Day 7 Libourne to Roquefort

Left my 3 star hotel this morning at 10am. I was expecting a short day so i wasn't in a big rush.

No problem getting out of the town as the last night i got a map of the town at the tourist office. You can waste a half an hour easily trying to get out of a big town but the map had me out in 5mins.

Stopped at a little shop about 10kms in for supplies (water and sandwiches).

From early on i saw the signs for Bazas which would be my stop for the day so navigating was easy.

Before i knew it i had arrived at Bazas having only covered 65kms. Last night while planning my route i made a mistake as i had Bazas at about 85kms. It was way too early to stop but i hadn't checked the route further on as i was sure i was going to stop at Bazas. A quick phone call to Paul and Sue and they were able to tell me that the next town (Captieux) had 2 hotels in it, so i decided to push on. I arrived there about an hour later but i didn't like the look of the place. I saw the sign for Roquefort 30kms further and was happy to carry on. Today i felt very strong on the bike and felt i had about another 50km in my legs if i needed to go that far. I arrived in Roquefort at about 5.20pm having covered 111kms in 7.25 hours.

I booked straight in to a lovley hotel owened by a Dutch guy for €67 for the night.
I have attached a link on Roquefort cheese to add a bit of culture to the blog!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roquefort

The state of me!

Approaching Roquefort

Roughing it in my bedroom in Roquefort.

Tomorrow i aim to finish in Gan which is the far side of Pau and within striking distance of Spain!

Day 6 Saintes to Libourne (Bordeaux)

Today was all about the wine. I set off this morning at 9am and the sun was shining, so plenty of sun cream.

Straight away i was feeling much better on the bike and i had a feeling it was going to be a good day.

After about 15kms the vine yards appeared and stayed with me for the rest of the day. The smell of wine was everywhere.

Stopped of at a town called Pons to stock up on water and food at 20kms. When i left the shop i had left one of the carrierbags open and my runner fell out of the bag, luckily spotted by a car behind me or otherwise i was goosed!
I finished the day at Libourne just to the east of Bordeaux having covered 116kms in just under 7.5 hours.
Tomorrow i plan to stop at Bazas following in the footsteps of Rick Stein and Chalkie!

Day 5 Marrans to Saintes

Got out of bed this morning at about 9am and had a chocolate and custard bun for breakfast that i had stored in my bag from the day before washed down with a swig of water from my water bottle.
I eventually rolled back on the road at just afyer 10 in the morning. Today i was only going to do 85kms so i was in no rush and i was feeling a bit brusied from yesterday so i wanted to finish the day early.
From the moment i got i the bike, the pain was unbearable, the most i was use to cycling before this was about 2 hours, so going to 7-8 hours was too much for my body to take. Sitting on the saddle was just constant pain and it took about 40kms for the pain to become bearable. After that the ride became quite pleasant as the sun was starting to shine, the weather has been overcast since i started.

I didnt really stop on the road today and i arrived in Saintes at 3.30pm some 5.5 hours later (my shortest day so far) having covered 85kms. My average speed on the bike since i started has been 17.5 - 18.5 kms per hour. In Ireland i was averaging about 20kms but on 2 hour journeys. The extra effort required to get just another 2kms per hour over the longer journeys is just not possible for me and i know if i tried i would just blow up. Im off to bed early tonight and see if im in less pain tomorrow!

Day 4 Reze to Marrans

                                                  Happy to see the D137

Once i cleared Reze this morning i was straight on to the D137. This is the road i would have to track today and for the next 2 days after that. The up side of this is that navigation is straight forward, but the on the down side there is a lot of traffic on the road including heavy trucks (and camper vans) what is it with the French and camper vans, there’s thousands of them. The other thing about the D137 is thats its more or less straight for about 400kms so it’s not the most exciting road and most of the towns i am passing through are run down with not much signs of life.   After cycling for 90kms i stopped at a tiny tourist office in Ste-Hermine which was where i was planning to stop for the day. I asked the girl working there if there was a hotel further on down the road and i was happy to here there was one about 30kms further on in the town of Marans.                                              I finished the day in Marans after covering 120kms in a little over 7 hours. Bumped into a retired Irish couple this evening in a while having dinner in a small bar, they are caravanning in France for a month, they are mad – not my idea of a holiday!  My Achilles tendons’ are giving me a bit of trouble, both of them were paining me from the start today but the last 30km the pain was getting stronger. Tomorrow i plan on doing no more than 80-90 kms as i have noticed once i go beyond 100km i tire very quickly and the pains get much worse.

Passing 100kms on route to Marrans

Marrans

My hotel for the night

Everything in France is a 2 star. This can range from a not half bad place serving food all the way down to a cow shed. My hotel for the night was somewhere in the middle.

Day 3 Redon to Reze

Today i was going to take it a bit easier and planned on covering about 70-80kms.
This was also due to the fact that i had to navigate through Nantes and i knew i could loose alot of time here and as it turned out thats excatly what happened. Just before arriving in Nantes i took a wrong turn and ended up on a motorway heading back in the direction i had just come from. I had to get off the bike and walk the wrong way up a motorway to get back onto my road. Cycling through the centre of Nantes i had to take things slowly, checking every turn, crossroads, roundabout to make sure i was staying on track.
I carried on to a suburb of Nantes called Reze and spent about 40 mins trying to find the route out for tomorrow and somewhere to stay for the night. I settled on a truck stop for €39 per night - robbery!
Its alot more stressful cycling through cities, especially cities you dont know.
In the end i had covered just over 80 kms (10 of them going around in circles) in 6.5 hours
For dinner tonight i had a KFC meal. When your doing a cycle like this you gotta eat well so i got it supersized!

Leaving Redon

Im looking forward to heading back to the countryside tomorrow and leaving Nantes behind me.

Passing through Nantes

Day 2 Rostrenen - Redon

Skipped breakfast today so as to get an early start.
I left the hotel Henry IV just after 9 am. Like alot of hotels in France, this place is stuck in the 70's but at €35 per night i was happy enough. The food however in this place was amazing, one of the best meals i have eaten in a long time. The owner was gas, the place was in bits but he ran it like a 5 star hotel.

Malestroit - on route to Redon

The day started with a head wind and alot of drags and cotinued that way all day.
I was planning to stop at Malestroit but i was feeling good so i carried on to Redon.
8 hours and 59 minutes later, bruised and battered i had copleted 135kms.
I think i will take it easier tommorow.

Day 1 - Roscoff to Rostrenen

Day 1 - 100kms!

I was planning to stop at Callac (68kms) but i was feeling good on the bike so i cotinued on to Rostrenen, 100kms approx. By the time i got off the boat it was 11 o clock and after about 3 kms i hit road works and a diversion but luckily it only added on about 2kms. The first couple of hours were flat enough as the route hugged along the coast. After Morlaix, the route headed inland and the terrain changed to constant up and downs. For the last 20k my legs starting to tire so when i hit Rostrenen at 5.20 pm i decided to stop, having spent almost 6.5 hours on the bike.

Leaving Ireland

Morlaix

Rostrenen - Day 1 finished.

The Route!

View Larger Map

At last with 2 days to go i have sorted my route.
The problem was finding a suitable road to cross from France into Spain.
After talking to a Spanish friend with local knowledge, i have gone for a more difficult but more scenic route crossing through El Formigal ski station.
All going well i should arrive in Benasque on the 9th of October!
If you can recommend any places along the route, please let me know.