A very strange day to Rouge de Rousollann

Saturday Day 25 - Today began by sleeping until I woke at about 8:00 and had a quiet breakfast with Christina, who owned the jete bustling about busily.The house was immaculate, small with rooms for 3 or 4 guests. Tonight there were only a few guests, but since I arrived late and went out for dinner, we only passed in the hallways. Christina was a very smart lady who was fluent in English having worked for many years several in Sweden. She seemed to enjoy the company and I heard all about her grandchildren android her about meeting my wife the artist in Lyon/Flourie. 

My room with the shutter open on the 3rd floor

View of the village square and the church from my window.

She told me about the art gallery in town and encouraged me to visit. It was a pleasant little town and I set out to explore more than the local tavern where I had dinner last night.

The art gallery was in what once probably in mid evil days was The Lord of the towns house ..... well not a castle but more than a house.

The show was incredible but they wouldn't let me take any photos.

The work was very big, representational and I am making arrangements to have Sarah's work shown there so that we all can come over for the opening.

An old guy who worked there and watched my bike, he was so happy when I took his picture. Then when I gave him the iPad to take my picture he went wild taking a million pictures of everything....

At this point it was getting late, near noon and very hot!!! I didn't really have a plan except to go east 15 or so miles down to the the Rhone River and head north. I was told that after getting down to the river it was much more commercial and industrial and not so nice.

This all turned out to be true although the river town of Montelimar seemed to have some life. But boy was it hot!!!!!! 39 C which I'll have to convert sometime. And with abut a 20 to 30 MPH constant wind from the south. I never felt the wind this hot blowing so hard. And on top of that the roads were in bad shape and busy. And I needed to go due north about 50 miles to get past a huge steep mountain in order to go east to Grenoble.

I made a brilliant executive decision ...... take the train. I followed the clearly marked signs to the train station and inquired. In luck there was a 3:15 train going north so I bought a ticket for Pagne de Rousoullonn, about 60 miles north.

Now ...... I must make a disclaimer/documentation here ...... Up until now the only none human powered (i.e. energy other than my legs) assist I have received on my journey from the Pacific Ocean in Oregon last summer, east to the Atlantic in Maine and so far this year from the Atlantic Ocean near Santiago in Spain until now have been:

1. Wyoming near Yellowstone Park - I was forced to ride with 3 other guys and our bikes in the back of a pick up truck driven by a Wyoming State DOT employee about 2 miles through a construction zone because the road was torn up and impassable ........... Fuel - gasoline probably from Texas.

2. Crossing Lake Michigan by ferry from Manitowoc, Wisconsin ......... Fuel - coal probably from Illinois 

3. Metro into and out of Bilbao ....... Fuel - Electric probably from the 2 big coal fired plants in Bilbao, but maybe wind because Spain had a lot of windmills. 

........... Now the train from Montelimar to Rousellonn north ........ Actually I believe it was a distance in a NORTH EAST direction ............. Which was actually taking me backward in my pilgrimage to the EAST........ Fuel - electric, most likely nuclear as France gets I think about 80% or more of its electric from nuclear and I saw 2 big cooling towers from a nuclear plant along the Rhone as I went north.

Before I left I wisely check in with the local Tourism Information and booked a place at a jete near the train station in Rouisallonn. 

When I arrived late in the afternoon, after a hot and smelly train ride it was even hotter still and I got lost trying to find the jete. But just when I was about to hit bottom and sleep on the street like a homeless person, I was rescued by a guy on a bike, the most amazing bicyclist and his wife and family.

I'm tired now and going to bed but will complete that story tomorrow ........ Boy I did go on tonight....... Don't worry I don't expect anyone is still reading this, it is getting late and I did ramble on.