We're now in an area of France that sits nicely between Saintes, Angoulême and Poitiers which just so happens to be circle galore. With only three or so days left, I can think of no better way to investigate, to give some examples, Villefagnan, Chef-Boutonne and Aulnay. The day started at 09:00 with first a trip to the supermarket for breakfast, before embarking on the adventure at 10:00.
I love how friendly people can be over here. There I am sat on a bench in the middle of a village, Néré, and a gentleman strolls over and asks if the cycling is good. Yes, I say. It is fantastique.
C'est combien kilomètres, he asks. Err, aujourd'hui? Cent cinquante kilomètres, I reply, though this turned out to be a underestimate by 30km or so. He's intrigued and I'm not sure he quite believes me, so I show him a scrap of paper I have with a list of the villages and roads I'll be passing through. There's a bit of a language barrier, but he tries to tell me a little of each village I'll be visiting before wishing me a good holiday and a good day. Bonne journée to you too, Monsieur.
No sooner had this happened, another gent strolled over and asked about my journey. He was an intern from Paris working in the field of sustainable development. He'd come over to the area to see family as yesterday was apparently a public holiday in France. He'd gotten himself a puncture and whilst I didn't have a spare tube on me, I gave him what I could from my puncture repair kit and hoped it would be enough. Bon courage, he said as he went on his way. Bonne chance, I said as I went on mine.
Just outside of my first circle of the day, Villefagnan, I came across mortal heaven (for the record, the only kind that exists). It's been a hot day today, and I'd been drinking my water like there's no tomorrow. There at the side of the road was a pretty little picnic area complete with tables, shade, toilets and a cold water tap. I didn't waste any time and washed my face and had a refreshing drink before sitting down to some lunch.
Circle 1 of 5 complete - Villefagnan.
Chef-Boutonne seemed like a good place as any to grab the first coffee of the day. Contrary to what I would have expected, the route today had been flatter than it was along the coast a couple of days ago. Boggling, though I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable geographical explanation for it.
Circle 2 of 5 - Chef-Boutonne.
On cycling over to Sauzé-Vaussais and Lezay, I saw quite a few birds of prey, though I couldn't tell you what exactly they were. One in particular caught my attention, which was perched on a hay bale, nonchalantly observing its surroundings. It would have made a cracking photo I reckon, but by the time this thought entered my head it was too late. I didn't have my telephoto lens with me anyway. *sigh*
Circle 3 of 5 complete - Sauzé-Vaussais.
Circle 4 of 5 complete - Lezay.
By the time I was heading back in the direction of the fifth and final circle, I was pretty tired. I knew the supermarket near the campsite would be closed by the time I reached it, so I found one in Melle, about 50km from the end of the ride. It was here my spork met its tragic end, snapping in two and leaving me with a rather short spoon and a rather short fork. It's a good one I have a titanium one knocking about somewhere… I would if I had to, but I'd rather not eat my cereal in the morning with my face.
Circle 5 of 5 complete - Aulnay.
And with that, I'm ready for bed. Bone nuit.
P.S. I thought it would be funny to mention - as I came back to McDonald's for the Wifi for this post, a driver had mounted the kerb on exiting the drive-thru and collided with a big decorative rock. As he stepped out of the car, his shirt read "Devil Driver"… Très drôle.
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