Day 18 - “Let’s just get our of this dead horse.”

It took a while but by 1:30 we were on our way out of Paris. We followed a canal east. The canal was promised to take us to Reims which is not pronounced how you would probably think it is. We made it about 20 miles and the canal path turned to hard-packed dirt and gravel. Also, it was getting about the time to think about a camping spot. Big plans were made for a canal side salon to form so that we could make practical and stylish the hair that we have grown since leaving, but as usual our plans went astray. Our chains have been lubricated by wax on this trip. I’ve been a big fan as it last longer than oil-based and seems to initially work better. Dirt is a waxed chains Achilles heel, and despite being recently cleaned, they were soon loud and kinky. The chains become a bigger deal later on in this saga. After finding and pillaging an onion field, we heard rumor of a camp ground and decided to race the sun in order to get to it. The camp ground turned out to not only be our of our way but also full. We returned to some promising woods but were discouraged by what at least looked like poison ivy in the failing light and other dense undergrowth, so made our target a cheap hotel that was promised to be a few towns away. We made it just as the lobby was closing and got a room. The days travels had resulted in 40 miles and a resolution to leave the dusty canal trail for good the next day.