The Traffic of Verdun

July 12, 2023

Mouzay to Villers

Today felt pretty unremarkable.

The main thing was that my new seat didn't make it through the day. It was too narrow and became very uncomfortable. I had to stand up to stretch out my hips every five minutes or so. So my main destination was the Verdun Decathlon, which I was sure would have more bike seats to choose from.

This is of course not the normal reason for visiting Verdun. More typically, I did stop to gaze at one French Great War graveyard.

The wasteland of nationalism, empire, and war technology

The roads are littered with monuments, one every few kilometers to one army division or another (some American graveyards and memorials; also some German graveyards).

This is actually not all that different from most villages all over France, each of which have a monument to everyone who died in both of the world wars. Usually they are surrounded by a chain that is suspended from posts that are in the shape of artillery shells, which is always a particularly gruesome but effective touch.

I do find World War I incredibly fascinating, as many historians use it as a marker of the beginning of the modern era, when uncritical nationalism and belief in combat as glory died on this continent. I've recently read both Christopher Clark's The Sleepwalkers, on the origins of the war, and Paul Fussell's The Great War and Modern Memory, ostensibly on the literature of the first world war, but also treatise on its cultural effects. Both I highly recommend. And I think I learned everything I need to know about the actual mechanics of the butchery of the war from Gabriel Garcia Remarque in 11th grade, though, so visiting battlefields holds little interest to me.

(I would definitely follow the route of Archduke Ferdinand if I am ever in Belgrade, though, after reading Clark's account that opens Sleepwalkers. If anybody ever tries to assassinate you once in a day, holy shit, take the rest of the day off in a bunker.)

Anyway, eventually I made it to the Verdun Decathlon.

My torturer's fate. Left it at Decathlon bike parking. I'm like Hänsel but for bike seats.

The new one is a Selle Italia that will probably not be my favorite seat ever, but seems like it might at least make it back to the United States.

Because there are reports that there are not so many grocery stores south of here, plus there's also a national holiday coming up in two days, I stocked up on some groceries. At this point, as often is the case, I was reminded of the gross discrepancy in pricing for chocolate croissants between Continental Europe and the United States.

I'm always offended when I am charged $4 for a chocolate croissant in the United States

While we're on the subject of groceries, I also bought some trip-thematic cheese earlier in the day.

Also thanks for the butter container mom this thing is awesome: just the right size, and doesn't leak.

Although I did say the roads were unremarkable, they are remarkable in the sense that they are no longer paved towpaths or railways. We're not in Belgium anymore Toto. Part of the Meuse where one could bring one's children ended somewhere around Remilly-Aillicourt, over 100km ago. Particularly the 30 km before and the 15 km after Verdun have been a fairly busy road. I started to question the root designers a little bit, because there's big semis on this road sometimes. For me the whole point of coming to France is to be able to drive on the road without semis. I did start to have some thoughts of looking for another route, or skipping to a later part of my route, if this sort of thing continues.

I did get to check in on my traveling companion at one point:

Looking smaller today (but still lovely)

Because the campgrounds are more spaced out now, I want another 15 km south of Verdun so that I can make it to the next campground and a reasonable amount of time. It is a decent place, with the correct refreshments.

I am extremely excited to have a table, which will make it easier to pack in the morning.

Other things I saw today:

Gigantic mine that smelled like an exploded firework. The view coming into this village, Dugny, is a typical Romanesque church with this in the background, which seemed like some sort of Manechian imagery.

I took a picture this morning if the baby grand piano at the Hotel Beaux-Arts. It came in though the window there, via some sort of forklifty thing.

French people very often pass fully in the other lane, which is very nice. But recently there's been signs that indicate what the rule is, which is almost five feet.

An incredibly large machine on a flatbed trailer, for Stellan I'll keep an eye out for a picture of something for you tomorrow Maeve.

Today's ride: 75 km (47 miles)
Total: 591 km (367 miles)

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