nichepoetryandprose

I can’t belive it – I have completed the third phase of my virtual bike trip through central France.  In this phase,  I biked (virtually) 36 km in 12 days from Exireuil to Magné just west of Niort.

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Phase 3 map (map from MapQuest)

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On March 10, I continued my virtual biking through the pretty town of Bessines and into the river town of Sevreau.  

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It was pleasant to be back in the rural areas – I appreciated the flat land – biking where there are a lot of hills is not fun!!!

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The town hall (mairie) in Bessines had red shutters and a big town bulletin board…

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town hall in Bessines – note bulletin boards

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I think the bulletin board must tell people to be on the look-out for a crazy Canadian lady pretending to bike through the French countryside…

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Town Hall – not ‘Mairie’ in stone over door

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The final stretch of the trip was in a shaded road called the Rue des Trois Ponts…

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one of three bridges

Log Book:  March 10, 2013

Area travelled:    ‘outskirts of Magné’ to ‘town of Sevreau’

Distance:  30 minutes      3.0 km

Best view: house with blue shutters along the Place de la Mairie

Notes:    took a shortcut to Sevreau along the stream!

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Total distance in Phase 1 (Jan 30 to Feb 11): 14.0 km (145 minutes of stationary biking)

Total distance in Phase 2 (Feb 12 to Feb 18): 17.8 km (180 minutes of stationary biking)

Total distance in Phase 3 (Feb 21 to March 10):  36.0 km  (360 minutes of stationary biking)

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Total Distance:  67.8 km  (685 minutes or 11 hours and 25 minutes of stationary biking)

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This ends Phase 3 of my virtual biking adventure.  I plan to continue this virtual bike trip in Phase 4, a 10 day trip from Magné to Ferrières.

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Eventually, I want to reach the west coast of France and see an island called Îsle de Ré.

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I hope you will continue to follow me as I travel virtually through central France.  I want to make my posts more interesting, so I would like to know what you would like to see in a posting of my Log Book.

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Copyright  Jane Tims  2013

Since February 21, I have been in the third phase of my virtual bike trip through central France.  For Phase 3 of my trip, I am biking in 12 days from Exireuil to Magné just west of Niort.

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On March 8, I continued my virtual biking through the city of Niort to a town on the outskirts called Montamisé.  Only 1 more day to go before Phase 3 of my virtual biking adventure is over.

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I will always remember this as the ‘day of the traffic circle’.

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completely understandable (%^&#$@$!) traffic circle sign (image from Street View)

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I didn’t get lost because I took some shortcuts … directly across the island in the middle of each traffic circle!

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one of a few traffic circles I negotiated – notice my red ‘path’ goes directly through the middle of the circle…I love shortcuts!!!! (image from Street View)

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The traffic was intimidating and I especially worried about the big trucks who couldn’t see me at all (because I wasn’t there)…

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truck traffic

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Log Book:  March 9, 2013

Area travelled:   ‘in the city of Niort’ to ‘town of Montamisé’

Distance:  30 minutes      3.0 km

Best view:  white house on la Rue de la Rochelle

Notes:    in real life, I vow to be more considerate to cyclists!

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Distance Travelled Feb 21 to Mar 9: 33.0 km  (330 minutes of stationary biking)

Total Distance Travelled Jan 30 to Mar 9 :  64.8 km  (655 minutes of stationary biking)

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Do you prefer driving through a traffic circle or a regular intersection?

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Copyright  Jane Tims  2013

Welcome to my report for Day #10 of the third phase of my virtual bike trip through central France.  For Phase 3 of my trip, I am biking in 12 days from Exireuil to Magné just west of Niort.

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On March 6, I continued my virtual biking through the city of Niort.

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map showing distance travelled (map from Google Earth)

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Niort is a city of older buildings, most 2 or 3 stories in height.  There was lots of traffic but I remembered the sage driving advice … ‘go with the flow’…

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buildings and traffic on l’Avenue de Limoges (image from Street View)

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There were some interesting architectural surprises…

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narrow building along ramp from highway to city street (image from Street View)

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And beautiful flower gardens…

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flower garden along ramp (image from Street View)

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I encountered a mystery as I biked through the streets.  Along the Avenue de Limoges, I saw a man in a uniform and his scooter…

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uniformed man and his scooter to the left (image from Street View)

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But in the next Street View frame, he had disappeared…

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where did he go??? (note the palm tree in the yard) (image from Street View)

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I think he must have stepped out to talk to the odd-looking ‘Street View camera car’ and then scooted off before the camera commenced its photography!!

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Log Book:  March 6, 2013

Area travelled:   ‘in the city of Niort’

Distance:  30 minutes      3.0 km

Notes:   I saw an apartment for sale on la Rue de la Rochelle and thought hmmmmm……… 

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a place to buy (image from Street View)

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Distance Travelled Feb 21 to Mar 6: 30.0 km  (300 minutes of stationary biking)

Total Distance Travelled Jan 30 to Mar 6 :  61.8 km  (625 minutes of stationary biking)

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Best view:  a lady buying coffee at a shop in Niort

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 Do you think I should have bought that apartment on la Rue de la Rochelle ???

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Copyright  Jane Tims  2013