July 26, 2013
Introduction: The whys and wheres
This tour has its origin in a bicycling treasure hunt sponsored by the Federation Francaise de Cyclotourism, otherwise known as the FFCT. The FFCT sponsors all kinds of cycling activites, among which are the Semaine Federale, an annual gathering of the cycling faithful that may include up to 16000 participants. In 2009 this gathering was held in the northern French city of St. Omer. Participants in the SemFed (as it is known) rode a different course each day visiting the departments of le Nord, le Pas de Calais, la Somme, and a little bit of Belgium. During the course of these rides the riders visited severl chosen sites in each department, where with the aide of a carte de route (route card) one could collect rubber stamps denoting the place and date each site was visited. These sites (there are six per department) have been chosen by the FFCT as "lieus touristique", places of interest to tourists, and specifically cyclotourists. The object of collecting these stamps is to get all of them from every department in France, excepting Paris and the inner suburbs. That adds up to a whopping 552 sites total (there are 6 sites in the three outer ring departments around Paris, and Corsica counts as a single department). Collect them all and you will be among the select few to be awarded the Brevet des Provinces Francaises (BPF). Collect only one stamp for each department visited, and you get the Brevet du Cyclotourisme Nationale (BCN). Thats A lot of riding! But to make the goal easier to digest, France is divied into "provinces" rather than departments. These roughly follow the provinces of the ancien regime. There are 36 provinces in all. If one finishes collecting all the stamps in one province one is awarded the Brevet of that Province, and a medal that goes with it. Collect all the medals, and you have the BPF. For the BCN a medal is awarded when 10 departments have been visited, and a small numeral ten for each group of ten more departments which is glued to the medal in one of the spaces provided. Fill in all the spaces on your medal, you get the BCN.
OK, enough of that rather lengthy explanation. Suffice it to say, when I attended the SemFed at St. Omer, a regular blast, by the way, I got as many stamps as I could, but that still left some to be gotten. Some of these I got riding to and from the SemFed, but there are a lot left to acquire. It will be in search of these that I will be riding to the north once more. The plan is to visit the departments of the Oise, the Aisne and the Somme to get the maximum number of rubber stamps possible in my cartes de route, and have fun doing it. Next week looks good weather wise, so I am planning to leave monday. How long I'll be gone depands on weather, motivation, ane the fun I'm having or not having. Oh, and it will be another opportunity to visit what many French people perceive as the friendliest part of the country, somthing I can't deny.
LES GENS DU NORD
Les gens du Nord
Ont dans leurs yeux le bleu qui manque à leur décor.
Les gens du Nord
Ont dans le cœur le soleil qu´ils n´ont pas dehors.
Les gens du Nord
Ouvrent toujours leurs portes à ceux qui ont souffert.
Les gens du Nord
N´oublient pas qu´ils ont vécu des années d´enfer
Si leurs maisons sont alignées
C´est par souci d´égalité
Et les péniches
Pauvres ou riches
Portent le fruit de leurs efforts
THE PEOPLE OF THE NORTH
The people of the north
Have in there eyes the blue that lacks in their decor
The people of the north
Have the sun in their hearts that they don't have outside
The people of the north
Alway open their doors to those who have suffered
The people of the north
Will never forget that they lived through the hellish years
If there houses are in rows
Its because they love equality
And the barges
Rich or poor
Carry the fruits of their labors
French song by Enrico Macias
English Translation by your humble servant.
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 1 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |