Chaumont s/Loire to Orleans (Vieux ou Originée)🤣🤙
Another wacky day..... I put it down to 'Je suis fatiguè'!! After 8 days and over 400miles, the 9th day started as Frustrating&Fraught and moved thankfully in the direction of Finish&Fine at 470miles!!
Really good to be into it though!
Probs with pannier rack brackets have thankfully eased, but Dennis at CycleFix is sourcing more brackets for me that he's happy to ship on to me for next Wed!! I got a poor substitute from Mr. Bricolage if I need more than my 1 remaining spare! Strictly a get out of jail job..... really hope I don't have to.fashion a solution out of them bits!!
As I had loaned Paul my fork bags back in March thinking I wouldn't need them as my AlAn Gelaveller was my bike of choice for the trip, I've had probs with the new ones too.... but I started late (80 mins after Paul!) this morning to robustify them.... success, they are solid now with cable ties, but I'll reef them down with jubiless clips from Mr. Bricolage tomorrow!
Otherwise good, ditching old clothes and lightening up the load all the time.
Effing caned it today to catch up to Paul. By the time I'd closed 7 of a 12 mile deficit, combined with his 5 mile wrong turn we were neck&neck on opposite sides of the river!! Met at Beaugency for a snack, but I'd kinda pigged out at Blois on a small pizza sort of thingee (focasse avec olives (Mediterranee🤷♂️) and then we rode together after with some stonking team riding of 15-16mph into some light winds now off Starboard Bow.... Rather than yesterday's head on Bow BS! SOB couldn't be arsed to do it a 3rd day on the trot as we were defeating it!!.... albeit painfully....🥵 in great heat of +35°C.....🥵🥵🥵
Paul's doing really well on his diet of c. ½ my YTD mileage, but still in early days fatigue at Day5 while I'm getting some strength and pace at Day 9! Need a rest day big time though! Checking out Orleans tomorrow at our most northerly point.... all south from here!!
Galley Guy Bergy knocked up a fabulous Paprika Chicken all washed down with local lagers and Tourine Sauvignon Blanc..... carbs can present themselves in many and varied forms, so one must be adaptive and creative on the nutrition front... bourbon helps too to avoid the pink ibuprofen 'smarties' of which I have had none.... in preference for other kinds of painkillers!!
Funny Story of the Day - asked about my bum and how it was surviving ..... rather thriving I'm pleased to tell you all.......on a diet of Brooks&BumButter.... see photo!!
Promised 'moron' the un-PC PolskiMan on the Blog! Certainly, Bart is best not invited to a dinner party with polite company as he may come across rather more as Borat did at that New England (?) Dinner Party (w/o the pooper bag!). Bart did offer me one very valuable snippet of a life lesson though, a salutory one at that.... Fools and Suffering.... for I discovered that Paul suffers fools gladly not, whilst I gladly suffer fools as they generally provide great value entertainment. Perhaps even exceeding Billy Connolly in he vast overuse of the 'F' word.... but he used that very same word with such deep meaning and conviction that it could easily be defined as Evangelical Effing Cursing..... So the salutary lesson for me is, 'What's a nice guy like Paul doing hanging around with a guy like me'!!
TTFN,
Doug&Paul
PS - Have also met many other nice people.... Cyclists Uwe from Deutschland and Hans from.... you got it Switzerland... he always would have been don't you agree.... also a Germany couple in their 4x4 camper they are taking to North America next year for 10 months touring.... Sea freight Hamburg to Halifax then 20,000 miles or so of touring... c/w 2 bicycles and petol powered Scooter! Fair play to them. Also lady cycling from Never to Quiberon for a Festival.... btw Hans has a Dentist Appt in St. Nazaire!!🤷♂️ What a great excuse! Must remember that one!!🤭🤙
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