2500 KM to Meditate

Text to be translated from the French version later on, when I will have time.  Meanwhile, you can practice your French by reading the French version (by clicking on "French" on top of the right column).

Text to be translated from the French version later on, when I will have time.  Meanwhile, you can practice your French by reading the French version (by clicking on "French" on top of the right column).

Text to be translated from the French version later on, when I will have time.  Meanwhile, you can practice your French by reading the French version (by clicking on "French" on top of the right column).

I crosed the meridian 0 today (Greenwich Meridian).  Not that it has so much importance, but I still noticed it….
(I started from the 12th meridian East.  If I wanted to cycle around the globe, I would have done one thirtieth (12/360 = 1/30) of it’s circumference.)

I’m on the road again.  Now, I’m waiting after my GPS to get some coordinates, and then I’m going to sleep.

2 weeks ago, the day I left Taizé, I took the train to arrive to the Dharma Yatra,  I still had 400 km to get there and the Yatra (lasting 2 weeks) already had begun since 6 days.  I had initially planned to be there 1 week earlier to help for the preparations!

So I took a shortcut by train.  Well, in fact I had to take 5 trains - over 2 days - to get close to the Yatra.  And, in France, the majority of trains of particularily ill-adapted for bicycles, especially the ones loaded with luggage (like mine).  The floor of the train wagons is at chest height, there is no ramp that could be used and the doors are narrow.  But the train controllers and the people working at the stations were very friendly and helpful.  I was even invited to visit the train conductor’s cabin.

I spent about one week extra at Moulin de Chaves (formerly Tapovan), where the Yatra ended.  And now I continue to cycle.  Since I made a train jump, there is about 500 km from here to Ripoll, in Catalonia, near the location of the hoped future Open Centre, if I go straight in that direction.  I have 820 km to do on the 2500 km planned, so I have not to go straight in that direction.  I need to find other places to go which are not really on my way.
So I will go and see Stephen & Martine Batchelor, meditation teachers whom I have never met yet, near Bordeaux.  Then I might go to Lourdes.  I wanted to see Lourdes since a little while and, perfect match, it’s not really on my way.  But that would mean much more mountains, cycling closely parallel to the Pyrenees for a big while rather than just crossing them in the straightest line possible.  So I’ll see in the next days what I’ll do….