Notre Tour de France #30 (24 mi)

After a pleasant evening in the centre-ville of Saint-Jean-d'Angély we retired to the tent for our final sleep outdoors. There are some things I won't miss - mosquitos looking to drink your blood (did you know only the females are blood-thirsty?), the pitter patter of large raindrops on the tent, the crashes of a ferocious thunderstorm as it passes overhead, the uncomfortable stuffiness of the tent's bedroom and the group of campers who insist on being boisterous at stupid o'clock in the morning. But at the same time I will miss these things. Collectively they are the trademarks of an adventure and as I return to normality and cease to be exposed to these annoyances, the adventure ends.

This morning we packed away the tent for the last time and made the rather undulating 15 miles to Saintes, but not before stopping by in the village for our final French breakfast of criossants and miniature coffees. As Sunday has come around again, Saintes is still tucked up in bed, though we did manage to battle our way through the part of town which was alive - the Sunday morning market, and have a look at a couple of its churches. Coincidentally, there is also a cycling event taking part today outside the courthouse.

There is a 125km race comprising of five laps which pass through Saintes, where the finish line is located. Not wanting to miss a photo opportunity, I had Jwan stand near the finish line and snap a couple off as I rode my bike (towing Bob the trailer) across the line with my fist extended out in triumph. My efforts were met with a round of applause by the spectators behind the barriers, a rather fitting end to our month-long tour of France.

There are a number of things I'm going to miss about this country, and other things not so much. The flashing pharmacy signs in every village giving the time and temperature, every resident of every village making the morning trip to the Boulangerie for their baguette(s), the strange pedestrian crossings at traffic lights, which show a green man when traffic is still passing over the crossing.

There are the ridiculous prices, such as €8.50 for an ice cream sundae, or the €2.50 we once each paid for a glass of coke, which was poured from a standard two litre bottle bought at a supermarket. Other things I have grown quite accustomed to. Being told "bon appétit" whenever someone has seen us eating, the impressive village flowers and equally impressive roundabouts.

As I say au revoir to France and bonjour to Angleterre, I look forward to my cosy bed, shielded from the elements and more comfy than a sleeping mat can ever be. I look forward to speedy and reliable Internet, mobile data, a recognisable language and even the local park. If I could combine the best of both worlds, that would be a nice place. I come back to a handful of thing at home that I miss, but I also have to take in the sporadic weather, the excessive litter and heavily congested roads.

The question I really should be asking myself is: where to next?

Notre Tour de France #29 (S: 64 mi / J: ? mi)

Sleep didn't come easy last night. A blanket of cloud had manifested itself in what has been a crystal clear sky for the past few nights, and as a consequence the temperature didnt drop off as it has been doing. After a restless night of tossing and turning in the uncomfortably stuffy tent, I awoke at 05:00 and that was that. There was not a chance of going back to sleep; my body (or my mind) wouldn't allow it. I'm now on to reading Christine by Stephen King, and I read this by the light of my phone's display until it was a reasonable time to eat breakfast. Following this at around 07:00, it appeared I had no problems going back to sleep.

The day started (again) at 09:00. This is our last full day before we'll be getting picked up tomorrow evening. To save ourselves from packing up and relocating to somewhere closer to Saintes, we're just going to stay here for another night. It's only about 15 miles to our final destination anyway.

As our last full day in France and with one more place I wanted to see, I made my way west to Rochefort to see the transborder bridge. I was about halfway there, 15 miles in, when my legs told me to just collapse into the rut at the side of the road and let them recuperate. Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to cycle another fairly long distance so soon, but I wanted to see the bridge.

The journey both there and back was pretty in eventful, though the bridge itself was something different to marvel at. It is still functioning as a tourist attraction, with a suspended platform moving between both sides of the river, but of course it's not free so I simply cycled along the vehicular bridge just a few hundred metres along the river.

Back at the campsite my stomach was insisting it would digest itself if I didn't give it some food pronto. I already know this but haven't quite learnt the lesson - don't go shopping on an empty stomach. I won't divulge what I bought, but I'm fairly confident in saying today's ride won't have covered the mountain of food I ate for dinner. I'm such a glutton when I want to be…

The evening - our last evening before we embark on the laborious journey home, was spent in town at a bar named Pink Hell, offering free Wifi and good music. That's good enough for us.

Notre Tour de France #28 (S:111 mi / J:? mi)

Today I have been on a mission. A special mission. I call it circle hunting. It relates to the legendary map I keep making reference to. As you may or may not know, places of particular interest have been circled by my grandparents. Bourdeilles and Bramtôme are such examples, and these places were beautiful.

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.

Notre Tour de France #27 (45 mi)

I've done it again. A double helping of cereal for breakfast. I just couldn't help myself, though there was a small hole in the carton of milk so really it was in our best interests for me to eat it all to prevent a leakage, right?

After packing away we made the short journey in to the town centre to the bar we have frequented a few times over the last couple of days for our morning coffee and wifi, since our spot in the woods didn't have an Internet connection. It cost us approximately €0.00 for two nights though, so really I'm not in a position to complain.

We're not far now from where we'll be getting picked up from, Saintes, so we're just skirting around it for the next few days until it is time to come home. Today we moved from the south west of the city to the north east. The route was pleasantly flat with only a few gentle inclines, but of course this dictates that there must be a strong head wind. That's just the way it goes.

There's not too much to comment on for the journey. We stopped off for lunch at about halfway, and found a pleasant village, Saint-Savinien, with a nice park not far from our destination. Here we stopped off for a cold drink since today is a hot one, and we watched people whizz about on the on their miniature ferries.

We picked today's campsite in advance using the iPad application we have, which told us it has Wifi and laundry facilities. When we arrived I was impressed by the immediate area. There's a picturesque river and from what I saw of the village it looked nice (Saint-Jean-d'Angély) and our very first impressions of the campsite were good. When we got to reception to sort out getting a pitch, that impression quickly went downhill.

Is there a washing machine here? Yes, but it costs €5. (Expensive compared to other sites)

Do you have Wifi? Yes, but it costs €7 an hour.

Have you any cold drinks? Yes, but they cost €2 a can. (In fairness we've seen better, and seen worse)

Is there a swimming pool? Yes, but you must wear budgie smugglers.

As we were pitching the tent, we soon discovered we were pitching on a solid layer of stone. Jwan managed to hammer each of the tent pegs in to the ground about an inch before they each struck something solid and would go no further. It doesn't take a lot to make for a pleasant stay at a campsite, but this one doesn't tick any of the boxes.

After doing our chores (pitching the tent, washing the clothes), we went for a walk around the river and treat ourselves to a ride on a pedalo. I won't mention the ice cream we also had because I seem to be mentioning that an awful lot of late. What ice cream? Exactly.

As we're categorically not paying the ridiculous price for Internet access, we've ventured just outside of town and found a trusty McDonald's to get our Internet fix. I suppose we better buy a coffee or something in exchange for taking advantage of their facilities.

The sun is shining and has been beaming down in all its glory all day. Our remaining days here in France are forecast to be just as good, so I'll expect when we're back in England that we'll need thick coats, hats, scarves and gloves.

Notre Tour de France #26 (S:106 mi / J:? mi)

Wake up, breakfast, pack bike pannier, cycle, eat, cycle, take photos, cycle, eat. The end. Nah, just kidding… I'll have to write more than that! The above is true though; that is what happened. Jwan stayed in Saint-Georges-de-Didonne whilst I set off south on my bike. I thought it'd be a nice flat journey clinging on to the coast, but how wrong I was.

Some way through the journey I came to a village called Mortagne-sur-Gironde which seemed like a nice place with scenic views of white cliffs and the port. I thought to myself it would be somewhere my grandparents might enjoy coming to on their travels, but a subsequent check of the map confirms they already know of the place as it was already circled in pen.

Today I was aiming for Blaye - another place that has been circled. I remember my grandad telling me of a citadel there and thought it'd be worth a look. I didn't realise just how far the place was from our base. After a tiring morning, I found a supermarket in Saint-Ciers-sur-Gironde (a place with terrible road surfaces, if you can even call it a surface) to grab a bit of lunch before continuing my journey. Thankfully south of this village was almost entirely flat so it wasn't too long before I arrived.

I soon found the citadel and had a wonder around. It's a beautiful place, in its own little way, and there were plenty of information points scattered around to help absorb the history. I didn't stay for a huge amount of time as I wanted to be back at base before the supermarket closed to grab something for dinner.

By the time I'd done this (got back and gone to the supermarket), I'd done over 100 miles. Whoops. Perhaps I should've taken a leaf out of Jwan's book and spent the day on the beach and wandering around town. I saw some nice places though and enjoyed myself, so all is good.

Jwan asked me last night what I thought of this town, and after a moment to think about it I replied with "like Blackpool, but better". Having thought about it a little more, I like this place because it's alive. There are people everywhere, and at every time of day. As I sit writing this sat on a bench looking out to the ocean, people are whizzing by on their bikes, others on the beach flying their kites and digging holes. Yesterday evening the town was full of people watching the live band, frequenting the bars and eating ice cream. There always seem to be something going on. While I'd usually prefer the quieter resorts, it actually makes a pleasant change after passing through village after village where we've seen not a single soul. A lot of France lays dormant, but not this place.

Tomorrow we plan to leave our free accommodation in the middle of the woods, and find somewhere with washing facilities, Internet and whatever else we've become accustomed to. There are only a handful of days left, and while we're still enjoying the trip, we're both ready to come home.

Notre Tour de France #25 (66 mi)

We had a good start this morning. Almost every morning so far, the grass has been sodden with dew and the tent saturated with moisture. It especially makes it a pain to pack away the tent, as it first has to be wiped dry (or as dry as possible) with a flannel. But not this morning. It must have clouded over during the night which kept the temperature above the dew point. The tent was practically as dry as a bone and we were packed up and away before you can say your morning prayer! What's that, you don't pray? Let me assure you that the Flying Spaghetti Monster is real and does listen to your prayers, let us be touched by his noodley appendage.

Segonzac (elegantly nickname "Sick on Zack") provided us with coffee, and Jwan with his morning pastries. As Sunday and Monday are now both out of the way (and the last ones we'll experience over here on this trip), the village was a little more lively than I expect it was yesterday or the day before. We've been passing through a lot of Zac's today: Segonzac, Someotherzac, Gémozac, Anotherzac - I've forgotten their names…

The route west today was a lot kinder than some of the rides we have been doing. It wasn't without some hills, but the majority was flat and enjoyable. I've learnt to tell how much Jwan is enjoying a ride by how vocal he is (have I mentioned this in the blog before?). Today he was singing (Flying Spaghetti Monster help me) and all sorts, so it can't have been that bad.

Lunch was a sandwich and peach from a Super-U en-route, and we arrived at the coast in a village called Saint-Georges-de-Didonne, just south of Royan. Our hunt for a suitable campsite didn't go very well. The first was €33, the second at €36. The third was a bit more reasonable (if you can call it that) at €27 but still way more than we've been used to paying. The campsite was full, and it was at this point we decided to try and camp wild.

On the way to the first two campsites we'd previously scoped out, we passed some woods at the side of the road. After first buying something for lunch at the local supermarket, we returned here to see what we could find. Down one track we tried, there was a French family playing pétanque (I think it's called), so we had to turn around at which point I fell straight on my side; bike, trailer and all. Luckily the ground was soft so I didn't hurt myself.

A little down the adjacent track we hit the jackpot, finding a perfect clearing to pitch the tent. There was a bit of litter left from the last (idiot) residents, so we made sure to clean the place up a bit both for our own benefit and the next residents. After enjoying a bit of dinner in our new home, we set off the the beach to catch the sunset and find some Internet. It's only half a mile to the sand and sea (yes, only half a mile!), and the best bit is we don't have to pay over €30 a night for the privilege.

As I sit here next to the lifeguard's hut, listening to the waves crashing on the shore and watching children build sandcastles with their parents, Jwan is taking a cold shower out in the open in the public showers, and he's attracting some very funny looks indeed.

We're only a handful of miles now from where we'll be getting picked up from and we both hope to make the most of it. Jwan is thinking of spending his day relaxing on the beach, where I'd quite like to ride down the coast to Bordeaux. Maybe I'll be able to find the Velodyssey cycle path we were first talking of cycling on when planning this trip, which runs from the North West of France right down the coast and I even think into Spain. Somehow I don't think I'll be going that far tomorrow…

This evening, after sunset, we ventured into town and were treat to some live reggae music by some band I can't quite remember the name of. There were plenty of people milling about - a stark contrast to some of the ghost towns we have been cycling though. There are some fairground rides, candy floss, ice cream, arcades and so on. Maybe a bit like Blackpool, but so far it's making for a nice change and a pleasant evening.

Notre Tour de France #24 (S:14 mi / J:? mi)

Not wanting to miss the peak of the meteor shower, I dragged my sleeping mat and bag outside of the tent and slept out in the open. It wasn't quite full dark to start with, so I set my alarm for stupid o'clock in the morning and let myself doze off. I'd seen a couple of meteor showers by this point and a handful of satellites, but not much more.

When my alarm woke me up, the night's sky alone was impressive, meteors or not. The few constellations I do know we're lost in a sea of twinkling companions that I usually don't have the privilege of seeing in the UK. The band of the Milky Way was again visible, and there's something humbling about knowing this hazy glow is made up of millions upon millions of individual stars like our Sun, each with the potential to be at the centre of its own solar system and, for all we know, harbour life. All this is just within our own galaxy! Let's not forget there may be a billion other galaxies, each home to over a billion stars.

The shower itself was a bit of a disappointment. Perhaps I was looking at the wrong time, or in the wrong direction, but I only saw maybe four or five meteors before I decided it was getting too cold and too damp. At this point I retreated in to the comfort of the tent. I'm still glad I gave it a go, though. If I hadn't, I would've just regretted it.

At 04:30, I was awoken by a pair of birds communicating with each other. One would squawk, and the other would reply with a longer bird call. It's not one I've heard before, and I managed to record it on my phone. Hopefully I won't forget when I'm back at home to research just what exactly they were. They sounded rather large anyway.

At a more reasonable hour of the morning, Jwan and I went our separate ways - he into town to find breakfast and coffee, and I to the supermarket to get my beloved cereal and something for lunch later on. Have I had my rant about French supermarkets yet? Aside from the daft opening hours some of them seem to observe, they seem to go out of their way to make shopping as difficult and time consuming as possible. In some such supermarkets, the aisles aren't labelled with what they contain, so finding the cereal dictates that one must weave in and out of every single aisle.

Then there are the queues. This morning there were four employees on the checkouts, two of which decided to close just as I arrived. This left me with two options, the checkout with four trollies and a basket, or the one with three trollies and two baskets. I chose the former, which of course was the wrong decision. As Sod's law goes, just as it was my turn to be served (after an age of waiting), another checkout opened. Cue the Frenchman who, if he was any more enthusiastic about the move would have literally dived to this newly opened checkout, fought his way to the front and proceeded to make a show of defending his privileged position until his wife wheeled down their trolley. Oh, and don't let me start going on about the gentleman who gracefully cut in front and me and Jwan while we were queuing the other day as though we weren't there. I'm not bitter. No, not at all. Rant over.

After my supermarket ordeal, I planned to set about on a bike ride around the local area, and maybe a bit further. Things sometimes don't go to plan, and this was one of them. My legs wouldn't permit me to cycle any further than I had to, as they were still complaining from yesterday's ride. Instead I made my way back to the campsite and, to put it bluntly, stuffed my face.

Following this I spent the afternoon lazing about, and what bliss it was. I've almost finished my novel, I've listened to some good music, dozed in the sunshine and the bike has been given a clean and a quick service. Jwan has just returned from an afternoon on a little beach on the river and has successfully found somewhere in town with some lovely Wifi goodness, where I'll publish this post (and yesterday's) as I don't expect much else to happen today. Sorry there are no photos with today's post. There have been none to take, unless you want one of me sprawled on the grass next to the tent, Kindle in one hand and water bottle in the other.