Blaire's First Mountain Bike Race

Blaire joined A.C. Anduze VTT club in September and has been developing her mountain bike skills for four months and now it's time to put them to the test. Her initiation into the racing world was an uphill start with about 20 other riders from different clubs. She was all legs, dust and flying gravel, working her way around the 2 km course with total focus and determination.

She placed last out of the five girls in her age group, but she won Mom and Dad's hearts. The biking clubs here are fantastic to be part of, with whole families involved in developing the sport, the club, and the community. Blaire's next race is this Sunday and we are looking forward to getting together with all the other Mom's and Dad's that make these events so memorable.

Southern France's Dirty Little Secret

A vineyard in the winter. You don't see this in the travel brochures.

It gets cold here.
Really cold.
Even colder if you only have one winter jacket to share between you and your wife and no other winter clothing. Houses here are mostly made out of stone or cement blocks and sit on a cement slab. For most homes the insulation value is R2.5 for the walls and the heat is supplied by a fireplace or electric radiators. The last three weeks have seen the temperatures around 0c-6c  throughout the day and down to -10c - 18c at night. We ordered in another 2 "stera" of  hardwood and spent most of the time huddled around the fireplace wearing all our extra clothing.  The bathroom and bedrooms were eight degrees while the living room managed 15 degrees.
Then there's the wind.
I read about the "Mistral" but one can only appreciate it by experiencing it first hand. It's a blustering, confused, and persistent icy wind that seems to come from all directions throughout the course of the day, lasting days and leaving one chilled to the bone and temperamental. The nature of the wind was best demonstrated when I watched a pigeon fly by doing barrel rolls.
The gales that spawn in the Crowsnest Pass have nothing on the "Mistral".

Chestnut and oak fire...nice and hot.

On the upside: there are no annoying mosquitoes and we haven't had to shovel snow. Have had to scrape off the car window in the mornings though....

It was hard to take Jean-Claude seriously when he told me in July that we would be able to skate on the pool in the winter..

Quissac's fountain with icicles.

Ice on the Vidourle River.

Our street corner.

The Vidourle in the dead of winter. 

View from the summit of Pic Saint Loup looking north into the Cevenne mountain range.

I'm kicking myself for leaving my nice thick wool slippers in Calgary. A little survival trick; we let Blaire and Kali fall asleep in our bed, then when it's time for us to rack, we move them into their own beds.

On the upside though, the winters are short and the wine is good....

WE STINK

We are not used to being renters....You have to contact the owner and let them know what the problem is... then get the person in to quote the cost of the repair.... then contact the owner so they can decide what they want to do....  then you have to contact the repair guy again to say yes.

  He is waiting for the yes before he orders the parts, when you agree to the price, he orders the parts ... then you wait a little longer.... all the middle man time can really add up.

IN THIS CASE THE LAUNDRY IS ADDING UP

WE ARE STARTING TO STINK...OVER A WEEK WITHOUT A WASHING MACHINE

I HAVE RESORTED TO CHILD LABOUR