Notre Tour de France #15 (60 mi)

It was a late start for us this morning, not setting off until 09:30. We also had a choice of the direction in which to head. West would take us to the seaside where we could relax and enjoy the beaches, but this area of France we have already passed through. Alternatively we could head East - further inland to new territory. The latter was the option we selected, aiming in the direction of a village called Chantonnay.

As we rolled through the hilly countryside, we came upon a French cyclist in the village Thorigny battling his way up one of the many hills. Subconsciously or not, we took this as a challenge and went full steam ahead. Legs pumping, lungs struggling and brows sweating, we powered our way past the gentleman leaving him for dust. Oh my, it's been a fantastic year for British cycling, and what a marvellous manoeuvre by these two young cyclists. I don't believe it, Phil, and they're carrying everything but the kitchen sink. A few minutes later as we took a rest on a gentle descent, the cyclist reappeared and as he cycled past with a look of a mixture of astonishment and exhaustion, he said something that could only be translated as "Eee by gum, lads, I don't know where that came from but I'll look out for you both in the Tour next year. Now please excuse me while I go home and feel sorry for myself".

At around noon we arrived at Chantonnay, more than ready for a spot of lunch. We unfortunately just missed out on the Saturday morning market, but the village looked nice enough to do a bit of exploring. We selected a campsite just outside of Parthenay for tonight, in a village called Secondigny. The site, Le Moulin des Effres, seems nice enough so far, though they do charge for wifi which we really don't like. There's a swimming pool which we might use later on. Not the cheapest, but also not the most expensive place we've stayed at.

The journey over here was hard going as the countryside was very undulating - almost like a rollercoaster. Up, and down, and up, and back down again. Repeat many times over for about 60 miles or so.

Only a couple of days after I fitted the replacement gear shifter to my bike, and you can't make this up, today a rhythmic clicking has manifested itself in my bike. With every pedal stroke - click. Click, click, click. I've had a look and nothing is catching or rubbing. I've narrowed it down to either a pedal bearing or a bottom bracket bearing, and it better not be the latter because I bought a new one just a couple of days before this trip. If it is, well it's a good job I like writing complaint letters. I already need to get back to Halfords to a) fight for a reimbursement for the aforementioned bottom bracket which should have been covered under warranty, but they couldn't source the part from their suppliers and so I had to purchase it myself. And b) to get a refund for the replacement gear shifter, which is covered under warranty. Good job as well - it cost £125. You can buy a bike for this.

Jwan and I are off in to town now to do a little exploring. Hope you've been enjoying the warm weather and thunderstorms back at home!