After what has felt like a couple of weeks of ‘hurry up and wait’, we finally set off on our first cycling adventure of the year, this morning. Today we had planned a ride that would take us along La Mediterranée cycle route, to make our way towards Beaucaire for our first night’s stop, on … More Join our bike ride .. first turn of the wheels: Caseneuve to Beaucaire
We really enjoyed our day off in Mussidan yesterday, and after another good night’s sleep, we were ready to go on again this morning. I had planned various routes to Duras, which we had decided would be our next stop, on the revised route towards Bordeaux. We had the ‘If it’s bucketing with rain’ route; … More Day 13 … Hiding from the cloudburst
The joy of cycling and also the frustration of cycling is having to deal with the weather. Two years ago, we were having to fill our water-bottles from taps in cemeteries, as it was over 35 degrees on some days. This year, we’ve hit the storms at the end of a long summer canicule (heatwave), … More Day 12 … Dramatic history & some re-planning
We had such a lovely evening yesterday, staying in the camp site that we had visited so many times before, albeit, the last time being in 1999. We did the evening walk that had been our favourite walk, all those years ago, taking the quiet road to the Tour de Broue, the last remaining part … More Day 9 whoops, where are we staying?
Andy’s idea of changing our route to have a day off in Rochefort didn’t really appeal to begin with. It was always a place that we had passed on the motorway, whilst on our way to the Ile D’Oleron, and I just had memories of a big bridge and unattractive outskirts, which didn’t put it … More Day 8 Looks like rain
After yesterday’s ride into a brutal headwind, we were absolutely exhausted and were snuggled into the tent, ready for bed by 9. It was quiet on the site, and we thought most of the vans and tents were ‘garage morts’, with their owners just not there for the night. We were wrong, but were so … More Day 7 – What no coffee?
We had the most superb day off yesterday with our friends in the Marais Breton. They took us across the ancient tidal Causeway onto the Ile de Noirmoutier, which we hadn’t visited before. The Causeway is an incredible road that is only accessible for a couple of hours, either side of low tide, and is … More Day 5 From one Marais to another
Today started very early, with us being woken by the prehistoric screech of herons flying in to fish in the canal behind us. But we put our earplugs in, turned over and managed to doze a little longer, managing a lie-in until 6.30! We stretched ourselves out, after our first night under canvas, clambering out … More Day 4 We’ve crossed the Loire.. Blain to Bouin
After yesterday’s rainy ride, we enjoyed a hot shower and a picky tea in the lovely B&B we had booked in Montfort Sur Meu, falling into a deep sleep, which wasn’t even disturbed by the bells from the neighbouring church. We woke refreshed, and happy to see that the skies were simply overcast, rather than … More Day 3 … Tent up in the nick of time! Montfort Sur Meu to Blain
After the stresses of yesterday’s trip to Portsmouth Day 1 – What! no train?, we fell into an anxiety hangover and a deep sleep on the overnight ferry to Saint Malo, waking at 5, about an hour before the ship’s alarm went off. It gave us time to finally put to bed the worries that … More Day 2 – Well that was soggy! Saint Malo to Montfort sur Meu
Postcards from Provence and beyond 