Vaucluse Dreamer

We’re so pleased that we had been carefully watching the weather forecasts over the last few days. Big storms had been predicted and we had been re-planning the ride to try to avoid the worst of them.

We have been keenly watching the changing forecasts on Meteo France and what we like to call Inaccuweather, and had decided to ride further yesterday, when the weather was showing a breezy and showery, leaving us a short ride today, to Angouleme.

Our efforts paid off, as Yesterday’s ride was just a delight and even with the confusion over where we had booked to stay, it was one of those glorious days on 2 wheels.

Even as we went to bed last night, we wondered if the forecasts had been wrong, as the sky was a soft blue and there weren’t really many clouds in sight. But when we were woken in the early hours, by the shutters banging in the wind, followed by the gurgle of water in the gutters, we knew that we had made the right decision.

As the night progressed, the weather got worse and at times the rain was so heavy that it sounded as if fire-hoses were being aimed at the little cottage. Then the thunder started and we snuggled deeper under the duvet, just happy that we weren’t in the tent.

By the time we opened the shutters at just after 7, the thunder was still rattling around, the rain was a curtain of water, and the little lane outside the cottage was running like a river. Andy dashed to buy some bread from the boulangerie just 100m away, and arrived back soaked through, looking like a drowned rat!

As we sat with coffee, we looked again at the forecast, which showed storms rolling in during the day, with periods of heavy rain and the occasional window of simple showers. There was one of these windows, that suggested that between 10 and 11.30 there may be very little rain, so we decided to aim for that, expecting to get very wet indeed.

At 9.45 the heaviest of the rain had passed over, and the last drops were falling, so we hopped on the bikes and pedalled out, very happy that the revised route meant that we only had about 30km to pedal today.

We were also very relieved, as we had booked an apartment in Angouleme and the owners had kindly allowed us to get in early, as the booking they had for last night had cancelled, so it was free for us to use, as soon as we arrived in the town.

The tyres threw up spray from the sodden roads, as we pedalled back to Saint Simon, which was where we thought we’d been staying. And we were surrounded by heavy storms in just about every direction…

but somehow the skies above us split apart and we found ourselves cycling in the dry and at times under bright blue skies.

It was really strange and we seemed to be chasing the huge storm that had passed over us, whilst being hounded by another that was nipping at our heels.

But try as it might, it didn’t catch us and we had a lovely little ride between the vineyards, along parts of the Charente River and through pretty little villages, gathering quizical looks from people, who clearly thought we were more than a little mad.

Once we had passed though the village of Saint Simon, the landscape changed again and we found ourselves riding along quiet, smooth roads through rolling hills. It was incredibly pretty and was a delightful area to cycle through, as we pedalled on ignoring the cloud that seemed determined to catch us.

Finally, we caught our first glimpse of the church towers of Angouleme, high on a hill in the distance and it seemed that all-too-soon, we were cycling across the Charente River bridge on the final way into the town.

About 1km from where we were staying, I heard a shout from Andy, and stopped to see him pulled onto the side of the road with a white spray coming from his rear tyre, which had punctured badly. The sealant (we’re riding tubeless tyres) was being forced out by the air, covering him, his panniers and the tent bag with sticky, white gunk. It looked as if the tyre had ripped, there was so much spray, but within moments it had started to settle and then stopped all together.

It had done what it was meant to do, and had sealed itself, allowing us to limp the last few hundred metres to the apartment, where he would be able to take a better look at it.

Not only had the puncture given us a few worries, but it had also allowed the storm that had been hard on our heels all morning, to catch us up.  But it held off long enough for us to open the door of the apartment & step inside, before the heavens opened again.

You can watch a little video from Today’s Ride here

We really had made it in the nick of time, taking the bikes into the shelter of the covered patio, where he could assess the damage to the tyre.

We were just soggy with spray after the ride, but had reached Angouleme and could wash everything again and (after the rain) take a walk around the town, that we have always driven through and have never stopped in.

It came as a very lovely surprise, after climbing all the steps up to the centre, which sits on a rocky promontory above the rivers.

There is the old Chateau at the centre, which was home to the Dukes of Angoulême, beyond which is a network of narrow, cobbled pedestrian streets

And pretty little squares and places to sit

It’s got a wonderful, slightly quirky atmosphere too, with lots of cafes & restaurants, and the huge ‘bande dessinée’ murals on walls too

hen it will be our first visit to the local Rugby Stadium for tonight’s opening match of the ProD2 Rugby Season for Angouleme v Provence.

We spent a gentle couple of hours ambling around the town and adding it to the list of places that we’d like to come back to in the future. We can’t believe we always used to feel it was a bit of a chore to drive through, on holidays of the past.

We’ve cycled just under 750km to be here, and it’s strange to think that the plan we had all those months ago, of building this ride around the opening match (wherever it took place), has fallen into place so well.

So we’re looking forward to a good evening there, getting back into the rugby and shouting Allez Les Noirs at the top of our voices to try to be heard, as I’m not sure how many other Provence supporters will be here.

So a little sit down now, before we walk to the Stadium for the match