Day 5- Le Barp - Segos Saturday 4th August 2007

Today started with wall to wall sunshine. so we knew that we were in for a very hot day. Stage 5 took us from Le Barp, where we left the region of Aquitaine, to the tiny but picturesque village of Segos situated in the Midi-Pyrenees region just south of Aire-Sur-L'Adour, right in the foothills of the Pyrenees. This was a relatively short leg of 90 miles, covered in 5hrs 37 mins (actual ride time). Like yesterday, Stelly and I went for a short run before breakfast! She runs and swims, I swim like a brick (that's why I don't do triathlons).

Leaving Le Barp after a run first thing

I think these roads are going to be boringly straight again!

The local church at Sore. They were holding a fete this day.

If this was the Tour de France; I had just won the Intermediate Sprint - against an alsation which was running and barking in its front garden. I wasn't to know it couldn't get out.

The long straight roads continue. Time for lunch!

Quiet lunch in the shade just outside the village of Labrit (very apt).

With just over 5 miles to ride and almost 5 hours in the saddle I was climbing (1500 mtres)out of the town of Aire-sur-L'Adour. The temperature was by now 42 degrees, when I was joined by a French rider who wanted to help me up this final climb! I really struggled to hold his wheel and was relieved to see Stelly waiting at the top. So with a polite 'au revoir' I had the perfect excuse to pull off the road!

A quick drink and I was off again, anxiously looking for a sign post that read Segos. Sure enough the next road on the left proved to be the one we were looking for.

It reminded me very much of an English country lane in Dorset, gently rolling down to the village below, except that this time it was sunny and hot! I have to say that the scenery here is fantastic with the Pyrenees in the distance.

Could be an English country lane. Approaching Hotel Minvielle.

End of day 5. Hotel courtyard.

View from hotel balcony

We decided to eat dinner outside as it was a very warm evening and the views were fantastic

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves in such a warm and pleasant evening. Most of the guests here were walkers

I think I rather over done it with the carbo loading in preparation for tomorrow's Pyrenean stage!!

Day 4 Ste Soulle - Le Barp Friday 3rd August 2007

A bright start when we left Ste Soulle but it did rain later. This stage was longer than I had planned ( another 120 miles!). Le Barp is a small village to the south of Bordeaux in the region of Aquitaine. To reach it without passing through Bordeaux we had to board a ferry at Royan and take a twenty minute trip accross the mouth of the Gironde to Le -Verdon-Sur-Mer. Prior to leaving Stelly and I went for an easy run before breakfast!




















Boarding Ferry at Royan
































Approaching Le-Verdon-Sur-Mer Verdon- Sur -Mer



After a brief lunch after the ferry crossing, we headed south towards Le Barp. It was quite wet and I was cold. Little did I know what lay in store.

A couple of nice villages gave some respite to the straight roads.





LIBERTIE,EGALITIE,FRATERNITIE















At last a roundabout!

At least there is traffic -look at the straight road! Earlier on with no traffic for miles I was beginning to lose the will to live! The Hotel - Le Resinere was terrific. Gets its name from this area where resin is taken from the pines - bliss!








Felt tired (again) but after a cool shower, change of clothes and a bottle of wine I was ready for dinner.

Day 3 Pontchateau -Ste Soulle Thursday 2 August

The day started cloudy and overcast. After yesterday it was a welcome relief. This was going to be one of the longest stages - (130 miles). Sainte Soulle is a small village on the outskirts of La Rochelle in the Poitou-Charentes region.

The first obstacle of the day was the bridge at St Nazaire which was clearly designed for motorists and bikes were not included in the plans!

The country roads were very pleasant, miles and miles of market gardens and then forest. After 4 hours we found a nice place to stop for lunch.

Tip of the day: If you ever wish to do something like this, make sure to have a decent set of road maps that show a host of minor roads rather than having to use motorist road maps where some of the locations are not shown!!

After lunch we were unsure of exactly where we were because the villages we passed through were not marked on our map.

Also wouldn't it be nice if the road numbers at sign posts coincided with those on the map.

At last we arrived at Sainte Soulle. My actual riding time was 7hrs 12 mins which is an average of 16+ mph. Some sections of the roads I could not ride because of - bridges and extreme traffic conditions.

A long tiring day. Stelly enjoyed a well deserved swim after the frustrations of driving and looking after me. I sat by the pool with a glass of wine - the water was too cold for me - I'm a whimp!

Day 2 Wednesday August 1st - Saint Malo

The ferry crossing was good, ate a hearty breakfast in preparation for the day's ride from Saint Malo to Pontchateau. This small town is about 15 miles from St Nazaire and 101 miles from St Malo. Beautiful morning as we arrived in Saint Malo.

Today's journey started well with some beautiful scenery. The French drivers are much more tolerant to cyclists compared to those in the UK

During the afternoon the temperature rose into the 30s, I was expecting to be in the saddle for 6-7 hours so it was the first time I have ever had to put a factor 15 on!

Met up with a fellow cyclist with about 30 miles to go. He towed me along for 10 miles or so (sometimes at 30 mph) I really didn't need this with 8 days of cycling left!! Needless to say I failed to notice Stella waiting for me at the road side ( too busy following this guys wheel!)

A couple of images:

At last we arrive at Auberge de Calvaire near Pontchateau. There is an interseting aspect to this village which will have to wait for another time - but this is a different kind of pilgrimage.

I thought I would feel more tired today but thankfully I was OK. The Hotel was good, great food and welcoming hosts. Think we've got the driving and riding bit sorted out now - Stelly's good at this, all I've got to do is ride a bike!

Day 1- Grand Depart -Tuesday 31st July

YEOVILTON - PORTSMOUTH

Slightly apprehensive today, just hope the months of training will pay off.
Great 'send-off' by the Lynx IPT,friends and colleagues in beautiful weather - blue sky,sunshine and no wind. After weeks of wind and rain, this was indeed a bonus.

Horror!, the road out of Sherborne to Sturminster Newton had just been tarred and chipped - fortunately no punctures. Wimborne for lunch then a pretty route through the New Forest, avoiding the ponies.

Southampton was ,as expected, busy. Stella kept a good eye on me while we negotiated our way through the City. Through Fareham and on to Portsmouth. I was begining to feel tired but knew there was only about 10 miles to go

On arrival at Portsmouth Ferry Terminal we were met by Stella's family - a welcome surprise!

We left Portsmouth that evening, sailing past HMS Bristol and into the setting sun. Tomorrow the real work begins!! 98 miles (ride time - 6hrs 20 mins)

Send Off minus 16

Look what I've done today!!

It is raining again!! I should have gone training, but once again I have been defeated by the vagaries of the British summer. I am getting a little apprehensive as my departure to Spain gets nearer. Have I done enough training? Am I fit enough? Have I taken on too much? Just some of the things that run through ones mind, to say nothing of the logistics -hotels, routes, back up vehicle and most importantly Stella, who will be doing the driving. All I have to do is ride a bike. Sponsorship has turned out to be more difficult than I imagined as I have always found it difficult to ask people for money even for a cause like Cancer Research UK. So if any of you out there who are reading this, please go to www.justgiving.com/edfrench

However, on the positve side, I have today created my first Blog.