We’re now six days into our Print Bike trip from Bristol to Mainz. The other night I could see flashes of lightening and it didn’t bode well for the next day of riding, when the storms finally caught up with us. It also coincided with my breaks semi-failing on a big downhill stretch into Thury-Harcourt (they call it Swiss Normandy). So we arrived pretty cold and wet and Robin (being Robin) offered to put the tent up while I had a shower. Oddly the lights in the shower block were on a timer and it went pitch black in the shower (sort of an odd experience). So we headed out towards Sées in a drizzle where I am now with newly fixed disk breaks (another gold star for Robin). We had a long 50 miler in the saddle. Sées is a really beautiful little town on the Orne river with a beautiful gothic cathedral (that Robin accurately says looks like a carved pumpkin).
Today, we head towards Nogent le Retrou to meet our anarchist French printer musician friends (La fin du Monde) which is very exciting. They came to the print festival in Bristol in May and became an informal residency in the Letterpress Collective. They are lovely folk and I’m sure it will be a great stop off.
Last night we printed a card by the artist Joe McLaren. We had an audience of British bikers who had been to Le Mans (one of whom knew about the print bike already). Also an old French boy who stood and looked for a while and shuffled off shaking his head saying ‘curiosité’.
The road to Sées from Thury Harcourt (bit drizzly)
Robin on map reading duty (he is brilliant at this).
British biker friends and Robin watch the print bike in action in Sées last night.
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