Where in the world is David today? Amiens

Now that I am in France and on my own, funnily enough, those nervous feelings seem to have gone. I wonder if they will return as Spain approaches and I am far less confident about making myself understood (and, if I am truthful, far less confident of the accommodation situation). Apparently my niece has expressed surprise that I am in France already - yes, Helen, and well into France. It has me surprised too. The 10 days since I parted company with the CMS cyclists and made my way to stay with Robert, Julie, Chris and Helen in Huntingdon have flashed by. I have hooked up with numerous old friends and had many profound experiences, conversations and thoughts (well, they seemed profound to me).

Today's entry will probably be much shorter, you will be relieved to hear. There were no dramatic experiences en route, no mechanical problems (though I have traced the source of an irritating noise to my own ineptitude and will rectify it in due course), and no really interesting stops along the way compared to yesterday. Not even any towns with interesting names. Today's word, however, is: heat! That is what has marked today out. It was a long day anyway (80.66 miles to the point where I stopped for something to eat in northern Amiens and forgot to turn the cycle computer back on again, plus about two into Amiens centre, and about four out to the hotel, so just under 87 miles in total). But more than that, it was hot. Too darn hot: average temperature 79F (26C), maximum 93F (34C). And, even worse, the highest temperatures coincided with the longest climbs. They weren't so bad in themselves, but being as steep as they were, in the worst heat, and after 60 miles, they were deadly. That was payback - they came immediately after I set my new maximum speed for the whole trip (41.2mph). You can even see the effect of it in terms of a little bit of wind chill on the temperature chart - pushing it down to a mere 80F!!

Along with heat has gone the business of food and water. Food was scarce today, being Sunday, and Pentecost at that, but I managed OK and have gone through far more fluid. I wasn't dehydrated on arrival at the hotel, but I had gone through virtually all the water in my 3 litre Camelback, one 500ml bike bottle, several cans/bottles of Fanta and a cup of tea. I need to load up with all the fluids I can carry in this heat - which, of course, just adds weight. There are two sides to everything. I will be aiming to start earlier tomorrow because it will be another long day to Paris (just a little shorter, maybe, but not much) and the weather promises to be hot again, though not quite as scorching as today. I was glad that I had decided to wear a long-sleeved shirt today, but got burnt on my left (east-facing) leg and need to use more cream tomorrow. By Tuesday and Wednesday we might be into rain showers, which will almost be a relief, and the temperatures should remain lower even when it dries up later in the week.

So what did I see today? Lots of lovely countryside, mainly. The run from Lille to Arras through Lens was flattish, with the odd enormously high spoil heap. But they were very shapely spoil heaps and for a landscape that includes mines it was very un-industrial. After Arras, I deviated from my original planned route and headed out of Arras through Amion and Vimy, which took me through another major WWI area. Vimy Ridge fell to the German army in October 1914, and various attempts to re-take the area failed. In April 1917, it was retaken in the Battle of Vimy Ridge as part of the larger Battle of Arras, mostly due to the efforts of the four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

I passed by the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, which I now regret, but I did do something I had promised myself to do after yesterday. That was to stop for the vast German war cemetery at Neuville-St-Vaast, the largest German war cemetery in France, with 44833 graves. It didn't have the same impact on me quite, but the sheer scale of it was breathtaking, with each grave marked by a plain cross, the rows reaching off into the distance under the trees. Admittedly it is a 'gathering cemetery' for a wide area, whereas the commonwealth cemeteries tend to be smaller ones for particular areas, but the effect is striking, especially when you remember that it contains only 5% of the German young men (some Jewish) who fell for Imperial Germany in France in WWI. I was also struck by the thought that whereas the young men commemorated at Messines Ridge gave their lives as the price of freedom and peace, these soldiers gave theirs as the price of pride and the pursuit of power. The sense of brooding about the place, even on a day like today, is fitting.

Beyond Arras itself, the country began to be much more rolling and shortly before Doullens I entered the department of the Somme, part of the region of Picardy. No roses were blooming, but it is beautiful country. It was coming into Doullens, my last planned stop before Amiens, that I had my super-fast run downhill, and coming out of it that I slogged against the heat and the uphill gradient. Whereas in flat northern France towns had been visible from far away, the road to Amiens rose and fell, unrelentingly, and instead of views of Amiens, there were false summits galore, luring you into thinking there were only a few yards to go before some relief!

Amiens deserves more time on another occasion. It is a lovely city centre, and the Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens is stunning. It is the tallest complete cathedral in France, and it has a tremendous sense of space. It had none of the things that often put me off French cathedrals, and many beautiful features. I completely missed the labyrinth, sadly, but I did get to hear the organist practising, and I did light a candle and pray for the rest of the journey ahead. There are loads of pictures of the cathedral in my Flickr photostream. I got a bit carried away, but there was simply too much to see and I was trying to take everything in as well as record it on 'film'. Apparently, in his book Mr Standfast, John Buchan has his character Richard Hannay describe the cathedral as being "the noblest church that the hand of man ever built for God." I'm not sure about that - surely Durham Cathedral is superior (local pride), but it is a wonderfully prayerful place.

I only saw the revitalised Saint Leu area and the park in passing, but they looked like wonderful places to spend time. The other buildings in the historic quarter round the cathedral were beautiful too, and in the square outside the Palais de Justice, I enjoyed watching students at play - unicycling, juggling, doing handstands. All in all, a beautiful and relaxed city, but I was too tired (and it was too late) to enjoy it in full, and I retreated to my hotel to recuperate. Another time, as tourist rather than pilgrim, I think. There is no time tomorrow - I must head for Paris (or, more precisely, Maisons-Laffitte), and a night with friends of John and Kathie Lambert's. I am looking forward to that greatly. Holy Trinity Maisons-Laffitte is, of course, also the church where my friend Simon Cutmore (who I visited earlier in this trip) worked some years ago. So, till tomorrow, that's all. Not so short after all...