At some point today I crossed the 1000 kilometres point of this ride. It was early on as the total is 1098 kilometres so far. I covered 102 kilometres today which is my furthest one day distance during the tour.
It didn’t look like I would do any kilometres today. The rain was extremely heavy this morning as expected but the wind that was forecast did not materialise. I sat outside my cabin until, at around 10:50 am, the rain eased so I set off!
A slow first hour due to the hills and the rain starting again before I actually got out of the campsite!
All in all it was a long wet and ultimately quite windy day with lots of short steep hills. Probably the most challenging day since Brittany.
I pushed on to get to Arcachon so that I could visit a bike shop in the morning. I hit a bump early today and put a bulge in the tyre.
This would not normally be a major problem. In this instance it is…the bike stand has a tight clearance so is now rubbing the tyre so it will need replacing.
The rest of the day was spent in pine forests and on roadside cycleways.
I rode as hard as I could until I arrived at Arcachon but I didn’t pass a single campsite! It was after 6:00 pm when I finally arrived so too late to do more riding to find one.
Never mind…a night in a hotel will do me good! I found one just 200 meters away from where I had stopped for a beer, so I booked it.
After a shower and a change of clothes I walked down the road to an Italian restaurant. It was very busy but I got a table and enjoyed a nice pizza and a half bottle of Chianti!
I’ve always wondered what these small bottles are for…now I’ve worked it out. They are for sad old bearded cyclists who are too tired after a day in the saddle to drink a whole bottle.
So back to the hotel after the Tiramisu! I hang everything up so it’s dry for tomorrow. A bientot!
