# It "Oise" a cold and grey day....



## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

can I get a rimshot please?!

Oise.... in french is pronounced almost like "was" ... [rimshot]!

Oise is also the river made famous by the impressionists and that runs into the Seine just slightly North of my town (northwest from Paris).

Oise is *also* the name of the departement where my racing club is based and the backdrop of a 6 hr. team training ride I did this past sat.

On Sunday, I did a 4 hr cool-down ride tootling along some of the roads that criss-crossthe Oise valley.

Today, I have a cold so I am posting these from home with a nice cup of Linden tea (hand-picked by yours truly last spring!).

Enjoy...

The first few pictures set the context... cold (2 degrees celsius), overcast and damp.... like every other day in the Ile de France from November to April!!!

Crossing the Seine at Conflans, I make my way up onto the windswept plateaus of Picardie -- WW1 raged just northeast of here. If I had pushed on, I would arrived in Montdidier, home to some very large and mournful WW1 burial grounds -- also the location of the season-opener race that typically mirrors the toughest Flandrian race conditions -- strong sidewinds, cold and the occasional rain/sleet. Good stuff!

The last picture captures the essence of the landscape up here where church steeples arise like islets in a windswept sea -- the only relief you get from the wind is when you reach the fleeting shelter of these villages....


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## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

*RR Oise #2*

After looping north and back, I slow down to take more pictures....

Things seen along the way back home:

a. the slim house...
b. the "cocorico" house (cocorico is the sound a rooster makes in french...)
c. Van Goghs final destination...
d. Impressionist studios reconverted into housing...
e. My favorite little out-building in the region. A garage w/ a reading/library room built on. The owner has an unobstructed viewq of the Oise from the bay windows. I would convert the garage into my bike workshop and set up a really comfortable sofa w/ a wood-fired stove in the reading room and spend the winter hibernating there!


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## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

*RR Oise #3*

Ummm.... what year is it?

Things I saw while riding ... part deux.

Oh, and I had to stop and admire the life-size piece of kitsch in someone's front yard (see last picture)... hats off to you brave stranger who fears not displaying your complete and utter lack of good taste for the world to see!


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## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

*RR Oise#4*

A last few shots of river life around Pontoise and Conflans...

BigBill, hope you appreciate the chop-shop job on the diesel Sub in the last picture.... oh, and can I just say that that paint job is much better than what you normally see!

That's it for now.... hope you enjoyed!

A+

Philippe


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## striker (Mar 10, 2003)

Great post!


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

*So true.*



philippec said:


> Oh, and I had to stop and admire the life-size piece of kitsch in someone's front yard (see last picture)... hats off to you brave stranger who fears not displaying your complete and utter lack of good taste for the world to see!


 Love the painted on blond hair.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

*Great report and tour of the countryside.*

I can just imagine what it feels like to ride through there when the winds are kicking up.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

*You gotta include riding fixed in there somewhere....*

....with Thor taking his hammer to your legs back and arms, but yes that is what I'm thinking it would be like.

When it is windy around here (as it has been a lot lately) we head for the hills.


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## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

MB1 said:


> I can just imagine what it feels like to ride through there when the winds are kicking up.


yes... easy to envision.

Close your eyes......

pretend you are riding freely across an endless expanse of fields, villages and wooded copses...

... are you with me yet?...

good.


now imagine a very strong and frustratingly determined invisible goliath placing his large meaty hand upon your forehead and pushing back against you with all his might while you try to move forward....




you've almost got it!





Now, for good measure, imagine the brute's hairy and slightly bearded wife training a firehose on you and cackling gleefully... 




oh, and turning around won't help -- they're right back in front of you before you even complete that 180 degree pivot!



... and it's freezing out.....



and did I mention they both smell of slightly putrescent manure (the fields have just been fertilised!)





There! easy to imagine!!!




A+

Philippe


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

*Thanks, but I'll take France in July*



philippec said:


> Today, I have a cold so I am posting these from home with a nice cup of Linden tea (hand-picked by yours truly last spring!).
> 
> The first few pictures set the context... cold (2 degrees celsius), overcast and damp.... like every other day in the Ile de France from November to April!!!
> 
> ....


I am just recovering from a cold I caught on my return trip from California two weeks ago. So, I know how you feel. I was just getting back to riding and commuting again when work/family interfered and I have been the prisoner of my car for the past three days. If you're still thinking about getting a driver's license -- don't.

The Ile de France sounds like the Mid-Atlantic -- too cold to be comfortable, but not cold enough for good snow. We had mild temperatures for most of January, but the wind has been wicked. As much I enjoy your photos, I'll take France in July over February.

Bonne sante.

Mark


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## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

MarkS said:


> Bonne sante.
> 
> Mark


hey, hey!

those french lessons are paying off!!


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

*Need verbs*



philippec said:


> hey, hey!
> 
> those french lessons are paying off!!


Nouns are not a problem -- I know lots of them. I just have a problem with verbs.


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## JP (Feb 8, 2005)

Beautiful report. Now tell those rowers to give Cornell their oars back. Merci


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## The Walrus (Apr 2, 2000)

Great collection of sights! I'd love to know what the deal is with the "slim house"--that's usually the sort of thing you'd see sandwiched between other buildings in the middle of an urban area, not standing alone in the middle of all that space. Can't help wondering, too, about all the WWII rolling stock, although I gotta admit that that 6-by wrecker in the first photo is my idea of an SUV. Most impressive wall along the river in the last sequence; in the first shot, it just looked like natural palisades, and I didn't realize it was stonework until the third shot. 

Really like the shot of the stone steps and the blue-shuttered windows.


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## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

Great post. Thanks for the pics.


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## Rollo Tommassi (Feb 5, 2004)

*Bien! Bien! Fantastic!*

Just for a moment, I was back in France - thanks Philippe!
If you know how to pronounce "Oise", how to say "Mavic"? Ma-VEEK? MAY-vic? Mah-vic?





philippec said:


> can I get a rimshot please?!
> 
> Oise.... in french is pronounced almost like "was" ... [rimshot]!
> 
> ...


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

I was fascinated by the slim house as well. Reminded me of the house in Triplets of Belleville.


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## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

Rollo Tommassi said:


> Just for a moment, I was back in France - thanks Philippe!
> If you know how to pronounce "Oise", how to say "Mavic"? Ma-VEEK? MAY-vic? Mah-vic?


Hey Rollo -- Mavic en francais is pronounced Mah-veek -- emphasis on "veek" .

Bien a toi,

Philippe


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## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

The Walrus said:


> Really like the shot of the stone steps and the blue-shuttered windows.


As I was trying to frame the shot, I couldn't help but think that w/ some slanting late afternoon sunlight and sans the scaffolding, I might just have a real keeper! Beggars can't be choosers!

Philippe


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## The Walrus (Apr 2, 2000)

As long as we're doing the linguistics thing, how does one pronounce "Zefal"? In their ads, I can't tell if the diacritical mark is an accent or indicates a long "a" on the second syllable. Zeh-FAHL? Zee-fail? Inquiring minds want to know....

Yeah, the shot of the stairs/blue-shuttered house woulda been sweet without the scaffolding, but it's still good to look at. The accoutrements on the steeple are a mere unfortunate annoyance that I tune out, sort of like my ex-GF.


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## wooglin (Feb 22, 2002)

philippec said:


> Hey Rollo -- Mavic en francais is pronounced Mah-veek -- emphasis on "veek" .
> 
> Bien a toi,
> 
> Philippe


Ahh, but what does it stand for? Alas, I once knew.


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## ispoke (Feb 28, 2005)

jplatzner said:


> Beautiful report. Now tell those rowers to give Cornell their oars back. Merci


GO BIG RED!!!


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## Rollo Tommassi (Feb 5, 2004)

*Mavic means FAST *

from their website:

Two brothers, Léon and Laurent Vielle, created a 'nickel-plating' business in 1889. A little later Charles Idoux and Lucien Chanel ventured into the 'manufacture and the sale of spare parts for bicycles'.

While the Vieille brothers founded Etablissements Métallurgiques du Rhône (EMR) with the brand name AVA, the latter created MAVIC, Manufacture d’Articles Vélocipédiques Idoux et Chanel (Idoux & Chanel’s Manufactory of Articlesfor Velocipedes). 

http://www.mavic.com/ewb_pages/h/histchapitre1.php




wooglin said:


> Ahh, but what does it stand for? Alas, I once knew.


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## swimbikerun75 (Mar 25, 2002)

*Looks familiar*

The slim house reminds me of my house! Guess that's why my elevation is called "Country French."


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## wooglin (Feb 22, 2002)

Rollo Tommassi said:


> from their website:
> 
> Two brothers, Léon and Laurent Vielle, created a 'nickel-plating' business in 1889. A little later Charles Idoux and Lucien Chanel ventured into the 'manufacture and the sale of spare parts for bicycles'.
> 
> ...


Ah. I knew there were initials in there but I thought the V was for Vielle. "MAnufacture Vielle, Idoux et Chanel", or something like that. 

I'll still wear my cool hat though.


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