T+14: Bar-Le-Duc to Verdun

I know I talk about the weather a lot, but it dictates our lives at the moment, even more than gradual or sharp inclines. We woke up to a changeable looking sky, with a slightly damp tent. We decided to get going, to make some/any progress before it got worse. It actually got better and we had one of the most enjoyable days so far.

We were taking the Voie Sacree (the sacred road) all the way from Bar to Verdun, so the route was straightforward. The Voie Sacree was the road which provided supplies to the French army at Verdun during the Great War. This was an area of intense fighting during the First World War, where the Germans sought to "bleed (the French) white." There're something like 39 forts built into the countryside and they proved to be sufficient in stopping the Germans from advancing, although a couple fell during 1916. Anyway, the road itself is a "living" monument to the French ability to maintain its fighting forces during the war.

As with any road, we judged it by its ascents and descents. It was gradually uphill, but with no "serious" climbs to speak of. We quite enjoyed it and, once again, having had an early start, made excellent progress. It was only just after lunch when we rolled into Verdun. Also it was sunny! The day had come on beautifully, and left us with very few clouds: a rare experience indeed.

We then met up with our lovely friends from work who were spending a few days driving back from the Alps to Wales. There's a large gate on the way into Verdun which lists the years of siege, conquest and general war in which Verdun saw fighting or "changed hands." There we met our friends and proceeded to follow their van to the campsite on the edge of town (Les Breuils). Having ridden our quota of miles so expertly in the morning, the rest of the was actually spent enjoying ourselves in the sun (I know, the sun we'd heard so much about but seen so little of). We walked into the centre ville which by the afternoon had people in it! We then had a beer at L'Estaminet (which has 12 beers on tap, 250 on its "menu" and is like a real pub inside and out)! In the evening we had a delicious seafood curry cooked in the van! There were so many exciting, and sorely missed, things happening it was hard to keep up.

As it was Saturday night, the fair (which was happening not far from the campsite) played music (including a particularly memorable Elvis medley) until 3am. This was a shame. All the songs seem to be end-of-the-night slow "finishers" so you were constantly hoping the noise would end, but instead they just faded out halfway through to be replaced by something else.

To surmise, a good day's cycling followed by a very enjoyable afternoon. After our previous non-cycling "free time" being generally spoiled by the weather, we finally felt like we were enjoying France as well as simply cycling and fretting. Hooray!

T+14 - Bar-Le-Duc to Verdun - 39.05 miles