84. Saturday frolics

3rd September 2010. Last night was very warm and there was a sound outside that we don't often hear..

4th September 2010. I had a good outing in an VIII this morning - instead of pointing up the Nive as usual though, we turned the other way and rowed through the town under 4 low bridges and out onto the much bigger Adour and headed downstream..

The Nive and the Adour.. (clubhouse is just above and left of the nearest bridge)

We then set off at a cracking pace down to the coast. The boat was well-balanced this morning and it was very satisfying listening to the sounds we were making - the whoosh whoosh as the thirty two wheels of the eight sliding seats ran forward and back on sixteen slides in unison, the solidity of the work in the water and the occasional scuddering of the blades across ripples in the water - it's moments like that that remind me why I row. Did 15 km this morning..  (running total = 137km) 

There's a lot of truth in this cartoon below (in my opinion!):