Day 13: Arles -- Marseille

7 miles + hitchhiking + 41 miles

Today was my most challenging day. I was nervous about riding into a big city and I didn't have a map of local roads into Marseille - just my country map of France and my GPS, of which I am skeptical.

Woke up to a rain storm. Left Arles around 11, but 7 miles down the road I ran over something and heard a pop. Not only did I have a flat, but my tire was slashed open. My first thought: Oh... that's why Greg said to bring an extra tire! But I did not. I stood at the side of the road trying to flag a car like hailing a cab. Five minutes later Thomas Feneuil stopped. He's a rockstar (bass guitar player, used to play in a band called Soma) and his last name means fennel (he has a tattoo of a fennel bulb on his left wrist). Please know i was safe. Modern day hitching (not like the 60s) involves taking the driver's name, car model, and license plate number, and reporting to a safety contact in the US every 15 minutes.

Thomas took me to a bike store called Bouti Cycle in Arles. Owners Fred and Laurent got me a tire, made us coffee, and Fred showed us his blog from when he biked across the US three years ago (trans-USA-2008.over-blog.com). Thomas stood in the door smoking a cigarette -- he's a rockstar, not a cyclist.



I then hitched a ride 20 miles down the road to Fos-sur-Mer, where Thomas was heading to feed his cat. Here's Thomas:



I got on my bike and set out with full faith in my GPS. I rode through Martigues:



Unfortunately I was stuck on busy roads riding in the shoulder as fast as I could go. I was so concentrated I couldn't feel my legs or the hills. I went by several factories and oil refineries. Maybe 1000 years from now people will look at them and think "what scary times" just as I do with the gothic.



I rode over mountains (who knew Marseille was surrounded by mountains? I thought the coast was flat) and into the city. It was like riding in New York City -- at least the cars are in stop and go traffic so they don't go fast.



I got to Veronica's cousin's place, where I will be spending the next two nights.

Today let me know I am not alone. I have several guardian angels.

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