France 2007 Day 6

Turn a corner and ...

The Chateau at Montmort, 25 Km from Sezanne

At Reims (pronounces Rhees) ... Parking on the road "Interdit".. On the path.. C'est bon.

The cathedral at Reims

My first and only traffic jam - just outside Lille.

Oostend (or Ostend as I know it)

More Oostend

On the ferry... Met a german chap, Frank, on his way to the IOM. Was about to ride all the way there from Dover via Stansted, where he was picking up his girlfriend. I wonder how he got on?

France 2007 Day 5

This is where I stayed the previous night ... Just
outside Auxerre so life was not without its little luxuries ...







I must return ...

Then, finding a puncture in your tyre when you wake up isn't fun ... The owner of the house went on the internet and found a bike shop called Spirit of Bike. They were first class - look them up if you're in Auxerre and have a look around the shop.

Auxerre ... A beautiful place









Given an unusual array of ice cream flavours .... Yes, I'd pick the Violette. It tasted ... Yuck, to be honest.



And so to Sezanne ... The edge of Champagne country.


The hotel


It's an armourer ... The window to the right was stuffed full of rifles and shotguns.


Is there NO escape from work?



Sezanne was a lovely village ... a little ramshackle in places but then you encountered quaint houses like this

France 2007 Day 4

I didn't stop long in Clermont ferand but I took this picture of a giant wind-vane assembled on a roundabout.

This was the first roundabout on my way in to St Pourcain. I guess the Tour de France will pass this way. Anyway ... despite this part being a little tatty, it turned out to be a very pleasant town as the subsequent photo shows.



The map showed a viewpoint at Vaux so I decided to stop and have a break. I couldn't find the village .. all there was was road! Devoid of traffic, so I sat and snacked while I was there.

I may have spoiled the view by standing in the way of it.

Waitrose / Sainsbury.. eat your heart out. This is a store resaurant .. The Leclerk in Moulin. And the food was good, too.

Moulin town centre...

One ... from the back ... you'll notice the white spires (I didn't... DOH!)

The other, from the front... You'll notice the spires aren't white. I didn't at the time.

Twin twin-peaks (I couldn't resist the play on words). This is Moulin, obviously has two churches from this distance.

The river, and bridge ... it's a red bridge at Moulin... a sort of "Moulin Rouge Pont" ... Come on, keep up.

Do I have to tell you where I am?

Can you tell what it is yet?

So, how out of context is this? It's in Guerigny ... Just North of Nevers.

I just thought it looked good - it's at a place called Chateuneuf-Val de Bargis - so I just took the photo.

Of course, I didn't see the full name on the sign so I thought it might be the Chateuneuf du Pap. I rode about thirty miles to find it wasn't. DOH!

More out of context ... An Irish Kebab house in France. WHAT? This was at a place called Varzy if you want to try it. Reputedly the best Irish Kebab house in the region.

Actually Varzy proved to be a pretty little village away from the main road.

The next few photo's are of Clemecy... No context needed at this point.

France 2007 Day 3

I set off. My aim to reach Clermont Ferand. The weather was a little better but I needed to get away from the Campanile hotel... While the staff were helpful and friendly the place was dingy and I needed to find somewhere to lift my spirits. Clermont Ferand is well known and I hoped to find something there.

The weather got steadily worse with temperatures dropping. My chosen route was to be through a tunnel where I hoped to shelter and gain some temporary respite. It was not to be. The tunnel was closed for roadworks and I had to go over the mountain pass. I watched the temperature gauge slowly descend to 3 degrees. I was wearing sodden summer gloves and my feet were soaked through. I took one photograph all day. This at Le Loiran. 4,000 feet above sea level and still at 3 degrees C. And I needed a pee (duly taken into a deserted ski resort gravel bed).



A little while later I saw a cafe with bikes outside. I stopped for a coffee - possibly the best decision of the week. There I befriended a scottish couple, Phil and Shona. What a great couple they were. I asked if I could follow them to Clermont, which the were happy for me to do. As we descended off the mountain the sun came out and the roads dried. I didn't. I was still soaked through.. but at least I was warmer. Phil found some good roads and we enjoyed a brisk ride.

We booked in to an Etap hotel (who have, I have since discovered, charged me for two nights. Refund pending), freshened up and went for a stroll and had a pleasant meal at a local restaurant. Phil. If you read this, get in touch. I still owe you some money for the meal.

The next photo's are from day 4 when, at last, you'll notice that the sun has come out. They're here to show the possible consequences of riding while exhausted. I was fortunate that there was nothing coming the other way as I slid down the road...




PS. If anyone has a spare RH crankcase cover for a 1998 Honda VFR800Fi

France 2007 Day 2

Bellac - to get to this part of the town needed careful navigation through the small, narrow back-streets. Or, in my case, a random sequence of turns.


Streets such as this one..


And why don't we have places with names like this?


Mind ... I think they'd be better off washing their dishes instead of fly-tipping. I think this may be Limoges ...


in the middle of nowhere ... a community hall / hut where I stopped to grab a bite to eat. You'll notice that the weather is somewhat inclement and had been, on and off, for the last two hours. It was about to get worse.


I prepared for temperatures down to 15 degrees centigrade and mostly showers. During the next three hours the temperature went down to around 9 degrees and the rain was, as they say, persistent. You'll also notice the trees bending from the wind. Neither my gloves nor my boots were more than shower proof - my Frank Thomas Aqua pack even leaked, leaving me with damp leathers. Slowly, cver-so-slowly I became cold, miserable and exhausted. With predictable results.

So, I made it to Aurillac about 5.30pm: tired and, frankly, pissed off ...

I found a Campanile hotel booked myself in and sat in a hot bath to rejuvenate myself. An hour later, feeling little better but, at least, warm, (although the rain was still lashing down) I walked to the restaurant and grabbed a bite to eat. There I found the staff helpful and, heaven sent, able to converse in English. A real fillip.