Evening star., 1897-02-27
GOOD ROADS ABOUND
The Charm of France to American
Wheelmen.
TOURING Is CHEAP AND PLEASANT
Knowledge Of the Language by
No Means Necessary.
IN RAJ DIST RICTS

Written for The Evening Star.
Foreigners frequently express surprise
that so many Americans cross the ocean to
| travel in Europe, when they have their
| own wide country SO full of natural won
ders. Some provincial Frenchmen wonder
that man should bring his wheel SO many
miles for the mere pleasure Of little cy-
! cling on French soil.
For any one who has wheeled in France
1t is not difficult to explain the attractive
| ness OF that country to American wheel
| men, The first and most obvious advan-
| tage which France possesses for cycling
f! purposes lies in the excellent roads, The
| entire country. with nearly 100000 square
! miles OF territory, is fntersected with roads
which compare not unfavorably with those
in our city parks. The roadbeds are hard.
smooth and shed the rain so readily that
| mud Is rarely formed. All main roads con-
Meeting important towns are constructed
u! tne central government. and the grea t
est shlli Is SHOWN In making moderate and
| UNIFORM grades In hilly localities. There
| are not those sudden and unnecessary de-
| scents, such IS have wrecked so manv
| "neeis on some of our roads, The many
splendlo nils for coasting are as safe as
| they can we'll be made Execution might
be taken to some of the roads in the sont h
| and southwest. where they are not quite as
good as In the north
| inere are several classes of roads. of
| wnlch the national and departmentaI are
| the most important. The first are snnnosed
| 20 be the best, although the few Others 7
| mad occasion to take seemed equally good
| most satisfactory institution is the nu-
| merous sign boards which are found at
| tne road functions and at each end of every
| vliase. FOR one not familiar with the
| nh,,ss uase Ihls Is great advantage, as it
TLo iaees .he necessity of inquiring the way.
| Inc boards are so placed that the wheel
| man nan can read them as he rides by without
| hsTouhting There is not the nern,exit,,
ind delay that is often the case in EnpIan nd
anG is one one Is ooiiged frequently to dismount
anu inquire the way or spend some minutas
| s.uuSing the map. Kilometer stones usual
| Lhuicate the class and number of The
| noir. anu the distance to neighboring
sinns o,a me me Information given on these
sisns ana stones is most accurate. distance
| oeihe stated In kilometers and tentbs ~
Iehent maps of large or small sections of
! ne "nole country or of departments NAV
especially for cyclists The ,rourinp SrInh
u rance publishes book containing
| moch valuable information, Including the
naia1S IL, a1S ana addresses of bicycle repairers
| IN all considerable towns Manv Amar;
cans join this club in order to nossess tha
book. po''ess 'iie
At French Hotels.
another advantage which France offers
TO wheeimen is the excellent quality of the
| food to be had in even the smallest places
After long ride a man finds his annre-
cation OF good dinner not less keen than
| his admira ton for the fine roads. had
| OFTEN heard of French cooking and of the
superiority of French cooks but did not
pe1ore my trip realize how widely sprea n
| IS Ine knowledge of the culinary art.
The French have only two real meals :,
day' the breakfast (dejeuner) at IL or -
CLOCK ana the dinner at Il or & At the
| Mrst there Will be six or eight courses; at
the evening meal one two more 1t Is
not usual to take anything substantial for
the early breakfast (petit deteuner). and
| just here Is a little Inconvenience for cv
chs's Ihe native travellers take some cof-
lee OF chocolate whenever they happen to
rise, either In the dining room of the hotel
or IN cafe For a man who intends to
work wheel all the morning this is hard
~ sumcfent: At the cafes they serve moth
ing TO eat, but at the hotels one NAV have
| eggs cooked in most any manner In a
small hotel 1t Is better to give the order
for breakfast the night before, especially
!, II one Is anxious for an early start before
the sun Is high This early meal is. en-
| tirely informal. and usually taken at a
side table. The other meals are table
dhote. and in many places all the guests
are seated at one large table The walters
serve each guest in order, and are so at
tentive that the foreigner may 20 through
many meals without displaying his ignor-
ance OF the language. so seldom Is 1t nee
essary to ask for anything. The dishes
are cooked and served with such skill that
| rather ordinary articles are made extreme
ly palatable.
The rooms are generally comfortable, but
no better nor perhaps quite equal to those
of English inns. The sanitary arrange
| ments are poor in most French inns Some
cater especially to cyclists, and have the
sign of the Touring Club of France CT.CFD
above their doors. Those freuuented by
a ant IN he hoe iv,
towns little visited by sight-seers.
Native travellers do not tip servants in
the smaller towns to any great extent
Certainly the practice has not the same
imperative force as in Paris and all the
show places In Europe. In some towns
gratuities seemed unexpected, as at Peri
gueux, where waiter who had been very
attentive expressed youthful delight upon
receiving ten cents. Sometimes the ser
wants would not be on hand at the time
of settlement and departure. 1t is to be
hoped the French provincials will retain
this kind of simplicity for some time.
The French Landlady.
It is noticeable that the wife is often
the ruling spirit in a French hotel. She
frequently receives the guest and bids
him goodbye. There is about her none of
that neutrality and insigniicance so often
found in German women. She is capable,
executive. not above waiting on the table
nerSeII IL Iuc guests are numerous, as
we'll as attending to the higher concerns of
the establishment. She is polite and SYM
pathetic, and II met at first with a genial
bow may do many small things to make
the stranger comfortable, and perhaps even
the charges may be a little lighter than
in some other cases.
Wheels are probably not as common in
France as in England America, but
they are common enough even in the re-
mote districts not to attract any particular
attention. The traveller with his portman-
teau in his diamond frame may be the OBJ
ject Of some idle. good-natured curiosity,
which may or may not be a nuisance ac-
cording to the Individual disposition. At
many of the hotels one is requested to fill
out a paper stating hiss residence, place he
came from and where he is going, &c. This
slight Inconvenience is not obligatory, but
may be an advantage in case of difficulty.
Probably the French are aware that the
popularity of their country as a cycling
ground for foreigners will be to their profit.
Bicycles are admitted without duty or any
troublesome formalities. The railroads
carry wheel as baggage with a charge
of Tha