Day 8: Bergerac - Angouleme
We left the hotel before 7.00am this morning as we knew it was going to be another very hot day and we had a long ride with plenty of hills in front of us and we needed to be at the hotel in Angouleme for 4.00pm to watch England play Germany. As we rode through the centre of Bergerac we were once again met by diversion signs but this time rather than following the detour we negotiated our way through – after all you can have one too many diversions! The decision to start early was a good one as the roads were quiet and the temperature cool (for now); there was more chatter today, probably because Melissa had joined us! In view of the heat we had arranged for three stops, the first of these was at St Vincent. After drinks, biscuits and the loo we were off again, the sun was now getting high in the sky and the heat coupled with the hills was making it a challenging day but as always when the going gets tough we just keep grinding on.
For lunch the backup team had found a well shaded wooded area very close to a view point at the top of a hill near Montignac – it’s always better to stop at the top rather than the bottom! After lunch we saw a lone cyclists racing down the road in front of us, and yes it was Paul Smith who was joining us for the next day or so. Paul is a veteran of the first 1000-mile ride ten years ago and now lives in France close to Angouleme, it was really good to see him again. For the rest of the day we seemed to be riding on melted tar, the heat was oppressive and there was very little shade so it was tough going. A few miles outside of Angouleme the group split as a few of us went back looking for David whom we thought had fallen way behind, it was only later that we realized he was actually way in front but no worries as Paul (Smith) had stayed with us and he was able to guide us into Angouleme and to the hotel without any trouble. It had been a tough day, 72-miles in the blistering heat but the most important thing is everyone is well and we’ve had no significant problems – unlike England who have just lost 4-1 to Germany. We are now all a bit subdued but hey we have Malcolm to cheer us up and tomorrow is another day (and a long one!).
View photos from our eighth day: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bikeride2010
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FACT: We have now done just over 500 miles in 8 days, which means we have 6 days and another 500 miles in front of us