Day 12

"Traveling tends to magnify all human emotions." — Peter Hoeg

So now I have it confirmed. The French bike routes are indeed easier than their counterparts in Germany and Austria. The road always meanders around some rivers or canals, is mostly flat and well paved. It is true that Austrian bike routes were also well paved, but I guess it was the tough German school in the Black Forest where I really pushed myself to the limits and in the end has become stronger and more resilient. Now I do not take breaks every 30 minutes, but after every 15 km what is the equivalent of 40 minutes. My pace has changed as well – from the usual 20 km/h to around 24 km/h. Interestingly, I do not feel tired on my legs, but on my arms and feet (I think I have even a blister which is really weird supposing that I do not really walk on the ground). Anyway, French bike routes are so far easy-teasy, just like a duck soup. By the way, speaking about ducks, there are plenty of ducks along the river whose constant gaggling sometimes does not let me fall asleep. Today, I have also had a duck paste for lunch – it was delicious, indeed which is typical for almost all French products. I think I will buy this stuff more often. In the course of the day, I have visited two beautiful cities: Montbéliard and Besancon. For Besancon I did not have much time though because it was already getting dark and I had to go. Therefore, my whirlwind visit included only clambering on the citadel and riding in the old town. I have also finally settled the problem with the internet provider so I should be able to find couch hosts easily.

By the way, I think I have developed a new kind of a sport drink. It is basically an infamious mixture of coke and wine and for this heresy, the French would probably hang me, but when I have it patentend, nobody will ever know. This mixture has the uncanny ability to boost your performance because it harnesses the advantages of both drinks which causes a synergic effect. It goes without saying that pure wine cannot be served in sports (unless you are a hard-core addict) due to its strong alcohol content. However, if you rarify it with coke, the lesser alcohol content builds away hindrances and makes your ride more agréable, but does not make you tipsy. Similarly, the coke makes the wine tasteier and the sheer abundance of sugar in coke is a great source of energy for endurance sports. It is not a secret that Coke disposes of vast amount of calories due to its high sugar content that could come in handy even during iron man championships. There is an interesting research behind this claim. Originally, Coke was sweetened by sugar which proved to have been rather expensive. Later on, with the advent of corn syrup, normal sugar was replaced by this cheap corn syrup which has, on the other hand, also the uncanny ability to bypass your digestive system. According to some studies, you are more likely to get on weight by eating normally and drinking Coke than eating excessively and drinking water. This occurs because when drinking Coke, your brain does not get a signal from the digestive tract that it has already obtained calories and consequently should refrain from eatimg nore. If you are interested in further references, check out the website killercoke.org. Anyway, Coke is a great toilet cleaner and medicine for bad stomach, and as I have proven right now, it could have some usage in sport as well.

Link to photos