旅記:葡萄酒聖地法國波爾多的浪漫騎行之旅

Gravel and sand are some of the optimum constituents for growing the merlot and cabernet sauvignon grapes in this area.

這一帶的碎石和沙子是適宜種植梅鹿輒（merlot）和赤霞珠（cabernet sauvignon）所需葡萄的材料之一。

They also happen to be (probably) the worst surfaces to cycle on.

但這裏也恰好（或者可能）是騎自行車路況最差的地方。

Gravel has a wonderful habit of sending your back wheel flying off into a random direction like a bucking horse, while sand just brings the entire bike – and rider – to a halt.

碎石有一個奇妙的特點——它會使你的自行車後輪突然轉到別的方向，就像突然躍起的馬一樣。然而沙子只會讓整輛車子和騎手停下來。

By just mile three it is already really tough going, and needless to say, confidence in our ability to complete the route starts waning.

到了第三英里（約合4.8公里），騎行十分艱難。毋庸置疑，我們的自信開始消退，我們開始懷疑自己能否完成整場騎行。

Fortunately, nothing cures cycling angst quite like a chateau stop, and there are rather a lot of them.

幸運的是，沒有東西能像城堡停歇處那樣消除騎手的騎車焦慮。這樣的停歇處這裏有很多。

Each one is like coming across a country fair-cum-children's birthday party – assuming the child in question is rather partial to a glass or two.

每個人都好像遇見了鄉村集市和孩子們的生日宴會——假定這個小孩特別喜歡喝酒。

There is music, dancing, games, pirates, the Mario Bros, Shrek and Princess Fiona, tables filled with party food (cakes, biscuits, crisps, sweets) and, of course, wine.

這裏有音樂，有舞蹈，有遊戲，有海盜。還有馬里奧兄弟（the Mario Bros）、怪物史萊克（Shrek）、菲奧娜公主（Princess Fiona），還有一些餐桌，桌子上放着蛋糕、餅乾、炸薯片、甜點等食物。當然，紅酒也是必不可少的。

At around mile seven, we get our first taste at Chateau Cantenac Brown, and it does far more for me than any energy drink ever has.

在大約第七英里（約合11.3公里）的時候，我們到了肯特•布朗酒莊（Chateau Cantenac Brown），在這裏我們第一次品嚐了葡萄酒。這對我造成的衝擊比其他任何能量飲料都大。

It is a moderate sip, however, because while the French are fun, they're not stupid.

但是我只喝了一小口，因爲法國人雖然有趣，但是並不笨。

At least, the organisers aren't: a man wearing only a singlet and a nappy who has an – empty – bottle of wine in his bike's water bottle holder by mile 10 might be a bit stupid.

至少組織者們不笨：到了第十英里（約合16公里），要是有一個人穿着背心、鋪着尿布，自行車的水瓶架上再放一個空紅酒瓶，那他的樣子會有點傻。

As well as not overfilling our glasses, not every chateau serves the strong stuff, so we're never drunk or at risk of causing ourselves serious harm.

不是每個酒莊都會讓我們品嚐烈酒，他們也不會給我們把杯子倒得太滿。所以我們不會喝醉，也不會給自己帶來嚴重傷害。

Not that we could do much damage at the slow pace we're going anyway, but then, the last thing you want to do when cycling round an area as pretty as the Medoc is go fast.

不是說我們慢慢前進的時候能造成什麼破壞，而是在騎車環繞像梅多克（Medoc）這樣美麗的地方的時候，你最不想做的事情就是快速前進。

Put it this way; if the Disney princesses decided to get together for a Real Housewives of Orange County-esque reality television series, this is where they would base it.

這樣說吧：如果迪士尼公主要聚在一起拍攝一檔真實電視系列節目——《像奧蘭治縣一樣的地方的真實主婦》，這裏就是他們要選擇的拍攝地。

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