Wow. Just wow. This is what summer is supposed to be. ++30 and sun everyday. Isn’t it? At least it’s my idea of summer and I am finally getting it.
My first week is always rather frantic with work deadlines and getting settled in. I didn’t feel like I had too much time to soak up the gorgeousness that is Provence, but the weather has been brilliant, I’ve eaten my weight in peaches and tomatoes and I made sure to get out each day for a good cycle.
Blue skies and rosé - this is Provence.
I was out for a leisurely roll when I passed by several other cyclists. It was a national “fête” so the roads were literally overtaken with them. Such a delightful sight! At one point I passed a man, said hello and carried on. About three kilometres down the road, there he was right beside me. So began the ragged conversation, trying to speak and understand French while cycling, which is a challenge at the best of times in English. He was from Strasbourg, had friends here, on holiday etc. etc. OK, very nice, and…. well he just kept alongside me. For my whole ride. At first it was a bit odd, someone that just asked where I was going and simply jumped in. But in the end it was quite fun. He was a darn good cyclist, let me draft occasionally and didn’t decimate me in the climbs. Over the years I’ve met up with many cyclists while riding and we’ve had short chats, but never has someone just tagged along the whole way. We ended up exchanging numbers just in case there was time for another ride, but alas Paulo and I (yes we have the same name) only had that one encounter. But that is often how things are here, a passing moment. So one must remember to focus on each moment, soak it in and enjoy.
This is my Canada.
Note: I sadly missed a moment of Canadian history yesterday. The Hip’s last show from Kingston. Thank you for all the posts that helped me feel like I was there. This is the best of Canada. Let’s just see what the morning brings… indeed Gord, you said it best.
