Just after nine we were away leaving our new friend Pierre sleeping off the bottle of wine he was well into when we went to bed last night. We hoped today he might address his personal hygiene. He'd been paddling for three weeks and his T-shirt we didn't think had left his body in all that time. As we cycled passed the marina we spotted a small Dutch barge from Brighouse, Scotland named Grace. What a coincidence.
Today would have been John's mum's 99th birthday. Her name, Grace, born in Scotland. Passing the magnificent engineered aquaduct we found a shady path, but the heat was building and by midday we were suffering. 36c is not a great temperature to cycle in. What were we doing. Were we mad? Most definitely. We drank litres of tepid water to stay hydrated and ate crisps to take on salt. Determined not to be beaten we battled on like zombies.
Was this a holiday or test of endurance? As tonight's campsite neared we stopped in one of the riverside towns for shopping. Ate two chocolate and double caramel ice creams each and full of hype from the excess sugar intake set off once again. Just seven more miles, we could do this.
So here we are. Showered, full of barbecued burgers and yet more fluid.
Tomorrow we will do it all again. We hope to be able to reach Nevers. It will be a week since we left home and our beautiful garden which we now fear may be suffering from the heat. Anyone fancy a watering holiday at the coast?
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