Loire et La Vienne.

Would have been nice to have seen a bit more of Saumur, especially in the sunshine 😕, but Kevin has clearly fallen out with the Gods. 

All were impressed with the hotel. Secure bike storage, comfortable rooms (several reported having their best sleep so far - nothing to do with the quantity of booze consumed) and a fantastic  breakfast selection. So it was, that we set off well fueled in cool & bright conditions. The sun shone briefly, until it realised we were down there, whereupon it disappeared for the duration - well almost. 

We cuised down the Loire valley to its confluence with the Vienne. Easy going, which was great as it gave our sore legs some chance of recovery.  

An early stop (20 miles) at The Bar de L'Esperance (desperate!) whilst the weather remained half decent:

 

7 points. Needed to stop, but sat by a busy road & the coffee was awful. 

Quickly away & we were soon into the scenic tourist route in the Vienne valley. Beautiful area I thought & one of the best sections of the trip so far. 

We'd decided to push on for 30 miles & get lunch in Chatellerault. I was questioning the wisdom of that when the rain started with about 15 miles to go, but the thought of stopping when soaked & freezing soon dispelled thoughts if anything other than getting to a cafe for sommat to eat. So the last few miles turned into a race, on a roller coaster of a road, in heavy rain & spray from passing lorries. 

Still had time for a bit of fun though:

Another wet day -Nott2Barca 2016

We found a nice little place in Chatellerault and, once again, indulged in Galettes & Crepes, whilst making some attempt to drip dry. A hospitable place & good food earned it 41 points. 

 

We'd taken our time over lunch, so it was approaching 4pm when we set off on the final leg down the Vienne to Lussac. 

A 30 + mile stint again and on generally quiet roads. Imagine our surprise when the storms started to develop with about 20 miles to go. 😩

 

 Not wishing to arrive at the digs like drowned rats, a la Saumur, we rather prudently sought shelter to allow the worst of the weather to blow over. It was another chuffing partial success 😛. 

And so it was that we arrived at L' Hotel Montespan (careworn but clean) in Lussac rather late & slightly damp. 

A short walk into town and some good food soon had our spirits up after another tough day. Tired legs all round, but otherwise in fine fettle. 

South to Saumur

Seemed like a long old day today. Especially when you roll back into the hotel at something past eleven, half cut, and try to remember what the bloody hell happened!

I recall eating an extremely modest breakfast at Craon (toast & jam, followed by more toast & jam) before being on the road for 9.00 and heading south towards the sun.......🤔

It was a gillet & arm warmers morning and began with the sort of undulating (hilly) terrain with which we'd become too familiar. Perfect 'squirrel' country! 

 

The plan(ish) was to do about 23 miles and stop in a little town called

This didn't happen of course, as their solitary horse has bolted, so we ended up doing about 30 miles before managing to find a suitable watering hole in Becon Les Granits. 

Paninis all round, apart from Kev, who had the tart.........citron avec mirangue. How appropriate!

The cafe scored 21 points. Harsh I thought, despite the average fodder. 

We continued on our run to the sun - we have seen it on occasion - and an hour or so later arrived at Chalonnes on the Loire river. Still very swollen, with evidence of recent flood damage everywhere. 

 

It was then east, following the river south of Angers, through Rochefort to Juigne sur Loire. Grey but bright skies, rolling terrain & vineyards aplenty. Nice cycling. 

We took a punt on an uninviting sort of a place for a more substantial lunch stop. Le Cheval Blanc. 

 

The helpful host, fabulous buffet & top puddings, proved the saying; You can't judge a book...etc, etc. 54 points!

With the weather increasingly threatening, we were keen to get there dry and subsequently rode at a tidy pace, following the south bank of the river, through St Remy la Varenne and then southeast toward Saumur. 

 

We'd about 3 miles to go when the rain hit us. Torrential doesn't describe it. It stopped us in our tracks on the outskirts of the city, where we sought refuge in a bus shelter for 20 mins while the worst of it passed over. Watching passing traffic negotiate flooded roads would have proved quite entertaining had we not been so cold. 

Then we had a few fraught moments trying to locate the hotel. The myriad of cycle ways would have been navigable without our electronic friends. 

Fortunately, the Ibis Styles near Le Gare turned out to be ideal. 

What better way to spend an evening than sitting sipping Chimay whilst waiting for your kit to dry in the adjacent launderette!

 

Nice city though:

 

Nothing to do with Crayola

Heading to Craon today:

It did seem slightly bonkers; setting the alarm for 6.30 (GMT) when you've 80 odd miles to cycle, but we were due to meet the striking French dockers at 9.15 (their time) to commence l'etape quatre (I'm a natural 🙄) of our journey to Barca. 

I think we all slept surprisingly well in the two 3 berth shoeboxes provided & looked forward to the day ahead. There was even a little sunshine as we steamed into St Malo. 

We disembarked safely at around 9.30 and moved quietly & efficiently through St Malo, well we would have done had any if the Garbage Garmins worked!

We eventually got out of the town & onto the right route. We were then able to set about holding traffic up in true Ciclista fashion:

 

The first leg was cool & overcast, as we headed south through Northern Brittany to our first cafe stop in Combourg. A nice little town & a nice little cafe. We sat out, as the weather held good (purely temporary) and indulged in very good coffee & pastries bought from the adjacent boulangerie, as advised by the waitress (46 points).

 

A leisurely stop & the subsequent rolling landscape meant that our schedule was beginning to suffer slightly. Nevertheless, we had no intention on skimping on the 'gastro' side of things so, 20 or so miles later, we decided to stop for a bit of proper lunch at Saint Aubin du Cormier. We seated ourselves outside a rustic creperie, had the waiter set the table and then promptly moved inside as it started p**sing down 😕

Didn't spoil the superb galettes though (45 points *)

 

We then endured some pretty miserable wet & cold weather that persisted for the next 20 odd miles, making the journey rather testing.  We passed through Vitre (allegedly a rather architecturally interesting town) with ner a sideways glance. Awful weather & the 'let's just get' attitude was beginning to take seat in certain minds. 

So, instead of a sensible third stop, we pressed on for a 40 odd mile stint. Hard n fast into Craon!!

A bunch of tired cyclists sliced through Craon, abusing traffic laws & entertaining the locals with their stunt riding - well if clattering to the ground off your bike counts as a stunt. Dave H (The Doc) gaining 5 points for a refusal at the Kerb de la Rue. Shaken, but not stirred!

 

We needed food! Fortunately, our hotel was only 5 mins away. So we were there pretty quickly.........and drank beer 🙄🍻🍻

Medicinal!

 

Good rooms & trad food

 

 

A pretty tough 84 miles today, all doing well. Well fed & watered now. Not sure if I'll sleep well tonight though, as I'll be cuddling up with Kev 🤔

Tomorrows planning is well advanced. More stops required!

Goodnight 

* As there's now 6 of us, adjust the cafe points yourself if you're that interested 😂

Streatley to the Solent

Surprisingly, given the rather confined bunk room, I think we all got some reasonable kip. The room didn't even smell too bad. 

The hostel breakfast was basic, but ok & likely to provide us with the necessary fuel for the forthcoming stage up & over the South Downs. 

Bikes checked & chains oiled ready for another wet start! 😐

Turned out alright though. A pleasant enough route south to Basingstoke, where Dave had arranged an emergency dental app to refix the inlay he ejected into his risotto yesterday. 

Neil took on the task of navigating us to the dental surgery through the outskirts - it was quite interesting cycling along the M3. Made a nice change from the quiet country roads. Alex in particular was loving it. The passing drivers were pleased to see us too 😡

Anyway, Dave got his tooth fixed while the rest of us supped Costa Coffee & ate cake (28 points).

It rained as we left Basingstoke and climbed into the North Downs along the narrow A339. By and large, drivers were pretty patient with us, with only the odd nob forcing their way past. After a few miles we turned onto quieter roads and drifted through some beautiful, rolling countryside. Slow going on some tough climbs. 

We happened upon the famous 'Loomies Cafe' (motorcycle cafe) for a well earned rest and a bit more to eat: 28 points - would have been higher had the beans on toast with cheese on top actually had cheese......and toast!! More like damp bread. 

 

After that we tackled the South Downs. A great route too thanks to Mr Garmin and ridden at a nice steady pace by most of us; Kevin indulging in the the odd spot of 'Squirrelling' of course. 

We got to Portsmouth:

 

Good effort!

We met up with Dave M (He'd got the train here due to family commitments over the weekend) at The Ship & Castle, next to the ferry port. Some of us ate. Others decided to wait & eat on the boat. Another liaised with his Russian pen pal 🙄 (don't ask!)

 

Time to head for the boat. Brittany Ferries ushered us to the front of the queue & we were on, had found our cabins, showered & were in the lounge (bar) before the anchor had been raised. 

 

Think it'll be a light night though: We all look a bit tired for some reason. 

Dysentery onwards!

Well we escaped Daventry with only mild gastric distress, having treated Alex to his first Weatherspoons experience. The Piri Piri half chicken was to die for........literally! 

Setting off in a light drizzle & cooler temperatures than yesterday, we were soon into the lumpy stuff and having to tackle a few rather steep climbs; Dave's Garmin reporting 17% on one occasion. 

The run to Brackley for the first cafe stop was largely uneventful, save for the testing terrain & Alex throwing a chain whilst trying to engage the chainring reserved for old ladies & lightweights (confess that I sneakily employed mine on the odd occasion). 

The cafe we found in Brackley earned 37 points, due to the quality of the coffee, ambience & Alex's scrambled egg on toast. It would have earned more had the scones not been quite so dry.......oh and Kev said the waitresses could of been prettier ........and older! Good toilet paper though - apparently 🙄

 

NB: We've decided to score the cafe stops with an aggregate points system. Retrospectively, Desford scored 34 & the Dunchurch McDonald's 17 (harshly marked by Alex, Dave & Kev)

Anyway, we strung out the Brackley stop till the rain abated and then got on with it, heading south towards Bicester & Oxford. The weather continued to improve & the views opened up as things flattened out. Christ, I was even beginning to enjoy it 😎

Then we ended up off piste. 

 

Fortunately, for some, others had half an idea of how to get back on track, or rather off the track. A couple of miles of light off-roading proved to be good fun though. 

 

A few miles later, the rain jackets were off for the duration and we rolled into some out of the way Strawberry picking facility near Stanton St John, to indulge in a spot of lunch. We had to make do with hoovering up the last of their poncy frittata & savoury tarts - which were actually very good - due to being too late for anything else. Neil's 'Mojito' flavoured chrisps & Ginger flapjack were alright too! 

The weather continued to improve as we continued south of Oxford & on towards the Thames. Passing the 'Crazy Bear' in Stadhampton brought back a few memories - I recall spending a rather cozy couple of nights there a few years ago with a certain person 😛 - nuff said 😉

We were all pretty tired when we arrived at Streatley on Thames Youth Hostel, but we still managed the 1 in 4 climb up its driveway to the front door. 

 

Decent place, but rather snug:

 

After a quick 'Triple S' (think about it) and a little laundering, we walked into the village for a little refreshment. Nice village:

 

 

The food in The Swan was rather good and not at all outrageously expensive. The caterpillar in Alex's starter hadn't eaten all his lettuce & the tooth filling Dave found in his risotto hadn't belonged to the chef, so all good there then. Well nothing that a tube of Araldite wont fix 😉

A tough (ish) but great day. Looking forward to a good nights sleep in a shoe box with four other blokes who've been on the beer all evening...........💨💨

Departing to Daventry

Nottingham to Daventry:

5 of us convened at Chez Jackson at 10.30am for the Grand Departe. Alex, Dave H, Kev, Neil & I were treated to a Champagne Breakfast. A very pleasant treat of Carva, pork pie, tomatoes & coissants (so not really Champagne........or breakfast for that matter, but no less tasty) served up by a selection of rather attractive wenches 😛 (thanks Dee, Fiona & Emma). 

A nod to Dave M, who joins us at Portsmouth on Monday. 

 

But first we had to weigh the bikes. This was necessary in order to implement the correct 'Boule' penalty system. This requires that the lighter bikes carry one or more of the 6 boule set to bring them up to weight:

Neil:        28kg

Andy:      26 kg

Alex:       24kg

Kevin:     23kg

Dave:       15kg!!!!!!!!! FFS!!

So Dave gets all the balls!

 

So, a final ensemble and madness begins

 

Our concerns about the weather thankfully proved unfounded. The thunderstorms (mostly) passed us by and the day turned out to be rather pleasant. A nice steady ride up and over Charnwood, before descending through the pleasant villages of West Leicestershire and arriving at Desford for our first coffee stop. Uneventful apart from a couple of minor mechanicals (Neil & Dave slipping chains due to hamfisted, amateur changes) & a massive crash. Approaching a minor junction just before the coffee stop, Neil, exhausted, failed to successfully unclip and, at a speed in excess of 1mph, he threw himself sideways in a desperate attempt to feign sympathetic injury. Unfortunately, for Neil, Dave was there to break his fall. Both sustained devastatingly small injuries & were able to continue. 😂

The coffee & cakes at Desford powered us onwards, and we were soon ripping into Northamptonshire. Slicing between Floats, Scouts & Girl Guides at jolly village fetes and generally giving cycling a good name 🤔

We descended on a McD's for a snack (Kev's face was a picture) and then sped on towards Daventry. Having negotiated a couple of 'lumps' just prior to rolling into the town, we located our apartments for the night & set about relaxing. Read beer (several) & food (lots). 

62 miles or so from Chez Jackson. 

 

The Daventry digs. Rather nice. It's 11pm & the room is empty.........😴😴😴😴

Me, I feel as fresh as a...💤💤💤💤💤

Preparation for an Epic Ride

On Saturday 11th June 2016, six crazy MAMiL's will set off from Nottingham on their clunky old touring bicycles (actually, only one is old and none are particularly clunky - but you get the picture) and endeavour to cycle to Barcelona. The seeds were set months ago with Kevin's suggestion that he ought to celebrate reaching 60 by letting several of his mates join him on a ride to the sun.
So, the prep work is done. Some of the bikes are roadworthy. Most have room for a toothbrush. All have jockeys in peak physical condition........maybe.
What could possibly go wrong!
Keep you posted.........