As signs of spring began to appear in the streets of Paris in spring 2007 Ruda decided to flee the city dirt and head back into the countryside. She chose Les Canaux du Centre and their engineering marvels such as the pont canal spanning the Loire at Briare and the flight of locks at Rogny Les Sept Écluse dating from the early C17th – Ruda does enjoy a good canal marvel!
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A ‘spur of the moment’ decision saw her turn south along the canal to Roanne in order to allow the crew to make a quick visit to the Charolais cattle market at St. Christophe. During her brief detour the canal burst and emptied 18km of canal into the Loire river below. Luckily the pound was so long that the water level dropped slowly and she was able to deploy her mud legs in time to avoid any damage. The French canal authority took three months to repair the breach and during this time Ruda enjoyed a rest whilst her crew took up cycling in Les Montagne du Matin and helped to make sausages at a local farm.