promenade au velo... partie 1

My bike is out of action today, having made increasingly funny noises for a week... It's in Ben's capable, although busy, hands. However, I like to go for a bike ride four times a week, after I've cycled to school with Son 1. It's a good way to start the day, and gets me out and about to spot many little features of our town and countryside which would normally be missed.

The first feature, to be found all around our town, are roads named after civilians killed during and after a battle in the Second World War. The Maquis, who were the local Resistance, were killed too - I need to find out more about this battle, but I assume it was the usual sort of indiscriminate reprisal against a town which had been sheltering the Maquis. I think the road names are a very moving way to remember these people. Next to this memorial to Madame Biamouret is a cross -probably put up at some point in her lifetime, as most of them seem to be late 19th century or early 20th century. They are normally at crossroads. Some seem to be shrines and others are memorials from particular missions.

In this same tiny area of interest is a fantastic little 'band hut' structure, made by the 'Friends' of the area in the 1990s. It's a great little building, but I've never been able to guess exactly what it's for...

The charming weather vane is in the shape of our town's emblem.

Further out into the countryside, if I turn right I can see the most amazing barn, made of under-baked clay bricks as so many of the poorer buildings were. They are slowly turning back to clay...

And here in the hedge is the essential rusting agricultural implement....

Back to the next crossroads, here is a very severe cross.

Turn right and you'll get this prettier one at the crossroads at the other end of the lane...

On my way home now, and here is a sign that is always worth checking out! This farm sells blueberries (mertilles) when they are in season.I'm often fighting against the wind by this point, which usually blows west to east (Atlantic to Mediterranean). This ditch-lined road is typical of the whole area. The ditches are essential as we tend to have torrential downpours at thundery times of the year, but they make driving in the area very unnerving until you get used to them! Fairly often we do see a car which has gone into one...

Turn right into our own road and here is a lovely example of the old walls you see in our area. Layers of brick (better baked, this time, as you can tell from the colour) are interspersed with a herringbone pattern of the water-smoothed stones we find in our clay soil - remnants from the last Ice Age, I think. This wall is from a barn.

So that's it for the first bike ride. There won't be another one until Ben has worked out if he can fix my bike - I gather it's going to be a very loud process so he can't do it in the evenings!

Thanks for all your lovely comments - it is very, very pleasant to share the things I enjoy with other people!