Shelter From The Storm

I don’t know what it is about this drink, but I’ve never found anything that refreshes me better and faster during or after a long ride than Orangina. I can drink a full 12oz can in a few seconds, literally. It’s delicious, it goes down smooth and easy and it really quenches my thirst.

I first discovered Orangina during my first trip to France in 1973 and I really only drink it when I’m in France, but when I’m there I drink a LOT of it. It’s a lot like a typical carbonated soda, but, to me at least, much, much better. I love to throw a really cold one down during a ride and after a ride I can drink two or three easily. It’s great with pizza and pasta as well. I buy the cans by the six pack when I’m in France. They’re very inexpensive at grocery stores and markets, but restaurants tend to charge ridiculous prices (at least compared to what you can buy it for elsewhere). You can get cans, plastic bottles, or the classic, famous little pear-shaped glass bottles.

These days there are a variety of Orangina products (Regular, Lite, Rouge) and they all contain at least 12% citrus fruit juice, 10% orange and 2% lemon, grapefruit and mandarin. Additionally, they contain 2% pulp and zest (though I think you can still get a version without pulp). The regular variety is my favorite, though I’ll drink one of the Rouge (red) once in a while for a change of pace. The drink was invented in 1935 by a Spanish pharmacist who sold the concept to an Algerian who launched it in Algeria. The Orangina trademark was registered in 1936 but it wasn’t until 1951 that it became easily available in France. These days it’s available almost all over the world, including the US. It’s not hard to find here (it’s available locally here in Nashville at Harris-Teeter grocery stores), but it’s certainly not as prevalent as it is in France, where almost every store and restaurant carries it. Even though I can find it here I don’t drink it in the US. I guess I just like to keep it as one of French experiences.

Visit the official Orangina website.

Well, my main cycling buddy, Les just emailed and said he is going to have to bow out of the France cycling trip because of really bad back pain that has developed in the last few days. What a drag. This is the fifth trip Les and I would have made to France for cycling and I can’t believe he has to cancel at the last minute. It would kill me to have to do that. So, it looks like it’s just Connie and I this year. We’re hoping Les might feel better in the next few days and decide to join us after all, we’ll have to wait and see.

Leaving for France in the next few hours. Flying from Nashville to Charlotte, NC. Short stop then on to Paris. Usually we fly into Nice or Lyon, but this year we found cheap tickets to Paris and so we’re going to drive from Paris to Nice. It’s a long drive, but in the end we’ll save enough money to make it worthwhile. I’ve been “training” for this trip since February, and I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in in my entire life. And, I lost over 30 pounds since February 1st, so that’s making a big difference as well, especially when I’m climbing. Everything is packed, including my bike. My good friend Hervé is going to meet us in Paris and store our bike boxes for the trip which will give us a lot more room in the little van we have rented.