Slept well and all managed the creaky circular staircases successfully. Steve also managed the French coffee machine successfully - very important in the morning.
We then launched into the ‘find the parking lot game’. The first attempt at the closest one, door open / could drive right in, didn’t work because it turned out to be monthly parking only when we went to pay for it. Back to the car, drive it back out the still open open ‘drive in’ door and over to the Hotel d’Ville lot which recognised our number plate and allowed us to pay so mission accomplished!
Packed everything up (amazing how few trips up and down there were when wanting to avoid trips on the twisty narrow stairs), loaded the bikes and set off to find breakfast and the route. Breakfast proved to be challenge trying two places, but successfully found coffee and croissants so were happy. Then we got on the bikes and made our way past the marina, past the closed bridge and over the pedestrian bridge to the route.
Day 1 was a gentle incline for 31 miles and then an undulating 20 miles to Gournay, accompanied by a 20mph headwind. Much of the route was on the ‘Avenue Verte’, a former railway line converted into a paved cycleway winding its way through French countryside and forest. We saw two chateaus, numerous pointy churches and chickens, lots of chickens.
After a rain shower, we stopped in Neufchâtel, yes the place of the cheese, for lunch and watched another rain shower from the restaurant. Love being inside rather than on the bike when it’s raining!
Lots of rest stops, ingestion of paracetamol / ibuprofen and food helped along the way, but still a long day. The last ten required a good effort (that’s the last hill, whoops, no it’s not), but we all made it to Gournay by 3:55. Well done, Chris, for successfully pedalling your first 50 miles! You deserve several beers!
Maybe all the restaurants go on holiday after the summer holidays, but the selection proved to be limited, but we successfully found beer and after a ramble of the town, found food - pizza it is! Really good though. Mine was called the German, but really it was a tartiflette on a pizza base - what’s not to like and plenty for tomorrow!
Long, but good day!
Well done Chris, pretty hard day with the head wind. I suspect Chris will get the “King of the Mountains”
ReplyDeletetitle for the tour…. He climbs much better than we do, but never underestimate the speed of a descending tandem!!!!
Hats off, Chris, from the pokey cycler! Just sounds like a great day!
ReplyDeleteNow, that's a beer! I hate riding into a headwind and your elevation map had way more "spikes" than there should be for a converted rail line. Gorgeous scenery tho. Well done!
ReplyDelete