While cycling around the hill towns of the Luberon which suddenly became not so hilly thanks to our electric bikes, a song came into my head. I started humming “Together In Electric Dreams” and wondered how on earth I had remembered a song which a Google search revealed was recorded in 1984. Curious to know how the song got its title I Googled some more. According to the oracle that is Wikipedia, the song was written for an American-British Sci Fi movie of the same name. The first line of the description says “Electric Dreams is a 1984 American-British science fiction romantic comedy film set in San Francisco that depicts a love triangle among a man, a woman, and a personal computer.” Intriguing non? If you’re curious, here’s the link to find out more which includes the computer being doused with champagne and becoming sentient and then jealous of the relationship between the two leading characters.
We rented our bikes from Sun e-Bike in Bonnieux and after a very quick explanation we were off. Straight out of the store was a down hill stretch followed by a pretty sneaky long incline. Time to press the warp factor button that we had just learned about. There were three settings for warp factor. Setting one engaged the motor and gave you a bit of a boost. Setting two was a bit like being on a moped instead of a pedal bike and setting three was to be engaged on a very, very steep hill. As we were speeding down the hill on the other side, going up were “real cyclists”, people that used their legs on the hills. I was surprised that they greeted us and said bonjour. I had imagined that there would be some snobbery for want of a better expression, against the electric folks. Alas, no. Everyone greeted everyone else regardless of their mode of two wheeled transport.
We took an alternative road into Menerbes that brought us into the village by a different route than we were used to thus allowing us to see the place from a different perspective. We cycled around and up some quite decent hills that were no problem thanks to warp factor. From there we headed toward La Coste but took a different route altogether because we felt like exploring. In the end we didn’t make it to La Coste but we had fun on some unknown roads in any case. Thank goodness G has a sense of direction because I certainly don’t. If it was down to me to navigate we’d quickly be lost, out of battery and not very happy. After a really big downhill what comes next, the inevitable up hill but we were not worried. I smiled almost the whole time even during the very hilly parts because it wasn’t a slog at all. You definitely still have to pedal and expend energy but it’s not the type of cycling that leaves you absolutely exhausted and dreading the next hill. Incidentally that will come next for us as we attempt to do the huge hill from Fontaine de Vaucluse to Tiny Town on conventional bikes.
Meanwhile back en route to Bonnieux where we stopped to admire the village perched on the hillside from afar. I took pictures knowing full well that they could not possibly do justice to the view in front of me. We were starting to get a bit hungry so we cycled back into Bonnieux and found a restaurant with a terrace so we could have some more of that lovely view. After lunch we headed back home to a delighted Bailey who had enjoyed her Kong time followed by a snooze. So, am I ready to get an electric bike? Nope, not yet. I think I’ve got a few more years of pedal power in me. However I would highly recommend them for a bit of sightseeing because you get to see more than when you’re walking and warp factor is a blast.
This week we had drinks with our last family of renters who were a charming family from Germany. They were very curious about our life in France and during the course of the conversation we told them that they were the last family to stay with us and that we were selling and moving back to California. Immediately the daughter turned to her dad and said that they should buy the house. Quite taken aback, he practically choked on his glass of rosé. When they were leaving they told us to look in our guest book where she had written that she was still trying to convince her dad and we had a good laugh about that. During our soirée together we introduced Bailey to the German family’s dog who was called Pepper. At first Pepper was on leash and started to growl at Bailey. Suspecting that Pepper’s behavior was altered by being on leash while Bailey was roaming free, I suggested that they let Pepper roam free too. Just as an experiment. The experiment was very quickly abandoned because quick as a flash Pepper went for Bailey and a fur tornado ensued. We grabbed our respective dogs and Pepper was banished inside the house. Later in the evening when the bell rang announcing a delivery Bailey ran up the stairs to go through the house to see who was at the gate. However when she got to the glass doors, Pepper all teeth and curled lips, was on the other side so she quickly abandoned that plan.
Since we have concluded our stint as HomeAway hosts, we decided to change up our living arrangements. We’ve gone full circle and moved back into the main bedroom that is my favorite in the whole house. Last time we spent time in that room was before we started hosting over four years ago and when we were doing the renovations on what became our side of the house. We spent about six months there and enjoyed the amazing light that is cast in that room as well as the beautiful views from the veranda. I was very excited to have a change of scenery and a bigger bed because Bailey is quite the space hog. Of course moving into another room made us look at things differently in other parts of the house. We decided that we needed to have dedicated work spaces and have swapped the desks to allow that to happen. I am back upstairs with my smaller desk that allows me to have the most beautiful view of the Sorgue valley. The dimensions of my previous desk were such that the only possible arrangement had me staring at a wall. I am sure that caused me to write less and to write differently. G has bought a tablet called a Wacom that connects to his laptop and he’s learning how to draw using it. To do that he needed the bigger desk so that worked out fine for both of us.
“It’s like being in a hotel” said G as he woke up this morning and realized that he was not in his normal bedroom. Bailey is most confused with all the comings and goings but she is quite pleased to have all her space back. However last night despite having considerably more space available to her, she still chose to flop quite WWF like, half on to me and spent the rest of the night there, glued to my side. Things are only just going to get better and better for Bailey because tomorrow Granny arrives from Scotland and the Bailey and Granny show can begin.
Thanks for reading!
Les Trois Musketeers
French Bruemmers 