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Published: July 30th 2006
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Yup, Sasquatch was right (see comment under "the route"), the jersey is browned with sweat and forest dirt. A month delayed due to blood doping, what can I say, the tour is over now. I'm on my own.
Baguettes, brie, salami, and espresso: I have found my staples. It hasn't been but three days. I'm still jet lagged and delusional, but i've managed 200 km from Paris. What I can't manage is this f***ing keyboard though, everything is misplaced. It took me five minutes to find the @ key.
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The plqne ride wqs long and sleepless(q=a!!!!!). Neither excessive wine nor sleeping pills could knock me out. 18 hours later, I assembled my bike at the airport, loaded it up, held my breath, qnd headed for the exit ramp. I managed ok through the infinite bustling traffic circles and eventually found the countyside eqst of Paris. Everything wqs blissful in my dream-like trance as I floated over the farmfields and my legs disassemled from my torso doing their thing as I laughed at them like a guinea pig inhaling whipcream canisters. Tiny cars like toys passed me without an elbow rub on the shoulderless roads. I passed through
a few small towns, stopping to eat and drink. My French is pathetic, but I've learned a rather butchered form of the basics. The sun was grinning in the construction paper sky until I arrived in Meaux. I got a bit lost as it began to pour. The heavy rain proved intermittent and completely stopped as I finally pulled into a campground. I slept like a dead baby, but woke up way too early.
Yesterday was rather blissful in a surreal sort of way. Long stretches of flat and rolling farmfields gave way to quaint towns and villages. The delicious espresso shots along the way helped to further disembody my eyes from my body. The cars are rather generous here with their space, often willing to slow to a stop in order not to squeeze me in. Its quite the relief from the constant fear of death in Montana.
In the afternoon I rolled down a long hill into a town called Sezanne. The road narrowed as the old building sprouted upwards around me and the pavement turned to cobblestone. It ended abruptly at the town square where a band was playing and the outdoor cafes were packed.
I joined the crowd and drank more espresso. At one point a man dressed like a penis with dangling testicles jumped out in front of the stage. The crowd began to clap as he danced. This was my first full day in France and I found this slightly odd. None the less I rode til dark and found a patch of forest to pitch a tent near a roadside rest area. Again, not nearly enough sleep. An early and very short ride into Troyes ended my progress southeastward. I found an excellent and cheap campground, where I've stashed my stuff. I walked around today and took in the sights of Troyes. This city boggles my eyes with its ancient cathedrals and narrow streets.
Thats about all I got in this clouded yet overstimulated head,
Steve
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Alicia
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greetings from planet america
Oh my, that sure is some head that man has on his shoulders. That did it for me today Steve, thanks.