September 22, 2018 Lille to Saint Quentin

This morning was totally gray when we started loading luggage at 8:15 and when we got on our bikes the gray had turned to a light drizzle.  Not heavy enough that you want to stop and put on the rain coat but heavy enough that it makes the pavement wet and you know that if it doesn’t stop you are going to be soaked and cold.   Fortunately it stopped inside of the first 15 minutes of the ride.  However it had been raining much harder as the pavement was soaked and there were puddles of water in the pot holes. 

The ride out of Lille was amazingly easy as the route took us down a straight road which had a bike lane and there was almost no traffic.  A Saturday morning at 8:30, where was the rush hour traffic.  By time we were out of town even the roads were dry. 

Earnie was with us and so there were four of us together rather than the usual three.  The road beyond Lille was much busier and the bike lane came and went and there were a lot of traffic circles.  In a car you have to watch but on a bike some of them are downright scary. It wasn’t until we managed to work our way past the big freeway that traffic thinned out. 

At about the 30 kms mark we turned down a canal path which was packed limestone.  The ride along it was stunning.  The sun managed to break through although only briefly and was reflecting of the canal.  There were a few fishermen with great long poles out trying their luck.  I wonder what they catch as the water looked pretty greenish.   Unfortunately the canal path was only about 10 kms and then back to the highway.

Before we knew it is lunch time and we were in Cambria so we stopped at a boulangerie where we got these huge chicken sandwiches.  We were right in the middle of the old town square and it was crowded with shoppers.  The wind had been forecast for 30 kms out of the south and while it had not been blowing it was starting to pick up so we hurried along.  

With only 40 kms to go there was no real hurray as it was only 12:25 when we left lunch however all of the hills were yet to climb and the wind was picking up.  Ken and Juerg dropped me and try as I might I could not ride them down (after I pulled them for the first 50 kms).  It wasn’t until we got to the American monument at Bellicourt Woods when Ken stopped did I catch them.  

The American Monument to the American soldiers who fought at Bellicourt Woods were the first to break through the Hindenburg line in the fall of 1918.  While Germany was pretty much finished by then their action cannot be diminished.  It is a perfectly set monument at the top of a local rise with great views of the battle field below. 

The last 15 kms into Saint Quentin were straight into the wind and thankfully downhill.  The Garmin registered 106 kms and 628 meters of climb to day. This corresponds to the route forecast of 105.92 and 498 meters. 

Tomorrow is forecast for nothing but rain all day with winds out of the south west.  We are heading south so it should be a pretty fun day.

Terry