Day 19: Saint Emilion to Angouleme (65.5 miles)
We rode our longest day so far! The heat nearly killed us again. This morning leaving Saint Emilion we rode through vineyard after vineyard. After climbing a hill, at the top you could look down and see forever. It was neat seeing the land spotted with church steeples. In the afternoon, we switched from grapes to corn and soy. I think back at home, we cycled through 1000 miles of those two crops – I’m not even exaggerating.
At lunch we stumbled upon a national horse jumping competition. Free admission. Yay! We found a covered area to eat our lunch and watched the riders and horses jump. My favorite part was the American county music that was playing over the speakers. You never know what you’re going to see (or hear) on a bike trip! Yeehaw!
Horse jumping competition.
We were going to wild camp tonight, but it was so hot and we were so hungry that we found a kebab restaurant and a hotel. I think it was a good choice.
Day 20: Angouleme to L’isle Jordain (58 miles)
We had a hard time finding food today because many things close on Mondays and everything closes in the middle of the day anyhow. It’s super annoying. Breakfast at a gas station: a loaf of bread and chocolate milk! The ride was hot and humid again. We stayed on back country roads for nearly 25 miles. Sometimes Google maps put us on non-roads though grass fields. Sometimes you just have to laugh at things like that. Today, on our dirt road journey, we stumbled across a WW2 memorial for the flight crew of a B17 bomber that crash landed in a field. A good reminder that this land was once a battle field and that our trip should not be taken for granted.
WW2 memorial for the flight crew of the Channel Express 3.
The towns seem like ghost towns. Everything is boarded up and there’s no people. The buildings looked vacant and run-down. This makes it really difficult to find food. For lunch we found a tiny place to grab chips, a croissant, and a Coke. Later we ate cold macaroni noodles. We thought it was a package of macaroni and CHEESE. Nope.
The good thing about the country roads is you can sing (really loudly) and nobody cares. The cows head me sing Whitney Houston on the top of my lungs. I’m sure Sean was thankful for the free concert. 😉 Oh and the sunflowers! We passed miles and miles of beautiful sunflowers today. So nice!
We camped at a municipal campground tonight. Waaaaay different that the other ones we’ve been camping at. There’s hardly anyone here. It’s quiet. No concerts or waterparks or kids. We made friends with a couple from England. We sat with them and shared stories and experiences traveling by bike. It was a great ending to another tough day. Are they ever easy?
Day 21: L’isle Jordain to Chatellerault (50 miles)
Karen and Christopher, the English couple, invited us to coffee and pastries at Le 10, a café in the Centre Ville this morning. Karen is in her 60s and Christopher just turned 70. They shared more cycling stories and insights with us until 10:15. It was later in the morning than I really wanted to leave, but I think this is what bicycle touring is all about: meeting people, talking, making memories off the bike. I really loved the experience. Here’s a few things I learned from them:
1. Try your best to learn a few words in a foreign language. The locals will really appreciate it.
2. Back in the 1800s, Napoleon made a decree that every town must have a boulogerie (a bakery) to supply bread to its people. These days if the town isn’t big enough to have a bakery, a van will drive in each morning to supply bread from the nearest bakery.
3. Have fun. If you’re not having fun on a bike tour, take a 10 minute break.
Christopher and Karen from England.
I really appreciated the last one. Many times, Sean and I have questioned why we’re choosing to bike until we’re absolutely exhausted and hungry. We need to learn to slow down and take a breather. Christopher even said to have a second cup of coffee every once in a while because in the course of a holiday or a year or a lifetime, setting off an hour later than usual will make no difference in the end. So true.
We got to the campsite early in the evening. We even had time to go into town for a beer and dinner. Life is swell.
Getting ready to set up camp in Chatellerault.
Day 22: Chatellerault to Tours (45 miles)
Nothing too special today. Hard cross winds all day. A few good hills to warm us up because we were chilly all day. Too windy to light the stove so we ate random carbs all day. We went to a decent restaurant tonight. Like a date! It was on the river. Great beer. We split the menu of the day: fish meatloaf stuff (I have no idea what it really was), salad, bread, steak, fries, more salad, chocolate mousse to die for. It was our favorite meal so far in Europe. Also the most expensive. It’s ok to treat our self once in a while, especially when most of our meals are eaten on the ground.
I love what we’re doing. I love my husband for being a great leader on this trip. I’m grateful for these opportunities, even when things get hard.