PBP 2007 Fini

Page: 9

Châteauneuf-en-Thymerais
(Photo by Ivo Miesen)

"Today I once again experienced the excellent functioning of an institute in the French speaking world, the Café des Sports. A Café des Sports is usually located in the centre of a village or a town and is the focal point for the sports enthusiasts of the area. Here they assemble to watch matches, discuss matches and drown the sadness of the loss of their favorites with a few beers. At the end of the afternoon I entered the small market town of Welkenraedt, in eastern Belgium. I was reccing one of the brevets I organize next year. While looking for a suitable control spot I rode to the central square. And there I spotted a Café des Sports, still open despite Christmas. So I entered and ordered a tea. When the barman brought me the tea I told him that I was reccing a ride for next year and looking for a control spot. I asked him if I could use his pub for that. He immediately agreed and enjoyed it. Not much later his colleague came in who was even more enthusiastic about it. And best of all, they are open from 5am, due to the Sunday market in town. If you spend some time touring in France or Wallonia before or after PBP, just take a break in a Café des Sports sometime during your trip. You'll be sure of a warm reception."

Mortagne-au-Perche
The sandwhich grilling stand

We climb the hill into Mortagne-au-Perche (140km) and there, amid the stone buildings, a sandwich grilling stand has been established roadside—busily grilling under a string of Christmas lights way past 2am. The temporary structure and lights lent an air perhaps light at a Christmas-tree farm—it's cold, wet, dark, you've maybe scraped your knuckles on the bow-saw, but it's the perfect place to be right now. The control is a half-kilometer further up the road (we should write up some control notes for newbies in 2011). The real control, just past the grill, is only a "Contrôle ravitaillement"—food/bathroom stop, no time control. At the control cafeteria I round up a yogurt, fruit salad, mineral water, cheese and a big plate of hot pasta. Portions are generous. It's maybe 4am, yet the control staff is bright-eyed and helpful. Several kids about 10 years old, bus the tables for us. After a bathroom break, heading for the door, but just inside the lobby (Brrrrrrrrrrr!) a sudden deep chill almost pushes me back into the cafeteria. How odd—yes, it was wet, but I don't recall even being cold when riding, yet now I'm freezing! Forcing myself out, onto the bike and down the road, curse the downhills heading out of Mortagne-au-Perche—I need some climbs to warm back up!

Copyleft © 2007 Adrian Hands.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation