30th of July Jean-Claude Ducray was waiting for us at 10:00 to receive the key to the apartment and we made it just in time. We still had breakfast with him at a little bakery and our invitation ended in a sticky mess as the almond croissants were filled with an extremely liquid filling, which exploded all over.
We started finally by 11:30 to be back on our bikes. In the beginning we had followed the recommendation to just continue (“tout droit”) straight on this road out of town, but it was the same situation as we entered the town of Bourges yesterday. We just had to make a U-turn to find the bike trail again and it was worth it as it was following the Canal du Berry mirroring a cathedral of sycamore trees in its waters.
Once we had left town we even found ourselves back on the Saint James trail leading us into wild forests and fields and back on an old railway track being turned into a bike path. Around noon we had reached Saint-Florent-sur-Cher but the town hall was still closed for lunch break. So we chose a restaurant nearby to do the same. At the neighbours table some workers had their lunch too, and it seemed to be someone’s birthday as they had already quite a lot of wine for that time of the day.
Back at the town hall for getting our stamp the lady was really impressed by all the stamps we had already collected in our credential pass. I told her she could follow us, but she said not by bike. I meant on our website, but I liked her humour and when Robert asked her to whom this castle belonged she put on a little tiara and said she’d be the princess. We were laughing so much and had to disappoint her not to take her with us in a trailer.
The former railway had put its viaduct on the existing ancient Roman foundations and was very impressive. From now on we followed the former railway line into more and more forgotten parts where nature tried to gain its terrain back again. To the left and right there was nothing but fields. Only a few birds in the bushes were taking off when we biked by but there were hardly any insects. Endless monocultures dominated the horizon and a strong wind blew against us when we were forced to leave the bush tunnel of the railway line where no one had taken care of it anymore.
We had our sandwiches in a little town called Issoudin, where we got our stamp and sent a photo to our rotarian friend Mr. Traboulsy to inform him that we were getting closer to Chateauroux.
Windmills were alternating with huge antennas we had never seen before. They gave them exotic names. We felt lost like on a different planet. Only 15 km were left until Chateauroux when I took a stop in the village of Saint Valentin to loosen my shoelaces. Just in that moment the wind had caught my bike and it fell on the sidewalk in such a way that my mudguard broke into two pieces. We repaired it provisionally with duck-tape and I sent a photo to Mr. Traboulsy that we had fixed my bike and could continue to arrive in time, when Robert realized he had a flat front tire. We had to unload his bike from all the luggage to be able to turn it upside down to take off the front wheel. When I unscrewed the front axis I felt some small piece jumped off the screw and hit my arm, but I could only see a little ring falling on the ground. I tried to get the tire off the wheel rim but I had no chance. At the end I even broke the edge by working too hard on it. I had to call Mr Traboulsy for help, because I couldn’t fix the front wheel as I wanted to.
He immediately offered to come with his car and pick us up in Saint Valentin. There we were stuck in the village in front of the famous restaurant “Au 14 Fevrier” which is already booked three years ahead by couples who want to celebrate Valentines Day.
In the meantime my Rotary Club from Starnberg asked me in a group chat if I would be ready to participate at the Christmas market while more than twenty Rotarians of Chateauroux were waiting for us to arrive for our presentation. It was a situation which could have stressed us, but that’s when Robert and I change into a mode of no panic and get focused on what are our next steps. Well Robert tried to stay cool in the shade and I tried to work on the wheel which didn’t get me any further. I tried to find the little piece in the gravel but nothing.
Finally Michel Traboulsy and his wife Marie-Hélène arrived with their car and it looked like one bike would fit in easily but for the second it looked really tight. We had to take off the other front wheel too and I tried not to make it explode losing small pieces again and really paid attention.
We had to squeeze in the bikes and we were able to place all the luggage around it so that it would not even move anymore. I was completely dirty with black hands, but we had no more time to change and drove directly to their meeting place “Escale”. Just washing my hands, grabbing my laptop and I had to join dinner and do my presentation in my biking outfit. At least 24 people were taking part in this extraordinary meeting because during summer vacation they don’t have their weekly rhythm.
We experienced the whole French way of a Rotary meeting starting with Apero, Entrée, Main Course, some speeches, handing over the flags and every member presenting himself personally. Now it was my turn to do the presentation before I had earned my dessert. An intense day came to an end and we still had to drive downtown with Michel and Marie-Hélène to their place, which was an old historic house built over a little creek.
