Day 17, Parthenay to Saumur, 68 miles.

 Not far enough really, must try harder tomorrow. Which could be tricky - weather forecast is for rain all day tomorrow 😒 

Today didn't look to hard on paper, but it seems like lots of things were conspiring against good progress. Firstly the rain; one minute it was raining, the next it wasn't. Then it was again, then it wasn't. I lost count of the number of times I put my rain cape on and took it off. Then there was a fairly brisk wind, not a headwind, but the way the route wound to and fro sometimes it was, sometimes it wasn't.

The road also left a lot to be desired at times. Ironically most of the unpaved parts were nicer to ride than the paved parts. The part from Thouars to Saumur was particularly bad. I couldn't ride quickly because it was so bumpy.

Finally there were the road blocks. None of them took me that far out of the way, but the one in Thouars was somewhat annoying, because instead of putting the sign at the top of the steep hill, they put it half way down, meaning I had to ride (OK, walk) back up again. 

Anyway, enough complaining, the plus side was that the scenery today was lovely. Most of the day was spent riding down the river Thouet, a tributary of the Loire. There were many pretty lakes and weirs, and the fields of sunflowers in different stages of their death throes and fields of maize were interspersed with pretty little villages, all with their impressive churches and even the occasional chateau.

I didn't stop a lot today, mainly because I was constantly stopping to put my rain cape on, but I did manage a baguette in a place called Airvault, where I was served by an attractive young lady who didn't have any teeth. She did speak good English though.

Let's hope tomorrow goes better, despite the rain. At least if it's raining all day I'll know where I stand. 

#abitofabikeride 

Amicii Dog Rescue and Rehabilitation UK 

Amicii Dog Rescue Romania 

https://justgiving.com/campaign/a-bit-of-a-bike-ride

Day 16, Rochefort to Parthenay (74 miles).

 Hi all, so this morning I sat down and had a look at the map and calculated that if I headed straight from Rochefort to Niort I'd effectively cut 40 miles off the route to Caen. I spoke to the hotel proprietor at breakfast (8am) and asked him if the road was busy and he responded with an emphatic "Non", so it was a done deal. Main road to Niort it was. In fact, it wasn't, because despite it being Sunday, so not HGV's on the roads, the constant stream of traffic soon sent me off to the back roads.

Nevertheless, this didn't add many miles to the route and it gave me the advantage of seeing some small towns and villages along the way.

What I would like to know though, is what do the French do on a Sunday? Despite the presence of cars outside the houses, the streets were deserted!

From Niort I started to ride the Velo Francette route, which passed through some very pretty areas, more typical of what you'd think of as "France" and very refreshing after the forests of the Vélodyssée. 

It tried to rain all day, not much, not enough to put on waterproofs, just enough to be annoying. I couldn't decide if it was warm enough for shorts either, but eventually succumbed. Not until about 4pm did it really start to rain, but at that stage I'd already got the finish in sight.

All day we'd been trying to arrange a rendezvous with Ann Pursey and Clive, and it seemed that Parthenay was the ideal place. The planets aligned and I met up with them both for a beer and a meal (actual food) in the evening. Diet up until then had consisted of two bananas, some jam tarts and lots of Haribo's. Was really good to meet up though, if a little emotional 😢 

Tomorrow, who knows? Maybe Angers. Hopefully at least 120km further along the road. 

#abitofabikeride 

Amicii Dog Rescue and Rehabilitation UK

Amicii Dog Rescue Romania 

https://justgiving.com/campaign/a-bit-of-a-bike-ride