The weather was glorious and the rural French landscape was idyllic as I cycled along the banks of the River Meuse. The light had a sort of special haze to it that seemed to intensify and magnify distances, but what really stood out was the all-encompassing silence. A car hadn't gone by in nearly half-an-hour; there wasn't even the dull drone of traffic from a distant road. All that could be heard was birdsong, the lowing of cattle, the bleating of sheep, the occasional chime of a village church bell... and a strange squeaking noise.

我沿着默兹河岸（River Meuse）骑车，阳光灿烂，法国乡村风景如田园诗般美丽。光线中弥漫着一种特别的轻雾，使距离影影绰绰变得遥远，但是真正非同一般的是天地间难以打破的宁静。半个小时没有一辆汽车驶过，也听不到远处公路上交通的嗡嗡声。能听到的只有鸟鸣、牛羊的低吼和时而的教堂钟声……还有一种奇怪的吱吱声。

Mercifully, the noise disappeared following a liberal application of oil to the bike gears and everything else that looked as though it might be a moving part. I was doubly glad – at first I wasn't sure if it was being made by the bike or by my knees.

谢天谢地，我在自行车齿轮和其它运动部位加足了油之后，吱吱声消失了。我特别高兴，因为起先我实在吃不准声音是哪里发出来的，是自行车还是我的膝关节？

It takes about a week to physically adapt to cycling between 40 and 50 miles a day, for the fatigue to ease enough for you to fully take in your surroundings. Before then, your legs feel as heavy as concrete.

我用了一个星期的时间来让身体逐步适应每天骑行40到50英里。当你全身心融入到周围环境中之后，疲劳大大减轻了。在此之前，我的一双腿简直像石头一样。

However, once past that point, you find yourself going at a pace that makes you appreciate where you are and brings you more into contact with the people, even if largely it's only to ask directions or to refill your water bottles.

但是只要过了极点之后，你就会发现可以一边骑车一边欣赏风景，也可以更多接触当地人民，尽管大多数情况下只是问路或要水喝。

While there are too many pockets of industrialisation around the town of Givet for the River Meuse to be considered beautiful this far north, by the time you've cycled south through France for a couple of days, you begin to understand what the fuss is about. It's so bucolic and peaceful it's hard to believe that these were once the trench-scarred killing fields of the First World War.

在吉维特市附近有许多工业化地区，所以就会认为最北部的默兹河很美丽。但是在法国境内朝南骑了两天之后，就开始明白那是大惊小怪了。这里一派田园风光，如此祥和美丽，难以相信曾经是一次世界大战沟壕纵横的战场。

Especially worthwhile, in my opinion, is the stretch south of Sedan that takes in towns such as Mouzon and villages like Wiseppe.

我认为特别值得一看的是色当（Sedan）南面的地区，像莫桑镇（Mouzon）和瓦斯普村（Wiseppe）这些地方。

I really don't think you could have quite the same experience in a car, but that's not to say there are no downsides to bicycle travel. I find that I constantly have in mind Dr Johnson's judgment on the Giant's Causeway. The 18th-century man of letters famously remarked that this bizarre formation of rocks in Northern Ireland was worth seeing, but not worth "going" to see.

我真的不认为坐在汽车里会有同样的体验，但也不是说自行车旅行没有缺点。我发现自己总是把约翰森博士对“巨人之路”（ Giant's Causeway）的著名点评记在心里，这位十八世纪的作家评论说，北爱尔兰奇特的岩石构造值得看，但是不值得“走过去”看。

This maxim I had to apply to Mt Malgré-Tout, which I was told was the scene of a wartime massacre of French civilians by the Nazis. In other circumstances I'm sure it would have proved an interesting diversion, but as I gazed up the steep slope that leads up to it, there was just no way I was going to find out.

我把这句至理名言用到了摩尔格力.透特山上（Mt Malgré-Tout），有人告诉我，这里在二次大战期间曾有法国平民被纳粹屠杀。在其它情况下，我肯定会觉得这是一个有意思地方，但是当我把目光投向陡峭的山坡时，却找不到上山的路。

What I've found harder to adapt to are the hardships of sleeping rough. Cooking on a primus stove is no problem. In fact, after a long day in the saddle, you'd be surprised just how tasty a warm tin of ravioli can be. But after three consecutive nights of camping out I'd had enough, especially since the last had been spent near Verdun in Le Foret du Mort Homme, which translates as Dead Man's Forest. In my overactive and puerile imagination, every crack of a branch was made by the ghost of some dead soldier.

我难以适应的事情是野外露营。在小油炉上做饭没有问题，事实上，在鞍座上骑了一天车之后，你自已也会奇怪，一罐热的意大利馄饨味道是多么鲜美。但是连续在野外露营三天之后，我就感觉受不了了。特别是最后一夜在凡尔登（Verdun）附近的Le Foret du Mort Homme度过，翻译成英文就是“死人森林”。我的想象力活跃而天真，在我看来树枝的每一声响动都来自死去士兵的亡灵。

The next night was spent less than 15 miles away in the luxurious comfort of a bed and breakfast in the village of Dugny-sur-Meuse. There was an almost voluptuous feeling to being clean again after having had a shower. I then slept the sleep of the righteous for a full and completely undisturbed 11 hours.

第二天我到了15英里以外的多尼.斯尤. 默兹村（Dugny-sur-Meuse），在一家家庭旅馆奢华而舒适的床上过了夜。冲了澡之后人又变得干干净净，感觉太棒了。接下来我足足熟睡了十一个小时。

Never has 45 euros been better spent, but I need to toughen up – and quickly – if my money is not to run out well before I reach India.

这45欧元花得太值得了，但是，假如我不想在到达印度以前把钱花光的话，我必须把钱袋子看紧一点，路也要走得更快一点。

Fingers crossed, the next time you hear from me I should be in Germany, close to the source of the Danube and on a route that will take me through a further seven European countries.

我把手指交合在一起。下一次你听到我消息时，我该在德国多瑙河源头附近了，沿着那儿的一条路，我将去欧洲其余的七个国家。

Before then, however, I have to visit the French border city of Strasbourg, where I worked as a teenager in a packaging factory for about six months nearly two decades ago. I hope to meet the couple who ran the hostel where I lived, which catered for workers from across Europe and North Africa. Sylvie was pretty, while Gilbert had the looks and moustache that reminded me of a dark-haired Asterix. I don't know if the hostel is still there or, if so, it's still in their charge. After all, 20 years is a long time, but either way, I hope to find that they are both well.

但是在此之前，我还要去探访法国边境城市斯特拉斯堡（Strasbourg）。差不多二十年以前，我还是十几岁的少年，曾经在这里的一家包装工厂里工作了六个月。我希望能拜访当年的客栈老板夫妇，他们的客栈专门招待来自欧洲和北美的工人。希尔薇很漂亮，吉尔伯特的长相和胡子总让我想起深色头发的法国喜剧阿斯特里科斯中的人物。我不知道这家客栈是否还在，如果在的话，他们是不是还当老板。毕竟二十年时间不短，但是不管怎样，我希望看到他们一切平安。