Wednesday June 19th - 60k circuit around the Somme River. Overcast, scattered showers, 15°C to 21°C
Cycling off into thunderstorms
Deciding go to Le Hamel or wait for the thunderstorm to pass
Reading the history of Le Hamel
Le Hamel Australian War Memorial
20 plaques tell the story of the Western Front at Le Hamel
Old school friends, Donna and Jan, learning more about WW1
Sheltering from storms at Le Hamel
Villers Bretonneux
4pm lunch at Villers Bretonneux
Australian War Monument
Manicured war cemeteries
Today is our "day off" - a 60k bike ride instead of 90k. Six months ago we planned to meet up with Donna and Milton somewhere on the Somme River and spend a day doing a tour of the memorials around the Somme. It's stormy weather but we manage to dodge storms and visit the well renowned WW1 villages of Le Hamel, Villers Britonneux and the Australian War Memorial near Corbie.
Everyone sleeps in til almost 8am. But there's no rush to leave. It's stormy with heavy rain. Breakfast is the usual bread croissants and jam but the garden setting with friends is delightful. After brekkie, I blog for about an hour while Ian visits the local Carrefours supermarket to get beer and wine supplies for when we return later tonight. Take a poncho, I say. And he was glad he did - the heavens opened, the lights flashed on and off and the day turned to midnight.
By 10am the rain had eased and we donned raingear and took off on our bikes for the tour de Somme. After 2 hours its a coffee stop with our Jetboil while we plan which memorial to visit first. Le Hamel is just across the bridge so we visit the Australian War Memorial at the top of the hill, about 1k out of town. The memorial is a series of well explained summaries of what happened when in the Battle of Le Hamel on July 4th 1918 - the beginning of the offensive on the Germans. July 4th was strategically chosen to recognise the American entry to World War 1. The memorial sits atop of a hill on previously private land reclaimed for the memorial. Surrounded by wheat fields, the plaques recount the saga of the offensive led by the Australian born, English General Monash. It's very informative.
From the top of the hill, there's a panorama of the countryside with the scattered thunderstorm cells clearly visible. One is headed our way and we make a dash for cover. An hour later and much wiser about the role of Le Hamel in WW1, we ride on to Villers Bretonneux. Of course its 1.30pm and all the shops are closed so we head off to the Franco Australian Museum housed in a building of a local school where we spend another hour reading about the horrors of war.
It's 3.30pm when we leave and buy bread ham cheese and tomato at the local supermarket which by now is opened, and head off to the nearest park to have a 4pm lunch. We're famished. Next stop the Australian War Memorial near Corbie.
This memorial, built in 1938, is a tall monument listing the names of the 11,000 Australians who died in unknown places with unknown graves. More than 60,000 Australians died in WW1, 46,000 of them on the Western Front.
It's now 5pm and we have spent all day visiting War Memorials and learning so much abut the insanity of World War 1. But it's time to ride back home to Bray sur Somme. It only takes one and a half hours to travel 25k back through rolling countryside of wheat fields. Back in Bray sur Somme, and a quick visit to the local Carrefoures replenishes our food stocks for a picnic dinner in Milton and Donnas room. You can't go wrong with dried ham, cheese, tomatoes and fresh bread, washed down with a few beers and two bottles of rose.
By 10pm we're all in bed and its raining from another passing storm.
Stormy skies near Bray sur Somme