April 17
"Another day, another free drink from a French cyclist"
Found my way through the roads around St. Dizier to end up going the right way (to Brienne le Chateau). Got stopped by 2 motorcycle cops who told me the road was not for bicycles. They asked me "Do you speak French?" I said "a little." They asked me where I was going and I told them, then they told me to exit at the next exit, which was where I was going anyway. Unfortunately my map for that day didn't have the level of granularity necessary to back-road it, which is how I ended up on the highway. Then, on the way to Piney, an elderly French cyclist passed me and started to ask me what I was doing, noticing my full pack, sleeping back and tent. I told him I was on my way to Troyes and eventually to the Loire valley, which I'd follow to the Atlantic. He beckoned me to stop for a break at a pub along the way and treated me to a penache. He pulled out a small card which got stamped by someone in the pub. It is like he gets extra credit points for every bar he goes to while cycling. What a cool system.
The path I was on when I met went through the Lac du Der / Chantecoq region - a lake that was artificially flooded in the 70's and is now a wildlife refuge. The path went through some woods and then ended up in the fields, skirting a few reservoirs, which is where I met the cyclist. Here is a picture of a fish caught by an Englishman I just found on the internet who loves to come to Chantecoq to fish these disgusting creatures known as "carps".
I stayed at a cool campground just a few km outside of the city center of Troyes. The staff was really nice. There was a Dutch guy and a French lady who both spoke English perfectly. He was telling me about how he had backpacked some in southwestern US. For dinner, I ate at a restaurant in the downtown area that resembles the photo above. I think I ate a Flammkuchen with a beer, followed up by a mousse chocolat.
2.40 two choco croissants, 1 sugar breadstick
1 rocket ice cream
7.80 campground
2.75 detergent + washer
5.80 3/4 liter wine + glass
24.05 food
7.50 internet + jack coke