Mom and Peter were chez nous for most of June, and we were expecting new house guests starting July 15th. So despite having one of our last four day weekends in France, we decided to spend the time at home celebrating Tour-de-France season and french independence day. We were happy to have good weather, and lots of opportunities to ride bikes. So we did -
Sat. in Paris we took a roll on the Velibre which we rented at Pont d'Alma and pedaled to the American Library where I restocked on mysteries, and Pat picked up some WW1 books for his upcoming trek through the battlefields. Then we headed east, along the Seine where we rolled across a wonderful strings concert at Metro Palais du Louvre Rivoli, and enjoyed that among the other very beautiful sights one sees from the saddle of a bike. We cut that ride short though, to get home in time to go to dinner at Natalie's, where we met the new little princess - Charlotte and her proud father, Bruno.
Sunday morning, started out cool and wet, not a good omen for our scheduled ride with SMUS through the streets of Paris to see beautiful parks and monuments. This 50km ride was well planned though, no rain to deter us, and took us through new territory - the Bois de Boulogne where we found a beautifully restored windmill, the famous horse race track - Longchamps - home of the October classic, and some good photo ops for the group before returning to Paris via the cobblestones of Ave. Champs Élysées.
It was likely those pavers that were the end of our tandem's front innertube that ended with a sudden loud bang! But with the efficient group of cyclists - we were quickly repaired and back on our way. We returned home in time for a lunch, the Tour de France and a nap. By the time we awoke - the sun had come out, and the day turned from really cold and gray to warm and sunny.
Monday's pedaling was purely pragmatic, and we did go back into Paris, as we were in search of a ceiling fan for the bedroom, which gave me the chance to buy The Last Resident of Dogtown, a great book, and to take a bunch of photos.
We started in St. Germaine de Prés at the Chaise Longue, and the Village Voice bookstore, and then headed to Eglise Madeleine where we photographed their current outdoor art exhibit, which we had noticed on Sunday when we rode by with SMUS.
The day of the 14th was also pretty quiet except for the thrilling rumble of jets soaring overhead - lasting for several minutes as there was quite the aerial display of force by the french jets ---
but we didn't pull out the bikes except for a quick trip to get bread, as we were working on getting the house clean, laundry done, more Tour-de-France coverage, etc. until we decided to ride the tandem to our City Hall to experience the local celebration of independence day, despite the fact that just about 50 minutes away - tens of thousands of people were gathering under the Eiffel Tower to see Johnny Holiday (France's version of Elvis) and a super high tech light and fireworks show.
So we opted for the likely less crowded, and little more casual bal-de-St. Maur des Fosses. We tucked our rain jackets, dayglo vests and a big lock into the panniers of the tandem and made sure that our head and taillights had batteries for the ride home. We were only going 6km each way, but we knew by 11 p.m. it would be just dark enough to need some lights to be safe - at 8:30 pm though, it was still full daylight.
The "bal" was a classic small town gathering with a band who played a wide variety of music on the steps of City Hall, no fireworks except for those set off by a budding firesetter, and where the locals stepped lively to whatever set their toes tapping.
The local bars were doing a great business, and one had a big grill going outside to serve sausages and fries. I noticed most people were drinking beer, not wine, something I would not have predicted. There was of course the obligatory small scuffle between some men old enough to know better - that brought the local police and created a bit of a sensation, just until the band started playing a beloved french folk song that got everyone out of their seat and dancing what apparently was well known steps.
We headed home around 11, spinning along, without problem, arriving home after a weekend totaling about 120 km - or 70 miles.
