June 10, 2008
From Saverne to Port Ste. Marie/Moussey: Crossing the Vosges Mountains
Again today fantastic weather and tail winds.
We continue along the bike path following the Canal de la Marne au Rhin. Now we have dense forest and hills to either side as the valley narrows. We are climbing gradually and every kilometer or so there is another lock on the canal, enabling the boats to ascend or descend another three to five meters. For us this means another little rise and then more flat going along the canal.
The path is well marked with a bicycle pictogram and I naively assume these little signs are for the Paneuropa Bike Path and will take us right into Paris. At one point the canal splits into a new, wider canal and an old, disused canal. Along the old canal in the Vallée des Eclusiers (Valley of the Lock- Keepers) we find a beautiful new bike path, built just a year ago. The canal, locks and lock-keeper cottages, no longer used since they were replaced in 1969, are in a peaceful and picturesque state of decay.
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For this four-kilometer part of the old canal, barges formerly needed eight to 13 hours for the 17 locks and 44.5-meter difference in altitude. Today the incline can be traversed in four minutes thanks to the Saint-Louis-Arzviller inclined plane, a boat lift with a single chamber, something like a giant bath tub, which slides laterally up or down the hillside on rails and can carry up to three boats at a time - a magnificent example of canal engineering.
Soon we must leave the canal as it continues to flow through a series of tunnels through the Vosges mountains. No tunnel for us, we must pedal over those mountains.
The bike-route signs take us as far as Niderviller - and then disappear altogether. I was getting very fond of being shown the very best way to get from A to B but from now until we reach Paris we will work out our own route. My information on the Paneuropa Bike Path says we can follow the Rhine-Marne-Canal for the next 60 km to Nancy. However, we soon see that this is not going to be possible. The tow paths are overgrown with weeds and high grass or are non-existent.
The roads we take from village to village are very scenic with views over a countryside of rolling hills, fields of grain and patches of forest. But it's hilly and we work our way over hill and dale. I can just feel how my legs must be getting stronger and stronger.
As I observed in Germany, many small villages in France no longer have their own bakery, cafe or market. The local population must drive to big chain supermarkets or wait for the delivery van which rides through and toots its horn, signalizing that fresh baguettes and baked goods are in town. Occasionally our ride through the village coincides with the baker van, but usually not and we aren't always stocked up for lunch. Today we have a snack at a bakery in the morning and that turns out to be the only opportunity we have to shop all day.
At around 3 pm, with many hills under our belt but no food, we see that the there will only be small farming villages on the next 50 km to Nancy. The implications are clear - it isn't likely that we will find accommodation or food.
As we rest on a park bench in the town of Moussey and contemplate our lot, Janos notices that the "mairie" or town hall is across the street. We are in luck - they are only open a few hours in the afternoon and that is now. We go in and ask if they can tell us where we could sleep for the night. Yes, there is a place on the canal, two kilometers distant, and they even call to see if there is a room free. I am so glad we won't have to sleep in the gutter and starve.
We have a room in a lovely auberge located in Port Ste. Marie on the bank of the canal. The room is charming, the hot shower out of this world and dinner - well, it won't be served until after 8 pm, but we're not complaining.
As we sit in our cosy room a thunder storm brews and it eventually pours. What a feeling to sit warm and dry, the bicycles locked in the garage, and watch the rest of the world get a soaking.
At the dinner table are two other guests plus our hosts. We are staying at a chambre d'hotes and eat with the family. By the time the meal comes on the table I am starving, only having eaten breakfast. I hope I won't lose control and make a pig of myself in front of everyone by eating everything on the platter meant for six. It's a lovely meal, served slowly, course by course, as the French do, and by the time all the courses have been served, I am full. I was a little afraid I wouldn't be.
We have an interesting conversation with one of the guests, a young bilingual (French and German) Alsacian of about 20, who is here not as a tourist but for work. When we ask what work he does, he tells us with pride he is a cattle-hoof trimmer. He is a son of farmers and his parents are still young and not ready to turn over the farm to the next generation. He decided to learn a trade related to farming. He also loves animals. He trims the hooves of about 50 - 100 cows a day and travels throughout Alsace-Lorraine, German Switzerland and parts of Germany, towing a cow-lifting machine (hydraulic trimming chute) and his tools. Since cows don't patiently lift one hoof at a time as horses do, they must be lifted so the four legs dangle in the air. It is a pleasure to talk to a young person who exudes so much satisfaction and enthusiasm for what he has chosen to do for a living.
Today's ride: 60 km (37 miles)
Total: 553 km (343 miles)
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