Notre Tour de France #23 (78 mi)

On the way back to the tent last night from the showers, the night's sky caught my attention. As we're not too close to any big cities, I could see more stars twinkling away than I'm used to in the UK. I sat myself down for 15 minutes or so and just looked up. As my eyes adjusted, I could see more stars than I could count, let alone recognise. The hazy band of the Milky Way was a little dim, but definitely visible. As I sat there with my jaw dropped in wonder, four or five shooting stars flashed across my field of vision. We're getting close to the peak of the Perseids meteor shower, which is in fact tomorrow night. I'll have to stay up past midnight to see the best of it, with over 100 meteors predicted per hour. The sky has been completely clear all day, and is forecast to remain to overnight.

We made our getaway from the campsite at around 09:00, and headed straight for Bourdeilles. Around halfway there Jwan went looking for a Boulangerie in the village of Agonac, but couldn't find what he was looking for. However, there was a local shop offering a small selection of pastries. As he queued up in the surprisingly busy establishment, the gentleman in front of him bought the few remaining croissants. Bad luck, mate. Jwan had to settle for some chocolate instead.

Back in Bourdeilles, it was as pretty as it was when I left the place yesterday. We stopped off in a café for our morning coffee and Wifi fix. Here I made a Skype call to my grandparents who were the ones to point us to this particular village. I turned the video on during the conversation, showing the little town square, a local market, the café and the chateau. I think I may have made them a little jealous, wishing they were back in France rather than in the UK.

When we arrived in Brantôme, I think we'd just missed out on a big omelette event. Yes, you heard that right. What must have been hundreds of people were sat down waiting to be fed a piece of one enormous omelette they had cooked. It had to be lifted by tractor it was that big!

Our initial plans for lunch were to hunt down the local supermarket and get something cheap, but it had slipped both of our minds that it's a Sunday again and opening times are a little backwards. After finding the local Carrefour closed, we headed back into the centre of town and grabbed a sandwich each from a local shop. We took these down to the river bank and sat in the shade of a tree, watching the world go by. A father and son going up and down the river on a little electric boat, groups of friends navigating themselves in canoes and tourists losing themselves in the beauty of the area. It really was one of the best lunches we've had in France (didn't I say that yesterday?). Though I visited Brantôme yesterday, today I saw it from different perspectives. It's such a pretty village - I can see why there are so many tourists about.

From here we headed north west, and it was a tough cycle. Today we have covered nearly 80 miles and there has been more than enough climbing. The area around Châteauneuf-sur-Charente where we're staying tonight is a total dead-zone for campsites. We have an application for the tablet and phone whilst supposedly lists all the campsites in France, but there's just a big hole here. My GPS reckoned there was a Municipal campsite here in Châteauneuf, but when we arrived at the coordinated there was no such thing. After asking a few locals, we've finally found a small place on the outskirts of town. It's extremely basic with just a few pitches and a toilet block with one toilet, one sink and one shower. It seems nice enough, but again it's expensive! €12 for a night. We've been paying that at places offering swimming pools, social rooms, free Wifi and a handful of other facilities. I don't even think there's a washing machine here.

Another interesting place we stopped off at en-route was a village called Villebois-Lavalette, and of course we had to climb to get there. The village is established high up on the landscape, and is surrounded by a fort. As with many other places we've visited, the views were good, the chateau cost money to look around (so of course we didn't!), and the village was dormant with only a few souls stirring. Which reminds me, tomorrow is the dreaded Monday again where everything is closed.

The sun is just going down and I hope I can stay awake long enough to watch the meteor shower, though I'm very tried after today. I also caught the sun a little and this also makes me sleepy. Food for dinner was hard to come across, again because the supermarkets are closed, so I ate tomorrow's breakfast for dinner, and will have to venture out to find something to eat in the morning instead. Jwan has gone off to explore the local vicinity, though I expect he'll be back soon as he's on his bike with no lights, and dusk has fallen upon us.

Notre Tour de France #22 (S:67 mi)

The hunt for dinner last night did not go well. In fact, it could not have gone worse. The closest corner shop would have been closed by the time I arrived, and the same for the supermarket, which lay a good few kilometres yonder of this. The campsite owners rustle up some food, but were fully booked for the evening. The only remaining (semi-viable) option was ice cream… but this hardly makes a nutritious substitute for a proper meal.

As with yesterday, the morning was wrapped in a thick blanket of fog, but by mid-morning this had dissipated to leave a rather beautiful day. I set off on my bike in search for some breakfast, and found what I was after in a supermarket a few miles away - more müsli and milk. I then set about finding somewhere nice to, as Jwan puts it, gobble it down. Well, I certainly earnt my breakfast as I inadvertently had myself climb what must have been every hill in the local vicinity.

Eventually I came across a bench just outside of a little village. There were no views as such, but it was a fantastic breakfast. I had myself a generous portion, listened to the birds singing, the insects chirruping and got lost in the world of Stephen King again. It would be a tough meal to beat.

From here I made my way north-east to Bourdeilles, a village recommended to me by my grandparents. I wasn't let down, it was a beautiful place. I sat on stone bridge across the river and ate lunch, and I dare say it was better than breakfast this morning. The dictionary definition of tranquility should have a picture of this place. As I sat there on the bridge, I watched a father load his three children into a dingy just below me on the river. Once in, he sat himself at the back, pushed off the river bank and put his hands behind his head whilst his children rowed him into the distance. And that's how it should be done!

My Nana advised me I could cycle to Brantôme from here at a distance of 11km along a quiet country road, and she wasn't wrong. As I left Bourdeilles, there was the road sign telling me to turn right to Brantôme - at a distance of exactly 11km. Well remembered.

Brantôme was another beautiful village, though there were quite a few more tourists there. When Jwan and I pack up tomorrow morning and start heading west back to the coast, we'll be passing through both of these villages again. I don't mind. I could get used to visiting either on a regular basis.

Notre Tour de France #21 (63 mi)

I've moved my alarm forward from 06:00 to 06:30, not because I want the extra time in bed, but because it's now still dark at that time. The alarm doesn't really serve its purpose anyway as I tend to switch it off, roll over and go back to sleep. When I did finally wake up for the day, I treat myself to a double helping of chocolate müsli drowned in UHT milk. I just couldn't help myself, though my excuse is that the milk wouldn't have stayed fresh for too much longer. I enjoyed this with a helping of Stephen King - Under the Dome, the novel I'm currently reading.

Limoges was enveloped in mist when we set off at 09:00, but I took this as a good sign as my experience has told me it would burn off and leave a rather warm day by lunchtime, and that's exactly what happened. The journey has again been tough going, with plenty of hills thrown in as we head further south and slightly west. I'm hoping when we start heading directly west in a couple of days, this craziness will ease off as we cycle ourselves closer to the coast again.

Not wanting to cycle an especially crazy distance again today as we both still have sore legs, we started looking for campsites after around 60 miles and found a nice one called "Camping Le Bois du Coderc" in the village of Antonne-et-Trigonant. It's quiet, in the middle of the woods (as the name suggests) and is situated next to a nice river. The only complaint I have is that it is fairly expensive to stay here. The nearest big place around here, Périgueux, is 7 or 8 miles away, so we may not explore that tomorrow but instead have a look around the surrounding villages.

My bike has persisted with its new grinding noise, which I've isolated to the rear hub. After finishing this blog post, I'll be writing a letter of complaint to the bike shop and I feel sorry for the person who has to read it. It really is one thing after another and it's not as though I don't try and look after my pride and joy. I won't let it get in the way of this trip, though. The bike is still rideable (for now) and while that's still the case, I'll be happy.

I calculated today that we have a little over a week left of this trip. I can't believe how quickly it's gone and I'm sure the next few days will also fly by. I'm getting to the point though where I'll be ready to come home. I especially miss my family and friends, but also the small things such as home comforts.

Now please excuse me while I try find something to eat for dinner... I'm absolutely starving!

Notre Tour de France #20 (9 mi)

It was another grim start. There was no storm last night, but the precipitation continued after yesterday's soaking. We both slept through much later this morning than we have been doing, both to recover from yesterday's ride and to bide the time until things dried up a little.

At around 10:30 we ventured into the centre of Limoges. It's a fairly big city and our impressions of it are about on par with today's weather - dull and uninspiring. Yes, there are a couple of nice parks and some impressive architecture here and there, but on the whole the place seems a bit of a dive. We can both agree (well, I haven't actually discussed it with Jwan, but I know he'll agree) that the smaller towns and villages we have been passing through possess so much more character.

The only thing that redeems Limoges from being categorised by us as a total waste of space that we have found is the "old town", known in French as "Quartier Historique de la Cité". Here there is a pretty impressive church, but even better than this, it is partly surrounded by some botanical gardens, Jardin Botanique, with a variety of interesting plants, shrubs and trees growing that are from around the world. The old town also features some historical houses where a small number of people actually live. I hope they don't mind people having a nosey at their houses all day, every day.

The campsite we're currently staying at is a bit grim, and I put that down to it sitting on the outskirts of a big city. The views are non-existent and the site itself a bit bland. Just up the road is the biggest E.Leclerc (supermarket) that I've seen yet and it is here we stopped in on the way home from Limoges for some provisions, including a pack of playing cards. Jwan has just this second opened them and counted the deck, and there are 32... A quick check of the packaging does indeed state there are 32 cards, but who in their right mind would want such a stupid number?!

I'm certainly looking forward to moving on tomorrow. Perhaps not so much the cycling (tired legs), but going to somewhere new. A look of the map given to me by my grandparents confirms there should be two or three nice places to pass through, indicate by their places on the map circled in Biro.

I'm apparently one of those people who gets a bit paranoid when something bad happens. As an example, if I get a puncture, I'll be paranoid about getting another one and check my tyres every two seconds to verify that they're still inflated. Lately it's been noises coming from my bike. The latest noise turned out to be a loose pedal which was successfully fixed, but now there's a crunching from the rear wheel hub. I'd really like to think that it's just a bit of grit that got itself in there yesterday during our cycle in the awful weather, but something tells me it's not. Anyway... We'll see how it goes tomorrow, and if it continues, I'll be writing a nice big complaint letter to my local bike shop. It's no fun always having things break on a 12 month old bike, and even less so when your companion, so far (touch wood), hasn't had a single problem with his.

Notre Tour de France #19 (85 mi)

It looks like we weren't finished with the nasty weather after all as we had to try and sleep through another brutal storm. The rain didn't leak through the top of the tent and drip on my face this time, though the floor of the tent was a little wet this morning, despite being sat on a groundsheet.

The storm seemed to have left behind a residual atmosphere, or perhaps it was down to the grim weather, fatigue and / or lack of caffeine. In any case, there wasn't much conversation between us this morning and I used this opportunity to stew in my own thoughts - something I like to do on occasion and especially when cycling.

The majority of the villages we have been passing through today have definitely been something to marvel at. We've had spectacular views across valleys, rivers, churches and castles. Normally we pass through villages that are pleasant enough, but lay dormant with not much more to offer but a few village flowers. Still better than many of the villages of Britain.

At around lunch time we arrived in Montorillon, which seemed popular with tourists - especially the English.  Here we browsed the local market and grabbed something to eat before our onward journey toward Limoges. Before I forget, the names of the other nice villages are Saint-Savin and Angles-sur-l'Anglin, both south of our previous home for two nights in "Thorn in Saint Martin's Butt".

Between such villages the journey has been fairly tough, returning to the rollercoaster style roads we came across when heading in west from the coast. There was a quote I remember coming across, though I can't remember who said it: "Hills don't get any easier; you just go faster". From having spent the last few days staring at Jwan's backside (I cycle behind him), he's definitely toned up, and when we reach the trough of a hill and start an ascent, I can see his pistons pumping away like there's no tomorrow.

Around an hour or so before reaching our destination, the rain God treat us to a downpour. A horrible, relentless, cold downpour complete with thunder and lightening. We both got absolutely drenched and it was a horrible way to end a journey that was tough enough already. After asking at a supermarket where I got something to eat for tea, we were directed 5km or so towards a campsite, where we have now pitched the tent. In the rain. It's still raining. I don't like rain. Hopefully though, and I'm getting a bit of déjà vu here, this should be the last of the rubbish weather. He says.

Notre Tour de France #18 (22 mi)

One of the tools that is accompanying us on our trip is a bike chain wear indicator / gauge. After using it last night, it tells me I need to replace my chain despite being not much more than a couple of months old. The mistake I made last time was letting the chain stretch by a stupid amount, necessitating the replacement of both my bike's cassette and two chain rings - all at quite a considerable cost. I'm determined not to let that happen this time. Jwan's chain on the other hand is still considered healthy, according to the trusty tool.

After waking up a little later than usual (recuperating our strength after yesterday), we nipped down in to the village to make an important visit to the Boulangerie and the Café. Petit Dejuner is the most important meal of the day, and don't you forget it. As we were sat in the café drinking our coffee and eating our pain au chocolat, the heavens opened and there were a couple of claps of thunder. Our plans to go to Le Blanc were temporarily postponed to allow the worst of the weather to pass. This village we are staying in is called Tournon Saint Martin, which Jwan has so lovingly nicknamed "Thorn In Saint Martin's Butt".

Once we were presented with a momentary window of weather opportunity, off we went. It was quite a bit further than we had anticipated to Le Blanc at about 10 miles. It may not sound that much, but to be cycling upwards of 20 miles on a rest day is quite a lot.

The village offered us the opportunity to purchase more coffee, a replacement chain for my bike (hoorah!), something greasy for lunch (something we haven't yet done), a nice dessert and some provisions at a supermarket.

The rain has been on and off all day, coming in shorts bursts before drying up, though we spent most of the afternoon sat in the "games room" (a.k.a the dry sanctuary) of the campsite, watching the lightening flash and the rain come bouncing down as a storm passed over. I can't remember the forecast too well, but I think this should be the last of the nastiness for the next few days.

Once the sky cleared up a little at around 18:30, we went out to the village in search of food. Jwan has been expressing his desire for pizza all day, and as luck would have it we crossed the bridge (less than a minute's cycle from the campsite), and there sat a mobile pizza van. It looks like the God(s) were on our side today. This was chased down with some Panaché purchased from Netto (yes, Netto!), reminding me of the summers spent holidaying in France as a teenager. Good times indeed, as are these.

Tomorrow we shall be hopefully be heading south towards Limoges, where I'll hopefully be able to find some Wifi to publish the blog posts from the last couple of days.

Notre Tour de France #17 (80 mi)

As planned yesterday, we set out east from Secondigny towards Le Blanc. Do you remember me saying the campsite we were staying at wanted €3 for an hour of Internet on one device? Well we returned to the same café we frequented yesterday in Parthenay where it cost us €2.40 for two coffees (each with a little sweet), 2 glasses of water, Internet access on our three devices and free charging of these as well. That's more like it...

Onwards from this town, the roads seemed to level out considerably which made for mostly pleasant riding. Just as well really since today has been a long day. There's not too much to say about the places we passed through. One or two villages had pretty bridges and some nice buildings. We stopped once for coffee (and chocolate, but don't tell anyone), once for lunch as we passed a supermarket, and once again for a cheeky ice cream. Please don't think of us as greedy; we've burnt somewhere over 2000 calories each today. It's practically mandatory that we eat ice cream, especially with the weather today keeping at somewhere around 33 degrees. It did actually rain on us as well, for all of 20 seconds. Just how it should be, really.

Around 10 miles before reaching Le Blanc, we saw signs for camping just off the main road and thought it'd be worth investigating. Our curiosity paid off, and we're now pitched on a municipal campsite for a total cost of €6 per night - and the toilets are provided with toilet paper. Bliss. Before turning in for the night, we had a nosey around the town, stopped off for a coffee at one bar, and another where Jwan treated himself to a beer. Because it's a Monday and opening hours are a little backwards, we've not been able to source any supplies for our evening meal. I'm rather hungry, but I guess I'll just go and eat what is left of the morning cereal (without milk) utill we find some breakfast tomorrow morning on the way to Le Blanc.