Day 4: Bordeaux to St-Vincent-de-Tyrosse
Date: 2011.05.09
Time: 02:30
Location: St-Vincent-de-Tyrosse, France
Total Mileage: Let me get back to you on that
You know how I know when traffic is bad? When people get out of their cars and start selling baguettes...
That didn't really happen, but in my head it did, because I was so bored sitting in traffic that I started playing the "what if" game, and thought it would be hilarious if a Peugot pulled up, popped the boot open, wafting fresh steam, and the driver got out and started selling baguettes up and down the rows of traffic like the foam finger guy at AT&T Park. "Get your fresh, piping 'ot baguettes 'ere!". That's an active imagination at work.
After 40 minutes we finally got out traffic, and then GPoS yanked our chains around Bordeaux for a little while. At this point it's amusing. It's like a cat chasing a laser pointer. However, now is a good time to let you know that I figured out part of why it seems to behave so erratically. The configuration setting from a previous post is actually called "Avoid Toll Roads", and it has saved me several €, while at the same time helping me to remember how to swear in french. So, unbeknownst to me, there are several roads throughout Europe that have three to five lanes and higher speed limits, but the catch is that you have to pay a toll for the privilege to use them. Kind of like the Bay Bridge, but without all the water underneath.
Once that setting was off, GPoS began to start to make sense. I'll still never figure out why it picked that dirt road, though. Every time I think about it, it reminds me of a film called Calvaire, which is a more messed up version of Deliverance in French. It's a well made film, and if you're okay with really creepy psychological thrillers, then it's worth watching.
After riding for a while, we picked up some sandwich makings and rode another twenty minutes out to a beach. It's important that this blog be educational, as well as entertaining, so, thus begins a segment that I like to call Things to do with your helmet when your head isn't in it. Today, we'll learn how to use an ordinary helmet as a picnic basket, it's really easy to do:
- unbuckle the chin strap
- remove head from helmet
- invert the helmet, so that the hole is facing up
- rebuckle the chin strap (this will become the handle for your basket)
- place your lunch items in the helmet, be sure that all liquid containers are sealed
[caption id="attachment_100" align="alignnone" width="150" caption="Lunch Box"]
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In case you were curious, that is a Cuban Monte Cristo.
Tomorrow, we'll learn how to turn your picnic basket into a motorcycle helmet!
