21 June 2009

Day 30


Pad Brapad Moujika, originally uploaded by Ryan Runs Europe.

32 Kilometers.
The run out of Paris was a bit difficult. There were so many streets to choose from that the only technique I could use was that of trying to maintain the general direction of southeast, the direction of Brie-Comte-Robert. I recently figured out how to make my phone calculate and draw a route on the map...but in this case it only thought for a long time and gave me an encouraging "no route found." I just ran with my eyes on the map. I tried to make my decisions at intersections instantaneously, because the one time I stalled for a second a Jehova's Witness guy trapped me. "Do you know the way?" he asked..."To Brie-Comte-Robert?!"
I arrived in town in the early afternoon and started exploring. There was an castle in which I found an interesting archaeological exhibit. The gates would be locked in the evening, so (thinking about where I would sleep) I spent a good hour climbing around the walls, contemplating the best technique of storming the castle in case of emergency. When I was satisfied with the knowledge that the castle could be stormed, I proceeded to explore the rest of the town. I went by the church (where there were at least three weddings this day) and then on to a little plaza where I had seen a temporary stage set up. I bought myself a Heineken from Ali, one of the vendors at the concert and started talking to him about what was going on. This weekend is the weekend of the "Fête de la Musique" everywhere in France (even the little towns), and Brie-Comte-Robert was having a day of concerts. Talking to Ali, I verified that the the name of the town is related to its location in the region in which brie is made, so I quickly ran to the fromagerie before it closed and got myself a little slice of the stuff. It was divine. Cheese is definitely best eaten in the place where it is made.
I spent the evening loitering around, watching local rap and rock groups take the stage. Word got around that I was running across Europe, and the people running the concessions offered me some free things to eat. I felt incredibly lucky to come into this town on such an interesting day. I feel pretty lucky in general. A bit after 9, I went to the church, where I listened to a guy named Pierrec Antoine play a mean organ, and then back to the square of the main concert. It was getting dark, and I wasn't really sure that I had a place to stay...but I was comforted by an awesome performance on stage by a band which used minimal words (less words to be not understood is good for me!). One of the guys who was running the technical side of the show, Luc, offered me a place to sleep in town after he was done dismantling the set. The concert finished around midnight, and I spent a couple hours working with Luc dismantling the stage and packing up all the equipment. I finally got to bed around 2 am completely wiped out. After running 32 km to arrive in town, I had only sat down for probably one hour all day. It felt amazing to have my legs up. I slept like a rock.

16 comments:

  1. Hey Ryan,

    Congratulations ! I think its awesome for you to have done what you did. Most of us just talk about it ... You really inspire. Keep going Ryan ..God Bless ..From, Sunshine

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  2. Keep it up, Ryan! Sounds like you had a very eventful day!

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  3. Hi Ryan,

    It's great that we have our own personal "reporter" :-)
    We'll be following you around Europe.
    Good luck.

    Best regards,

    José

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  4. Hi Ryan,

    a great idea have you here!
    The world needs people like you :o)
    Thank you for sharing!
    Now i´ll follow you, too.

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  5. Sounds great--a unique idea and a very rewarding way of traveling.

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  6. I just happened on your blog today and think what you are doing is incredible and amazing. All the best of luck.

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  7. "Cheese is definitely best eaten in the place where it is made"
    that i truely agree with!
    ~wishing you all the best from saudi arabia

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  8. I found your blog on Blogs of Note and am extremely happy I decided to check it today! You're blog is amazing and what you're doing is unbelievably inspiring. I started on Day 1 thinking I'd read a little and couldn't walk away...I read the whole thing through! Best of luck!

    By the way, thanks to you I now know of couchsurfing.com. What a great website! Thanks!

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  9. Beyond the crazy distance you have run, I am more amazed at your great directional sense. The directionally impaired (like me!) would be lost all the time. Good job!

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  10. Wow, I would die if I tried anything like this. I can barely run a 3 miles without collapsing (believe me, I've tried). Ah, I've always wanted to go to Paris.

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  11. Wow you got a lot of comments yesterday! I'm glad you found some local Brie but did you get a chance to eat any Comte?

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  12. Sounds like a great day! I just started following your blog a few days ago, and I find it SO interesting.

    Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. It's a wonder you ever get a chance to blog.

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  13. Sweet! It sounds so amazing! Except for all the running of course. :)

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