Yesterday afternoon was one of the best. No more heat exhaustion as we reached Brantome by 2 and our hotel room had AC. Refreshed and rested, we wandered around the stunning medieval architecture, through the gardens along the river. We were relaxed and happy.
Then today became another day of surprises! Dawn in the Dordogne was stunning and it’s still very rural but getting quite hilly. Today the temperature had dropped to about 25 which made for glorious cycling. But my brakes started making a funny noise so we stopped to investigate. A huge Alsatian charged at us barking excitedly, crossing the road causing traffic to slam on brakes. There were so many near misses. While Neil searched out the owner, I gaffa taped up my brakes as a bit had fallen off. They seem to work 😬.
Further one, I noticed Neils helmet on the ground as we left our coffee stop, so picked it up. At the top of a huge hill I commented on his decision to cycle with no helmet. His face turned suddenly from horror, to ‘sod it, I’m not cycling that hill again, I’ll buy another one’ to relief as I produced it. He’ll no doubt get his own back soon. 😂.
Then the best part of our day was reconnecting with Leslie and Jonathan, the couple we’d swam with in the channel on day 1!! What a wonderful surprise it was. Amazingly, we’d all stayed in the same town last night. They are faster than us but had had bike problems so lost a day. It was such a fun reunion over beers, then we parted ways again as they head home tomorrow. We’re now staying in a lovely farmhouse B&B with a pool. The rain started just as we turned in…. Perfect timing
Ceri's Blog with Neil 