As I type the local church is ringing out that it is 12 o’clock and Reggie & myself have paused (he has no choice on the matter of course) in the village of Marckolsheim some 60 kilometres south of Strasbourg. About three quarters of this morning’s cycle has been in one long straight line along the Rhone to Rhone Canal and then the route cut west through a series of small, very Alsatian villages; higher roofs, shuttered windows, many timber framed and even more painted in pastel shades of yellow, blue, cream & red.
Leaving Strasbourg this morning I thought that instead of having my usual croissant & pain au chocolat in the city itself, I would wait for half an hour or so until I escaped the suburbs (just as grim in the south of the city as they were on the west). The problem was that the first shop I passed which was open was here in Marckolsheim so the half a baguette and slice of tarte au fromage blanc went down extremely quickly! In fact, I’m tempted to go back for a second slice of the tarte – it was delicious!
The weather has been ok. Nothing worse or better than that. There was a short shower a few moments ago which is why we are sheltering under this deluxe bus shelter (you don’t get these down the Oxford Road in Reading!) but there is blue in the sky and I would dearly love to get to Colmar – only about 20 kilometres away so I could be there by 2pm at the latest – without another drenching.
And finally (they say that on all the best news bulletins), the strange thing about today’s ride so far is that, despite following the ‘Véloroute du Rhin’, I have yet to see anything of the river itself….