La Biciclette

A rugged ride to the shops one morning with two companions - an imperative, we had to go shopping. The traffic was busy, mild, but scary for me - not joyful.  Always more to learn.  Met my first "cross" driver and two members of our party had falls.  We brought the groceries back home to the boat in the baskets on the front of the bicycle.  So Frenchy, so chic.  Saddle sore butt, I'll be fine.

Contrast the afternoon excursion

Later that same Day,
We moored along a quiet road with a lovely shaded area and we scampered up the limestone cliffs -  sounds heroic doesn't it? Alas no, there were a couple of sets of stairs, some stony outcrops traversing scree paths.  We only went as far as the grottos in the cliff face proper. Wow what a view , a great panorama opened up with a postcard-perfect ville and it's steeple for compositional bliss. We took happy snaps of Chris sitting on the park bench, by the canal perfectly relaxed while Rosey cut his hair.
We returned to terra-firma, onto the bicycles and we retraced our steps of a few days earlier and rode back all the way to the prettiest lock and it's jardin.  Sooooo easy on the bike - a pure joy to be riding a bicycle on the walking path.

The Lesson

Two rides on the same day, same bicycles , one ride full of fear, panic, obligation, the other?
We rode three or four times further, but with a joyful heart.



 So it seemed easier.  Makes you think......