Camping L'Estuaire , Paimboeuf

This morning we were good to go. At last we could cycle across to the west coast. It was hot though, and we struggled hugging every shady spot along the way. Angela was really struggling, still having to walk the steeper gradients. She was glad she'd bought her Ventolin inhaler, prescribed for a chest infection, that was nowhere near as bad as this one, back in early March.

By the time we completed our forty five mile ride, she was literally fit to drop. We are sure to remain hydrated each day, buying large bottles of orange and cold water along the way. This evening a storm passed close, all noise and luckily no rain.

The campsite has an area they call the 'cycling village' with cooking facilities, charging points, seating and bike storage. Another couple, Dutch are just about to cycle the Euro velo 6 to Basel as we did last year. As for us we will head down the Atlantic coast. John if feeling much better, Angela is running about two days behind so is hoping that after tomorrow she'll feel more her old self.

The sun setting over St. Nazaire. 

Camping Belle Riviere, St. Luce sur Loire (day 2)

We asked to move pitches on the campsite this morning to a space near to the office as we didn't want to have to take our luggage on the bikes into the city. We were hopeful that someone today would sort John's bike. The first shop we visited were very helpful, but to cut a long story short yes they could order in a wheel, or John could order it. It would take nine days. Can you hear our despair? Between 11.30 am  and around 3.30 pm we waited whilst they tried to source a wheel locally. Decathlon, of which there are five stores in Nantes had one. So we cycled ten miles to it. Angela having to walk the gradients as she was still suffering with her chest infection. The wheel in stock was not correct. They could order one in for the next morning. O.K. sounded good. Or did it. Another one of John's spokes had broken on the way up. Would he be able to safely cycle seventeen miles back to the campsite and then back again tomorrow? No! So a wheel that would do was taken off one of the display bikes. And we were back on with our road trip. Just our health to sort out now.

Camping Belle Riviere, St.Luce sur Loire (day 1)

Today was a train day. Just before 11am we boarded the train at Granville which would take us to Rennes.

One bicycle was already loaded owned by a Frenchman who modelled himself on Catweazle. John placed Angela's bike with one of its wheels just brushing the Frenchmans rack bag. He shouted at John in French, John shouted back at him in very loud English. Why this man was so upset we couldn't fathom. Angela's bike moved by an inch and the men calmed. The atmosphere left by the altercation hung heavily in the air all the way to Rennes.

Ninety minutes later, time to board train to Nantes, you've guessed it there he was. Great! Fortunately all the bike slots were taken in our carriage. The afternoon hot we stopped on the way to the campsite a the small town of St. Luce sure Loire, alongside the river Loire.

Some kind of fund raising event was taking place complete with live music. We stopped awhile to listen. Camping Belle Riviere is about seven miles east of Nantes. We stayed here last year. Tomorrow we will cycle into the city in hope of finding a bike shop who can sort John's bike.

Donville - les - Bains, Normandy, France

What is about us? We really do attract the wrong people. Around midnight the seasonal workers, who work in the fields here began to celebrate the end of their working week. This involves drggg-inking, of course, singing very loudly, shouting and roaming around the campsite doing all of these things. Their merriment didn't cease until the sun came up. Thanks guys. Needless to say we weren't in the best of moods this morning. Today we decided to sort out John's bike. How difficult could it be to have one spoke repacked? Apparently very difficult! Unless we wanted to purchase an electric bike nobody was really interested. Still struggling with our health we were started to feel tested in every which way. On the verge of returning home Angela decided we'd carry on. We've never let anything defeat us before. So we've booked train tickets, using our over sixties railcards, to Nantes  tomorrow.

We'll be on the edge of the Loire one of the most popular cycling areas in France, so we feel someone here will help us out. Tonight though we're on a campsite near Granville. The area is fashionable with the Parisians which might explain the steep price to stay. However, with a hairdryer for us cyclists and three, chemical toilet disposal points for the vans it's win win.

Coudeville - Plage, Normandy, France

The misery continues. Yes Marge we miss you. Angela had a bad night. John had a disturbed night thanks to three people a little way down who appeared to live on the site in a tent arguing into the early hours. Five times he got up to check our bikes were safe. Angela struggling, we decided to cycle to the nearby coast. On the way another spoke broke in John's rear wheel. We are now at the end of our tether, if we felt better the bike problem wouldn't seem so huge. We are now close to the town of Granville. The temperature today 27c which has brought on a thunderstorm. Please someone, come and rescue us!

Coutances, Normandy, France

We had a bad night last night. John coughed continuously and Angela's throat was really painful. This morning she'd almost lost her voice. A plus some might say. At the appointed time of 11am we were at the bike shop. Repair complete within the hour, and us nearly fifty euros lighter. But the money had to be spent for us to continue our trip. John seemed a little better, Angela worse, finding the cycling up gradients too much sometimes, having to dismount and walk. 

We were hoping to cycle across to the coast for tonight's stop but by the time we reached Coutances Angela could cycle no further. So we found the town campsite, where we stayed once before when cycling in the area. We pitched our tent opposite a Dutch campervan far away from a group of school children here on a football course. The noise from teenage children is really annoying, we hoped the organisers would settle them down early.

La Haye, Normandy, France

This morning we decided to leave the  farm. We'd given up trying to work out what the two sad looking donkeys were thinking. John was still not good, feeling sick, blaming the powder sachets the pharmacist had sold Angela. We made slow progress, cycling slowly along a pretty green route, of which there are many cross crossing France. They are the disused railway lines. Suddenly a loud noise emitted from John's rear wheel. One of his spokes had broken. Great! Our bad luck was never ending. A short while later it happened again. We weret a low point. Fortunately we were near to La Haye which had two bike shops, one of which was just closing, the other run by a very helpful man who ordered the spokes in ready to repair John's bike the next morning. A short cycle down the road to us to a tiny campsite run by an English couple. They were full, but found a spot for our small tent.

Bricquebec - en - Contentin (day 2)

Angela couldn't sleep during the night. Her body and head ached, she shivered, her throat was sore. Great! By this morning she also felt sick. Now we were both ill. The only thing to do was stay put and rest up in the hope we would both feel a little better tomorrow. What a trip this was turning out to be. Yesterday had been out 24th wedding anniversary, we would certainly remember it for all the wrong reasons. Paying another 13.5 euros for another nights stay, we lay in our tent willing recovery. The nearby fowl squawked and scrapped, the tiny bantams flapped their wing scurrying and jumping in a bid to be noticed. Angela has previous with bantams. When she was six years old she let some out of a cage in her mothers friends garden! There was also an incident with a tricycle and a pond in the same garden. Today feels like a wasted day, but we could not have cycled. Mid afternoon Angela went down to the nearby supermarket for bread, cheese and the all important breakfast pain chocolates. John has no taste, but despite this likes them with his morning coffee. Fingers crossed we both have a more comfortable night and can move on a little further tomorrow.

Bricquebec - en - Contentin (day 1)

John was really not well this morning, and despite Angela thinking we should stay another night at the Cherbourg campsite we set off following the signs for Euro velo 4 which did not tie up with our map. Consequently we found ourselves on busy roads, pushing our laden bikes up gradients. 'Go cycling in France, we, said. 'It'll be great',we, said. And so it will be hopefully. We were both tired by late afternoon and stopping at Bricquebec Angela decided to speak to visit the pharmacy and ask advice on how best to help John. She was concerned he had difficulty breathing. The very helpful pharmacist suggested she buy some granules to add to water that would thin down hi mucus. She also advised the number to call for an ambulance if he worsened. A nightmare situation we were keen to avoid. Despite along queue the pharmacist googled a farm just under a mile up the road that offered camping. The kindness of strangers once again. So here we are amongst cows, horses, goats and very noisy turkeys, bantams and cockerels. Despite the chaos it is a pleasant location with all the facilities we need, including a kitchen area. Other cyclists arrived including a French couple, their bicycles fully laden with panniers front and rear, handlebar bags and a large bag each on their rear racks. They were cycling a route known as Le Manche and we're heading to Cherbourg to catch the ferry to Poole. We wrote down the details of the campsite just west of Poole and another just before Weymouth. We did not envy their onward cycle through hilly west Dorset to Plymouth.

Cherbourg, Normandy, France

Our trip has not started well. Although we were roused by a 5.45 am alarm, we were, late setting off for the car ferry. A new Ortlieb rack bag that Angela bought wouldn't  fit on her bike with her very full panniers. After many expletives from John it was decided he would fit the bag to his rear rack and Angela would have the tent on hers. Thankfully at the ferry terminal our bags weren't checked.

 On top of all this John didn't feel well. It now seems he may have developed a chest infection! And now we're in France! What'll we do? This evening we cooked pasta on our new gas cooker, whilst wondering where the other cyclists we met on the ferry were.

Two large field mushrooms are growing near to us, they'd be lovely stuffed. What will tomorrow bring? Well a visit to the local bike shop for sure, and maybe a visit to the pharmacy for advice on how to treat John. We certainly can't cycle far until he feels a little better.

Poole, Dorset

 We set off in the morning for the ferry to France, bags are being feverishly packed and repacked as there just doesn't seem enough room for everything we will need on our six week jaunt! 

Our route is planned, a loop around France starting and ending at Cherbourg. We should have been setting off for Budapest, and all points east, but due to planning taking much longer than expected for a building project we are engaged in that trip will have to wait until next year.