Le Parcours

No pics on the flight, but our glider is 4th in line!

Today was a very nice sailplane XC day. I had a new instructor for the day, Guillaume, and he was very laid back and let me do almost all the flying. We towed up to 1300 m (about 500 m above the ground, some 200 m higher that usual - I like to stack the odds in my favor...) and released into a thermal that took us straight up to 3200 m. In a sailplane that sort of altitude opens up a lot of terrain and we headed to the Pic de Morgon, just N of the Dormillouse, topping up in a couple of thermals on the way.

At that point Guillaume asked if I'd done 'le Parcours'. I didn't even know what it was so he explained that it's a classic sailplane flight, running S along ridges from the Lac de Serre Poncon to the Lac de Sainte-Croix (the start follows the PG route from the Dormillouse to St Andre). I didn't hesitate, so off we went... 

At Guillaume's suggestion, I turned the vario sound off to help develop a better feel for the aircraft. We headed south, starting at about 2500 m and dolphin flying in ridge lift and some thermals, pretty much maintaining altitude. As we got into the bigger mountains, we effectively fell below ridge height; I suggested turning in a thermal but Guillaume said it wasn't necessary. Further south, the mountains got lower but there were enough promising clouds to almost compensate for the lack of ridge lift. At the end of le Parcours, after 80 km without turning, I was down to near 2000 m and built a bit more altitude in a thermal (with the vario sound back on) before the leg back to St Auban.

A very nice triangle of about 170 km and easily my most satisfying sailplane flight yet! Even better, different instructors teach you new and different things - so Guillaume gave me a bunch of new insights and things to work on.

Soap box derby

Brigitte and Remi run the French Pub and it's easily our favorite restaurant in St Andre. Brigitte is also the president of the Association des Commerçants et Artisans and organized a Course de Caisse à Savon (or soap box derby) today. Although the course had a couple of challenging corners (equipped with straw bales), it wasn't on a very steep slope, so straight line efficiency (high weight and low mechanical and aerodynamic drag) was the critical factor.

There was quite a crowd there to watch and it was a lot of fun. There were about 10 entries - some were pretty, some were fast, some looked fast and all were fun. A few pics.

A different kind of mountain biking

Today I headed to Allos for a bit of mountain biking. Many ski resorts use mountain biking as a way of generating some business in summer. It's a much more leisurely operation than 'normal' mountain biking - you and your bike ride up on a chair lift (a bit of a relief in the current heat) and come down prepared trails. 

The mountain bike trails are maintained to give a fairly constant challenge - lots of corners. But the challenge is never overwhelming - no dangerous drops and every corner is conveniently banked. The trails are designed to be ridden fast by good riders, rather than to provide huge technical challenges. Little wooden bridges, ramps and jumps add to the interest. Altogether more user-friendly than trails in nature!

The riders were a bit different too. Full face helmets and body armor were the norm. Lots of kids. It was great fun - each ride (chairlift up and ride down) took about 20 minutes, so you can get a lot of riding in during a morning.  

   

La Canicule

There's a heat wave over France. It's the hottest spell I've known since arriving in St Andre and it's not predicted to end any time soon. Daytime temperatures are in the low 30s (around 90F) which is not that unusual. But overnight it is only falling to around 20 (68F), when normally the nights are cool here (around 12), even in the middle of summer. It's tiring and must be a lot worse outside the mountains. 

The strategy we've been adopting is to get up early so we can do something outside, then to spend the rest of the day in the coolest part of the house, only emerging again after sunset. Some friends have had to leave for a few days and left us their dog. He's suffering in the heat, too. This morning we took him for a refreshing splash in the river before it got too hot and he retreated to the garage.  

Transhumance with donkeys

I had gone out early for a mountain bike ride (in order to beat the heat) and saw someone riding a horse towards me. At this point, the trail was narrow and the mountain was steep, so the horse would probably be nervous. I got of my bike, moved well clear of the trail and sat myself and the bike down. It soon became clear there were several riderless horses following the rider and then ... lots of donkeys, at least 50 of them.

There were 5 or 6 other people helping 'shepherd' the donkeys up the trail. I asked the last one where they were going and she said they were taking them up to the high pastures, where they would spend the summer. This is very common with sheep in the area (and also done with goats and occasionally cows), but it's the first time I've heard of it being done with horses and donkeys. 

Sailplane to Saint Andre

I've done about 10 sailplane lessons now and, while I'd like to say I'm picking it up quickly, that would be quite an exaggeration. There's lots to learn and, in particular, a lot of instincts to acquire. But I'm doing more and more in each flight and Claude (my instructor) is doing more instructing and less flying. And most lessons are pretty good XC flights in the their own right. 

I realized that I've got a really good opportunity to take photos when flying with Claude, so I took a few today. We had a nice 2 hour flight to St Andre and back, taking a route over the Plateau de Valensole. It's certainly impressive how quickly you can cover distance in a sailplane... A few pics.

Hail Storm

Many summer afternoons threaten to overdevelop in in St Andre. It seldom results in a storm, but - especially when flying a paraglider - it can make you a bit nervous. I've almost always managed to be home safely before any storms started, but today was a bit of an exception. Fortunately I was hiking, not flying!

I had a long, hot hike along the Cretes des Serres to the Pic de Chamatte and back. For the last hour or so, I'd been looking at clouds. One in particular had grown threateningly and then - surprisingly - dissipated, making me feel safer. But, about twenty minutes from home, the thunder and lightning started. It was very loud and very near, but not quite over St Andre. 

I still thought I'd get home dry, but within 5 minutes grape-sized hail was falling - and it hurt! I put all my layers on, but there wasn't anywhere I could really shelter, so I rushed home. Initially, the hail melted quickly, but, as the temperature plummeted, it started laying on the ground. By the time I got home, there were rivers of water and hail running through the streets of St Andre, overwhelming some of the drains. The hail would accumulate in some gutters or on roof tops but then fall in a huge lump. 

Fortunately no-one got hurt - though there was damage to lots of flowers and some cars. A new windsock was completely destroyed. Definitely a good time to be on the ground, ideally indoors! A few pics.