#13: [13-May-23]

#12: [25-Dec-21]

#10: [19-Aug-18]

#9: [26-Jul-18]

#11: [11-Jul-18]

#5: [19-Oct-13]

#4: [03-Sep-11]

#7: [27-Jul-11]

#3: [05-Dec-04]

#2: [04-Oct-04]

#1: [04-May-01]

20-Mar-2015 -- This is the second out of 4 reports reaching confluence points during a bicycle trip in France.

After visiting 45°N 1°E in the morning, I reached this confluence riding westwards via the town Mussidan in the afternoon.

The confluence point is located just 80 m from the motorway A89 and 8 m from a little asphalt road. On the other side of the motorway, there is the village Saint-Seurin-sur-l'Isle. The confluence itself is on the edge of a meadow, almost in the ditch of the road. A small overhead power line runs almost over it.

The 45^th latitude is my favourite latitude line due to its specialty: This line resembles the ‘average’ on earth from a climate point of view and therefore it is a good representation of an average point on Earth. This is the place where the winter-summer change is as important as the day-night change (i.e. no days at the poles while at the Equator, the day-night rhythm is absolutely dominant compared to the seasons). So this latitude represents the Earth better than any other latitude. It is half way between the Equator and the pole. Due to the ellipsoidal shape of the Earth, the distance to the pole is 32 km longer than the distance to the Equator. The wooden signpost at the confluence point mentions this fact: “PÔLE NORD 5017 kms” and “L’ÉQUATEUR 4985 kms”. It would be worthwhile to visit the point 16 km further north where the distance to the pole is exactly the distance to the Equator.

After the documentation I cycled a little further until nightfall came and spent the night in a Chambre d'hôtes in the village La Roche Chalais which is about 20 km north of the confluence point.

CP Visit Details:

• Distance to the road: 8 m
• Distance of bicycle parking: 8 m
• Time to reach the CP from the road: 12 seconds
• Time at the CP: 5:30 PM
• Measured height: 30 m
• Minimal distance according to GPS: 0 m
• Position accuracy: 3 m
• Topography: almost flat
• Vegetation: grass, some thorny bushes nearby
• Weather: cloudy, 8° C (felt temperature)
• Given Name: The World Representing Confluence

The story continues at 46°N 0°EW.