Moving on from Paris

Moving on from Paris, departing for Orleans the morning of Thursday, June 4.  The day began with stop and go traffic getting out of the city. After an hour of that the day consisted of 120 k through the french country side and several small towns along the way. there was a lunch stop in arpajon which had a nice little park with a stream running right past the picnic table. shortly after, my route lead me off road through what appeared to be a forest preserve just outside of cheptain. there i stubled onto the cheptain dirt camp which consisted of wooden ladder bridges and berms, dirt jumps, step downs, step ups, and a 15 foot half pipe. Basically a free riders wonderland. the road leading to and from the dirt camp was treacherous for a road cycle, but it was well worth it to see the presence of the free riding community. once i got back to the pavement. it took another 5 hours to make it to fluery, a city an the outskirts of orleans, where i got hit by first car of the tour. I suppose you could say we bumped shoulders. Given that no damage was sustained i would describe it as an invigorating experience. I then stopped at a small grocery store to pick up some food and a few beers to settle down for the night. As luck would have it though, there would be no settling down. I made it in to the city center where there was a park next to one of the train stops with a nice view of the cathedral. I cooked some pasta with cheese and salami; and as in every public dining occasion, i recieved a bon apetite from every passer by. Two tourists from algeria joined me for the end of my dinner and a few beers. We managed to conjure up about thirty minutes worth of conversation through a series of cherades, and then parted ways with smiles on our faces. Around ten, I rode to the cathedral to take some pictures where my attention was drawn to the squeeking of a bicicle horn coming from a small group of friends. They turned out to be a group of clarinet students waiting outside the conservatory where they study to meet their professor for a few drinks at a local bar. One of the students, Babtist, spoke english very well and helped facilitate conversation with the rest of the group. After a little conversation, i was invited to join them. at the bar at least a dozen of their friends and friends of friends came and went, all of whom projected the good vibration that seemed to just bounce all over the city of Orleans. many of them were also musicians and one of the themes of the night was the collective excitement for the music festival that would be taking place over the next two days in Ingré, a quiet town about 10 k removed from the city. A few drinks at the bar turned into closing time where i was convinced that the most prudent decision for the tour would be to stay with Patchou, a good friend of Baptist and an excellent guitarist, and join them for at least one night of festival. So we went back to Patchou;s house which was much like the villa we stayed at in Rheine. there are seven residents, a big yard where they grow fresh produce, and very communal atmosphere. After a few more beers we finally made it to bed around 4. After, sleeping in, we woke up, freshened up and went to the store to get the fixins for a BBQ. The food was great and the beer was cold, the perfect kick off for the festival. The festival was appropriately named Ingrédeints, and definitely had all the right ingredients. Good music and more importantly great people all gathered together for some fun in the sun and dancing into the night, which went on into the morning. The second night was much like the first with about double the crowd, most of whom were there to see Simeo, a very talented one man band, and Caravan Palace, an eclectic group from around Orleans who are now considerably famous in France given the short time they have been together. So after two days and nights of Ingrédients, we are all taking a day of rest, which happens to be mothers day in france "happy mothers day Mama". Tonight I will be cooking diner for the house and getting a good night sleep to continue on to la Rochelle.