Monday 28th May. Bazas (10) to Aiguillon (11)
48.8 miles. 4hrs riding time Average speed: 12mph Total: 507 miles
Wet Wetter Wettest
I’m reminded of the old maxim “Blessed is he who expects little”.
Only a madman, or someone on a sponsored bike ride, would have ventured
out on a bike this morning. The first ten miles were absolutely awful; steep
hills and torrential rain and wind - I was wetter than an otter’s
pocket. My spirits were at their absolute lowest; if I hadn’t been
sponsored for this ride I would have thrown my hand in with the itinerary
and put myself onto a train as least as far as Toulouse. I’d toyed
with the idea of taking a more direct but busier route to Aiguillon on the
main D655 but with the misty poor visibility I sensibly erred on the side
of caution and headed for the Canal Lateral on the quieter D9 and some minor
lanes.
You can’t ever look ‘cool’ in cheap waterproofs, especially
with plastic carrier bags tied over the top of your shoes in an attempt
to keep your feet dry. Yesterday, every downward press of the pedals saw
water squirting out of my shoes’ lace-holes. Today, by contrast, my
feet were the only part of me that actually did stay dry. The rain eased
slightly after crossing the A62 Autoroute des Deux-Mers then I joined the
Canal Latéral a la Garronne towpath at Meilhan which I was pleasantly
surprised to find had been newly surfaced with tarmac. There were signs
saying ‘No Access’. I could see no reason for them, so I did
as any Frenchman would have done and duly ignored them. A mile or so further
on I caught up with the construction workers and so had to take to the road
again, on the D143.
The sun appeared briefly and I optimistically stashed away my waterproofs.
Needless to say, less than 15 minutes later (pardon my French) it peessed
down again. In spite or perhaps because of the weather I’d made good
progress, nearly 50 miles by 2 o’ clock so I decided to escape the
elements and booked into the first hotel I saw, La Terrasse de l’Etoile
in Aiguillon. I went through the tedious process of trying to dry my kit
out again and spent the rest of the afternoon feeling sorry for myself reading
a book in my room.
http://www.laterrassedeletoile.com/
My meal this evening is 100% better than last night’s – it
couldn’t really be worse!
Porc terrine with prunes and onion relish, a main course of confit de canard
(duck)
with honey-glazed carrots and creamed spinach have worked wonders to raise
my sprits. The bottle of red has helped too and I’m now basking in
a nice warm alcoholic glow as I scribble nonsense into my journal. I’ve
just seen a mouse running alongside the skirting board closely pursued by
a rangy black cat. With the mouse now in its mouth, the cat has just scampered
back through the restaurant closely pursued by the waitress.
