We stopped at a boulongerie and then ate our goodies in a small park on the way out of town. It is a bit cool today and we are wearing our thermals. I can't recall if I've mentioned this before but for the last week or so we have had to have the thermals on every morning. It is normally quite nice in the afternoon but the mornings are quite chilly. The leaves have also started to turn so it is obvious that Autumn, only next week, really is almost here.
We set off at ten past eight and had to follow a busy red road out of town. Fortunately the traffic was mainly heading into town. Of course when we turned off it there was a bit of a climb but then we got on to a really nice route, the D227. This road goes for 36 K's so there's barely any need to look at the map this morning. We actually had a tail wind this morning too so really the conditions could not have been better for our last touring day together, quiet road, tail wind, reasonably flat, cool with sunshine. Ideal! At one point we were thundering along at over 30 K's an hour! The kilometres just rolled away.
After that awesome run I was expecting us to get a bit of a head wind, or at least an annoying side wind. However no, we still had a tail/side wind all the way the Meaux. The next section was again another long section with barely any navigation required. The high speeds continued and then of all things a large peleton caught up to us. There were at least 20 of them and we dropped in behind and managed to draft of them for at least 3 K's. In the end I had to drop out because we were on a long, very gentle, climb, and riding up that at 36 kph was just beginning to be too much. They turned off a few hundred metres later as it turned out anyway.
From there we dropped into a valley where there were a few hills and then after a bit of surprisingly easy navigation came to Meaux. First things first we went immediately to the train station and booked my tickets to Charleville-Mezieres. There were no problems at all, only 27.90 Euro. The trains were every hour so I picked one in two hours time at 2.15 pm. I forgot to mention, we were hammering along so fast today that we got in to Meaux just before midday, pretty good.
Of course the next thing on the list was... lunch! I'd been so focused on getting to Meaux as quickly as possible that we'd even skipped morning tea, much to Paul's shock, so we were both starving. We had a bit of difficulty finding anywhere and I was beginning to think we might have to lower our standards when we found a lovely restaurant (which I'd ridden straight past), Le Briconnet. They had a garden terrace out the back but we just sat at the front of the restaurant so that we could watch the bikes. The lady owner was a bit worried about them just sitting there across the road we'd locked them and Paul was keeping an eagle eye. I ordered a Kir as soon as they brought the menu, no wasting time today. It is their own speciality and is Rose flavoured, very nice. Then they brought out an appetiser, a Mis en Bouche I think in French. This was like a small Gazpacho with cream on top, very tasty, and a dainty little piece of bread with a Rose flavoured cream on it, scrumptious. The entree was shredded goose meat with a really lovely chutney and the main was a leg of guinea fowl with mashed potato's and a very nice sauce. Delicious. For the dessert we had the apple pie of the maison. For some reason Paul got a huge slab and all I got was a tiny little thin slice, and I led all morning!
Thoroughly bloated we went to the Tourist Info so that Paul could look for accommodation, they had heaps of pamphlets and there are even Roman ruins to see here. Then Paul dropped me off at the train station. He couldn't come onto the platform without a ticket. So we shook hands and then he was off in search of a hotel. The big question is will he eat at the same restaurantm they have a 39 Euro Gourmet menu. Of course it is no fun on your own.
I had to lug the bike down and up the stairs to the platform, as always, and then the train was here, spot on time as always. It was like a Sydney metro Tangara, just high speed. There wasn't a bike area so I just lent it against the door and moved it if anyone was using the door, there were 7 stops before mine so it wasn't a problem. The next station, Chateau-Thierry, which I'd been through 6 weeks before (and not liked) had enormous stair cases up and over the trains. With some effort I managed to lug the bike up and down the other side. Fortunately the platform for Epernay was labelled so I didn't need to lug the bike up and over again. The next train was much older and had a bike area. It was a tight squeeze getting the bike through the doors but very pleasant for the next leg. I just stood by the window next to the bike because there was an air conditioning duct, very pleasant. I saw several things I recalled from my last trip up the valley, all very nice.
In Epernay I had to cross over to get the ticket punched, I should have done it in Meaux. Fortunately Epernay is a tourist town and they had someone manning the above ground path between trains, so no hiking down and up with the bike this time. The train this time is a brand new TER, like several I've used before and, unlike the others, there was a large seating area where I just lent the bike against the seats. I'd been sitting there for about five minutes when I realised that there were actually bike hooks overhead, so I still had time so I lifted the bike up. Cool! Now I can sit in a real seat and work on the diary. This leg is the longest at 1h36m. The train was about half full from Epernay to Reims and then almost everyone else got off, there were only two of us left on the carriage. However the train stood there for at least quarter of an hour and by the time we left it was packed, good thing I got the bike in early!
I got a lot of diary work done on the trip and then we were at Charleville-Meziers. I got the bike off the train and rode into town. There was a huge square in the centre of town and tourist info was there. I got a guide to the hotels and then noticed that the camping ground was only a few hundred metres away. I thought what the heck and went there, only 7.73 Euro! I set up, showered etc and then walked into town. Naturally it was late so everything was close to shutting down. I managed a bit of a walk around, checked out the restaurants, not a great selection, and then just picked one in the central square. It was a great location with a good view but it wasn't a good choice. All of the courses were mediocre even though it was probably the busiest restaurant in the square. Oh well, at least I saved 50 Euro on the hotel :)
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