Here, in July 1916 Australia lost over 5500 young men in the bloodiest 12 hours the country has ever seen. A nation of then 5 million people sent 500,000 men all volunteers, to fight with the British Empire during World War I with a casualty rate of almost 65%.
I’m not the flag waiving Gallipoli type so this is my way of paying respect to those courageous men who stood by their mates and their allies. It was a reminder that there is no romance in war, what remains is cold silence.
Tomorrow morning I will be leaving northern France behind me, the cobblestones, all the cute little bakeries, amazing baguettes, picturesque country villages and stunningly beautiful cities and making my way into Belgium, the heart of cycling.
Before I left I thought bike touring and weekend cycling can’t be that different but as I move along I’m learning something new every day.
I used to use slight downhill sections to see what top speed I could hit, one because it was fun going fast and two because nothing pats your ego and puts a smile on your face like seeing those km/h tick over on your bike computer!
52.8km/h may not look fast, but with all my stuff on board it felt bloody fast. Admittedly it was on a favourable slope but it would still get me a speeding fine through most residential streets.
But I digress. I will not be doing that again. 2000km bike touring means the slight downhill sections are used to coast. Give my legs some rest for a few minutes.
I head into Belgium hopefully a little wiser.
Last thing, my football team, Hawthorn, have made it into the preliminary final and to all those who asked, yes I did wear my jersey while they played as I will again on Friday (??). Also the jersey earned me a beep and a wave on my way to St Quentin.
All for now.
Might have one last pain au chocolat before I say hello to Belgium!
