9/11 London to Home
So sad to be leaving! Life on the bike has been an amazing experience. We have met some incredible people along the way – thanks to everyone who made the journey such an amazing time for us. We have seen some pretty amazing things, survived the wettest summer in Europe for 10 years, battled mountains, numerous head winds, bad beer, punctures, broken spokes, snapped bike parts, cranky French and German men (only one in each country, the rest were fabulous) and we survived each other – it must be love!! And it won't take Einstein to work out our next journey! See you all very soon. Going to the chapel and we're, gunna get ... ... you know the rest!

P.S. Stay tuned - we will be updating the website with our other travels and projects!

8/11 Bath to London - 0km, 4901total

A very sad day for us – saying goodbye to Muzz, Nicole, Anna and Dominic. We set off for the station early morning and bid farewell to the crew that looked after us in their home – our first home cooked meal since our adoptive family in Germany (hi to Manfred and Brigitte!). A very large thanks to Muzz and Nicola and the wee little kiddies for making our stay with them fabulous. We love you guys.
We won’t bore you all with details of the train ride. Although the landscape was pretty spectacular! We arrive in London and take the tube to the nearest station to our hotel. Mind you, this is still a couple of km’s from the hotel. So, with an end of each bag each, we start the haul to the hotel. To say I was a little grumpy lugging 50-odd kg’s of bikes and assorted paraphernalia is an understatement. It was hot, it was a fair hike and there were loads of people to dodge!
We locate the hotel, which turns out to be the Selfridge just as Muzz had predicted. Fabulous! We manage to drag our bags the last few metres from the lift to the room. Ah! We kick back on the bed and veg out for a short while. After such a long ride on the train, we decide some exercise is on the menu. Walking shoes on, sandwich in hand and we are off to explore London.
We circle the streets, finding a café where we sit and have a drink while we work out where we want to go. We wander through Hyde Park, completely impressed that such a large park can exist in the busy hub of London. We walk on to West Minster Abbey where there is a tribute to the women and men who fought in the World Wars. A very moving tribute.
We then toddle past Big Ben (which is nothing how I imagined it!). The clock tower is located in a busy intersection and is much smaller than portrayed in any pictures I’ve seen. Nick is convinced it’s definitely the right size, no questions.
After a short stroll we arrive at the base of the London Eye. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the eye, it is basically a MASSIVE Ferris wheel, but instead of having seats around the edge, they have pods – designed by British Aerospace. The pods are big enough to easily seat 20 people. Crazy cool! The wheel moves so slowly that it never has to stop (unless there are people who take a little longer getting on, such as wheel chairs etc). By the time we have made it to the eye it is nighttime, so we have this great view right across London of all the sights we took in today. Everything looks amazing at night, especially from the eye!
The eye did stop twice while we were on it – unfortunately it was right at the top, which gets the pulse up a little!
After a relaxing spin over the top of London, we stroll back over the river and take in the view of the eye all lit up. We decide to check out Piccadilly Square and then wander down Regent Street. Piccadilly Square is a mass of lights and advertising. Pretty cool, but no one wants to think about their electricity bill. Next stop, Regent Street. This was a highlight for me. I am a sucker for Christmas….and Regent Street didn’t let us down. All along the street were signs from Ice Age with the characters celebrating Christmas. Very cool. The most exciting part was a toy store that had emblazoned on the front of the store in fairy lights, three storey’s high, “We believe in Santa Claus”. I loved it!
After a quick stop to grab a couple of ales, we trot back to the hotel and chill out with dinner, some beers and English comedy. Sweet.

7/11 Tour of Bath - 0km, 4901total

Getting very close to our departure date and we decide to weigh everything. As it turns out we have gained 12kgs since leaving in July. That’s doesn’t mean us! We had bought a few extra toys along the way and now we were way over where we needed to be. We bundled up as much stuff we could into one of our roll packs and headed for Bath to post half of our possessions home.
While Muzz headed off to the library, we made tracks for the post office, unloaded our goods and then hit the streets. First stop – a pasty. We had it on good authority from Mum and Tony that the pasties in Bath are incredible. They were nothing short of it! Bellies full (a little dessert helped us along) and we spent the afternoon walking the streets of Bath. We first headed up to Piccadilly Circus where we were impressed with the architecture and surrounding parks. Ever so cool. We then headed back to the centre of town where we walked the river and peeked over the walls of the Roman Baths. We didn’t get a chance to go in as we had arrived late and they were closing up. A real shame, but we have to leave some thing for next trip! We were also lucky enough to stumble upon a wine shop – score! A couple of Aussie wines in hand and we head back to Muzz and Nicola’s place where Nick cooked up his famous roast pumpkin and blue vein cheese risotto. A fantastic meal, great wine and a board game to see out the night while we chatted all the while catching up on three years since we had last seen one another.

Photos

Play time with Dominic
A circus in Bath
The river through bath

6/11 Battle to Bath - 0km, 4901total

Our farewells said and we are on the road heading back to Bath. We are a little quieter today, heads feeling a little sore from yesterday...Not much to report, although we all recovered quite well.
Just one point to mention - during discussions with Muzz, he suggested that when he was back in Oz he would like to hear more use of the phrase "Cheeky little number". Go out, spread the word, and let's make him happy when he finally makes it back down under again!

Photos

The morning after

5/11 Battle overnight - 0km, 4901total

Now we didn’t really get to describe The Kings Head very well. The pub is all open plan on the bottom (with a couple of walls thrown in for holding the rest of it up) and to the left of the bar is a narrow stair well. You head up the stair well where you meet the study to the right and then up a small staircase where you travel along the corridor to the lounge, kitchen and bathroom. Very cool stuff with a balcony to view some of Battle. Up another narrow staircase is the bedroom where we all camped out – top floor of the hotel and we had an awesome view of the street!
So the morning was spent browsing the markets for gloves and scarves (we were in need of some warmer gear!) before heading to the supermarket for some groceries for dinner. Fridge filled and we set to the main street to buy a battalion button as well as a coffee to warm our bellies.
After a very indulgent morning we headed to Nicola’s Mum’s and picked up one of the costume for the night and then spent a couple of hours walking the bushland around Battle. It’s all rolling hills and dense forest. Amazing stuff and great to stretch the legs.
And then the real fun begins! After a spot of fabulous homemade curry, we don our costumes, vodka in the pocket, a couple of pints in the belly and hit the streets! Outside the Kings Head a band producing music from garbage bins has struck up some music and we bop along, checking out all the costumes around us. Some people have gone to incredible lengths and really gotten into the spirit.
Now for the surprise. Muzz has told us we would be marching in a procession…well, needless to say we didn’t really believe him (not saying he tends to exaggerate or tell wild stories, but we really didn’t think we would be in the procession!). As it turns out, Muzz and Nicola do it every year and as Nicola wasn’t with us, Nick and I stepped in to help out! Flaming torch in hand, we walked the length of the main street with firecrackers going off all around us (mostly Muzza setting them off!) and taking a hearty mouthful of vodka occasionally to keep us warm. OK, that’s a bit of a white lie since with all the flaming torches around us we were pretty toasty!
The procession carried on for half hour or so before ending in a field where an effigy to Guy Fawkes had been set up along with a massive bon fire. Ever so cool with crackers going off everywhere and the bon fire flaring up very quickly, Muzz got a little excited….and decided it would be a great idea to see what would happen when a cracker went off in your pocket. I hear you all moan and say “what the heck were you thinking?” but Nick and I did encourage him a little, both a little interested to see the outcome. With his jacket perched on the fence, cracker lit and bunged in his pocket, we stood back. And waited. But not for long! The cracker exploded and so did the pocket – hee hee. We laughed till we cried while Muzz attempted to put his pocket back onto his jacket. Rather unsuccessfully we might add.
The night grew long, there was the usual hot dog at 2 am with a bucket or two of water, the use of public facilities in areas that are not really designated public facilities (i.e. Peeing in the bushes – one including Nick falling into a blackberry bush) and getting lost in someone’s backyard (and almost losing a giant bar of fudge!) while we attempted to avoid the crowds down the main street. All in all a fantastic night. A real cracker!! Thanks Muzz…

Photos

Starting the night at Kings Head
Ok ... let's march!
It's kinda hard to see through this smoke
Out the front of the Battle Memorial Halls
I think I have one more in here Jade
So that's what happens if you put a banger in your pocket
One impressive display

4/11 Bath to Battle - 0km, 4901total
Now, the main reason we arrived in England a day early, was to check out the Guy Fawkes celebrations.
Unfortunately Nicola and the kiddies stayed behind as Nicola wasn’t feeling 100%. Such a bum – but on the up side I did get to borrow her fabulous jacket for the celebrations! Thanks Nicola : )
Muzz was kind enough to zoom past Stonehenge for us to check it out from the road. From all accounts of everyone that we’ve spoken to, the 30 quid cost is not worth it since you get pretty much the same view from the road. So we cheated and took some snaps from outside the wire fence. While some may say we missed the experience, we were happy to keep our 30 quid each!
We stop into Brighton and check out the beach there, as well as the pier, which had been burnt down recently. It’s a pretty eerie sight with the sun setting behind it. It was a tad cold down south and we spent most of our time in the shopping centre looking for some new underwear (our’s were looking a little tatty after so many months on the road).
We meet back up with Muzz who gives us a driving tour, after which we stop for some of the best fish and chips in Hastings – delicious. The little shop is bursting with people and the que is out the door. Must be on to a winner! We sit in the car and dine like kings on our fish and chips and a soft drink. Can’t eat too often like this since we aren’t cycling each day!
We arrive in Battle were we are set to stay in Nicola’s Dad’s pub – The Kinds Head. A very old, fabulous pub with loads of character. Plus they have Guinness on tap along with loads of other cool beers. We are all fairly knackered and enjoy a pint each before dragging ourselves upstairs and collapsing into bed.

3/11 Portsmouth in to Bath - 10km, 4901total

We are on the early train to Bath where we have a bit of fun hoisting the bikes onto the train. At least in England they are a lot more organised and knew we were coming, so we had a bit of assistance getting our steads onto the train. We kick back for a couple of hours while we cruise on out to Bath.
Arriving in Bath we chat to the local the tourist office who tells us if we want to ride to Freshford, we should chat to the bike store down stairs. Off we head to chat to the bicycle shop people – ah bliss!! No sign language, no bad French (or German or Italian for that matter) from us and amazingly we get what we are after first time. English speaking people again! We’re sure the novelty will wear off pretty soon as we were both pretty excited learning new languages, but it has been a while since we spoke English to anyone other than each other.
Map in hand we navigate a couple of hills around Bath before finding the trail along the canal. To say we were taking it easy was a little bit of an understatement. That is until we get an sms from our bud Muzza, giving us a hurry along as Nicola has cooked up a storm! Well, if a home cooked meal after 4 months on the road isn’t enough to get us crackin, I don’t what is!
Now, we must take a quick step back in time to explain who Muzz and Nicola are. Muzz and I worked together in Melbourne in 1997 were we became fast friends and he introduced me to sushi and Guinness (it took me a while to come to love both!!). After moving back to England Muzz met the beautiful Nicola and they decided to get hitched! Fabulous idea since the two of them are ace together. And now they have two gorgeous kiddies!
I have digressed as I tend to do (Muzz and I do it all the time!), so now back to the story;
Thinking we must be getting close, we leave the path and head up onto the road – argh!! Forgetting we are back on the “right” side of the road, we find ourselves heading face first into a truck! We make a quick switch to the other side while the truckie gives us a wave of affection (well, not quite affection, some people might be offended by the gesture he made at us!).
Looks like we jumped off the trail a little early as we find ourselves at the bottom of a VERY big hill. After chatting to some local workers, they give us the thumbs up to cruise over the top. Nick agrees with them. All well and good, except he isn’t carrying all the gifts (i.e. a couple of bottles of Bordeaux, a few tins of pate, toys for the kiddies and other bits and pieces we are taking home, as well as the bike bags). You see, as Nick’s pannier rack snapped, I agreed to take the heavy parts of the load. Half way up the hill I fair thought I was going to bust an artery….I stopped for a breather and a lovely lady out watering her garden yells some encouragement. Not saying I am competitive, but if Nick can do it, so can I!! I haul butt up the hill and was given a pat on the back by Nick. He had clean forgotten the load I was carrying!! It was a good laugh though.
We arrive in Freshford and after some directions find Muzza and Nicola’s place – woo hoo!! We are both so excited to see Nicola and the kiddies. Muzza is no where to be found – he had gone off searching for us on his bike.
Now, we won’t bore you with all the details of the conversation that went on – mostly there was not much talking from Nick and I as we gorged ourselves on the best roast we had seen – loads of vegetables and the most delicious meat. Nicola, Nick and I are quite happy for you to come live with us any time!!
We spent the night catching up on all the news, playing with Dominic who we got to meet for the first time and being amazed at lil Annabanana who was only a spring chicken when we saw her last.
A few glasses of red and we are off to sleep.

Photos

Phone booths at bath station
From Bath to Freshford along the canal

St Malo - Portsmouth - 17km, 4891total

Up early and we pack all the gear and load the bikes. After having a big clean out and turfing everything that was not making the trip back to Oz, our load is significantly less!
We rug up in our wet weather gear and head for port.
We are waved through ahead of the cars and the bikes are secured with some ropes to the wall. Sweet. Now we can relax for the 9 hour crossing to England!
Well, almost. The gale force winds that have been blowing over the past couple of days have not let up and the swell in open waters has me feeling a little squeamish.
We decide to take our mind off the rocking of the boat and catch a flick for a couple of hours. We caught War of the Worlds, which was a pretty cool film, and not as tacky as I had thought it was going to be. A great way to pass a couple of hours, before heading up stairs for a few games of Uno (I lost miserably) and some reading.
In no time at all it seems we are arriving in Portsmouth, although with the rough weather, the boat has been delayed and we miss the train we had wanted to take to Bath.
Instead, we do a few laps of Portsmouth looking for a hotel. After one knock back, we do find a B & B that has room, but it's above a pub and Nick comes out reeking of cigarette. No thanks.
We ride on to the station to buy tickets for tomorrow and get a recommendation from the attendant for a hostel.
Whilst we didn't take up the hostel recommendation, we did find a fabulous B & B on the way there which had two rooms left. Sweet. The guy who runs the place is fantastic and opens the rear gate so we have somewhere to put the bikes, although he does suggest locking them up as well. That’s a bit scary!
We check in, chill out, take a walk, shower and it’s into the most comfy bed we have seen in a while.

St Malo overnight - On foot

To say we are winding down is a little bit of an understatement.
After a pretty rough night sleep with the wind at almost gale force strength and rain beating down on our tent, we are both feeling pretty lazy. Our tent faired much better than the one next to us though. The owners of which had slept in their car as the fly had been blown off the tent and all it contained was flooded. We guessed by the serious lack of pegging out of the tent that they were not regular campers.
We had planned to ride to Dinan today, have a look around and ride back to St Malo. But after reading LP's description, we decide we have seen enough fortified towns and medieval villages for one trip.
Instead, we laze about the campsite, do some much needed washing and in the afternoon decide to take a stroll to the rock sculptures.
By a little stroll, we actually mean a 10km return hike, which we think makes up for our laziness on the bikes.
The rock sculptures are pretty impressive. A hermit who lived in the area carved them between 1870 and 1895. There are comical faces, knights and dragons, portraits of people, throne like seats and mermaids. We are both amazed by the carvings that have done way up on the cliff ridge so as not to be erased by the extremely high tides that come in. We take a wander around the rocks on the beach, checking out the natural aquariums that have been created by the seas over the years. There are all types of different sea weed - one which has little tendrils that run from dark green at the base to light green, then to pink and purple. France really has some weird and wonderful seaweeds!
Whilst we were out on the rocks, trying not to step on the mussels that are in serious plague proportions, we were keeping an eye on the tide. When we decide to climb back up the cliffs, where we had been standing on 30 minutes earlier was now almost completely covered in water, with waves crashing in at a rapid rate.
On the way back to camp we spot a rabbit and follow him in the cabbage fields for a while, before checking the skies and realising we don't have long before it will pour. Such a shame as the sun had been shining all day, even though the wind hadn't let up.
We arrive back in camp, grab everything we need for dinner and head for shelter. We had packed up our fly earlier that day, as it was dry for the first time in a couple of days.
We chill out in the evening, eating the last of our food, the emergency meal of dried mushroom risotto and for dessert, some bread and honey.
We would have hung out a little longer, talking, drinking our wine and enjoying the sound of the rain if the temperature hadn't dropped to the point where our bums were being frozen to the bench.
Time to crawl into the tent me thinks!

Photos

One happy little hermit
Foot up the ....
A view from the rock sculptures
Searching for sea creatures

St Malo overnight - on foot

After cycling around till all hours last night, we thought we deserved a sleep in.
Once we had dragged ourselves from the tent, we headed off for some breakfast before cruising into St Malo on the bus. We are planning a very lazy day today.
Whilst the town of St Malo is pretty cool with the walled city and old buildings, apart from a walk around the top of the walls, we didn't really find a lot else more to do apart from shopping and eating. Not so bad really!
As we are in the seafood capital of France, we headed for a long lazy lunch at a restaurant, where, if you weren't a seafood eater, you would have starved. There were mussels, oysters, fish, lobster, periwinkles and loads of other seafood to tempt your taste buds. We ordered up some grub, along with a nice bottle of plonk and settled in for a couple of hours.
Just as we are leaving the restaurant we hear the hihg pitch song of children's voices. We turn the corner to see a group of them, being led by their teacher, all dressed up for Halloween and going trick or treating. Very cute.
After stopping for a coffee at this fab little "circus" bar which is decorated with all types of paraphenalia and where you can sit at the bar on a trapeze, we hit the fresh seafood sales. We ordered a half kilo of mussels for dinner, although we think the guy was pretty generous as we had more mussels that we could eat.
We scoot back to camp, via the supermarket to get lollies for any trick or treaters we may receive, and get cracking on our carving.
Before we started carving, we had a think about what pictures remind us of halloween and if we could incorporate our trip into it at all. So, Nick had the Witch on a bik and I chose the cauldron, which represented all the cooking we had done on our MSR in the last four months.
Both a little chuffed with our pumpkins, Nick jumps up to decorate the tent with cob webs and spiders (oooooh!!) and then we start dinner. The mussels go down particularly well, as does the pumpkin and onion soup that we made with the guts of our pumpkins! For all those that would like to enjoy some home made, on the road, what have we got left to use, pumpkin soup, here is the recipe;
Ingredients;
x2 medium sized pumpkins (small enough to carry on a bike)
70g butter
7 good sized shallots (size of small onions)
pinch of salt
dash of milk
dash of water
x2 stock cubes
Directions;
1. Scrape out guts of pumpkins to remove seeds, then scrape out flesh and place in pot with a small dash of water and two stock cubes. Cover and simmer for 30minutes.
2. Set aside pumpkin and thinly slice shallots. Fry shallots separately in 70g of butter.
3. Add cooked shallots to soup and return to heat. Attempt to "blend" soup using fork-squishing-soup-method on inside-of-spoon (of course if you have a portable food processor, this would be more useful).
4. Cook cor further 20minutes, add a dash and milk and voila!

Photos

The boules Ground just outside the wall at St Malo
Jade walking along the walk at St Malo
The swimming pool, water replaced at high tide
Trick or treat in St Malo
One awesome Pumpkin soup
Carved Pumpkin - Jade's titled "The Caldron" Nick's "Lane reserved for witches on bikes"
One very spooky campsite
hmmmm Mussels

Mont St Michel - St Malo - 83km, 4874total

A very exciting start to the morning. Whiilst boiling water for a nice hot cup of tea (how we do love them first thing in the morning with a good dash of honey) our mobile rings and it's Hugh and Reesa calling from Maldon Folk Festival! Such a buzz to hear from them and we are a little bummed to have missed the festival. Next year we will be there with dancing shoes on.
Whilst we had been chatting about home after the call, we hadn't noticed the lovely clear sky where we had watched an amazing sun rise earlier in the morning, had now turned a pretty horrid grey colour. While Nick sprints off to do dishes, I madly pack the sleeping bags and mats and try to get everything as water proof as possible. We manage to get the tent packed, although it's a little damp.
We set off from Mont St Michel and are thinking how glad we are we walked there last night once all the tourists had gone. The steady stream of traffic we pass going the other direction gives us an idea of what the crowds would be like in those tiny, narrow streets.
Throughout France we have noticed their love of "eries", that is patisseries, chocolaterie, sandwicheries, boucheries, boulangeries and now we have another to add to the list - biscuiterie. Now a place that is totally devoted to biscuits has to be good, so we stop in for a quick look. We were a little disappointed that there wasn't that lovely smell of homemade cookies, but we still made a couple of investments.
About 10kms out of Mont St Michel we spot a farmer with a load of pumpkins on the back of his tractor. Sweet! We had been wondering where to find some pumpkins for carving and here they are travelling along in front of us. We stop and check them all out, finding a couple of smaller ones. There are some that are massive and although they would be cool to carve, the weight is an issue. The farmer gives us a grin and a thumbs up as we cycle off, a pumpkin each on board.
The road to Cancale where we are to stop for lunch is a busy one. We did manager to find one smaller road that took us along the coast where we could see the tide was a long way out. All the boats were sitting in sand and it's all this time you can do walks on the beach and search for oyster beds. The Cancale area is famous for oysters and mussels, so for all you seafood lovers, this is the place to be. Not knowing the tides for the day, we decide to stick to land. We must have broken one mirror too many as our luck in finding something to eat is almost as bad as our searching for accommodation. We try one pizzaria that is not serving food anymore, the patisserie has no savoury food left and when we finally find a kebab shop, they have run out of kebabs and are only making sandwiches. Shibby, I'll take two. About 25minutes later the sandwiches finally arrive.
In the time that I was standing there like a goose waiting for our lunch, Nick did strike up conversation with a lovely lady who told him that it is the long weekend holiday for All Saints day. That would explain why all the hotels are fully booked and the ridiculous amount of traffic on the road.
After climbing the very, very steep hill into the centre of town fo the second time, we leave Cancale and head for Fort du Gueslin. The fort is on an island and pretty impressive. We stop for a little rest on the beach and watch a couple of guys being photographed in front of the fort, both of them jumping high and then taking a step towards each other. We couldn't work out what was going on and we don't think everyone else who stopped to stare could either.
With only about 12km's to go into St Malo we decide to skip the rock carvings and check those out on our day off. More details of those to come!
Lucky we did skip them as we arrive in St Malo after a guy just out of town gaves us fantastic directions to the campground. We battled the motor homes and ridiculous amount of traffic and arrive at the campground, only to find it has closed. It is supposed to be open mind you. It's getting pretty dark by this stage and we are both a bit grumpy. We call the La Fontaine campground who tell us they are open and have tent spaces but they don't speak any English so we can't get directions.
We ask about 6 different lots of people, none of who speak English, for directions. One guy and his son are very helpful and even give us their map of St Malo which was very sweet.
We cycle towards the campground, only to find the map we have is a tourist map and not indicative of any landmarks, shapes of streets, intersections etc. You get the idea. By this stage we have been looking for the camp site for nearly an hour and a half, it cold, pitch black and starting to rain.
Lucky for us we find a couple who speak English and they give us directions, although they are not that clear. We make a wrong turn and then they appear from behind us in their car. They are kind enough to allow us to follow them tin their car and they lead us to the campground. Champions!
We pitch tent, have some dinner, then take a shower. We are both pretty knackered and crawl into the tent to have a look at things we can see and do in St Malo before dropping off to sleep.
P.S. The title of this blog comes from us saying, we only have 60 odd km's to do today, we can carry the pumpkins for 50km, no problem. With an extra 20km's searching for the elusive camp site, turns out we carried those babies for 73km. Now how's that for dedication to Halloween?

Photos

View of Mont-St-Michel as we cross Le Couesnon
Bringing in a fresh load of pumpkins from the paddock
The best looking pumpkin I've ever seen
Coming into Cancale
Pointe Du Grouin
After sitting hear for 15 mins I still have no idea what these jumping dudes are doing. Great view though.
Our friends who gave us a map and helped us find the La Fontaine Campground

La Guerche-D-Britagne - Mont St Michel - 116km, 4791total

Feeling pretty proud of ourselves for having done such a big day yesterday, we decide we will make the push for Mont St Michel today so we have an extra day to relax before we leave.
Now, we must say the "push" is made a little easier by the fact that we have a TAIL WIND!! Finally, the wind is blowing in the direction we need!
As the trips end is drawing closer, we have been thinking about how to transport everything back home again. We make the decision to invest in some bike bags and figure that we are certain to find them in Rennes, about 40km's away.
We make an early morning sprint for the town and arrive just before lunch. The first thing we notice coming into town is the Decathlon store. Score!! We had been told about this store which basically caters for a large range of sports. We have no trouble finding a bike bag each and also invest in a new strap for the back panniers, as well as a warmer jumper as it's getting colder during the day when we cycle. We make lunch in the carpark and have a laugh about all the odd places we have prepared our meals. With Nick's bike adjusted to fit on the extra load of the bike bags, we are off.
Around mid afternoon we find ourselves riding along the river, which has a couple of locks. In the whole time we had been in The Netherlands we had not seen a lock in action, apart from a really, really big one which fills so slowly. A lot different to the we saw today which is a lot smaller and fills like a giant bath, although a little more stinky! After the lock has filled, they just lever open the gates and presto, the boat is through. Fantastic to watch in action.
We stop in Bazouges, an artist town, with the most adorable narrow streets and cool houses made completely of stone. We have a bit of a look around, before heading to the patisserie to buy some bread for breakfast tomorrow.
Late afternoon, about 15km from our intended site we find ourselves at the top of a hill overlooking the plains, with a direct view to St Michel. It's an incredible sight, perched on a rock the buildiong towers above everything.
We arrive in town and by-pass the campsite after missing it completely whilst looking elsewhere. We do a u-turn and have the tent pitched shortly after. We both hit the showers as some hair washing is desperately needed.
A fantastic meal of curried chicken and rice and we decide to make the walk to St Michel and check it out at night when there are less tourists. The walk there is about 35mins which seems like forever as we are used to riding our bikes at a much faster pace! We enjoy a late night drink after walking the streets of the village and then make our way back to the tent slowly. It's just after 11pm and after two days of pretty serious riding, we are both knackered. Lucky for us we get an extra hour sleep as the clocks go back tonight. Sweet.

Photos

Nothing better that amphetamin enhance meat
Jade, intrigued the process of opening the locking
Nick, pretending to help in the process
French Patisserie at Bazouges
The Windmill near Moidrey close to Mont-St-Michel
Mont-St-Michel at night
Don't stick your head out too far, it might get blown off
Vey down to the Shopping strip on Mont-St-Michel

St Lambert - La Guerche-D-Britagne - 117km, 4675total

Today and tomorrow are basically travel days, riding between the Loire Valley and the provinces of Normandy and Brittany.
We are on the road mid-morning, after a quick hello to Bec (sorry we ran out of credit Bec!!) thinking we only had around 70kms to do. We had talked last night about doing two days riding in one to give us an extra day up our sleeve, but with the rain setting last night, we are not that keen to crawl out of our soaking wet tent too early.
We stop briefly at lunch for a hot roll and cheesy/potatoey/hammy concoction which was fabbo! On a day where it is a little chilly and has been raining on and off, it's great to enjoy a hot lunch.
Now, to be honest, there was not a lot to see today, although we did spot a pretty awesome building set in the side of the hill and made entirely of stone which was pretty cool.
But the highlight (for me anyway!) was late in the afternoon when we found a turkey farm. We stopped to get a picture of all of them running around wildly and sqwaking, with our mouths watering at the thought of Reesa's Christmas turkey. Nick was standing by the fence getting the picture, then all of a sudden about 100 turkeys in the yard made a dash for him, thinking he has food. Now I thought it was a pretty funny sight watching all these birds hoon towards Nick making the loudest noise, but he snapped his picture so fast then made a quick get away. Turns out Nick doesn't think 100 birds zooming at you and squealing is that funny, more scary.
We arrive at our intended campsite, only to find the campsite which is supposed to be open, is closed. After having done 70km we are both still feeling pretty good and decide we will press on and cover some more ground. It was already 5pm but we still have some light for the next couple of hours.
Now, to say we had a bit of an unlucky streak this evening is a bit of an understatement.
After the campsite being closed, we put our rain coats on as the rain had started again. Not so much of a problem. We hit a patch of forest which is amazing to ride through as there are no cars, only one lone jogger slushing through the mud. This guy looks pretty hard core to us , pushing through the puddles and mud in his shoes, while we try to avoid them. Maybe we are soft!
Another highlight of the day was finding wild holly growing by the side of the road. I was pretty excited as a) I have never seen wild holly growing, or real holly for that matter, only plastic and b) it's nearly Christmas!! Which means, fabulous food and lots of time with our fantastic family and friends!
Anyway, we arrive in another town about 20km away only to find out that the one hotel in this tiny village is closed for the off season. Blow! We chat to the florist who tells us there is a hotel in the next town, 10km away.
So we are back on the bikes, with all our flashy-flashy lights going because it's getting pretty dark and it's raining pretty solidly by this stage. We arrive at the hotel recommended in a very sleepy little village and it turns out they are full. We can not believe our luck. One closed campsite, one closed hotel and one hotel fully booked.
The girl at the hotel is very helpful and tells us it's 16km's to the neext town and we should take the hotel immediately on our right as we go in.
We head out on the road to La Guerche-D-Britagne which, being a country road, is unlit and pretty dark. Our front lights are pretty handy and light up the road well, but we don't always know when there is a hill coming, just that our pedalling becomes harder and we have change down gears.
The final sprint into town is made easier by the fact that it is a mostly downhill run. We arrive at the hotel which looks very, very closed. Not content with a couple of closed doors and lights off, I stumble into the restaurant where the owners are enjoying a late dinner. I must look like a drowned rat as they smile at me as I blunder through in French that we need a room for one night and we have bikes with us.
Phew! One of the ladies there speak english and gets us settled, bikes in the back shed and some towels to dry ourselves off. It's just after 8pm and we are both exhausted from the day's ride. The lady recommends a creperie for dinner, so we quickly get changed and make a bee-line for the restaurant.
Never have dry clothes and a hot meal been so good. Nick enjoyed a steak while I had an omlette, after which we shared an orange crepe.
Bellies full, we jog back to the hotel as the rain has gotten a little harder. Aftrer a shower, we hang out our tent to dry, along with our rain coats, shoes, knee warmers, t-shirts....you get the idea. Everything is a little damp!

Photos

Structure just near Four St-Pierre
Gobble Gobble Gobble. . . ahhhhhhhh run

Saumur - St Lambert - 58km, 4558total

A very lazy start to the day (seems to be the habit as the end of the trip draws near!) and we cruise around Saumur in the morning checking the town and then enjoy a lazy lunch from the patisserie. Very tough morning.
We head for Rochemenier and arrive mid-afternoon to check out a troglodyte village.
We are both pretty impressed with the 20 rooms they have open to the public that are formed from two farms. The area had been deserted at the beginning of the 20th century and some of the rooms had fallen into disrepair as the roots from the plants above started to take over. But a lot of work has been done and the rooms are in pretty amazing condition given that they date back to the 13th century.
The rooms in the houses were very different to the ones we saw yesterday as they were more open plan and had less ornate fittings. Given that they were working farms, mostly producing wine and prunes, they probably didn't have time for intricate carvings.
While there was quite a lot of activity under ground, there was also activity above ground with the church being on the flat land above (although they also had an underground chapel from when the religious wars were in full swing). The church was famous for a couple of things. Firstly the slabs on the floor are old tomb stones which still show some markings. Also, the towns people used to believe that the church bells could get rid of two things: diarrhorea and
hail and thunder. We couldn't work out how the two are related.
Listed in one of the display rooms was other areas around the world that also have underground or cave living and our own South Australia got some coverage with the dwellings in Coober Pedy.
After a beer at the Troglodyte village we decide we had better make tracks. We pick up a half tail wind and half cross wind in the afternoon which makes a change from the head wind we normally catch.
We arrive at camp in the quiet town of St Lambert. Well, we thought it was quiet. Turns out the other people camping here are a little like your country yobbo's. Lots of revving of motorbikes and playing of loud music. That was until we went round to the culprits and had a few words. Peace and quiet at last.

Photos

Rochemenier Troglodyde Village - Inside the Wine Celler
Rochemenier Troglodyde Village - no Jade it won't fit on the bike
Rochemenier Troglodyde Village - A very grand way to ride into town
Rochemenier Troglodyde Village - So exactly how tall were these people?
Rochemenier Troglodyde Village - Looking out of the tunnel to the Church
The real purpose for this bracket

Azay-le-Rideau - Saumur - 60km, 4500total

We had by-passed the chateau in Azay yesterday so decided to drop by in the morning, just for a look from the outside. Don't want to get the ABC (Another Bloody Chateau) syndrome. We check it out from the front gates and then head to the patisserie for some bread. Turns out the patisserie also sells the famous macaroons that we had missed out on previously. We invest in a bag of a mixed batch and pedal on.
We head directly for chateau Usse, famous for it's inspiration in the writing of Sleeping Beauty. The chateau is in a u-shape with two large sections on either side and a corridor between the two. We find it a pretty appropriate time to give the macaroons a crack while we admire the view.
Now the receipe I know (and love, thanks Dad) for macaroons is very different to the ones we enjoyed this morning. They are in different flavours; pistachio, chocolate, lemon, strawberry and caramel and are round in shape. The outside is a wafer thin biscuit and the inside is mushy and flavoursome. Very, very delicious.
It's is a chateau party day today, next stop is the ruins of Chateau de Chinon, most famous for being the last place Joan of Arc spent time. We got to check out her room, the ball rooms, wine cellars and best of all, the dungeons. The dungeons were the most eerie part of the entire area, being a couple of floors below ground, they were cold and smelled of wet dirt and mould. There was one cool thing about them in that the prisoners had carved pictures, poems and their names into the walls which were all still evident despite being done in the early 1300's.
We headed out over the river and then found a bike path that runs right along side it. Fantastic. No traffic and a pretty reasonable track even if it is dirt. We spend the next hour or so cruising along with the birds scooting above our heads and multi coloured leaves fluttering past as they fall from the trees.
We stop for a break around 5pm near a river, where we can see a guy sitting and fishing in his boat. Seems he is in the wrong spot because close to shore we can see the bellies of the fish as they come up to feed and they are lifting themselves half out of the water to eat the bugs hovering just above.
On the way into Saumur we find a mini-troglodyte village that also operates as a vineyard. Score! We head in and taste a few of the vineyards wines. A 2004, a 2003 and a 2001. Now being on the bike we are fairly limited so we had to leave the 2004 behind. A couple of bottles under the arm and we decide to check out the village.
The guy who we spoke to about the wine was telling us that the vineyard was purchased, knowing that what is below the ground belongs to the person who owns the top. Thus, they had the grapes and the troglodytes. The houses were incredibly cool (and cold as well) with hallways linking the rooms and intricate carvings all around the fire places and window frames.
We wander the rooms for a while before checking the clock and realising we have little time left before the sun drops.
We think the dude may have winced a little as he saw us put the wine into our back panniers then hoon off down the hill - we like it shaken, not stirred.
We pedal as fast as we can being weighed down by some awesome wine and arrive in Saumur just as the sun is dropping the most amazing oranges and reds on the chateau. We pitch tent at our "riverside apartment" as Nick liked to call it and enjoyed a great bottle of wine while the daylight faded.

Photos

Chateau Azay-le-Rideau
Chateau Usse
The Bridge into the middle part of Chateau Chinon
Chateau Chinon - From the clock tower
Chateau Chinon - The main function rooms, currently under repair
Chateau Chinon - Coming up from the underground passage
Chateau Chinon - A great view whilst fishing
A ralaxing evening by the Loire
Inside the mini-troglodyte village just out of Montsoreau
Yes, I'll take the extra large bottle thank you
Although recent an impressive stair case
View from our riverside appartment of Chateau Saumur

Loches - Azay-le-Rideau - 66km, 4640total

Clean clothes. Yay! We were both getting to the point when our clothes could have walked themselves to the washer, so it was time for a visit to the laundromat. Honestly, we are not that gross, I may be exaggerating a little. Atleast we still had clean jocks this time!
We investigate Loches a little, having felt we didn't do it justice last night. We check out the chateau in the old part of town before back tracking over yesterday's path a little, then switching direction after a few km's. Around 10km's out we find some amazing Gallo-Roman arches from a bridge. We stop for a refuel (ie. some chocolate) and then we're off again.
Lonely Planet has been pretty good to us. And when I read "in this region the wind blows generally to the west" I reminded Nick that we are doing the trail backwards which would mean going against the wind. We both agreed it can't be that bad, but after coping a head wind all day again today, I fair near cracked it. Well actually I did have a hissy fit and in the worst possible way. That wind just drove me batty!
Finally we hit a more densely forested area and the wind let up a little. We arrived in Cormery where we checked out the remains of a 12th century abbey and also sussed out the patisserie. The latter being famous for it's macaroons, the recipe which was passed on from monks who originally made the treat. It's not our lucky day. The patisserie is closed on Tuesday's and what's more, I don't get to make my joke about the macaroons not being stale, even though they were baked so long ago by monks. Probably for the best really.
We detour just out of Pont de Ruan and check out the Moulins de Balzac, a couple of wooden water mills that have been there for a very long time (sorry guys, not sure of the date, LP has failed us for the first time) before taking the trail that would lead us to the Troglodyte houses.
We said earlier we would expand on the use of lime stone...here goes in brief.
Years and years ago (we're talking mostly around the 16th and 17th centuries, although some have been found to date back as far back as the 12th century) the people of the Loire region used the soft tufa or limestone that is found along the river to cut out bricks that were used to build their houses. After cutting out the bricks, the peasant farmers were left with caves in the sides of the hills. What better way to make use of these than to whack on a door and call it an abode. Sweet! They made money off the bricks and had a house as well. There are still a number of these places used by modern day families and right up until the turn of the 20th there was still 5% of French families living in troglodyte dwellings. And ofcourse the city dwellers have jumped on the band wagon and are now buying the run down ones and fixing them up as holiday houses. Very cool stuff in any ones book.
So, we had been a little concerned that we would miss these dwellings, thinking that there weren't many left. Turns out we couldn't have been more wrong. At every turn today we spotted either a disused dwelling or one that was still in use. It didn't matter how many we saw, we still got excited at each new one.
We arrived in Azay-le-Rideau late in the evening, only to find the camp ground had decided to close. Grrrr.
It did kind of work in our favour as we decided to take LP's recommendation for a hotel. The manager of the hotel was awesome, opened the garage for our bikes and upgraded our room for nothing without us even saying a word. Fantastic. We sat in the room and enjoyed some duck pate before heading out for pizza and a stroll around the town. Azay is incredible at night, with practically no one about, we walked the streets and window shopped before heading back to the hotel for a little soccer. On TV that is.

Photos

Stair well at the hotel we stayed
Downtown Azay-le-Rideau
Chateau Azay-le-Rideau
Approaching the Azay-le-Rideau Dojon (Dungeon)
Ruins of old old Roman Bridge
Benedictine Abbey St Paul at Cormery
Entrance to the Blackfalcon's Dungeon (closed on Tuesday we discovered)
I think we might need this to get our luggage home Jade
A very peaceful Pont de Ruan
Peaceful except for the sloshing of a water wheel from the old mill
I'm kinda glad you don't like Foie Gras Jade

Onzain - Loches - 69km, 4584total

One of the resident chickens drops in for a bit of our morning banana and hangs about, thinking there might be more grub coming his way. Not today dude, go hunt some bugs now!
The temperature has definitely dropped in the last few days. This is pretty evident from the fact that the condesation that formed on the tent over night, froze. We waited for the tent and fly to dry, which never happened. We decided to hit the road with Nick carrying an extra kilo or two in weight from the water on the tent.
We stop in Amboise for some lunch which was topped off with a fantastic home made hot chocolate and cake from the chocolatier. Evil stuff, but absolutely worth it! Heading back to the bikes which we had left near a wine cellar, we decide we had better stop into the cellar and check out the local wares.
Turns out they have some lovely red wine from the local area and we give a few of them a go. The cellar itself is pretty funky, having been built into the castle above which is made out of limestone. More on that technique later....
We purchase one of the wines and Nick can't help but give the duck pate and paste a whirl. We had passed a duck farm earlier in the day which specialised in "foie gras" or duck pate but was closed for the season. Lucky for us the wine cellar sells foie gras from the same duck farm and after a bit of tasting and "mmmmm-ing" from Nick, we invest in a pot.
It was in Amboise that Mr Leonard Da Vinci spent his last three years and you can go into his old abode and view some of his inventions and works. Being pressed for time and protesting the obscene entry fee (for what it was!) we decided to pass.
We pressed on for the Chateau Chenonceau. We were not disappointed. We took up the guided audio tour (on i-pods which was very cool!) and spent the next 45 minutes getting aquianted with the people who have lived in the chateau since it's construction in 1515. The tour focuses a lot on the women who lived in the chateau, particularly the rivalry between wives and mistresses. There was also a portrait of Madame Dupin who was described by one man as being so beautiful that on first sight, he was besotted. She was also responsible for having saved the chateau during the French Revoluation as the community loved her so much that they left the place alone. It would have been such a shame for such a fantastic construction to have been damaged. One other point, for a brief tour, is that the chateau also acted as a hospital during the First World War at the then owners expense. The audio tour definitely helped imprint the history of the chateau into both our memories.
Given the time of year a number of the campsites have closed, so we had purchased a book showing which ones were open, so we knew where to aim for each day. Tonight, there is no campground in sight, so we HAD to take up residence in a 15th century coach inn. Such a shame. The place has an amazing amount of charm, with all the original beams still visible. The stair case, although very narrow and a little tough to navigate with panniers in hand, is very, very cool. We crack open the wine we purchased from Amboise (don't want to have to carry that extra weight of course!) and relax in style.

Photos

Morning Chook
Crossing the bridge into Amboise
Tasting in cave tucked under the Chateau
Lookingat Chenonceau from the front
The ball room in Chenonceau
I think we'll take this one for carving in a weeks time
The more impressive side view

Crouy-s-Cossan - Onzain - 49km, 4519total

A wake up call from the birds and we poke our heads out of the tent. The campsite is full of birds and one cheeky little bugger comes and perches himself right on our tent before walking onto our picnic mat for a bit of a hello!
The manager of the campsite comes and gives us a smile to let us know she is open. I trot down there to pay the bill and manage a little bit of French. She asks if we were cold last night and, given my French is limited, I draw a blank. I got the night bit but she had to make a shivering motion for me to understand the rest. And in asking if we slept OK, she makes the pose of sleeping and nods at me. We had been warned by so many people that the French can be pretty tough on you if you don't speak their language, but when we were discussing it later, we couldn't think of one person who hasn't gone out of their way for us in France. They are an amazing bunch of people and incredibly friendly.
We hit the road mid morning and stop only 10km's from the camp site. This is what we had pushed hard for yesterday. The Chateau Chambord. To describe it as amazing is an understatement. We are first greeted by the border of the grounds, an impressive 54km sq that surrounds the chateau. Riding through we stop at one of the many observatory's where you can spot all types of deer and wild boar. Unfortunately we arrived midday so they are not active, but we were keen to look at the trees and loads of different mushrooms as well, so getting off the bike and walking around was pretty cool.
We arrived at the chateau, both of us blown away. There are loads of turrets, all different shapes and sizes. We park the bikes and walk through the maze of 480 rooms that make up this marvel.
The main attraction of the chateau is the double staircases that wind around the same axis but never meet. We played a bit of fun and games with a couple of the kids from last nights campsite as they passed us on the stairs on the opposite side. There are windows you see, so you can see who is on the other stair case, but alas, you never catch them!
The rooms were immaculate. Adorned in some of the most outrageous furniture for the time and also some pretty groovy wall paper and wall hangings. My favourite was the room with hot pink wall paper. You have to be brave to use hot pink on a room that size!
We checked out the clothes room (where you hang your clothes basically. Bec, you would have loved it, a whole room devoted to clothes and shoes!), the trophy room with all the antlers from the stags they have killed over the years, the bedrooms, sitting room, billiard room...the list goes on. They were also displaying modern art which was pretty thought provoking, mostly looking at the human impact on nature.
After spending a couple of hours at the chateau and a quick call to Ian and Rain (hi again to you both, sorry we ran out of credit!) we hit the road at full pace as we still have a few km's to go.
We arrive in Blois late afternoon and decide to pull in for a juice. We get chatting to a guy from Orleans who was telling us he is going to spend a few months on a bike treking through China and Turkey by himself. We were both pretty impressed! Both places sound awesome for cycling and we have had many people recommend both to us for our next cycle tour.
We find a café to sit down and on the hour are greeted with something we weren't expecting - a few gold coloured serpents dancing to music out of a grand manor. The picture explains it all below! It was really just a bit of fun for the kids, but we enjoyed it too.
We start the final leg and realise about 10km's out of town that we have lost the trail we were looking for. We see there is a no-through road, but with forest all around, think we might be able to get through on the bikes. A lovely lady stops us as we reach the end of the road to find out where we are headed. We show her on the map and she and her mother start chatting away in Spansh about the best way to get there. Next thing we know the lady's husband and daughter turn up and they are all chatting and gesturing madly about the best way to get through, saying it was too difficult with the bikes. What they were talking about was taking our bikes through the forest and down a ridiculously steep descent and out the other side. The husband has an alternative track that isn't as steep and he guides us through. Expecting that he would just point us in the right direction, we were pretty stoaked when he and his daughter walked us right through to the road we needed to take. It was a good kilometre out of their way and there is no chance we would have found it without them. We were very, very grateful! Turns out the two of them ride their mountain bikes around here fairly regularly, although they tend to stick to the flatter areas. Good call really.
We arrive at camp and pitch tent before cracking open a bottle of wine and enjoying some cheese and bread before our real dnner. The campsite is right in the middle of the forest so we can hear all the animals as they settle in for the night. Well, they all seem to be settling except for the ducks. You can hear the little blighters the whole time, their quacks sounding more like a scary cackle echoing around the trees.

Photos

Breakfast in bed
Wildlife viewing platform at Chambord
An impressive approach
Looking over one of the outside staircases
What's down there?
The inside of Chambord's famous stair case
Just as impressive from the other side
A bite to eat at Blois
One very creative dragon show, oposite the chateau at Blois/a>
A savours, helping us navigate the forest

Estamps - Crouy-s-Cossan - 107km, 4470total

Because we had done very little kilometres yesterday and after some careful planning last night, we have worked out today needs to be a big one. Although we had prayed to the gods and made offerings of live goats blood, the wind didn't drop at all overnight.
We won't bore you with our moaning as we ploughed on for 50km's along the flattest, most barren plains you have ever seen with a head wind that was making the birds fly sideways. Not only did we have the wind to contend with, but it bucketed down rain in spurts, just to add to the fun. Needless to say the morning was a pretty grumpy one. We kept ourselves entertained (and sane) by doing trains with the bikes, one sitting in very close to the other so we could each take a break for a kilometre, then we would switch. The one highlight of the entire morning was a low flying bomber aeroplane.
We finally arrive in Orleans just before 2pm, where we stop to rest our legs and check out the church. We then make a stop in at the local supermarket to pick up supplies for tomorrow as nearly everything is closed on a Sunday.
Then it was back to work. The wind was a little less harsh as it was broken by the trees in the forest we were riding through.
We passed some of the sweetest little villages you can imagine, with all the houses made of stone. But the highlight of the afternoon's ride was when the clouds cleared and the sun lit up the forest. Nick had been thinking, hey we might run into some deer (literally!), when two large deer strolled across the road ahead of us. They were amazing with the sun behind them and looking very calm, they pranced off into the forest on the opposite side. We kept our eyes peeled for the rest of the afternoon, but we didn't spot any more.
We arrive at our intended campsite and read the sign on the door "closed for camping until November 1". Doh! We chat in half English and French to a resident who tells us it's OK to pitch tent and the manager will be here in the morning. Sweeeeeet! He does warn us, or so we think, that the showers are cold. He says "aqua" to us and makes a shivering motion. We are both thinking, fabulous a cold shower, especially after such a long day.
We pitch tent, after shifting from our intended position as it turns out we disturbed a family of spiders (we are at one with nature these days, but spiders don't count - urgh!) and I volunteer to brave the cold water first. No need. The showers are piping hot and Nick thinks I may have drowed in there as I give the muscles a good soaking and stretch. Neither of us have been able to work out what the guy was talking about earlier.
After a hearty meal of beef, vegetables and rice, we are both practically asleep in our chairs. It's time to move to the sleeping bag at a very reasonable 8:45pm.

Photos

Riding through the old part of Orleans
Here the houses are build around the boat shed

St Cheron - Estamps - 28km, 4363total

A very wet and wild night and our poor little tent is looking pretty soaked. We hang out a little waiting for the tent to dry while one of the campers rides past in a t-shirt and boots. Nothing else. Now to be honest, nudity is great. But if you're going to do it, go the full monty, otherwise it's too much like being an exhibitionist for my liking!
We leave the camp ground mid morning and start the day's ride. The head wind we cop all the way to Estamps is a killer and with grey clouds looming in the distance, we are both keen to take a break.
We consider taking the train and are told we just missed the lunchtime one and we have a 5 hour wait. We decide it's worth it and grab some lunch and hang out in the park while we munch it down. As the storm draws closer, we decide to hole up in the café beside a lake for a while.
We head back to the train station only to be told that the train is not really equipped for bikes and since it's coming from Paris on a Friday arvo, it will be packed.
We change plans and decide to stay in Estamps for the night. It will give us time to do some planning and also to repair my moon mat which is not as comfy flat as it is with some air in it!
The campground is not far and we pitch tent just in time before the rain starts. We have the whole campground to ourselves, again. Where is everyone? Probably at home next a wood fire, sipping lovely red wine, enjoying a home cooked roast chicken and vegetables....wait, that's us in a few weeks time...
We spread out the maps and plan the final leg of the journey, with our shoes holding the maps down as the wind tries to blow them all over the place.
With the wind not looking as though it is going to die down at all, we attempt to pretty much nail things down so they don't blow away overnight. We then crawl into our sleeping bags ready for some serious riding tomorrow after copping out a little today!

Photos

One of the many pretty little villages we rode through
Reception is open
Camping in October is getting to be a lonely affair