Lussac to St Yrieix

Wow, bright sunshine & 20 degrees already.......er, Non! But a dry start at least. 

 

We knew it was going to be a tough day, because it was going to be another 85 + miler & the terrain was going to be 'sporting'. All that on very sore legs. Madness!

Following the Vienne south, one might expect a gentle pedal by the side of a picturesque river. Once again....er, Non! Tough as you like in and out of the valley, including a fortuitous bridge crossing that was closed to all traffic except mad Brits!

 

It was a continuous assault on the legs all the way to Confolens, 3 hours in, where we had our first stop (far too late). We initially sat on the terrace, but had to abandon when the heavens opened:

 

Given the weather, we extended our stay and took lunch, but had to move indoors to appease the weather shy waitress (sensible really). An average Plat de Jour for some & a pretty good Crocque Monsiur for others, saw it score 39. 

Leaving Confolens & continuing along the Vienne valley, the terrain got no easier as we got our legs going again. Then my chain snapped! I'd noticed that the transmission had been jumping a little all morning, but wrongly assumed that the rear mech need trimming. One of the side plates of the chain had fractured and finally given up the ghost. Thankfully my trusty multitool had a chain splitter and I had it sorted in around 20 minutes. 

Taking a very testing & rural route through Manot, Chirac, Pressignac, Vayres meant slow going & the need for afternoon refreshments soon became apparent. And so it was that we fell upon a quirky (meaning shite) little bar in Vayres. 

 

I cannot describe how bad the coffee was. Perhaps making it with hot water...and coffee, might have helped! Dave's (H) attempt to palm the Bar Witch off with €10 for the lot failed when she took her teeth out & threatened him with a nasty suck! 

Points: - 4

So we resumed, unsuitably unrefreshed, and pedalled on towards St Yrieix la Perche. 

20 miles to go, and we hit another storm. Drenched again, but we had now got onto a main(ish) road, with a better surface & steadier gradients. Wanting to get it done, we started to get on with it, well we did until Kev de-squirrelled himself, causing Alex put the hammer down. This caused a 50/50 split in the peloton, resulting in Alex, Dave H & I engaging a 15 mile TT to the finish. Balmy!

90 miles & 10 hours after setting off, we arrived:

 

Toughest day on a bike for a few years I reckon. 

Tonight's hotel; Les Platanes. Doesn't look anything special from the outside, but the hostess was lovely & welcoming and the rooms clean & comfortable:

 

We were all completely shelled when we crawled out of the hotel for food. A short hop across the road to Restaurant 'Vice Versa'. 

Really great food & we were well looked after by Annie, a young lass with patience & humor. She needed it! Thanks Annie & owner,  Helene, who cooked such fab food. A memorable meal after a hard day.