MooN

The rules say they have to inspect the Dam every 10 years and carry out any repairs necessary so they have to drain the lake to do that.

Thanks. no I'm not a polisher, but I used the "me-phone" for the first time rather than the camera and everyhing looks more polished

The weather was better this weekend so I made a second attempt at going for a look at the Lac des Setons dried ot for the decennial inspection of the dam. and it went like this : The loop at the southern end was round the periphery of the lake. About 215km and, including stops, 4 hours ish. I didn4t stop for qny pics on the way out so the first ones are from the northern end by the dam, from the left bank ( that's the western shore cos we're north of the watershed and the rivers here all flow north to the Seine and the left bank is on the left side going DOWNstream in French, Nautical nerd mode :off.) I was surprised o find so many people there when I got to the north end of the lake, but I guess it's a nice day and the lake being empty is something to go see ( hell, even I'm there!) and I'm not used to being about on a saturday. The usual unsightly rash of morons in camping cars were there all parked close together and as close to the lake's edge as possible, on the grass rather then use the parking provided, with their poxy miniature dogs and anoraks completely oblivious to anyone but themselves. I sneered disparagingly at the road lice before taking a few pics and then riding on round the western sside of the lake to the southern end where they daren't go due to the narrow and road with no passing places. one from the "embarcadere" where the trip boats usually operate from less people and no bloody camping cars round the southern end. mostly because yo have to actually walk more than 20 yards to the lake edge here and the small parking areas are very sandy and uneven. Lovely! Backnorthwards along the right bank to the Dam again, but from the other side a special dedication for @boboneleg and his bench fetish Having looked my fill at the no lake and having dicovered no romantic sunken villages or part submerged treasure, I continued north and homewards. I then only stopped for a couple of pics of "The Morvan" landscape in all it's pastoral glory. Got home about 17:30.

never used them but I get the impression that it's a bit hit and miss as far as reliability and quality are concerned, Michelle's advice sounds the soundest to me.

I only realised this morning that no-one as going to ring me for help this weekend. fucking brilliant, a real weight off the shoulders.

having spent a week NOT scrabbling around in filthy bilges, NOT trying to calm down dissapointed clients, NOT doing field repairs, NOT pulling berges around and NOT trying to organise everybody else, you'll probably NOT be surprised to know that this weekend I have NO back pain, NO swollen painful knees, NO swollen fingers or toes and nobody is relying on me to answer the phone and sort out their problems. I am therefore going to make a second attempt at the Lac des settons this afternoon.

« *BURP! »

Oh dear…

in case of doubt break glass.

allo allo...

12 as per UK BUT, and it's a technicality but a big one, here they add points from 0 to 12 rqther thqn tqke them off from 12 to 0, so if you're low on points, come speeding in france and they'll put some back on...

what, like forplay?

sorry, moveable floorboard in a boat. A floor in a boat is something else entirely.

it is. green and damp, depite what the doom and gloom sayers might say. just atarting to turn yellow round the edges though.

its easy enough to plan an afternoons ride with todays technology Pedro, even for a self confessed technophobe like me. I plan routes on the laptop and then transfer them to the phoe for navigation. I often do this of an evening when I'm bored, that way when the fancy takes me, its all ready in the phone and I just hit GO

being "extra-european" I don't think they can organise the points, but they could insist on immediate payment of the fine, even if it involves them escorting yo to the nearest cashpoint... ( seen it done to a client for a speeding ticket)

I used to have one of these, I cringe when I see what they're worth now...

it's only 90€ if you pay within 3 days but still 3 points.

great pics yen. was that Snape maltings you visited? that burnt down in the autumn of '87 (?) i know this because i was working as a volonteer bosun fro the Ocean Youth Club refitting one of their yachts in Fox's marina Ipswich. We used to sail a lot with the essex county fire brigade an their head honcho at the time, Roger Paramour, was a regular relief skipper on the boat. That night we were all sleeping on the boat in the yard, Roger Paramour, "Smudger" Smith ( essex fire brigade no3 man and breathing apparatus specialist) and about 8 other firemen. around 2 in the morning their bloody beepers started going off all over the place, they leapt out of their bunks, forgetting that we'd removed all the sole boards to re varnish them.... it took them a good 10 minutes to extricate everybody from the bilges... when Roger's pager ( remember them?) went off, smudger said it must be a big one cos they only do that when all the pumps in the area are out. I found out a couple of days later that it was Snape Maltings that went up.

it's the reason you'll find french drivers ( not parisiens) pushing right over the the right edge of the lane to let bikes past without having to cross a solid white line, it's 135€ and 3 points here ( if they see you)

well I set off to go see the Lac des Settons empty but was turned back by the weather. grey sky and just spitting when I set off at about 13h30. I'd planned a 4h round trip using only minor roads. I'd got about an hour in when the odd spot of rain tuened into what my mother would call "mizzle" I was pleasantly dry and warm in my gear and being alons had no qualms about riding slowly along some very greasy back lanes. The wind started getting up from the south west and the temperature started, if anything to increase somewhat. We had the first of the automn storms about a week ago and evidence of this was all over the road in places. I found one spot with a tree down across the road and had to box round it. The wind was really getting up and the rain coming down harder. It stopped being fun after coming round a corner and finding a dead branch across the road very obviously very recently come down, I decided to pull the plug and turned for avallon and fuel before heading home. coming into Avallon the back way i'd run ahead of the rain but bu the time I'd fuelled it was catching me up again so I headed North and a bit East to stay in front of the weather and ride some back roads I havent done before. I got home after 2 hours out having done about 130 km. I tried a panoramic of that shot but can't decide which I prefer

that's a solid white line there you naughty boy! strung up by your balls here for that... ( if they see you)

lapsus significatif

yeah but this is rance Tym, there's just so much more class here, it'll be all sunken villages and romantic lost churches.... or mud and dead sheep

I wanted to go and get some pics of the Lac des Settons which is one of the feeder reservoirs for the canal which they've completely drained for the ten yearly inspection of the dam, but the weather is crap. I might try tomorrow but doesn't look much better.