To Cambrai

August 17, 2023

It is a really good thing that we live in Pukekohe and ride our bikes there as we get plenty of practice on round abouts. Douai is in another league and has far more. We spent the first 7km riding them. They are great roundabouts though and have a cycle route around them so it is easy. Also they are planted with beautiful flowers. On the outskirts of Douai there was an Intermarchet so Ken went in and bought delicious cheese, a baguette and some juicy nectarines. It is lucky he did as until we arrived here, although we were passing through small towns none of them had any services left. Not even a PMU. This is a huge plane and the wheat had clearly been harvested some time ago and the straw all gathered up. I wondered if those farmers in the rain in the Netherlands are getting a break to harvest theirs. We did see what we took to be one group of massive silos with some not very fancy houses around them for the workers

I used to have a car like this soKen felt he needed to photograph it

The bike path on this bridge was too narrow and scary for me

Often the little towns still have a church

Then we were directed down a tiny road that lead us to a canal with a tow path which must have once had a good riding surface. We felt a little unsure taking it as our experience as these usually deteriorate and eventually become impassible. But we were certainly glad we did, Firstly just beyond the bridge you can see in the next photo the canal bifurcates and there is a considerable marina. In fact we even saw some big barges. After this it was just us bumping along the path. No fishermen, no sign of habitation just us the canal and the trees. We did however come to signs explaining what it was all about. It is the Canal de la Sensee After around 6km we could see some sort of camping ground beside the track and fisher people began to appear and the track improved a bit then it was up on a path from the track and onto the road across a bridge. The amount of engineering work put into the building of these canals is mind blowing

The canal bifurcates and there is a coniderable marina on the other side

A very rare fisherwoman. I thought they were only men

Back on the road we were looking for somewhere to sit and have some lunch - there hadn’t been a seat the entire way. Ken saw a sign to a Canadian war Cemetery , This is just a group of 250 graves but one of the particularly sad things is the most of those lying here were killed in Sept 1918 so close to the end of the war. i thought of you people in Canada whom I feel I know through Cycleblaze

From here it wasn’t far and Komoot expertly guided us through the streets of Cambria till we got here

A memorial to an important local man who had been a pilot in WW1

A close up of one of the WW1 radial engines on the memorial

Today's ride: 34 km (21 miles)
Total: 829 km (515 miles)

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