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。