Wednesday June 13, 2012 .... Creil - Auvers sur Óise. 55 km
Wednesday started with a a short (mostly uphill) cycle trip to Chantilly. Conscious of the need to keep his heart rate down, Paul dropped down to the second lowest gear to climb the hill - until he noticed Margaret walking her bicycle whiz by him on the sidewalk. Somehow, peddling like mad to be overtaken by a walker was so demoralizing that he decided to join the "parade of pedestrians".
Chantilly is famous for four things - all four of which we experienced. First, is the castle of the Conde - a famous middle ages general filled with art work and rare books.
Second , is the race track from which the jockeys have a magnificent view of the chateau. Third is Chantilly cream, which is obligatory on the "strawberry pie" (shortcake) with coffee after the castle tour. Fourth is Chantilly lace (black) about which no one burst into song (audibly)!
From there, the day went down hill, literally and figuratively. First, one of our group took a tumble of her bicycle when an elderly man walked into her path talking on his cell phone. Second was the run down to Beaumont (which French scholars will know means "pretty hill" (the hill part was true even if the town had seen better days!). Leaving the town, we had our second accident of the day. Roy Hill caught his tire on the edge of the sidewalk coming off the road. A zig, a zag, another zig and then he crashed right into a heavy light standard. Paul was about 10 feet behind as Roy went over the handle bars, did a somersault in the air and landed on his back on the grass. Debbie,the Australian police officer, (who was behind Paul) described the flip as worthy of a Cirque de Soleil tryout. A passing motorist came over to see if Roy was hurt and called an ambulance which arrived within minutes. By the time it arrived, Roy was standing up and, after a quick neurological test to see that Roy could move hands legs and fingers on command, they left. Test passed and we were on our way.
The above photo shows Roy in the green jacket talking to the ambulance person.
That night was a catastrophe (for some)! It teemed with rain and Holland lost its second match in the Euro 2012. The Dutch crew (especially the cook) were devastated.
Sandra went on a walk with the group to see places that Van Gogh painted when he was in Auvers sur Öise.
And then, another cemetery....
Chantilly is famous for four things - all four of which we experienced. First, is the castle of the Conde - a famous middle ages general filled with art work and rare books.
Second , is the race track from which the jockeys have a magnificent view of the chateau. Third is Chantilly cream, which is obligatory on the "strawberry pie" (shortcake) with coffee after the castle tour. Fourth is Chantilly lace (black) about which no one burst into song (audibly)!
From there, the day went down hill, literally and figuratively. First, one of our group took a tumble of her bicycle when an elderly man walked into her path talking on his cell phone. Second was the run down to Beaumont (which French scholars will know means "pretty hill" (the hill part was true even if the town had seen better days!). Leaving the town, we had our second accident of the day. Roy Hill caught his tire on the edge of the sidewalk coming off the road. A zig, a zag, another zig and then he crashed right into a heavy light standard. Paul was about 10 feet behind as Roy went over the handle bars, did a somersault in the air and landed on his back on the grass. Debbie,the Australian police officer, (who was behind Paul) described the flip as worthy of a Cirque de Soleil tryout. A passing motorist came over to see if Roy was hurt and called an ambulance which arrived within minutes. By the time it arrived, Roy was standing up and, after a quick neurological test to see that Roy could move hands legs and fingers on command, they left. Test passed and we were on our way.
The above photo shows Roy in the green jacket talking to the ambulance person.
That night was a catastrophe (for some)! It teemed with rain and Holland lost its second match in the Euro 2012. The Dutch crew (especially the cook) were devastated.
Sandra went on a walk with the group to see places that Van Gogh painted when he was in Auvers sur Öise.
And then, another cemetery....
Comments