20th September 2024
We ten riders plus one driver set out from Thame on a cold, sunny September Wednesday morning (11/9) having filled up with coffee and croissants (plus a few boxes of Gail’s goodies) en route to the ‘Twinning’ weekend in Montesson, west of Paris.
A northerly wind helped us on our route down to the ferry at Portsmouth and we sailed overnight.
The morning was cold and bright and we were kicked off the ferry at an unearthly hour (6:30am) and headed along the canal for two hours to our breakfast appointment at the Café Gondree on Pegasus bridge. Here we were fed coffee and croissants, served and prepared by Madame Arlette Gondree. Madame Gondree was 4 years old in 1944 when the British Paras liberated the bridge from the Nazis.
We laid a poppy wreath from ‘Thame Remembers’ in English and French in honour of the Oxon & Bucks Light Infantry soldiers who reinforced the bridge after the Paras took it.
Cycling-on, full of good French petit dejeuner and bonhomie, we followed the "voie verte" a converted railway to the town of Evereux where we were fed and watered (at least one of the ingredients was water).
The next day dawned bright and cold with the trusty north wind on our backs and by mid-afternoon we met with our Montesson friends – Deputy Mayor and members of the Jumelage from UK and France – at Andresy-sur-Seine. From here, we processed with French riders along the Seine and into Montesson for a civic reception. Here we were joined by Burgermeister Pierre Froesch, Mayor of Bausweiller, the German twin-town of Montesson between Cologne and Maastricht.
Saturday saw us visiting Auvers-sur-Oise where we visited the Vincent van Gogh exhibition and the graves of the van Goghs – Vincent and his brother Theo.
Returning to Montesson, we met for an evening Jumelage dinner with our French hosts and German visitors, speeches in French and German, followed by ex-Thame Mayor, David Laver and myself speaking for Thame.
We returned on Sunday evening after the parade around Montesson in warm sunshine.
I would not only like to thank our generous hosts in France, but also Studley Green MOT & Service Centre who provided us with a replacement van for the maintenance team.
I would also like to thank the people of Thame for helping us raise £1590 for the Sharing Life Trust and Lord Williams's School Young Carers.
