Sunday, April 7, 2013

Day 9 - France cycling trip: Chartres - Mondoubleau

Slight change of itinerary today. I initially planned to do Chartres -Tours in three days,  staying in Chateaudun and Vendome, but these stops were along a major highway, and this route would consist of three rather short legs. Instead,  I decided on an alternative route with one stop at Mondoubleau, riding on smaller roads.

The ride this morning was mostly uphill. I stopped in Brou for lunch where I had eggs/mayo for a starter, Milanese turkey scallop for the main course,  and a fruit salad. When ordering,  I had forgotten that I had already eaten 2 eggs for breakfast.  So I had a total of 5 eggs today. Nice cholesterol boost. :-)

The ride from Brou into Mondoubleau was a pleasant descent. 

When stopping to take pictures of a rotting remains of a castle (I know some of my readers appreciate old rotting buildings), I met a friendly local with his children, dog,  and French -American wife. We had a nice chat, comparing the different places we have lived.

Today on the road, I saw the Loir (not Loire) river, Jesus on a street corner, a couple of farms with lots of cows who looked at me suspiciously, the Fresh Prince's hometown, the Commanderie Templière d'Arville (a non-rotting building from the 12th century), a church, farm equipment, and more.

Today was a bit warmer,  and the first time on this trip where I wore just one sweatshirt instead of two! Tomorrow it is supposed to rain. But I have waterproof bags for my stuff, a raincoat, rain pants, a waterproof GPS and even a waterproof phone!  But still, I'd prefer no rain :-) At least it will be warmer.

12 comments:

  1. Hi, Carmen:
    Five eggs in one day won't harm you. Five eggs every day, for sure it will.
    I assume that most of the roads you ride on are mostly deserted, what in a way, it is a blessing.
    Enjoy yourself as much as you can.
    I'am glad you are getting better weather. I hope it doesn't get very warm. A little on the cool side it is preferable. Although you have to accept what it comes.
    Take care of yourself, sweetie.
    I love you
    Papa

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    1. I was kidding about the cholesterol :-) Some roads are deserted, and some have quite a bit of traffic (mostly in the city). I had interesting weather today! I'll write about it in my new post.

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  2. That burger looks really good...except I would have the egg fried a la "Red Robin Royal" :-)

    Which phone do you have that is waterproof? Is it just a case or did you do one of those waterproof treatments (Liquipel)?

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    1. It's a Sony Xperia Go. Kind of an old phone on 2.3. It's small and shock resistant too, so its good for a trip like this. The Xperia Z is a newer waterproof and shockproof phone. Of course there are limits: it probably won't survive a fall from ten stories high :-) But it can be used in the shower with no risk. It's kind of hard to tap on the wet screen though.

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  3. It sounds like you are making the better choice in changing your route. The rain won't be welcome, but staying in a warm place every night will make it much more bearable. When you've ridden all day in the rain only to end up in a tent, that can make the trip a lot less fun. Waking up the next morning to yet more rain can make it even worse. I can endure a lot when I know I'll have a shower and a warm bed to sleep in that night. I love that ground shot of you standing beside the road. I also like the picture of that burger. I've already had dinner, but if i were there, you'd have to make sure I didn't steal it right out from under your nose. Great job on the blog so far!

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    1. There's no way I could do bike touring with camping! All that extra weight to carry, plus I am always so grateful to have a nice shower and comfy bed after all that effort. :-)

      Glad you didn't steal my burger!

      Thanks :-)

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  4. You ate a burger for lunch. No wonder the cows were looking at you funny.

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    1. Haha. Some horses were looking at me funny too. Wonder if it's related to the horsemeat scandal. Maybe the McDonald's I had the other day was in fact the black stallion.

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  5. Hello Carmen I'm Sandrine the French-American you just met in Mondoubleau)with Emma my daughter ans Stephane
    Nice blog It was very nice to meet you and i apreciated our chat.
    I'll come time to time to see your blog and where you at
    It's courageous what your doing I hope we will keep in touch
    The rain started i thought of you!!
    see you soon

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    1. Hi Sandrine! It was nice to meet you :-) Welcome to my blog :-) Let me know when you guys come up to Paris, so we can get a drink!

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  6. Obligatory song for the trip !

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoHjQs6C4UY

    And also

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpS0nC7rqhs

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    1. Hahaha I like the second one in particular. So cheesy and ridiculous but catchy :-) I'll be humming that one tomorrow!

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