After the disappointing end of the day with my rice fiasco all I wanted was a decent night sleep, unfortunately this was not to be.
There are a few issues with forest camping compared to field camping, one being the lack of morning shower as I've touched upon previously but the other is the vast increase in creepy noises that you hear throughout the night. I would like to think now that I have experience with what an approaching French police officer sounds like, along with beetles under leaves and the odd bird or too. Birds are initially very startling as they can come from anywhere at any point but if you remember this then you can sleep easily knowing its not a boogie monster as their noise would become gradually more terrifying. Last night I experienced a nutcase of a dog. I was sure the forest was vast and with towns at least 5 miles either side I would sleep easily with just the hum of the crickets. How wrong I was! This dog would charge to one area and bark then charge to another and bark like some sick game of Marco Polo. The whole night my body lay tensed with the thought of him popping up in my sleeping bag and barking! So leaving for another day on the bike I was quite sleep deprived.
However, before I left for another day I became officially at one with the earth. If you don't understand this then move onto the next paragraph. I don't know if I blame it on the rice or the shaken disposition caused by the dog but I was woken to an urge that I had been previously lucky to experience in public establishments. Unfortunately when I have previously entered supermarkets, juice and cheese have taken the main stage and toilet paper has been remembered just as I'm leaving to the next town. This put me in a situation today that I'm sure many people have been in before. This sort of situation tests the ingenuity of a person and really sorts the winners from losers. Leaves! I hear you say. Well small leaves are a no go and some bigger leaves maybe soft but also house bugs and can devastatingly break half way through wiping so I had to think of something better. Then I remembered, my medical kit contained a triangular bandage, Jackpot! Just ripped a bit off the corner as to not jeopardise its arm supporting potential and both parties are happy. Small successes like these are going to get me through this adventure I'm sure.
The headwind made an unwelcome return but my legs are getting stronger now and i made good ground towards Epinal today. The landscape is changing to steeper hills but more woodland areas so there is more shade on the road which I'm thankful for, as I'm becoming more aware of a white forehead developing where my helmet is.
Spirits were high during my apple and baguette stops and I treated the passing motorists to a rendition of "Angels" at the top of my voice. As the wind picked up I probably looked more like Michael Jackson in Earth song but I enjoyed myself at least.
As it started to rain I was glad that I could get behind a car and catch some of its spray to clean myself a little. The idea soon went bad as I cycled through country roads where the cars flicked up all the good hearty earth that you expect to see on a country road!
Hitting 550 miles since I began a week ago I was adamant I was going to get proper permission from a farmer to stay somewhere and not risk another hounds from hell saga. Just off my main route to Colmar I saw a nice little house with a pristine garden surrounded by some empty fields, this is it, this is the one.
I hopped off Nigel and wheeled him upto the front door with high hopes. "Bonjour, etc etc" I tried to explain I would only be spending one night and to do this i say "un" and then the first day that comes into my head, in this case it was "jeudy" (excuse my spelling) The lovely little lady named Marie Claire said "no, tomorrow is Monday." Yes! get in, my instincts served me well again. She said I couldn't camp in her garden (she tried to say something about the hard ground but I think it was because her lawn was perfect and she didn't want me ruining it) but she pointed me to a great spot opposite her house. With a bounce in my step and thought of a good night sleep I pitched up and began cooking some sweet and sour noodles.
Shortly after, Marie Claire approached offering me dinner. Absolutely gutted I had already began mine I painfully declined but then she offered me breakfast and who am I to say no to that!
So as it stands I'm watching the sunset after a good feed and looking forward to having breakfast with such a kind lady who is really the first person in 5 days of France that I've had half a conversation with. Maybe if my French was better this could've been the case throughout. Either way, even the hospitality that I have received by getting fresh water when only asking for refills has been a great blessing and in my experiences, the French have not been anything like the way most people assume.
A major thought that runs through my head now though is, what am I going to wear? Today was my one week anniversary so I changed my shirt earlier. Now both shirts stink and the black and white marbled affect from salt stains is never a good look not to mention adding crusted socks and shorts to that. Probably best make the most of this breakfast as it could be the last time I'm let into a house!
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