The day started with a misty morning however the intrepid two were on the road by 8.30 am. The road lasted for about 28 miles through misty forest however they were straight flat roads. This was closely followed by a small town bar for a Tea stop. On the way through the forest a wild boar was seen and a deer. Then the riders met a particularly angry, growling dog however the owner eventually managed to call it away. They reached Mont de Marsan at lunch time having done roughly 47 miles on straight roads through the forest, and then suddenly upon the horizon there was a large town. The lovely Audrey at the tourist information sorted out the accommodation for both tonight and the following two nights. After having lunch there was a stop at ... read more

On the road by 8.30 the first 20 miles were gently rolling quite roads for the brave three today. Through many fields of corn which was very pleasant. They stopped at Saintes for tea which was rather expensive, 3 Euros a pot. After Saintes the three picked up their good friend the D137 which as always had a good surface but wide loads! Lunch was had at Mirambeau and they all had a lovely omelette and chips which was welcome after 50 miles of cycling. From Mirambeau they were off piste because the accommodation in Blaye was not where it was supposed to be. Following the map for a further 8/9 miles which dragged them along marshlands finally arriving about 4ish where they were escorted to their accommodation by a very friendly manager. Later at the ... read more

The brave three faced an easy day today after yesterdays exersions. The first twenty miles were along lovely roads past lots of vineyards. The next thirty miles were on the same road the D137 which meant there were fewer navigational issues to contend with! Lunch was had at a beautiful typical french bistro. The three arrived at Shantonnay at about 3pm and found their accomodation via the tourist information centre. A lovely day was had by all with temperatures reaching 25 in the afternoon. Stats: Miles: 52.1 Total miles: 229.7 Ascent: 2142 Total Ascent: 11'940 Longest Straight: 5.4 miles Longest Straight (with a slight kink): 8.2 miles Vineyards seen: Loads Chairs fallen off: John (1) West-highland terriers seen: 1... read more

Our intrepid three were the first off the boat upon landing in Saint Malo at 8.20am this morning and headed straight onto the open road. There was a later stop for water and flapjack after 20 miles, however the stop was cut short due to a chilly breeze. The roads were excellent and undulating and the three stopped later for a small lukewarm coffee and shortly after this encountered their first road closure. Remaining unphased by this they took a diversion which directed them onto the motorway which was closely followed by a McDonald's lunch break. Finally the three arrived in Pon Rean at 3pm to find that the hotel did not have a booking for them. However they managed to secure two rooms overlooking the river for 58 euros and are relaxing in the french ... read more

Packing has all gone well and I can just about lift the bike with the panniers on! Decided that it would be a good idea to put a new battery in the trip computer. Battery went in fine, but I'd fogotten just how unhelpful the instructions were! I got to a point where you enter a number based on your wheel size. It told me to expect it to be pre-set to 205. It appeared as 2096! Following the instructions, I set it to 0216, only to find that when I rode it I couldn't get the bike above 2 mph!! Clearly 0216 wasn't the right answer. I retried with 2160, which got close but didn't get close enough to the speed and distance that my GPS was reading, so finally I've set it to 2216! ... read more