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…

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.…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…