up on the calories, as well as for the cycling we still had to undertake. |
| Lunch out of the way, a couple of pics of the church (now renovated - see below), and it was a case of getting on our way again. Still on the flat and with the marais that lead to the Somme straight in front of us. The temperature was still climbing, but with the ability to create a breeze of our own at the 17-20 mph we are now able to achieve, this did not present any major problem. And of course we were still improving on our overall average, which was approaching close to 12 mph by now... |
| With days like these, it's little wonder that we find our cycling holidays in France so satisfying. The minor D roads that we take are perfect - traffic-free, smooth-surfaced, and taking the rider through historic and charming French villages and past panoramic scenery. And at the end of it we are guaranteed fine accommodation and high quality cuisine at reasonable cost! So across the marais we went, and down towards the Somme. Another unique find awaited us, just this side of the Somme Canal bridge. We were by this time, having covered another 15-18 miles in the rising heat, just about ready for another beverage stop. The 'Bar Open' sign appeared almost on cue. A quaint and eccentric little bar set just to the side of the road and next to the canal-side, with interesting arbours containing their own individual tables - shaded and inviting. A couple of drinks here (non-alcoholic) before we set off again to take the canalside road and to by-pass Abbeville before making the one ascent of the day to our B&B at Behens. Not quite so quick an exit as we had planned though. Just as we saddled up, two guys appeared with odd-looking metal bars and proceeded to pull down the barriers set either side of the bridge. In the distance upstream, we could see two river/canal cruisers approaching. Clearly they weren't low enough to be able to pass under the bridge as it stood. With relaxed efficiency, our two newly-arrived fellows set about the task of opening the bridge - for this was a swing bridge, one of many on this stretch of the canal. |
| Keys are turned, the bridge swings open..... |
| ...and the boats pass through |
| Pump with one lever - turn with the other... |
| There were two types of key and separate roles for each man. The first set about using his 'key' as a lever to 'pump up' the bridge - I think this was to break the seal/friction caused by the weight of the bridge at the hub around which the bridge would rotate. Once this was accomplished, the second man inserted his key into the 'lock' in the centre of the bridge and started to turn it. He was later helped by his pal (once his levering had been completed). The whole operation took about five minutes so needed to be undertaken well before the boats arrived. |
| Boats safely through, and the men rushed ahead to the next bridge to repeat the exercise. There seemed to be quite a few of these bridges.... We were left with the climb up to Behens and Les Alleux. Again a superb B&B with a meal (not lamb you will be pleased to hear!) and accompanying wine that satisfied completely. Not so much of the Red Foot liqueur this time though (see last visit for details!) But I WAS inspired to translate an English joke into French. 'Lost in translation' seems the appropriate phrase - see what you think: Qu'est-ce que c'est, qui est la derniere chose a passer par la tete d'une mouche quand il frappe la parbrise? C'est son cul! Oh well, please yourselves! |