In which Sid and Doris have holiday riding North to Beaumont sur Sarthe.
Setting out from La Chartre it was ‘only raining’, the state between Not Actually Raining and Wetting Down. On with jackets and positive mental attitude, cheered along by the sight of a Citroen LN.
It is a Peugeot 104 shell with a 602cc flat twin, sold from 1976 to ‘86 and perhaps deservedly quite rare, but charming.
The rain stopped, the wind was from behind. There was holiday riding, with picnic lunch by the mill at Champagné.
The bridge in the foreground is an Eiffel style hot riveted framework. Patton’s tank drivers clipped a few of the uprights and some pigeon-poop welded repairs may still be seen.
There are some touristic views of Beaumont sur Sarthe (see below) but mostly it is a prosaic small crossroads town in wheat country. Tractors and combines share the traffic with grain trucks.
S and D arrive at 3.30 and cannot persuade the manager to open before 5.30 because their clients are working guys who arrive after work. Sitting at the nearby Café de la Mairie Sid spies an original Matra Espace. Madame declines to co-star but permits a photo, because she knows everything joins up.
This is, without a doubt, the only blog on Earth with two references to Matra Espace within a week. Magnifique.