PBP 2007 Fini

Saturday, Gilbert, Byron and I packed up all our gear and set out to do laundry and relocate to Paris, trying to retrace Sridhar's steps. We met up with Pete Dusel and a lot of other randonneurs hanging around outside an overwhelmed laundromat in Montigny-le-Bretonneux. There was clearly no chance of getting a washing machine, so after visiting we struck out toward Paris. We made it as far as Versailles, where met up with the Puerto Rican randonneurs on a hot and sunny afternoon. Gesturing wildly toward le soleil, "Where was THIS all week," the Puerto Ricans asked? They've got a full series in PR—the 600km circumnavigates the island! I think upstate NY is better training for Bretagne weather though.

Sunday, I had a mission: A friend of mine from Louisiana had told me that his family had come to America from "Roppenswiller" on the French/German border. A map of Alsace-Lorraine revealed Roppentzwiller lay just 20km from the Swiss border. Google indicated some ranches still owned by families named Gesser in this tiny town. I set out to find them, having a roadside crêpe and then being followed by a Bosnian beggar woman all the way to Gare Est. Purchasing a ticket to Altkirch, I traveled without bike, being disappointed with bike accommodation on the trains thus far—we managed because Byron and Gilbert had two good arms each, but it would be a struggle for me alone. Surprisingly, this train had the best bike accommodation of any I'd seen—two roomy and easily accessible compartments just for bikes!