Day 20 - Blanquefort to Libourne- 69 kms

3 Jul

Today was going to be an easy ride after a relatively long ride yesterday so we started a bit later after having a feed on the fruit that was left over from last nights fruit salad we made up to accompany our frozen spaghetti bolognase and chilly con carne. We had to make a visit to the local supermarket for dinner as all the cafes appeared to be shut...

So much for an authentic French meal!!!

Anyway it turned out well and we had plenty to eat and enjoy

So it was left over cherries, peaches , grapes and apricots as a snack prior to a short ride to Bordeaux for a fuller feed on croissants baguette and coffee.... well not so easy!!!

Firstly trying to find our way out of Blanquefort was an effort as the Garmin had us heading every which way. Then after getting to Bordeaux finding an open cafe proved to be a real test. Finally we found one on the “poor “ side of the river (La Garrone)

I had a croissant and coffee and Chris a croissant as well... hardly what we had anticipated

After this we made our way along the bike path beside the river and it started to change completely with some very big chateaus with lovely gardens etc

A little further along the path which had now become a rail trail we came across a cafe which was part of a disused railway station. It had a couof guys playing acoustic guitars and people enjoying a drink and food

We thought we might stop and have a brunch ...

We ordered what we thought was an omelette but turned out to be a cheese and meat platter.... so much for our attempt at the French language

Anyway it turned out fine and we were joined by a couple of locals who were on their way home after a 60 km ride

We had a good chat ..... mostly about bikes and our adventures.... all good fun!

Then it was on to Libourne along the rail trail which was very pretty.... but the weather was getting hot and the humidity was taking its toll

We stopped at Creon which seemed to be at the top of the climb between the valleys of the La Garrone and the Dordogne rivers. It was here I noticed that my rear tyre was a little flat. On inspection I saw a piece of glass in the tyre and after extracting it of course the tyre went completely flat...

Well changing the tyre became more difficult as the new tube replacement seemed to have a faulty valve so a I had to use a spare tube that Chris had.... fortunately!!

Anyway whilst all of this was going on the village was in full festival mode with a band playing and people dancing and kids playing on the sand that was placed in the village square for the festival

All good fun... except when you have a puncture!

Chris kindly bought me a drink to calm my nerves and it was on again to Libourne with only another 30 kms to go

The ride down in the the valley was goods and we were now seeing the full valley of vineyards.... very pretty but HOT!!!

As we arrived in Libourne we stopped for a drink and ice cream just ahead of the final 5 kms to the hotel

We arrived at about 3.30pm after a short but hot ride ready for a shower to freshen up

I also had to repair my tubes which was done quite quickly... I hope they are okay

Today I thought I might talk about the navigation approachuwe have taken on the trip

Chris is one who uses his Garmin as his guide almost exclusively

I on the other hand am more of a street watcher looking at the street names and sorting this out with the Garmin

Both approaches have their positives and negatives but I think the combination works well when applied together

The Garmin that Chris uses is a Garmin 1000 which shows the down loaded route from cycle travel and has good information

I think it was Phil Eagar who said the issue with this model Garmin is the fact you cannot see a large enough map to judge where you are particularly when you go “ off course “

Anyway Chris’s Garmin has done a great job to get us through most of France

Tonight we look like going to Buffalo Bills for dinner to haves steak!!!

Only 2 more days of riding to go

Bordeaux alongside the river