In Which David Enjoys a Bike Ride and then Overeats!

Two posts, including this one, will center around an informal biking group that David rides with in the area around Lyon.  Typically, our ex-landlord Roger and his brother-in-law Gérard organize these rides which usually take place towards the end of the week.  The rides are often fairly strenuous, climbs of up to 1000 meters or more and 50-80km in length.  As many of the riders have graduated to electric-assist bikes, and David is using a manual 21-speed bike, a lot of these rides are beyond him.  However, there are often shorter and less-challenging rides that David is perfectly capable of participating in.

One May 7 ride covered about 37 km through a regional park area known as Miribel-Jonage.   The area was created over 100 years ago in a marshy area along the Rhone river when a barge canal was built, followed about 1895 by an early hydroelectric dam, along with another canal and locks for freight barges.  The land is fairly level, mostly along old canal-barge tow paths.  The dam was one of the first hydroelectric projects in France and while small by today's standards, was an enormous undertaking.  It has been updated with modern generating equipment and still efficiently produces electricity.

A Postcard circa 1905 Showing the Dam

End View of the Dam Powerhouse with Art Nouveau Decoration

Early Art Nouveau Poster Promoting the Use of Electricity from the Dam

David had biked through the area a number of times, enjoying the scenery and various aquatic wildlife.  After one of these rides, which usually begin about 10AM, the group will stop for lunch at a small, local restaurant.  This time we stopped at Elie Henry et Fils, where the owner has been trying to ‘fatten up’ David for a couple of years.  As we locked our bikes and took off our gear, David noticed a ‘beef and frites’ plat on offer on the chalk board.  As he likes this dish, he decided to order it.  He should have been warned by the fact that the price was several euros more than the other dishes.

After placing our orders and enjoying glasses of water and a bit of red wine, the owner came out to show David the biggest piece of meet he had ever seen!  He asked for it to be cut in half, but the owner said that David needed to accept the challenge and ‘get on with it’, in French.

As brought to the table with accompanying frites, the slab hung over both sides of the plate!  David manfully tackled the lunch to the amusement of the rest of the group.  The meat was on a large bone, and David managed to trim off what he thought was the edible parts.  Imagine his surprise when after his plate was removed, back came a smaller plate with small pieces that had been carved off the bone and instructions to finish what he had started.  He accepted that challenge, too, and after emptying that plate also, got a thumbs-up from the owner!

Ready to Start!

Better View of the Challenge!

For the rest of the day and evening David had a distinct feeling of having over-eaten and a resolution to be more discriminating in the future when ordering!