Day 17 - La Rochelle to Rochefort- 93 kms

Today we made an early start at 7.10 am with the thought of having breakfast on the way rather than having it at the hotel 

The Wray was also likely to be heating up during the day....

It was Chris’s turn to navigate so we were in for a fun day?

The first destination was a small island of the coast called I’le de Re which is to crossed by a bridge 

Before arriving at the bridge we had a good look around La Rochelle which is very much a sea port with plenty of both commercial and pleasure sailing and boating 

The region is big for mussels and oysters which are “grown” locally 

The crossing over the bridge was a 2 km ride with the gradients reaching about 5pc. 

Our original plan was do do a circuit of the island but we we’re entranced by a small village called La Flotte. You will see from the photos that this village has a real charm about it as a seaside resort for families with plenty of wonderful restaurants serving the local produce. We had breakfast here with Chris having a slice of pizza and a cake. I had 2 croissants and some juice followed by a coffee as we walked through the village market 

For those wanting a village type holiday and looking to have wonderful meals of mussels and oysters with local produce I would thoroughly recommend La Flotte

Having spent around 2 hours looking around the town we made our way back to the bridge and La Rochelle. This time the wind had picked up and the traffic was starting to get busy 

Our next stop was Chatelailon Plage where we visited yesterday looking for Chris’s French teachers mum... well once again we dipped out as her flower shop was shut for lunch and siesta!!!

Rather than hang around until 3.30 pm ( ie another hour) we decided to ride on to Rochefort to have an early end to the ride..... we had some washing to do!!!

The trip from La Rochelle to Rochefort was along the coast with some interesting little villages

We met an Englishman riding to Barcelona who was struggling with navigation and Chris advised him to use Cycle Travel. Com which we are using to great affect 

We arrived at the youth hostel in Rochefort at about 4.15 pm after a good day of riding 

There is a distinct increase in tour cyclists on the road mainly heading in a north direction... they will struggle with the wind I believe as it seems to prevail from the north east 

I thought I might talk a bit about how we pack each day and fit our meagre belongings in our bags...

The first thing to learn is it is NOT packing but stuffing.... yes you stuff as much of your clothes and other belongings in the rear Ortlieb bag which hangs from the bike seat 

The ideal packing job is one where the bag has a slight “erection” which seems to transfer less weight to the back of the bike

The stuff I use during the day such as my wallet, glasses ( if I can find them) , maps, muesli bars, caps etc go in the bag on the handle bars and my spare tyre bike lock and bum cream go in the bag on the cross bar

Each day there is much hilarity as we stuff our bags to get the right erection ....

At the end of the day the first thing we do is to take our clothes out of the back bag and let them hang a bottom remove creases 

All in a good days ride really 

Just to let you all know we have not heayfrom the bike shop in Niort yet as to when Chris’s new Cannondale will br ready 

On the bridge crossing to the island 

The harbour at La Flotte 

Another view of the harbour... very pretty 

Harro gazing at the harbour 

Chris getting some nougat in La Flotte... look at the size of the nougat chunks...


The village market in La Flotte... the oysters and mussels are sold in the store on the right....very cheap 

View of the beacon the island at low tide....see the oysters and mussels being farmed 

Nice view of the harbour in La Rochelle....plentiful money here!!’

Look at the colour of the ice blocks here in my drink

Yes they are in plastic containers 

Big disappointment for Chris the mother of his French teacher was at lunch.... at leather tried twice!!!



Home for the night... very nice youth hostel 

Day 15- Niort to La Rochelle- 84 kms

Feeling better today!!!!

Ready for the challenge ahead as I go in to the 3rd week of the break in France

The weather today was forecast to be hot so we got on the road as soon as we could at about 7 40 am. The wind once again was favourable being almost behind us for most of the day 

The day was my turn to navigate and we were out of Niort on about 10 minutes... a far cry from the hour that it has taken us in Day’s previously 

So we made good time to a coffee break in a small town called Saint Pierre d’Amelie where there was no coffee shop but the ladies working in the shire office provided me with a coffee and Chris with water. At this stop Chris was working the emails regarding the set up for his  new bike based on conversations we were having along the way 

Anyway the ladies were terrific and I made short work of the coffee....

On our way again to the next big town on our route called Surgeres. We stopped here for a cool drink and cakes and noticed a rather large riding group who had just finished their ride. As Chris did not have a bike water bottle ( he was a rather large bottle of water by our hosts in Niort) we thought we should ask our way to the nearest bike shop or supermarket to buy a bottle. Anyone of the group, Trevor, offyto give Chris a bottle from his home. We followed Trevor to his houses had a good chat about our travels and he made a few recommendations for the days ahead which may see us traveling to Spain on the Atlantic side and then ride through part of the Pyrenees and climb one or two of the mountains there including Tourmalat

Seems that this is better and quieter than going through to the Mediterranean Sea 

We said our thank you and arvoir to Trevor and made our way to Chatelaillon-Plage which is on the Atlantic coast 

Along the way we passed through farms where they were harvesting their crops 

At Chatelaillon-Plage we stopped for a lunch... an omelette... and a drink and then attempted to locate Chris’s French teacher’s mum who owns a florist shop....unfortunately she was out for the day and the shop was shut ... so onwards to La Rochelle 

The route north along the coast took us past some very nice holiday homes and hotels as it seems this is a very popular place for seaside holidays and the food is good with mussels and oysters being farmed locally 

Finally we arrived at the hotel in La Rochelle at about 3.15 pm and collapsed in to the swimming pool 

We had a great day of riding today after the drama of yesterday!!!

The ladies at Saint Pierre d’Amelie

Peter and Trevor at Surgeres

Harvesting the crops....

Interesting shot of a silo ... note the wheat and barley crops 

A well deserved lunch of an omelette and drink!

The beach at Chatelaillon-Plage I

Home for the night at La Rochelle 

Day 14- Forced Rest Day Niort

Today was not our best day..

We started out with great intentions having woken to a good breakfast provided by the hotel. Then as we were making our way back to our room I took a look in the courtyard where our bikes were stored only to notice that Chris’s bike was not there!!

After speaking to the owners of the hotel we ascertained that someone had broken in to the locked courtyard and had taken the bike....

Christoff who owned the hotel and his wife Sonjon were mortified at this and were extremely helpful. Christoff who works as a policeman was able to take us down to the police station so the appropriate statements were made for insurance purposes. He then ascertained that the bike loss was covered under his policy and was willing to fund the purchase of a new bike for Chris.... A truly wonderful gesture by this generous Frenchman!!!

Then it was off to a bike shop to buy Chris a new bike... Unfortunately the bike Chris wanted was not in stock so we arranged for a loan bike until the new bike is ready in approximately 1 week ( or less if delivery can be organised)

One of the interesting things I learned from this is to understand what gadgets are on the bike so when replacements are required you know 

The other obvious lesson is to have bike locks on your bike even when in what appears safe storage....

It seems that our plans for the next week are going to be some somewhat fluid as we will need to make a trip back to Niort to collect the new bike

With all the coming and going to the police station and the bike shop I seemed to have lost my reading glasses which is a real pain. Fortunately I was able to pick up a pair of cheap glasses from a optical shop which will see me through... pardon the pun!!!

Afraid relook at our schedule we head to the Atlantic coast in the morning and it looks like the weather will be quite warm 

I guess today has been one of a few challenges and we seem to have responded well to them

The other feeling is how extremely lucky we were to have had Christoff and his wife to help us through the day... they were simply grand

Also the bike store was great to lend Chris a good bike for a time at no cost so we could continue on our journey 

Despite feeling a bit flat we look forward to getting on the bikes for the days ahead

At the police station.... Chris with Christoff making the statement 

Chris and Christoff and the bike store staff helping to choose the new bike

The front of the bike store in Niort 

Some Statistics....

Thought you might be interested to know we have now done 1011 kms to then end of today... we topped to 1000 km Mark

Big celebration 

We have also climbed 6415 metres cumulative from the start of the ride

Day 13 - Poitiers to Niort- 84 kms

Today was officially classified as a “short ride “ day as only had a ride of about 80 kms as opposed to the previous few days before our rest day of over 100kms per day

We started riding a little later at 8.30 am and Chris was in charge of navigation for the day

Well it seems Chris had the navigation out of Poitiers well and truly sorted out as we took about half an hour to get out of the town rather than the more normal hour!

I thought today I would take a few photos of the typical roads we have traveled over in our trip through France....so I called today a “ Road day”

Comparing the roads we are traveling on here with those last year on the LEJOG ride both Chris and I think the roads here are better to ride on and once out of town (our nemisis so far except today ) the navigation seems to be easier than in the UK

You will see from the photos we travel on gravel roads ..... generally in short distances between surfaced roads. We then travel on country lanes in either open country of hedge rows. The next level of roads are the minor roads generally connecting smaller towns and villages. Finally for us the next level is the major roads connecting major cities where the traffic includes cars and trucks..... generally we traveled very little on these roads. Beyond this of course you have the major motorways which we have not travelled on and hopefully will not do so on our bikes!!!!

Enough on roads..... today really was sensational for riding with a breeze behind us most of the way and we were generally heading down hill although there were a few bigger pinches to climb to keep us on our toes 

At various times we were traveling quite easily at speeds of 40 KPH for long stretches 

Our stop for coffee was in a small town called Sanxay where we were able to converse with the publican for a coffee and juice ( for Chris) ....there was little else going on in the town although one of the locals invited us up to see his home. Unfortunately we were unable to find him after our coffee... pity really as it might have been interesting to see what lies beyond the walls of the homes we see as we ride through the towns

Anyway as we were making good time it seemed best to push on and see if we could make Niort before lunch. We stopped several times to look at the views to take photos of the roads mainly and to organise accommodation in Niort.... we had several offers out on Warm Showers accomodation but the responses we were getting were not favourable.

Our executive decision was to sort out a cheap hotel which we did at about 1.00 pm!!!

We tried to have a lunch at a very posh restaurant in Sainte Maxient but they were closed for lunch. The owners were happily eating lunch and I guess they though a couple of cyclists in Lycra would not be the right image for their establishment!!!

Anyway we had some water and left over lollies and were on our way to Niort in no time at all... the last 20 kms just flew by 

We arrived with no navigation errors at our hotel at about 3.15 pm well inside the 6.00pm curfew due to great leadership by Chris and some assistance from the “wind gods”

A great day of riding... for me anyway one of the best 

A lovely scene here of a village with stream 

.... on the other side of the bridge 

Coffee at last!!

Road study.... normal country lane/ hedgerow 

Road study.... major road linking towns

Road study.... gravel road 

Road study.... road between villages

Nice restaurant/ hotel where we were refused lunch as they were closed??



Home for the night.... posh hotel with towels!!!

Could be an interesting place for a new business to be born as Chris and I discussed the idea of doing these sort of trips with others as a business.... you never know!!

ANZAC Bike Tours

Day 12- Rest Day

Last evening during dinner we both thought we might have a day of rest after a few days over doing over 110 kms each day, but we decided to wait to see how we felt in the morning 

Lo and behold waking up at about 7.45 am we both thought that a day of rest would be good and we could do a few chores including cleanup our bikes and the like

So after a good breakfast provided by the youth hostel we cleaned and oiled our bikes. Whilst doing this we caught up with Helma the Dutch lady walking from Holland to Spain. She spoke to us for some time about her travels and hoe who looked at getting about 30 plus km’s each day depending on the terrain 

After the bike clean I went for a walk to find a coffee shop and in the big gardens the city I found a coffee shop which seemed ideal for us to have lunch....

Chris and I then cycled to the restaurant in the gardens and Had the most wonderful smorgasbord lunch in delightful surroundings.... the food was delicious and it was very popular with the locals. We had about a 2 hour lunch chatting about all sorts of things

After lunch we rode through the park then back to the hostel so Chris could sort out a few technical issues with his Garnim... I watched the start of the French Grand Prix

Such was the lunch we had today, dinner was going to be light 

Tomorrow we travel to Niort which is about an 80 km trip

It looks like we will start early before the heat gets up

A good day or rest for us both 

Helma from Holland and her walking frame with all her goods and chattels ....

.....finally a good cappuccino!!!!!

Venue for lunch... chef is preparing crepes!

... meanwhile another chef get the main courses ready 

Picture of map of who we have been 

.... and where we are still to go!!!!

Day 11- Saumur to Poitiers- 114 kms

After another good night of sleep ( possibly due to the 2 glasses of wine over dinner) we awoke to a beautiful morning with a wind in the direction of our ride. I must admit we have been very lucky as the past 4 days we have had favourable wind conditions. It would not be pleasant with a strong headwind on the open farm land we have been travelling through overthrow past few days. I guess the wind gods have been smiling on us!!!

We set off at about 8.00 am and I was “chief navigator “ for the day!

My start was not good as we took time to find our way out of Saumur.... we returned to the hotel twice to reset our start. So much for my navigation skills 

Any after our normal hour to exit Saumur we were heading through wine growing country with the roads going over rolling hills... all very pretty. As we progressed there were several lovely villages .... but none with a coffee and balongarie . We finally found a shop which was a delightful break. The timing was excellent to catch up with Robyn and the news from home... the dees lost against Port Adelaide and the weather in Melbourne is freezing... far cry here in France where the weather is a very nice 24- 26 degrees 

Then back on the bikes we were looking to have lunch at the approximate half way point at Loudun... well it seems the master of navigation missed the town and we had to try for a cafe in a small village. As luck would have it Chris saw a group of people near what we thought was a cafe only to find it was a private function... as we were a bit tired we took some time to rest and replan lunch options when the chefs for the function spoke to us and after much guessing it seems they were offering to share some of the function fare with us....it was a god send and the veal with champignons was gobbled down quick smart.  It made us both feel a bit humble to be welcomed by our new French friends 

After thank yous it was on our way again 

Fortunately the lack of navigation worked in our favour as we traveled on a fairly major road in towards Poitiers 

With the wind behind we made gout one reaching speeds at times over 45 Kms/ hr for long stretches

We made a couple of stops along the way to have water a soft drink and some fresh fruits 

We also found a lovely balongari and could not go past a sweet tart!!!

Finally we arrived in Poitiers and navigated our way to the youth hostel ... the time of arriving was about 6.30 pm about half an hour after the 6.00pm curfew all due to poor navigation on my part!!

The youth hostel seems ok and we met a lady from Holland who is walking to Spain and doing 2600 kms!!! 

She has this wheelie contraption which contains all her clothing and personal items .... she has walked so far over 900 kms!

We decided rather than go to a cafe downtown we would “stay in” and use the hostel kitchen 

Chris went shopping at the local supermarket whilst I organised the washing and he came back with a veritable feast of beer and nuts/ chips followed by ham salad ....  a great feast fit for a couple of old buggers riding through France 

Today has been particularly tiring for me and we both think we might have a day of rest tomorrow.... all a bit of a mystery but isn’t that what holidays are for 

View of the Loire from the bridge 

Interesting feedlot on our way through the Loire 

A lovely farm along or travels

Gosh what is this guy doing on his bike!!!

Our lunch courtesy of the chefs for the function....yummy!

Arvo tea.....

Home for the night in Poitiers 

Note to blog readers

At last I have been able to get good connections to publish my blogs of the past several days and hence the days are somewhat out of order 

Apologies to you all but technically I am challenged sometimes 

Hope you enjoy the reads.....

Day 10-Le Mans to Saumur- 127 kms

After a great sleep we awoke to a beautiful day in Le Mans at about 7.00am and the youth hostel had a lovely self serve breakfast where we loaded up on baguettes for the day ahead

Our plan was to get out of the city to go to the Le Mans 24 hour race track to say we had been there and send a note to a few of our “petrol head “ mates

Getting to the track was really easy and although we could not get in as the track was closed, we managed a photo of the entrance courtesy of a chap from the UK who was doing a similar thing as us.... he was traveling back home on his motorcycle after traveling through France 

After visiting the race track it would be fair to say that the exit out of Le Mans became a little challenging so we made for a baloungari to settle our nerves and recalibrate our travels 

This was a wise investment of time and only goes to prove our routine of taking at least an hour to get out of major cities 

From Le Mans we made reasonable progress to Le Flèche which is a pretty city on the banks of the Loire. Lunch consisted of a baguette sandwich a rhubarb cake and a drink of fruit juice on the banks of the river.... very pleasant 

After lunch we made our way to the bike path along a disused railway track and although it was pretty the surface made for slow travel compared to the road

The 50 km ride to Saumur was punctuated by several stops to look at some very impressive houses and to refresh ourselves with water.... I managed 3 refills of my bottle during the day despite the temperature being in the mid 20’s 

We arrived at our hotel in Saumur close on 7.00pm and had a quick shower before heading in to town for dinner 

The most efficient way to travel was on bike... a lot lighter without our bags

Along the way the route we took reminded me of the trip Ric  Hallgren and I made a few years ago with Bikestyle Tours when we stayed in Saumur 

Chris and I managed to get through a plate of pasta each,half a pizza and a bowl of ice cream ( 2 boules) .... we were hungry!!!

It is now 10.20pm

As I do this blog and the sun is setting after a another wonderful day of riding in pretty country 

At the Le Mans race track 

On the Loire river in Le Flèche at lunch

Another view of the Loire at Le Flèche 

A lovely building in Le Flèche 

A canal off the

Loire 

..... Drinks at last with 10 kms to go!!!

Chris and I thought we might buy this house????

Home for the night in Saumur 

Day 6 - Amiens to Rouen- 135 kms

The day started early with. 6.00am rise so we could pack and have breakfast ahead of our warm showers hosts who were off to work at 7.30 am

We bade goodbye to Marine and Jean who were magnificent hosts for 2 days....

Getting out of Amiens proved to be an interesting experience....seems that roads and bike paths are difficult to navigate!

Anyway we made some progress along the Somme valley which is really quite pretty. We stopped at a place called Conty for morning tea and toast. The cafe was attached to a riding school complete with indoor dressage facilities...all very impressive but understandable given this area seems to be an equestrian hub

Some of the bike paths were “interesting “ 

There was a gentle climb out of the Somme valley which was a bit of a change after riding on the flat for the past 2 days 

At about 85kms we stopped at Formerie for lunch at a pub

The fare was traditional French and Chris selected ham and mushrooms and I chose liver....needless to say I lucked out

leaving most on the plate.... the frites were ok!!!

After lunch we really encountered a strong headwind in the Ruoen and Chris and I took turns to take the lead...every 500 metres which went well except when we struck the hills!!!

We had one big climb of about 3kms with an average gradient of about 3 pc. Several rests were taken which helped the 50 km ride after lunch 

Getting in to Rouen was relatively straightforward with only 2 mishaps due to navigation.... one of which was due to me going well ahead of Chris 

Arriving at our hosts home was timed to perfection in terms of our tiredness after traveling for nearly 12 hours

Our hosts Jean Pierre and Christian were very welcoming 

They are both retired teachers and their family has left home

We were their first guests under the Warm Showers scheme. After a beer and shower we had a 3 course dinner and then they took us out to show off their city

For me it was a real wake-up on the history of this area POF Normandy where Joan of Arc was to meet her end being burned at the stake 

The wander rhythm old part of town was delightful and the buildings quite stunning with most on the Left bank of the Siene river being saved during bombing during WW2

We arrived home at 11pm  after a great night 

Me giving the thumbs up for the path ahead ... why I am not sure




Chips and cows liver!!!!

Chris was delighted with his choice for lunch 

A well deserved rest at the top of a big climb!!

Home for the night at Rouen 


Me with our hosts- Jean Pierre and Christiane 

Delightful hosts 

Day7 - Rouen to Evreux - 87 kms

Well today we thought we would have a short ride to Evreux and planned to do some shopping at the bike shops in Rouen .... 

so after a great breakfast provided by our hosts it was off to the shops and a coffee and croissant 

We managed the shopping trip well and arrived back at our hosts having left our baggage there whilst we shopped. To our surprise we were offered lunch which was delicious 

Leaving our hosts was rather sad as they were truly delightful and could not have made us more welcome in their home.... 

We thought that leaving at about 1.00pm would make the 42 km trip to Evreux an easy 2-3 hour ride.... well getting out of Rouen was more complex and it took Almost hour to navigate our way through the industrial sector of the town. 

After we found our way the kms seemed to go by quite quickly. After 34 kms we stopped for an ice cream in a lovely pub and thought longingly of the remaining 12 kms ahead....then checking Garmins we realised the tip was more like another 40 kms to Evreux!!!! SHOCK HORROR it looked like the relaxing ride was put aside for a bigger push

Luckily the roads/ bike paths were very flat which made for fast travel

Arriving at the outskirts of Evreux it became apparent that there were some hills to negotiate to get to our Formula 1 hotel. All in the day of a traveling cyclist!

The hotel is very basic but serves the purpose 

Dinner was available in a hotel next door which was quite pleasant and our spaghetti was good

The weather today was slightly warmer in the mid 20s and more humid 

A good days riding despite the longer than expected travels

Saying goodbye to our delightful hosts 

Chris cut his leg on blackberry bushes on a rather “hairy” stretch of road/path in the industrial district 



Where we had ice cream and discovered we had the wrong trip distance!!!

Home for the night in the Formula 1 hotel 

Day 8 - Evreux to Chartres - 90 kms

After a good night of sleep in the top bunk of our room in the Formula 1 hotel we were ready to leave at about 7.00 am.

The day started with a bit of fog and it was quite chilly but after the fog lifted it was perfect riding weather at about 27 degrees with sun!

Chris awoke earlier than me, I suspect it was due to my snoring (but he is too kind to tell me) and he had found a belongarie with coffee on the web so we headed there to get or breakfast. It was quite delicious with croissants etc and a coffee for me to get started. As there was no seating in the bread shop we availed ourselves of seats in the school yard in the school opposite the shop. We both think this caused some amusement to the school staff some of whom were looking on at us.

After breakfast it was on to Dreux for lunch. We passed through fairly intense farming land with a sprinkle of villages along the way. As Chris pointed out it seems the farmers live in town rather than in houses located on the farms. Interesting comparison to Australia where the farmers  live in homes on their farms. 

The crops we saw included wheat, corn, peas and some crop which had a purple flower 

Stopping in Dreux for lunch was good and we both had a baguette sandwich on the steps of the local church. I picked up a map and we both enjoyed an ice cream as the weather was getting quite hot. We also organised our accomodation in Chartres which I will come back to later.... The interesting point here is that we struggled to get accomodation through Warm Showers and had to resort to using a hotel booking website 

Leaving Dreux we had about 45 kms to Chartres. We traveled for the first half of the afternoon ride in pretty village roads then for the second half it was largely on the major road to Chartres. Again the country was intense farm country 

Chris swapped his trusty Garmin to me to do the navigation so he could look at the scenery. I was rather nervous st this stage as I did not want us to be lost. To my surprise it worked well.

Arriving at Chartres at about 4.30 pm we headed for our hotel. Well despite the fact that our Garmin delivered is to the address we could not find it....we spent about an hour looking for it. Finally Chris went to the front door of a house which had a ramshackle front yard and a very inconspicuous front door .”

Chris spoke to the owner and sure enough it was our place for the night!

Getting inside the house it was apparent that the owners had spent funds on the interior which was quite lovely. It operates on a guesthouse model with 2 bedrooms for rent and the owner is the host.

It was good to have a shower and begin the daily routine of updating my blog 

Tonight we go out for dinner in town!!

Home for the night....Mmmmmmm???

......but inside WOW!!!

Day 9 - Chartres to Le Mans - 140 kms

After a great nights sleep in our guest house in Chartres we wake at about 6.30 pm to a cloudy morning which cleared throughout the day to temps in the mid 20’s

Our host left a lovely breakfast of cakes which together with tea was a great start to “fuel up” for the day

I was taking the role of tour guide for the day with Chris’s Garmin and as per usual we tok our normal hour to navigate our way out of the town. For some reason we seem to get send through the industrial sectors on each city and can see factories that have been closed and left to rust....I guess all the jobs have gone to Western Europe or Asia 

After exiting Evreux our next objective was to find a cafe and bakery/Boulangarie for morning tea....well trying to get a shop in small towns has got to be one of life’s great mysteries.... finally we found one in a town called Combray

Good croissants but no coffee unfortunately....what is it about France and coffee in bakeries....could be a good opening for a business 

Then on for lunch.... well again trying to find a cafe for a sandwich ( read baguette) was another of our great mysteries. 

After traveling over 100 kms with our stomachs hitting our spines we found a shop in Lamney.... thank god!!!

Those reading this blog mark the shop down as a must see for lunch

The next 40 kms in to Le Mans was through undulating country with a few uphills and luckily a few downhills. With the wind behind us we made really good time to be in Le Mans ahead of our self imposed 6.00 pm curfew!

As per usual we had a bit of a SNAFU trying to navigate our way through a private road and were summarily ticked off by a French resident... not sure what he said but it did not sound nice!

Arriving at the youth hostel it would be safe to say we were both “cooked “ and looked forward to a shower and rest 

But..... it was music night to celebrate the summer solstice so  Chris and a ventured out to investigate the music and there were thousands in the centre of town!!!

Wow what a great night 

Off to bed now after a tough day of riding but a good night of celebrating the middle of the year 

Morning tea 

A lovely Château 

Chris at lunch.... finally!!!!!

The cafe you should all visit.... very welcoming I can assure you 

Home for the night after celebrating!!!

Day7 - Rouen to Evreux - 87 kms

Well today we thought we would have a short ride to Evreux and planned to do some shopping at the bike shops in Rouen .... 

so after a great breakfast provided by our hosts it was off to the shops and a coffee and croissant 

We managed the shopping trip well and arrived back at our hosts having left our baggage there whilst we shopped. To our surprise we were offered lunch which was delicious 

Leaving our hosts was rather sad as they were truly delightful and could not have made us more welcome in their home.... 

We thought that leaving at about 1.00pm would make the 42 km trip to Evreux an easy 2-3 hour ride.... well getting out of Rouen was more complex and it took Almost hour to navigate our way through the industrial sector of the town. 

After we found our way the kms seemed to go by quite quickly. After 34 kms we stopped for an ice cream in a lovely pub and thought longingly of the remaining 12 kms ahead....then checking Garmins we realised the tip was more like another 40 kms to Evreux!!!! SHOCK HORROR it looked like the relaxing ride was put aside for a bigger push

Luckily the roads/ bike paths were very flat which made for fast travel

Arriving at the outskirts of Evreux it became apparent that there were some hills to negotiate to get to our Formula 1 hotel. All in the day of a traveling cyclist!

The hotel is very basic but serves the purpose 

Dinner was available in a hotel next door which was quite pleasant and our spaghetti was good

The weather today was slightly warmer in the mid 20s and more humid 

A good days riding despite the longer than expected travels

Saying goodbye to our delightful hosts 

Chris cut his leg on blackberry bushes on a rather “hairy” stretch of road/path in the industrial district 

A nice house in Normandy 

Where we had ice cream and discovered we had the wrong trip distance!!!

Home for the night in the Formula 1 hotel 

Day 5- Rest day in Amiens- 5kms travelled

After the big ride yesterday we both felt we needed a day of rest!!!

I woke at about 7.00 am and made a call back home to wish my grand daughter Sienna a happy birthday... sorry not to be home at her party

Chris and I came down for breakfast to be greeted by a feast of bread and croissants in true French style.... our hosts are truly magnificent 

After chatting over breakfast Chris and I decided to travel in to town to look at the world heritage cathedral and have a coffee/ tea and a cake....well we needed to put some weight on after the riding!!

Travelling back to our accommodation we agreed it was best not to ride out to the war cemeteries at Villers Bretonneux. Rather we would take up the invitation from our hosts to travel with them in their van

All morning Jean was working on renovations to his home which will be something quite special when completed 

Before traveling we were again delighted with a lunch of French fare and some lovely French red

We then traveled out to Villers Bretonneux to look st the new Sir John Monash Centre which is very impressive 

After returning home we spent time on Warm Showers website looking for accommodation for the next 2 nights ahead of dinner in town

All in all a good day of rest with our delightful hosts

Australian War Cemetery at VB

Amiens cathedral 


Chris with our hosts Marine and Jean- lovely people!!

(Backup) Day 4 - Boulogne to Amiens- 151 kms

The day started early with 6 am wake up and it was on to packing and to breakfast so we could be away by 7.00am

We had a big day of riding ahead!!!!

The trip started with a few mistakes in getting out of town as the roads are quite confusing but after we got out of town the bike paths were very good

The first stop was a First World War cemetery in Etaples where about 11000 soldiers are buried. The city hosted a hospital for wounded soldiers 

After this it was on Saint Valery Sur Somme for lunch. This was a very pretty village at the Somme estuary whet the canal up the river commences. The lunch of a pizza was eaten whilst we watched the second half of the France Australia World Cup soccer match...unfortunately Australia lost 2-1 much to the pleasure of the locals 

After lunch it was on to the bike path beside the canal. With the wind behind us it made for easy and fast riding.

The scenery was great and it made the 60 or so kms ride to the outskirts of Amiens very enjoyable 

The last 15 or so kms were on main roads which meant we needed to be careful of cars...

We arrived in our Warm Showers hosts home at about 6.00 pm after a big day

Our hosts showed us around their house which was delightful and it is on a very large block with a huge back yard. Both Marine and Jean are in the proces of big renovations which should be terrific when complete 

The shower and recovery was well deserved as well as dinner in the central area of Amiens. Our big mistake was ordering Steak Tartare which we both forgot was raw mince meat with an uncooked egg on top

I managed to eat most of mine but Chris struggled!

After dinner we walked back to our home to look forward to a long sleep and rest

FYI... I had a real SNAFU with the bottle of chain oil springing a leak in my cross bar bag. A big clean will be required.... seems the lid worked its way loose on the rougher roads 

All in all a pleasing but tough day of riding... tomorrow is scheduled as our rest day 

War cemetery at Estaples

Our lunch venue- good pizza but sorry about the soccer score

Inside the lunch venue 

At the mouth of the Somme 

100 kms up!!!!

Pretty square at Abbeville

Looking over the Somme valley after a big climb out of Abbeville

Boating along the Somme canal

Some pretty scenery along the canal 

... more scenery. This Chateau caught our eye 



Home for the night in Amiens!!!

(Backup) Day 3 - Calais to Boulogne- 52 kms

We started early from Dover as we were both awake at about 6.00am with a fire alarm.Chris and I made our way out of the building but others seemed oblivious to the alarm...

Our room by the way was made for Quasimodo as we both had to crouch to get around.

As we had no access to our bikes we undertook a walk around Dover to find a coffee shop.... nothing doing in Dover apart from coffee at the BP servo opposite our hostel

Dover as a city seems rather run down we both felt with vacant shops and vagrants sleeping on the Main Street

After coffee in our room we packed and made our way down to pick up our bikes for the quick ride to the ferry. Lucky we had done our homework on this the previous evening as the route was rather confusing and there were a lot or trucks and buses making the trip to Calais.

Once on the ferry we had breakfast and coffee and settled in for the chanel crossing of about an hour 

Arriving at Calais we had to wait for about 40 or so trucks to embark before we could ride off finally!!

Lucky for us we received an escort by one of the ferry employees in a van which made things easy...

After finding our way to Calais town we took out cash from the bank had lunch....bread rolls and juice and set our selves for the ride to Boulogne....easier said than done as the roads were confusing and getting used to the guidance with the Garmin took some time

Finally we were on our way initially along some canals with bike paths then along roads which were not busy at all

The country was basically cropping farms with wheat, corn,potatoes as well as dairy. The roads were undulating with a few biggish climbs where the gradient was over 5 pc.

We had good weather with sun temps about 25 degrees and a slight headwind.

Finally we reached Boulogne at about 3.15 but finding the youth hostel was a real challenge 

We took a break in the centre of the town to figure our our final route 

It took nearly an hour to navigate the final 5 kms of the trip!!!!

The youth hostel is very good and the staff are terrific 

The city of Boulogne is famous for being a staging point for the assembly of Napoleons grand armee as he tried to invade England and there is a monument which overlooks the English Channel atop a hill where you can see the English coast in the distance....

All very interesting really 

Tonight we will go to the city for dinner and have an early night ahead of our 150 km ride to Amiens!!!

An early start will be required 

Chris on the ferry 

Yours truly on the ferry!!!

The white cliffs of Dover!!!

Lunch in Calais outside the concert hall

Some of the country as we rode through Normandy

Chris having a drink...we both needed a break!

Napoleon monument outside Boulogne 

Home for the night at the youth hostel... for the young at heart!!!!

Day 2- 14 th June - London to Dover

After a 12 hour sleep I awoke refreshed to start the day

Breakfast was prepared by Ian and consisted of muesli, smashed avocados, toast and jam and bread and cheese... what a feast so expertly prepared.

After breakfast Chris and I went in to Richmond to meet Steve Bawtree and his wife Sarah for coffee. Steve was another of the guys we met on the LEJOG ride last year and it was great to catch up with both he and his wife.

After wishing us goodbye Chris and I walked back to pack our bags and ride to Victoria station.

Packing on the bikes was interesting and I made a real mess of mine with the back seat bag ending up rubbing on the rear wheel... Chris was helpful in a repack...thank god!!!We had a ceremonial goodbye to lan and Lorna who were great hosts to us both during our stay in London.

The ride of about 20kms was through a maze of streets based on the Strava navigation. We managed to get to Victoria just in time for the 3.10 train to Dover. The train trip was interesting in travelling through farming country with a lot of green pasture and crops 

We arrived in Dover and made our way to Hostel Alma where we are staying for the night. The hostel is very basic and smells very musty and damp. The bikes are locked in the breakfast room and there will need to be a real juggle to get our bikes out in the morning in time to get to out 7.40 ferry to Calais.

After unpacking and showering we walked to the town for dinner then made a reconnaissance to Dover port to ensure we knew the bike routes. As we walked back to the hostel we both remarked that it was wise to know the routine for the morning 

A good and busy day with some well invested time in sorting out our packing ahead of the bigger rides in France.

Yours truly saying goodbye to Ian and Lorna 

Chris and I saying goodbye by Ian and Lorna 
Dover castle

Wednesday 13 June

After the long flight from Melbourne it was good to land at Heathrow at about 1.00pm and collect my bike box and head to Ian and Lorna’s home in Richmond.... not far from the airport.

Had a mild panic as the bike box had a few tears from the peddles and I thought I might have lost a few things on transit to the UK...as it turned out I only lost a wheel nut which was replaced in a visit to Ian’s bike shop

It was great to catch up with Chris again and see his new bike.

Ian and Lorna have got a magnificent place with a very pretty garden. Ian tells me that it Lorna who has the “green fingers”.

After putting the bike together it was off for a short shake down ride through Richmond park. Quite lovely really with plenty of wild deer and wonderful meadows.

Tonight we are having dinner at home with Ian and Lorna and I am looking forward to a good night of sleep ahead of tomorrow’s venture on the train to Dover

Chris’s new bike

Ian and Lorna’s back garden


A deer in Richmond park



More deer in the park 

Leaving Day

Today I leave on my trip to France to ride with Chris from NZ. I met Chris last year on the LEJOG ride and we booked a ride with Bike Adventures in France which was canceled due to lack of numbers. Hearing this we both thought why don’t we do the ride unsupported.....well why not!!!

Anyway here we are setting out on the ride. 

I am looking forward to it but wondering what I have forgotten.

On Sunday had a good ride with the Wheeliebinners to Werribee and an opportunity to thank Phil Eager for his help in sorting my gear out!

Catch you all next in London before Chris and I catch the train to Dover and ferry to Calais

Bike loaded up!!!

The Wheeliebinners at Werribee for coffee and a chat

Plenty of advice for my trip