Alison and Alison and the art of re-tyrement

Distance 35.8 miles

Plus 8 miles to the bike shop

Ascent 513 metres Descent 551 metres

Christophe was a marvel today. He took us on a beautiful route through the Charente valley to Angloueme.

We have given Christophe a silver star but cannot award the highest honour due to his un-nerving ability to take us the wrong way down one way streets. But this is France and the french cyclists follow the Christophe path and so do we.

It is clear that Christophe is not used to pensioners. He is over-ambitious in his predictions of our arrival time. Today as we left the campsite our predicted arrival time in Angouleme was 2.20pm. At 1.45 pm we were 30 km away and just starting lunch.

Having arrived we set off in our search for another bike shop. A sprint at the end of the day and we arrived just as the assistant was about to close. He took in the bikes for a brake cable repair. How were we going to do the 5 mile trip back to Angouleme?

Pierre Sam offered us a lift. We joined a chair, bike parts and a collection of cycle helmets in his car.

Tomorrow is going to be a big day for us.

Good night.

Distance 53.9 miles

A momentous day.

Woke refreshed after a sleep in a comfortable bed, clean clothes to wear and a delicious breakfast.

Our continuing search for a cycle shop was fruitless. They are all closed in France on a Monday. Undeterred we made our way to Decathlon where a very special event took place.

Alison has had her panniers for 32 years and the fixing clips have broken. They have been attached to her bike with bungees.

We agreed on a phased approach.

Step 2. Throwing away the broken old panniers and replacing them with some brand new ones.

All is well. Alison is doing fine and no sign of PTSD yet.

We think the vintage panniers might have been causing the puncture problem as they bounced up and down on the bike. 54 miles today with new panniers and no punctures.

Made our way to a campsite in the middle of nowhere. As usual the website is inaccurate. No restaurant or food available until mid-June. But we are up to it. Tonight we had microwavable Mediterranean rice with sweetcorn cooked on a gaz stove in a billy can. Anything is delicious after 54 miles.

Tomorrow we go in search of another bike shop. Our day wouldn’t be complete without it.

Or perhaps we should just go to the supermarket.

Good night.

Distance cycling 15 k

Distance travelled in total 90 km

In our attempt to grade the cycle shops in France we took a train to Poitiers on the promise of a cycle shop that would be open. But this is France and a Sunday. We come from a nation of shopkeepers and with great expectations that were unfulfilled. We think we may have the answer to the recurrent punctures and will be visiting another cycle shop tomorrow. Incognito of course.

We were ahead of the game this Sunday and had a lovely lazy lunch in the square in Poitiers in glorious sunshine. After all, we are on holiday.

Passport update. I have received an email to say that my emergency travel document has been approved and I will hear from the British Consulate in Bordeaux shortly where I have to go to pick it up.

I am hoping that the minor administrative error of uploading a 10 year old passport photo will not be a problem and no one will notice. I will put my more elderly looks down to all the cycling and stress from loss of passport.

We are now in a hotel room with soft towels and comfortable beds. The room itself is doubling as a laundry. Tempting to put up a photo of the washing but no-one wants to see our smalls.

Dare we say it – a relaxing day.

Distance 30.6 miles

Ascent 288 metres Descent 212 metres

A pleasant morning. Another visit to the bike shop, visited Tours and got a stamp in the Cathedral then made our way out into rural France.

We had given Christophe the day off as our journey was straight down what we thought was the well sign-posted EV3 route. A wayward sign sent us off piste and straight into a field again.

Google maps, garmin and Christophe couldn’t save us. We had to do a big circle and start all over again.

What does it take to keep Alison and Alison on the road in rural France? We might be outstaying our welcome. But then we can’t go anywhere else because I don’t have a passport.

Yet another puncture on the same wheel. Our rescue involved a phone call to Portugal (Saint Hugo), the surprised man of the house whose door we knocked on, the headmistress of the local school, the Mayoress of Sorigny and several bike technicians at Decathalon (x2).

At one point in the unfurling events of the day the newly repaired tyre exploded noisily in the boot of the headmistresses car. Back to Decathlon.

We didn’t make our destination tonight and with the help of the Mayoress we are in a Pilgrim’s refuge in Sorigny with a couple from Belgium.

Emergency supplies for supper. All well and we have a plan to sort out the problem.

Alison asked if we looked like amateurs.

Tomorrow we would really really like a boring day.

Distance 34.0 miles

Ascent 276 metres Descent 276 metres

A pleasant cycle along the banks of the Loire to Amboise where we looked around the town and visited the market just as it was closing.

How many Frenchmen does it take to keep Alison and Alison on the road? We have lost count.

We visited the bike shop in Amboise to buy replacement inner tubes and the owner pumped up our tyres.

Half an hour later Alison had another puncture on the same wheel. A kindly Parisian stopped to help. He injected the tyre with foam and the inner tube exploded. Apologetic, he expertly changed the inner tube and went on his way.

Ten minutes later the same tyre had another puncture. This time Monsieur Ober came to the rescue, picked Alison and bike up and brought her to our accommodation.

Then a visit to another bike shop where tyre and inner tube were replaced.

We thought we would treat ourselves to white fluffy towels tonight but there was no room in the inn anywhere in Tours. Instead we have upgraded from a 2 to 3 star campsite and take away pizza.

We are reviewing our equipment. Alison has been using the contents of her first aid kit to cover my wounds from the fall. She is surprised that the 20 year old Elastoplast strip doesn’t stick but has decided to keep it anyway just for emergencies. Everything is ok as I am now using Bandaids with a 2012 expiry date.

Happy days.

Distance 40.73 miles

Ascent 239 metres. Descent 244 metres

A ride along the EV 3 route known as La Scandiberique. Today’s section followed the Loire. A rest day for Christophe. We stopped at the delightful and busy town of Blois.

Today I got to use a present that I hoped I would never need. What do you need to change a tyre? Two Alisons and three tyre levers ( thank you Jackie they did the job perfectly).

What does it take to blow up that tyre? Two Alisons, a Frenchman, 4 pumps and a connector. Phew! All this cycling is making us weak.

The journey of a pilgrim is not always easy but more challenging has been finding someone to stamp our pilgrim passports. We thought today would be the exception. The Cathedral would be overflowing with people as it is Ascension day. The Cathedral was empty, the town hall closed and no one to ask. The assistant in the tourist office was unsure but stamped our passports with the official tourist office stamp. We are officially tourists.

We are not alone and in so many ways. This tent is a snug fit for two and I had not been expecting so many unexpected visitors. Think Alcatraz. I have to make my escape. Have been tunnelling hard but haven’t got very far yet.

I am not sure cycling is good for my body. Everyday I have to tighten my helmet fittings further. My head and brains must be shrinking.

Distance 19.3 miles

Ascent 63 metres Descent 78 metres

A gentle day today to enjoy the Loire valley. Spent the morning in Orleans where we visited the Cathedral, got our pilgrim passports stamped and looked around the medieval city.

We are enjoying setting Christophe tasks to see how he responds. Today was a gentle ride along the banks of the Loire. We gave him our destination and waited in excited anticipation to see which national auto route he would choose for us. He passed the test and we are now on Eurovelo route 3. Christophe training is going well.

Passport update. I have a plan and just have to execute it.

Phase 1. Tomorrow Teddy and Victoria will go to my house, source required documents and email them to me. It’s a start.

We have solved the problem of losing Alison. For the last few days she has been cycling with the fromage for our picnic lunch in her panniers. It is absolutely certain that I will never lose her again.

Bonne nuit.

Distance 55.9 miles

Ascent 233 metres Descent 287 metres

Christophe points 220

Alison has renamed Bikemap and he is now known as Christophe. Last night we told Christophe where we wanted to go and waited excitedly to have our route mapped out for us.

Christophe led us deftly out of Chartres and then straight onto the busy National auto route. Despite his insistence that we should go straight down the auto route we referred back to the Michelin map pages once more and made our way safely to Orleans.

A tortuous ride from the outskirts of Orlean with heavy traffic at a standstill, and disappearing cycle lanes

We think Christophe shows great promise and we are working on training him to do our bidding.

Staying in an Auberge de Jeunesse in Orleans – a French style youth hostel. Delighted to think that we are considered to be young. As we climbed up the stairs to our room laden with panniers we thought we have the esprit de jeunesse despite our aching bodies telling us otherwise.

Christophe awards points and we have collected 220. No idea how we achieved this but points mean prizes so we look forward in anticipation to finding out what we will win.

Fell asleep while writing this! Will be going into Orlean this morning to see the Cathedral, collect another stamp and learn all about Joan of Arc.

30.4 miles

Ascent 395 metres Descent 334

We escaped Dreux without a hitch and would like to think it was due to our superior navigational skills. In truth, we have been gifted the Bikemap app from Chris and Shehla. It is fantastic.

Alison had planned our route with the Michelin route planner -a 44 mile ride. Bike map did it for us in 30 miles. We arrived at our destination uncharacteristically early and with time to spare so we went to a cafe and toasted Chris and Shehla.

Alison says it is going to be a doddle from now onward but we are not throwing away the pages of the Michelin map just yet.

Talking technology, we note that Strava recorded we had done the 8th fastest time of all time over a section of our route yesterday. How can that be? Have only eight people done the route?

Arriving so early gave us the advantage of being able to visit the Cathedral where we got our third stamp on the Pilgrim passport

Thank you Chris and Shehla. Non cyclists showing the cyclists how it should be done.

65.1 miles

Ascent 465 metres. Descent 353 metres

Reflecting on the first week of the ride we concluded that at times it had been a bit shambolic. We resolved to be more organised this week and with that in mind we booked accommodation for tonight before we left. Hallelujah!

We packed up our tent and said a fond farewell to Chef Francois and his wife (we are on first name terms now) promising to return and arrive en auto.

Ten minutes down the road and I had lost Alison. It took 4 phone calls and three miles to find her. Not the organised start we had promised ourselves.

We started on the road out of Andely toward Vernon for our planned coffee stop and noticed a new cycle pathway clearly signposted to the town. We followed it for 10 minutes before ending up on an overgrown path in a field. Deja Vue. We arrived in Vernon in time for a late lunch.

Lovely ride through the countryside abundant with poppies and wild flowers.

Arrived in Dreux late and then after a shower went out on the town.

But this is France and everything closes midday on Sunday. Alison was gearing up to make a pasta delight on her gaz stove in our hotel room when we found a bar that was open.

Bon Appetiit