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Main
Date: 14 Aug 2006 15:41:21
From: Elisa Francesca Roselli
Subject: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire =?windows-1252?Q?=96_Divine_?=
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My trip to the stretch of the Eastern Loire between Montargis and Nevers
was organized by a company called Hat Tours on a barge called the Anna
ia IV, at a price of 734€ including full board. It runs weekly and I
went in the week from 15th to 22nd July.
http://www.hat-tours.com/index.php/1,17,4^6,1,0,0,0?kID=289
The ship was what is called “Standard Class”, i.e. not luxurious. The
cabins are minuscule, with bunk beds. Most have en-suite bath and shower
facilities but since the ship was not full, I was privileged to have a
cabin by myself without these. This was a good thing as, although I was
willing to accept a cabin-mate at the outset, I believe in retrospect
that one would have to be _very_ intimate with any other person in the
same cabin under the circumstances. I could scarcely move without
hitting something (generally my own head on the upper bunk), and the
heat made it impossible to have clothes on as soon as the door was
closed. That said, however, it was reasonably well-appointed – the
little electric fan was an especially welcome detail - and impeccably
clean and well-maintained.
The young Dutch couple who owned and ran the ship, tijn and gery,
were a delight, handsome, helpful, hard-working and pleasant to talk to.
They were also outstanding cooks and the meals were unbelievable, even a
little over the top. Quantities never ran out, everything was
imaginative and beautifully presented. The cuisine was described as
“international” but I’m beginning to regard this kind of eating as
quality Netherlandish. Because of a shortage of refrigerator space the
menu was cooked and rather wintry: sturdy mushroom soups and
minestrones, magnificent potato bakes, a wonderful chicken curry, pork
cutlets, roast fish. Excellent and no complaints, but very different
from the way native French eat during a canicule. The routine on these
ships is that breakfast and dinner is provided, and one makes a picnic
lunch to take in one’s cycling pack out of the selection of cold-cuts
and cheeses and fruit presented in the morning.
The ship travelled in the daytime while we were out on the bikes. We
could usually intersect it at an appointed time around lunch or meet it
in the evening at the destination mooring. However, the ship, which was
mainly navigating on two canals, the Canal de Briare and the Canal
Latéral à la Loire, had to observe an elaborate schedule of locks (we
passed through 36 locks in the course of the voyage), which meant that
appointment times were very strict. For the weak, slow and exhausted
cyclist that I am, this was an inconvenience as I could not always cycle
(or walk) at a pace that was comfortable to me.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/efroselli/detail?.dir=/ace4re2&.dnm=11ebre2.jpg&.src=ph
I hit the worst week of this summer’s Great Heat. The main impression I
carry back with me from this voyage is just how disastrous is Global
Warming, how dramatically fast it is destroying our landscape and way of
life, and how seriously we should be taking it. As in the UK, this year
is the worst year of drought in France since 1976. Although my Polar HRM
doesn’t work well enough to capture bike data, it was accurately reading
the temperature. The first day, we averaged 37 degrees C and peaked at
40 in the afternoon. The last day, I recorded a peak of 47° C. The
landscapes were parched, yellow, dusty – I now hear that same region is
being overrun with a Biblical plague of crickets.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/efroselli/detail?.dir=/ace4re2&.dnm=5ec0re2.jpg&.src=ph
The group consisted of three Australian couples, four Belgian women, one
American woman and myself, plus guide and crew. Average age about 55,
luckily no children, and I discovered with great pleasure that children
under 12 are in any case never allowed on this kind of holiday, for
safety reasons. As usual, I was the slowest and technically least
competent cyclist, and I did experience a little hostility from some of
the others. “So what decided you to come on a holiday like this?” can
generally be translated as “What on earth are you doing here, can’t you
see you don’t belong?” On the other hand, I was not the only person who
found some of the cycling conditions prohibitive. One of the Australian
ladies made the choice of never leaving the ship!
Day distances were about 50 km, but it was possible on some days to
cycle only morning or afternoon. I broke my personal record for
day-distance on the first day with 52 km, but must say that this was so
far short of “fun” that I kept to the ship the following day and
attempted only half-days thereafter. I am not T.E. Lawrence and pain is
not my thing. I was also struggling with other effects of the heat
including sun-burn, a sun-rash around my ankles and a threat of
conjunctivitis from all the glare and dust. I quickly learned the use of
50dpf sun-screen, slathered on before my clothes in the morning and
leaving a cloudy white stain on anything I touched. There was also a
constant logistical problem with carrying enough water. As my poor
little bike is already beyond its load-bearing capacity with my enormity
upon it, I could not really carry more than a litre at a time. As this
was hardly enough to bide me through a day – recommended intake under
the circumstance being 5 litres – I was dependent on finding re-watering
places along the way, and the potability of tap-water in the area is not
guaranteed.
The voyage took through some very remote and quiet landscapes. From
Rogny-Les-Sept-Ecluses (2095-6) we visited the Château de la Buissiere
(2104-2126). We passed Briare (2127-2175), a bustling ket in a little
town called Cosne (2176-7), a “garden village” of almost Disney tweeness
called Apremont (2210-2247), and finished near Nevers (2250-7), where
the main attraction is the waxy, “miraculously uncorrupted” corpse of
Bernadette of Lourdes. Laps of the trip in which I did not participate
included the famous but uphill vineyards of Sancerre and Pouilly sur
Loire, one hardy Belgian coming away with six bottles of the nectar in
her rackpack. If anything, this should be an outstanding year for French
wines.
The link below is an image of the Château de la Buissière, which we
visited on our first day. The gardens are famous for having been
designed by Lenôtre, gardener to Louis XIV at Versailles. In other words
they are national heritage dating from the 17th Century. They were
already badly damaged in the tempest of 1999 which tore up some
centennial trees, but these fields of tinder-straw is all that was left
of it to see in Summer 2006.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/efroselli/detail?.dir=/ace4re2&.dnm=f174re2.jpg&.src=ph
On the second day the ship passed through a most impressive canal
bridge, built by Gustave Eiffel. It is weird to see one waterway
overpassing another, and ships on the bridge rather than under it! And
here you can see the state of the Loire, France’s mightiest river, at
Briare on July 17th:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/efroselli/detail?.dir=/ace4re2&.dnm=7161re2.jpg&.src=ph
The best aspect of the tour was the roads and paths. These were canal
tow-paths, cycling paths, leafy country lanes and small roads through
farmlands with hardly any cars. I love a situation where I can just put
my bike in gear and let rip for kilometres, without having to worry
about directions or traffic. I can now compare with Czech Republic,
which has superb cycling because cars for the moment are rare, but a
situation which will not last, and the Netherlands, which has more
bike-specific routes than anywhere, but such heavy traffic and dense
population that a very high level of cycling technicity is required, not
at all for beginners. I think now that a well-planned tour in rural
France may have some of the best riding anywhere.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/efroselli/detail?.dir=/ace4re2&.dnm=8e3ere2.jpg&.src=ph
Hours spent off-bike were extremely relaxing as the barge made its way
through the sleepy green canals. One passenger was reminded of The Wind
in the Willows. There were reeds, shady trees, ducks, dragonflies… The
beating sun limited time on the deck, however, as although we did have
shade umbrellas these had to be closed during navigation, because they
obstructed visibility. Long novels were essential. I had downloaded all
nine volumes of Galsworthy’s The Forsyte Saga into my Palm just before
leaving, and was grateful to have been so clever.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/efroselli/detail?.dir=/ace4re2&.dnm=4c7cre2.jpg&.src=ph
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/efroselli/detail?.dir=/ace4re2&.dnm=72bare2.jpg&.src=ph
A far less attractive aspect of this rural torpor was the toilets. I
have a phobia of skanky loos, to the point that they often appear in my
nightes. One of my formative traumas in this respect came when
touring France with my father as a little girl in the 1960’s, and it was
impossible to find a useable toilet. We would try stop after stop, and I
would get more and more desperate. I simply cannot squat into a hole in
the ground, I was not brought up that way and I do not have the motor
and balance skills necessary. To my horror, the toilets we encountered
in bars and stations along our Loire route looked as if they hadn’t been
changed since then! The same disgusting, sexist squat-in-the-ground
arrangements. Luckily, I discovered that peeing is strictly unnecessary
in temperatures over 35 degrees – no matter how much pressure on the
bladder, your body quickly reclaims all available water to recycle as
sweat.
This was in ked contrast to Czech Republic, with its palatial, newly
tiled and bled loos in the remotest Carpathian reaches. I think the
toilets are representative of a whole attitude towards modernity,
towards the outside world. Czech Republic, groaning out of its decades
of Communist yoke, is super-anxious to jump-start its way into the 21st
Century. It wants to be more Western than the West. But France is so
very superior, you see, it shows its contempt for the outside world by
not changing its sanitary arrangements for forty years. Crapping into
your shoes is a national heritage, a cultural exception. Decent toilets
would stand alongside McDonalds as symbols of American invasion.
So for an overall rating I would say about 7/10. This holiday was
outstanding value for money and a very effective way to “get away from
it all”. It felt like much longer than just a week. There was much good
cycling and could have been more if I had been up to it, and also plenty
of time to just relax with a good book.
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Date: 16 Aug 2006 14:14:19
From: Tom Keats
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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In article <1155742504.369221.271310@m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com >,
folson@innercite.com writes:
> I have noted from years of observation that men who feel the need to
> defend airhead women are almost always compensating for the fact that
> their wives wear the pants in the family.
I have noted from years of observation that men who feel the need to
express vehement, misogynistic bitterness about others' relationships
have been recently dumped.
--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca
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Date: 16 Aug 2006 23:24:39
From: Bill Sornson
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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Tom Keats wrote:
> In article <1155742504.369221.271310@m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com>,
> folson@innercite.com writes:
>> I have noted from years of observation that men who feel the need to
>> defend airhead women are almost always compensating for the fact that
>> their wives wear the pants in the family.
> I have noted from years of observation that men who feel the need to
> express vehement, misogynistic bitterness about others' relationships
> have been recently dumped.
Recently in folson's case being 1983.
ROTFL
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Date: 16 Aug 2006 17:34:40
From: D.M. Procida
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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Elisa Francesca Roselli <nospam@free.fr > wrote:
> The same disgusting, sexist squat-in-the-ground arrangements
It's good to squat, much more healthy than sitting. I don't see how sex
comes into it.
Disgusting is another matter, of course.
Daniele
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Date: 17 Aug 2006 10:17:08
From: Dave Larrington
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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D.M. Procida wrote:
> Elisa Francesca Roselli <nospam@free.fr> wrote:
>
>> The same disgusting, sexist squat-in-the-ground arrangements
>
> It's good to squat, much more healthy than sitting. I don't see how
> sex comes into it.
>
> Disgusting is another matter, of course.
So is reading the newspaper at the same time...
--
Dave Larrington
<http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk >
Whatever it is, I'd like it in mango & passion fruit, please.
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Date: 16 Aug 2006 20:48:13
From: Alan Braggins
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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D.M. Procida wrote:
>Elisa Francesca Roselli <nospam@free.fr> wrote:
>
>> The same disgusting, sexist squat-in-the-ground arrangements
>
>It's good to squat, much more healthy than sitting. I don't see how sex
>comes into it.
Men can pee into such a toilet without squatting much more easily than
women. Obviously that doesn't cover all usage, but her next sentence was
"Luckily, I discovered that peeing is strictly unnecessary in temperatures
over 35 degrees" (which sounds like a bad idea to me, but that's another
matter).
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Date: 17 Aug 2006 09:58:28
From: M.Bakunin
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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lesson learned from this thread:
if you can't adapt, stay home.
you'll spare us your stupid whining.
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Date: 17 Aug 2006 13:43:00
From: Dane Buson
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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In rec.bicycles.misc M.Bakunin <bakunin@anarchy.net > wrote:
> lesson learned from this thread:
> if you can't adapt, stay home.
> you'll spare us your stupid whining.
Congratulations! You've won todays prize for small-minded petty sniping at
other posters! Where shall I send the award?
Personally I found her whinging about the sanitary arrangements
moderately amusing. Despite being a glittering urbanite, I do tend more
towards being stubbornly indifferent to any difficulties in my path. As
such, her posts tend to be almost the exact opposite of how I would
encounter these situations. Which can be enlightening in it's own
fashion.
--
Dane Buson - sigdane@unixbigots.org
"Sometimes, I think Trent just needs a cup of hot chocolate and a blankie."
-Tori Amos on Nine Inch Nails
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Date: 17 Aug 2006 17:09:26
From: M.Bakunin
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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> Congratulations! You've won todays prize for small-minded petty sniping at
> other posters! Where shall I send the award?
just stuck it in your ass. seems like an appropriate place, next to
your head.
> Personally I found her whinging about the sanitary arrangements
> moderately amusing.
i don't. i lived in africa, asia and europe for most of my life, and
after a while, like other fellows living like a did, i develop an
aversion for this kind of people. you have a problem with that? well,
fuck you very much, you and you politically correct way of dealing with
others. i don't put sensitivity above common sense, specially when i
travel.
small minded... you people are amusing. sometimes...
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Date: 18 Aug 2006 08:02:53
From: Pat Lamb
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat,
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M.Bakunin wrote:
>> Congratulations! You've won todays prize for small-minded petty sniping at
>> other posters! Where shall I send the award?
>
> just stuck it in your ass. seems like an appropriate place, next to
> your head.
>
>> Personally I found her whinging about the sanitary arrangements
>> moderately amusing.
>
> i don't. i lived in africa, asia and europe for most of my life, and
> after a while, like other fellows living like a did, i develop an
> aversion for this kind of people. you have a problem with that? well,
> fuck you very much, you and you politically correct way of dealing with
> others. i don't put sensitivity above common sense, specially when i
> travel.
> small minded... you people are amusing. sometimes...
With the tolerance you're displaying here, how are you still alive? I
mean, I'd have expected someone displaying this degree of tact to have
gotten into numerous political arguments in some unsavory (unsavoury, if
you prefer) places, and to have been murdered in his sleep in one of them.
Pat
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Date: 18 Aug 2006 08:23:18
From: M. Bakunin
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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In article <4kls3tFcrh63U2@individual.net >, Pat Lamb
<pdl678NOSPAM@comcast.net > wrote:
> With the tolerance you're displaying here, how are you still alive?
my dear, my level of tolerance is only that low with you americans.
i'm alive and well, thank you for your concern. being born in north
africa, i didn't grow up on burgers and junk food, so it may help also.
> gotten into numerous political arguments in some unsavory
i do get into political arguments, but mostly with people having a
political education, wich basically precludes the vast majority of your
compatriots.
as to a discussion posted on rec.bicycle.misc about the use by a mild
retard about what is commonly called 'turkish toilets', i do not think
it qualifies as a political argument.
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Date: 18 Aug 2006 16:34:32
From: Bill Sornson
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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M. Bakunin wrote:
> as to a discussion posted on rec.bicycle.misc about the use by a mild
> retard about what is commonly called 'turkish toilets'
A "mild retard"??? Elisa not only writes beautifully (apparently in her
second language?), she's funny and quirky and honest and trusting. IOW,
she's /interesting/, unlike you.
Plus, she knows to capitalize the first letters of sentences.
Sorno
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Date: 18 Aug 2006 15:21:54
From: Claire Petersky
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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"M. Bakunin" <bakunin@anarchy.net > wrote in message
news:180820060823180850%bakunin@anarchy.net...
> In article <4kls3tFcrh63U2@individual.net>, Pat Lamb
> <pdl678NOSPAM@comcast.net> wrote:
>
>> With the tolerance you're displaying here, how are you still alive?
>
> my dear, my level of tolerance is only that low with you americans.
So, you're only a bigot regarding a certain nationality. That indeed shows a
great deal of open mindedness.
Meanwhile, it doesn't explain why you were so judgemental about Elisa, who
is not an American. She lives in Paris, does most of her posting to usenet
in French, and is mostly likely a citizen of France.
--
Warm Regards,
Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky
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Date: 19 Aug 2006 01:40:33
From: Andrew Price
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 15:21:54 GMT, "Claire Petersky"
<cpetersky@mouse-potato.com > wrote:
[---]
>Meanwhile, it doesn't explain why you were so judgemental about Elisa, who
>is not an American.
I think she is American - see her post
<44df64a0$0$29125$636a55ce@news.free.fr >
>She lives in Paris,
Apparently so.
>does most of her posting to usenet
>in French
I haven't seen *one single post* from her in French - that struck me
when she was bitching on in another thread about being unable to find
suitable clothing/accessories/spares etc. in France, both in this
newsgroup and in uk.rec.cycling, rather than asking a few questions in
fr.misc.transport.velo
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Date: 19 Aug 2006 01:10:07
From: Claire Petersky
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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"Andrew Price" <ajprice@free.fr > wrote in message
news:78jce25ipuhu9eknfg8bqj0r3otbs40isu@4ax.com...
> On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 15:21:54 GMT, "Claire Petersky"
> <cpetersky@mouse-potato.com> wrote:
>
>>Meanwhile, it doesn't explain why you were so judgemental about Elisa, who
>>is not an American.
>
> I think she is American - see her post
>
> <44df64a0$0$29125$636a55ce@news.free.fr>
Ah, I stand corrected. She is an Italian citizen, educated in the UK and in
Switzerland. However, since she also holds US citizenship, she is ignorant
of the world, small-minded, and superficial, according to Mr. Bakuin. That's
because Mr. Bakuin knows that all Americans are small-minded, superficial,
and ignorant of the world.
I apologize for misrepresenting Elisa and her citizenship.
>>does most of her posting to usenet
>>in French
>
> I haven't seen *one single post* from her in French -
I did a brief google search to try to find her nationality, and waded
through pages and pages of posts in French. I should have been more
thorough -- just putting in "American" in the search would have helped
immensely, and it was silly of me not to think of it. ("Citizen" and
"nationality" got me nowhere.) Again, I apologize.
--
Warm Regards,
Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky
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Date: 20 Aug 2006 02:36:52
From: Edward Dolan
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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"Claire Petersky" <cpetersky@mouse-potato.com > wrote in message
news:PxtFg.10404$0e5.3295@newsread4.news.pas.earthlink.net...
[...]
> Ah, I stand corrected. She is an Italian citizen, educated in the UK and
> in Switzerland. However, since she also holds US citizenship, she is
> ignorant of the world, small-minded, and superficial, according to Mr.
> Bakuin [Bakunin]. That's because Mr. Bakuin [Bakunin] knows that all
> Americans are small-minded, superficial, and ignorant of the world.
[...]
Claire, you had best leave this Bakunin bastard to me. If and when I find
some time from my many other onerous duties on these newsgroups (so many
bastards, so little time) I will take the son of a bitch on. Let's face it,
anyone on Usenet with the user name Bakunin needs to have his clock cleaned
and I am just the one to do it.
Regards,
Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota
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Date: 18 Aug 2006 11:03:44
From: M. Bakunin
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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In article <mWkFg.9318$xp2.6446@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net >,
Claire Petersky <cpetersky@mouse-potato.com > wrote:
> So, you're only a bigot regarding a certain nationality. That indeed shows a
> great deal of open mindedness.
it has nothing to do with having an open mind or not. but mine is
certainly not opened at both ends. it has to do with experience. having
eperienced your country for 17 years, living in nyc and dc, gave me
plenty of time to make up my mind. and at my age, with my background
and knowing who i am and where i stand, being called a bigot is quite
entertaining actually. you just underscore the major problem of your
society: the components are unable to put themselves in the shoes of
people from different societies or civilizations, and that impairs so
many things, including the value of their judgements passed according
to what they know. which explains in part probably people like you
calling me a bigot and the shallowness of your attitudes.
which actually is reassuring, since you make it clear i am not one of
yours.
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Date: 18 Aug 2006 16:23:43
From: Claire Petersky
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
|
So, the reason why you were so unkind to a non-American is because all
Americans are shallow and unaware? Yep, I can see the logic in that.
OK, I know what to do next. Thanks.
--
Warm Regards,
Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky
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Date: 18 Aug 2006 20:07:56
From: M. Bakunin
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
|
In article <jQlFg.5446$Sn3.155@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net >,
Claire Petersky <cpetersky@mouse-potato.com > wrote:
> So, the reason why you were so unkind to a non-American
how would you know that?
because she lives in france?
gosh, you're even dumber that what you write suggests...
Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
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Date: 17 Aug 2006 16:27:35
From: Tony Raven
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat,
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M.Bakunin wrote on 17/08/2006 15:58 +0100:
> lesson learned from this thread:
> if you can't adapt, stay home.
> you'll spare us your stupid whining.
Your first post to this newsgroup. I can see why.
Now if you'd like to contribute to the group rather than lurk and
whinge.....
--
Tony
"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using
his intelligence; he is just using his memory."
- Leonardo da Vinci
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Date: 17 Aug 2006 14:30:16
From: M.Bakunin
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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> Your first post to this newsgroup. I can see why.
wrong
> Now if you'd like to contribute to the group rather than lurk and
contribute? i travel all around the world, at least 3 months a year. go
to turkey, namibia, china, etc... and you'll realize that 90% of the
countries you'll visit do not meet your requirements for a sanitize
life. and the ones bitching around are always the loud overweight
stupid americans.
hence my comment. if you can't adapt, stay where the fuck you home is,
use anti-bacterial soap, kleenex, eat your packeged process food, your
fucking square ham to go with your fucking square cheese to go with
your fucking square bread.
but don't bitch about how the rest of the planet live.
is it clear enough for you as a contribution?
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Date: 16 Aug 2006 22:08:28
From: D.M. Procida
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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Alan Braggins <armb@chiark.greenend.org.uk > wrote:
> >> The same disgusting, sexist squat-in-the-ground arrangements
> >
> >It's good to squat, much more healthy than sitting. I don't see how sex
> >comes into it.
>
> Men can pee into such a toilet without squatting much more easily than
> women.
A bit more easily, maybe. I've never heard any complaint about such
toilets before on that basis, and there are probably hundreds of
millions of them in use around the world.
Daniele
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Date: 16 Aug 2006 08:35:04
From:
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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I have noted from years of observation that men who feel the need to
defend airhead women are almost always compensating for the fact that
their wives wear the pants in the family. Sometimes it is because his
wife is a fat, ugly, demanding bitch, but usually it is just that the
wife has him by the balls and he can't do anything about it unless he
is willing to leave, go live in an apartment, lose his property and
send her big support checks (which most pussywhipped weenies are
unwilling to do). The guy feels trapped in the riage but (as a
defense mechanism) he is in denial about it. So he compensates for
this psychologically by becoming the "knight on a white charger" who
rushes in to defend the virtue of airhead women every time they say or
do anything stupid. That way the guy convinces himself that he is not
really pussywhipped.
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Date: 16 Aug 2006 16:33:39
From: Bill Sornson
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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folson@innercite.com wrote:
> I have noted from years of observation that men who feel the need to
> defend airhead women are almost always compensating for the fact that
> their wives wear the pants in the family. Sometimes it is because his
> wife is a fat, ugly, demanding bitch, but usually it is just that the
> wife has him by the balls and he can't do anything about it unless he
> is willing to leave, go live in an apartment, lose his property and
> send her big support checks (which most pussywhipped weenies are
> unwilling to do). The guy feels trapped in the riage but (as a
> defense mechanism) he is in denial about it. So he compensates for
> this psychologically by becoming the "knight on a white charger" who
> rushes in to defend the virtue of airhead women every time they say or
> do anything stupid. That way the guy convinces himself that he is not
> really pussywhipped.
NO ISSUES THERE, FOLKS! LOL
folson, you're a fool son... thanks for posting!!!
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Date: 15 Aug 2006 19:40:15
From: Chalo
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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Bill Sornson wrote:
>
> folson@innercite.com wrote:
> >
> > Bill, it is obvious that you are angry and ashamed because your wife
> > has you pussywhipped, and that you are taking your anger out on the
> > rest of us. God, get a clue!
>
> What are you talking about?
I detect the presence of unresolved issues. I do believe there is a
subtext here that neither of us understands, and that folson likely
doesn't understand either. Idle speculation on my part.
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Date: 14 Aug 2006 16:04:08
From:
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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Bill, it is obvious that you are angry and ashamed because your wife
has you pussywhipped, and that you are taking your anger out on the
rest of us. God, get a clue!
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Date: 15 Aug 2006 02:14:11
From: Bill Sornson
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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folson@innercite.com wrote:
> Bill, it is obvious that you are angry and ashamed because your wife
> has you pussywhipped, and that you are taking your anger out on the
> rest of us. God, get a clue!
What are you talking about?
LOL
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Date: 14 Aug 2006 12:12:42
From:
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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Bullshit. I'm telling the girl what she needs to hear. I have never
heard anything so silly as going bike touring and expecting to find
three-star bathrooms whenever you have to urinate or defecate. So
Bill, if you want to mollycoddle and pander to your wife/S.O., you go
right ahead, but I intend to be honest with the ladies and not
condescend to them with your paternalistic crap. I'll bet you are
really pussywhipped. But let that be YOUR problem, OK? Don't try to
foist that crap off on the rest of us, who don't want to play your
games.
Folson, you're a moron.
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Date: 14 Aug 2006 20:06:14
From: Bill Sornson
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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folson@innercite.com wrote:
> Bullshit. I'm telling the girl what she needs to hear. I have never
> heard anything so silly as going bike touring and expecting to find
> three-star bathrooms whenever you have to urinate or defecate. So
> Bill, if you want to mollycoddle and pander to your wife/S.O., you go
> right ahead, but I intend to be honest with the ladies and not
> condescend to them with your paternalistic crap. I'll bet you are
> really pussywhipped. But let that be YOUR problem, OK? Don't try to
> foist that crap off on the rest of us, who don't want to play your
> games.
>
> Folson, you're a moron.
Ah, the posting stylings of a true genius! LOL
(Folson: learn to quote, post BELOW that material, and get a lesson in
manners and/or a lobotomy. HTH!)
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Date: 14 Aug 2006 19:37:58
From: Little Meow
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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folson@innercite.com wrote in news:1155582762.401499.307940
@i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:
> Bullshit. I'm telling the girl what she needs to hear. I have never
> heard anything so silly as going bike touring and expecting to find
> three-star bathrooms whenever you have to urinate or defecate. So
> Bill, if you want to mollycoddle and pander to your wife/S.O., you go
> right ahead, but I intend to be honest with the ladies and not
> condescend to them with your paternalistic crap. I'll bet you are
> really pussywhipped. But let that be YOUR problem, OK? Don't try to
> foist that crap off on the rest of us, who don't want to play your
> games.
(Folson is going to realize that the above makes him look like a moron.)
>
> Folson, you're a moron.
>
(And here we see that realization dawn upon him with such force that
his inner voice takes control of his keyboard.)
Good self-spank, Folson.
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Date: 14 Aug 2006 09:56:19
From:
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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So just out of curiousity, how tall are you and how much do you weigh?
I can't IMAGINE going cycle touring and expecting to find
well-appointed bathrooms whenever the urge hits. I think you have
unrealistic expectations. Next time, toughen up a little bit before
you go, and get over your hangup about bathrooms! Practice squatting
and going on the ground. Just don't squat in nettles by mistake. If
you refuse to squat and go, or if you think 50 km (31 miles) is a long
day's ride, then you should rent a car and stay in hotels instead.
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Date: 14 Aug 2006 17:31:08
From: Bill Sornson
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire - Divine Paths, Infernal Heat, Legacy Toilets
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folson@innercite.com wrote:
> So just out of curiousity, how tall are you and how much do you weigh?
>
> I can't IMAGINE going cycle touring and expecting to find
> well-appointed bathrooms whenever the urge hits. I think you have
> unrealistic expectations. Next time, toughen up a little bit before
> you go, and get over your hangup about bathrooms! Practice squatting
> and going on the ground. Just don't squat in nettles by mistake. If
> you refuse to squat and go, or if you think 50 km (31 miles) is a long
> day's ride, then you should rent a car and stay in hotels instead.
Folson, you're a moron.
HTH
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Date: 14 Aug 2006 16:41:54
From: Elisa Francesca Roselli
Subject: Re: Bike and Barge in Burgundy Loire =?windows-1252?Q?=96_Divi?=
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Elisa Francesca Roselli wrote:
> The ship was what is called “Standard Class”, i.e. not luxurious. The
> cabins are minuscule, with bunk beds. Most have en-suite bath and shower
> facilities but since the ship was not full, I was privileged to have a
> cabin by myself without these. This was a good thing as, although I was
> willing to accept a cabin-mate at the outset, I believe in retrospect
> that one would have to be _very_ intimate with any other person in the
> same cabin under the circumstances. I could scarcely move without
> hitting something (generally my own head on the upper bunk), and the
> heat made it impossible to have clothes on as soon as the door was
> closed. That said, however, it was reasonably well-appointed – the
> little electric fan was an especially welcome detail - and impeccably
> clean and well-maintained.
>
> The young Dutch couple who owned and ran the ship, tijn and gery,
> were a delight, handsome, helpful, hard-working and pleasant to talk to.
> They were also outstanding cooks and the meals were unbelievable, even a
> little over the top. Quantities never ran out, everything was
> imaginative and beautifully presented. The cuisine was described as
> “international” but I’m beginning to regard this kind of eating as
> quality Netherlandish. Because of a shortage of refrigerator space the
> menu was cooked and rather wintry: sturdy mushroom soups and
> minestrones, magnificent potato bakes, a wonderful chicken curry, pork
> cutlets, roast fish. Excellent and no complaints, but very different
> from the way native French eat during a canicule. The routine on these
> ships is that breakfast and dinner is provided, and one makes a picnic
> lunch to take in one’s cycling pack out of the selection of cold-cuts
> and cheeses and fruit presented in the morning.
I forgot to mention that the Anna ia IV harbours in Amsterdam over
the winter and can be booked as a "boatel", the prices being very
comptetitive for the area. tijn's parents also own another barge
which can be booked for charter tours for groups - I think 6 people or
more. Here is Anna ia IV's own Web site for more info:
www.tatenhove.nl
EFR
Ile de France
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