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Workaway @ Boulogne sur Gesse – 12 Nov to 24 Nov

Thursday 12th November

A foggy start to the day and I think there’s a very fine drizzle  but Daz says it’s just the moisture in the mist.  But since when has a bit of moistness been enough to deter us – never says Daz.  So we start work clearing an area for the compost bin Daz is going to make.

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 First we move a couple of old log piles and then we do some weeding.  When Sandy comes out we ask her which trees we should remove by the compost bin and then we take 3 huskies out for their walk.  

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Then it’s time for a cuppa, Sandy and Mike are just popping off to town.  They’re not back when we finish our tea so we go ahead and fetch the chainsaw and Daz takes down 4 trees.  

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Whilst he’s cutting them into logs, I return to my weeding.  When he’s cut the trees either into logs or branches for rubbish, I go and give a hand.  We have log piles for new fire wood and the branches that are too thin for logs are dragged across the garden and thrown on other wood waste in ditches around the property.  

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Now the plot is cleared Daz can create his 3 bay compost bin from the pallets they got yesterday.  I continue with the weeding.  Sandy calls us for lunch and it’s veggie burgers.  Very tasty.  So far this vegetarian diet is going well.  Sandy has been making lunch and dinner for us and very enjoyable they are too!

After lunch Daz and I return to our respective chores.  I’m a bit tired of weeding so I get the heavy duty pruning shears out and start to remove the acacia shrubs Sandy pointed out.  They’re a viscious plant with numerous sharp thorns and they seem to reseed at will.  There are saplings growing everywhere and some are so large, I get Daz over with the chainsaw to remove them. I also prune back some of the other trees.  The whole bed is starting to look very different but still plenty more to do.  Once Daz has finished his compost bin we start clearing my weeds and filling a compost bay.

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It’s all starting to look very tidy and we think we’ve done enough so we call it a day. Time for a cuppa and we join Sandy and Mike and their afternoon visitors, Steve and Queenie.  They moved here 6 months ago from Oxford with no real knowledge of France or this area, but they seem pleased with the move.  And it seems there are a lot of properties available at reasonable prices!  Once our tea is drunk, we go and take the other 2 huskies out.

We spend most of the evening in the house, chatting to Mike and Sandy and enjoying the log fire.  Dinner tonight – aubergine bake.

 

Friday 13th November

Today there’s dog walking, which I find pretty tough because I take Dixi and Taiga, and Dixi pulls the whole way out but stops pulling on the return, which is uphill. Typical, I was hoping for a tow.  I do some more weeding and after 3 days the bed next to the house is almost done.  

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Daz takes down 3 trees and then cuts into logs and we also use the log splitter.

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It’s not as fast as the previous one we used and a bit more unwieldy but gets the job done all the same.  Mike also shows Daz how to use his chainsaw chain sharpener which is electric and makes short work of sharpening the chainsaw, something that took a while back in Sweden.  Lunch was a lovely soup made from leftover vegetarian chilli with bread and cheese… nice!   Before we finish for the day we do another dog walk and then it’s relaxation time.  Daz is glued to his new book and I’m still struggling through some rubbish called ‘Salt’.  For dinner we have tuna pasta bake and then we watch a movie together, ‘Paper Town’.

Saturday 14th November

It’s the weekend and a day off, but rather than lie in we have made a plan to cycle to a Saturday marché in the nearby village of Castelnau Magnoac.  It’s only 14km away, but that will take us an hour and knowing the French the market will only be on in the morning so it’s a quick breakfast of cereal, yogurt and some cherries from our hosts’ garden. We put a couple of empty panniers on the bike as we will be doing some shopping and off we go.  As we are leaving Mike asks us if we’ve heard about the atrocity in Paris.  There was a terrorist shooting in a concert, in bars and restaurants and over 100 people were killed. ISIS has claimed responsibility.  These innocent people were simply enjoying a Friday evening in Paris.  What a terrible tragedy.  

Mike asks what we’re up to and which route we are taking and we mention via Gensac… he laughs and mutters good luck… we take this to mean it’s going to be hilly!

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 Well he was right, as no sooner have we dropped into the valley behind the house we endure a long steep climb to Gensac… we’ve been off the bike 3 days and immediately we can feel our leg muscles complaining!!

We pass through a little village, Devezes, and there’s an old man on the roadside who speaks to us.  So we stop and he keeps talking but we’re not entirely sure what he’s saying.  We later learn from Mike that he always stands there watching the traffic.

But the sun is out, these back roads are pretty much traffic free and we enjoy the ride through small hamlets and farmsteads until we arrive on the outskirts of Castelnau.   It sits on a hill!! We grind up and as we turn a final corner the market opens out in front of us, in the village square.  We park up and wander about the market, lots of cheese (we buy some) and fruit, veg and wine for sale, with the odd clothes seller.  

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Before going for a coffee we walk around the rest of the village including a monument on a hill above the square for the Corps Franc Pommies, which was a resistance army organised by General Andre Pommies during the 2nd WW.

We have coffee in the hotel du Pont, which is really busy with quite a few tables of Expats, sitting in the sun.  We decide to spend a couple of hours here, and have a couple of beers whilst reading, enjoying the sun and taking in the village life.  There’s a large table of French people as well and their young kids really like the bike. We let them sit on the bike and play with the bells.  Their father mentions that he saw us on Tuesday in Boulogne Sur Gesse.  

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Before we head home Daz checks Google maps to see if there is a less vertically challenging route back.  There is one, a bit longer, maybe 4km extra, but the profile looks better than the short route, so we log it and set off.  Soon we are in the country again,  cycling down narrow farm roads, when suddenly the road changes from tarmac to dirt and grass.  Now normally we wouldn’t even entertain such a road,but it doesn’t seem too bad, and rather than back track we decide to go for it.  Luckily it’s only about 500 metres long and then we are back on another tarmac road.  But then we come to a dead end sign, bugger.  We consult Google again and it still wants us to continue, and when we check another offline map we can see it does carry on, but again as a track, not fit for motor vehicles…  well we’ve come this far, be silly to go back!!  So we cycle past the sign and soon we are climbing, and climbing, and then the road runs out and turns into farmtrack.  This time we have to get off and push, as it’s still a very steep climb and there’s no way we can ride across this terrain.

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Sodding Google maps taking us cross country!!  We finally reach the top, hot and sweaty, cursing Google, and remount.  Fortunately most of the remaining route is downhill and takes us back via Nizan Gesse.  This is our closest village and one that we hadn’t seen yet… but we hadn’t missed much, it has a church, a few houses and a Mayor’s office!   We cycle out of the village and up a lane. I can’t work out where we are and then I realise that the ruined cottage I can see is the one at the end of our dog walk.  Google has brought us to the wrong end of the lane, it’s a bridleway not a road.  But we manage to cycle most of it!

 

Sunday 15th November

We have no real plans for today.  Mike and Sandy are off to a “Bring and Buy” sale in Monléon-Magnoac and invite us along.  It’s in aid of rebuilding a school destroyed in the Nepal earthquake.   We potter around the sale, it’s very much a Brit Expat fest and we enjoy some tea and cake whilst Mike and Sandy catch up with some friends.  It’s another glorious day and when we get back we enjoy lunch sitting on the verandah in the glorious sunshine and Mike gives us a demo on a ‘cigar box guitar’, which he makes.    

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Later we sit by the pool reading and relaxing… it’s a hard life.

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In the evening we have volunteered to cook dinner for us all, and we do baked camembert followed by putanesca… yummy!!

 

Monday 16th November

I finish off weeding the flower bed and then Daz calls me over.  He’s got the quad and the trailer, which we need to fill with a rotten tree we cut down the other day.  We load the trailer and then drive it to our dumping ground but the grass is wet and the quad can’t get any traction, so we’re chewing up the lawn.

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 Then Sandy shouts over and says they want it dumped at the other end of the garden.  We struggle to try and drive the quad up the bank but it keeps slipping on the wet grass.  We try taking some wood out of the trailer, but it’s no good and in the end we need to empty the trailer fully and get on flatter ground but it’s a huge amount of work when we’re already near one dumping area.  We decide to ask Sandy if we can dump where we are before wrecking more of the lawn.  Fortunately she agrees. 

With that job done we take 3 huskies for a walk.  Sandy and Mike are heading to Boulogne sur Gesse to shop and to participate in a vigil to the Paris atrocity.  On our return we cut down a nut tree and dispose of it and then I start strimming the area behind my cleared flower bed.

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Nut tree before and after.  

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After lunch I rake the area and cut back numerous acacia plants that are snagging my strimmer.  Then more strimming.  Meanwhile Daz works with Mike, who is in the process of building a timber frame for a new porch and wants to try out his new chain morticer.  They have all the beams out and mostly measured, and need to cut alot of mortice and tenon joints.  The new machine will make it alot quicker, but is quite techical and at one point they even get out the instructions AND do 3 practice cuts before even thinking of moving to the proper joints!!  

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But all the messing about means it’ s the end of the day, so they will have to wait until tomorrow for its first use in anger!!  Once we’re done and have tidied up we take the other 2 huskies for their walk and find a trail through the woodland.  The track is quite good unless you’re in shorts and crocs – poor Daz.  I think we’ll try this track again tomorrow 

Tuesday 17th November

We start the day with a dog walk and again try the track through the wood.  Last night we turned up early through the wood, to the large field and from there we made it to the main ridgeway.

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 Today we follow the track until there’s a T- junction.  We take the right and this brings us further along the large field, which we cut across to the main bridleway.  We’re hoping to find a nice circular route but this won’t work because we’re cutting across the farmers plowed and sown field.

Back at the house Daz continues on the porch whilst Sandy and I walk around, and we discuss more jobs that need doing and I also mark the trees they want cut down.  Once that’s done I prune a tree, using the long handled pruning shears and the bow saw.  

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The foliage is so dense it’s hard to get to the various branches and it’s tough work and I end up scratched to ribbons.  Once the tree is trimmed I start weeding a large flower bed by the pool.  

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For the last hour of the day I strim and rake the bank I was working on yesterday.

Daz and Mike have also been busy.  They have finished all the joints and put together the end section of the porch, they then glue it and use ratchets to keep it tight and square.  Once the glue is set they will drill the joints and pin it with dowel, no need for any metal screws.

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 We’re just finishing for the day, when Debbie and Tim, friends of Sandy and Mike, arrive.  We all have tea and cake then we take the 2 huskies for a walk.  

Debbie and Tim eventually stay for supper and we all have a lively evening.

 

Wednesday 18th November

We start the day with the dog walk and again try the new track.  

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This time at the T-junction it’s left and immediately right.  This path soon becomes single track, so not so good for my 2 dogs who can’t walk side by side, so the 3 of us are tied into single file.   Not good since I can’t see the ground infront of my feet, just dog’s arse, so I keep tripping and falling in holes.  Eventually it leads to the large field, arghhh.  Only one more route choice to try!

I start weeding but Mike asks me to cut the grass.  He shows me how to use the sit-on mower but not only do I have to cut the grass, avoid the trees, deal with some drains and tree stumps, I’m also supposed to coral the leaves into more manageable piles.  I’m a bit worried because my grass cutting technique has always been criticised as random and more like hoovering than mowing, so I don’t think I’ll manage the technicalities of this job.  

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But it goes OK with a bit of expert advice from Daz.  Daz has been working on the porch all morning but after lunch he gives me a hand to finish the lawn and rake up some leaves.  Once that’s done I return to weeding and he returns to the porch.  We’re a bit pooped today and late finishing, so skip the evening dog walk.

 

Thursday 19th November

Today I start the day with a French lesson with Sandy’s French tutor, Odile.  The lesson lasts an hour and a half.  I’m not sure what I think of the lesson.  We spend time using dialogues from a book about shopping at a bakery and a grocer’s.  It’s a firm reminder that I need to be listening to my French lessons and practising more!

After my lesson Daz has his lesson.  He’s on the patio and I can hear him whilst I’m weeding.  He seems to be  speaking a lot of French.  After his lesson Sandy has her lesson and then we all have lunch.  After lunch I move from weeding to cutting down 2 thickets that Sandy has pointed out that need raising to the ground so I go at them with a vengeance and my pruning shears.  And that’s about it for me.  Daz has been working with Mike on the porch again. They finally put the side up against the house so they can confirm the angle of the roof pitch and although it takes them all day they get the front sections all cut, glued and pinned together.  

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Mike and Sandy are going away for the weekend tomorrow and leaving us in charge of the dogs and house, so there’s no more woodworking scheduled until next week.  However there is a list of jobs that need doing whilst they are away so we won’t be sitting about doing nothing!   Sandy said we can take our days off when they get back, but after speaking with Debbie and Tim the other night we think we might save it for December and go skiing.

 

Friday 20th November

Today Mike and Sandy are leaving us in charge whilst they go up to Rochelle to visit friends.  This is their first break from the dogs in over 18months.  Wow what a commitment these huskies are!! They leave about 10ish and Daz and I cut down trees, clear up the debris and I continue to trim back the thicket.  By lunch time we’ve almost finished cutting and clearing 2 large ivy covered trees.  

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We use the quad and trailer to clear up which is quicker than the wheelbarrow but still hard work. After lunch Daz takes down 5 bay boughs and a birch but he’s pretty tired so he calls it a day.  Later we take 3 huskies out for a walk.  Then we move our essential gear from the gite to the main house.  Sandy doesn’t think we’ll hear the dogs from the gite so she wants us to move into the house.  However we sleep like the dead so we probably won’t hear them from the house either!  Daz puts the huskies up the paddock whilst he cleans their kennel.   Then they go into their cages in the van where they get the dinner I’ve prepared for them.   They’ll stay in their cages for a couple of hours before being returned to their kennel.  Dog chores done, we settle down to watch The Apprentice, SAS, who dares wins and then a movie.  We miss the end of the movie because we both fall asleep.

 

Saturday 21st November

We’ve set the alarm for 7am so we can let Hermione out for a wee.  It’s not nice today, torrential rain outside.  We let Hermione out and then at 8ish I put the huskies up the paddock and clean their kennel and give them fresh water.  Then they come down from the paddock and I put them in their cages in the van.  After our breakfast we put them back in their kennel and then we go to Lammazan to visit the market but discover there isn’t one on a Saturday… Doh!!! We have a look around town which has a lot more shops, bars etc than Boulogne sur Gesse but it’s a bit miserable in the rain.  

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We go in search of a supermarche and buy some provisions for the weekend.  Then we head back home in more rain.  Back at the house we light the fire and have a ‘duvet day’  (well afternoon), watching movies.  In the evening we deal with the huskies’ feeding regime and then have our own dinner.   

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Sandy rings to check we are managing OK.

 

Sunday 22nd November

Another early start to let Hermione out for a wee.  Then later we deal with the huskies’ morning regime and then take 2 of them for a walk.  After our walk, we remember to deal with the chickens and after feeding them it takes us about 30 minutes to work out why there’s no charge in the electric fence; it’s earthing out on a tree stump.  

We need to pollard 5 Mulberry trees:

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Trees before pollarding.

 

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During pollarding

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After pollarding.

 Daz continues with his tree husbandry programme – cutting down more trees that Sandy doesn’t want.  We get a lot done but once again we’re absolutely shattered – did we work this hard in Sweden?  Were we were always knackered then; our elbows ache, as does my lower back, my forearms and my knuckles!

Monday 23rd November

Another early start but hopefully our last. I’m out doing husky chores and then go to check the chickens to see if there are any fresh eggs for breakfast but there aren’t.  Instead there’s something earthing our electric fence. I go round to check what it is expecting more leaves but it’s a hedgehog, stuck underneath the bottom of the fence and jolting with every pulse through the fence.  

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I turn the fence off and fetch Darren.  He has to unstick the hedgehog from the mesh and then puts him somewhere warm.   We’re not sure how he is between being electrocuted and frozen in the frost. After breakfast we pollard our last tree.  I’ve removed most of the foliage but it’s painful work, wielding the long handled shears overhead and cutting the branches.  For me it’s like a stress position.  Daz has a different technique; he just gets onto the tree. Once the tree is finished we take 3 dogs for their walk.  Finally we’ve found a circular route.  But this track gets the dogs really excited, it must be all the new smells.   And excited dogs = being pulled extra hard in the harness which is really tough when we come to some steep, slippery downhills.  If this is just a standard walk, I’m dreading the day they actually spot something they really want to chase.  I’m not sure I’ll be able to control them.  After the dog walking and a cuppa, we start clearing up the leaves and branches from pollarding and tree cutting.   

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I’m hoping for an early finish but this disappears as we try and get a bonfire going under all our tree rubbish.  But it doesn’t seem to want to burn.  Finally we have a really pathetic bonfire and we’ve cleared all our rubbish and swept up the leaves on the terrace, on the steps and around the pool.   It all looks really tidy if only the bonfire would BURN!!!   Daz goes in to prepare Zanzibar fish soup and I do the doggie chores.   Sandy and Mike are making the most of this break and won’t be home until later.

 

Tuesday 24th November

Yesterday we waited until Sandy and Mike got back, gave them a quick debrief and then like the tired bunnies we were, snuggled up under the duvet and promptly fell asleep.  We told them that we would probably have a lie in, but when we woke again at 7am that pretty much put paid to our late start. We managed to snooze for a while but by 9am we were up, breakfasted, teeth brushed and out working.  First task of the day, sort out the bonfire! It was still smoldering from yesterday, but with lots of unburnt wood and green branches on top, plus all the piles of wood we didn’t even attempt to get on the fire.  Daz decided to pull off all the unburnt stuff, reset, this time cutting everything into much smaller pieces and making sure the base fire was going well before chucking more on… Long story short we spent the next two hours feeding the blazing fire, even the green ivy was sizzling and burning down in no time.  A much better job.

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  During this process both Mike and Sandy came down separately to extol the work we had done in their absence.   They didn’t expect us to get so much done and look aftef the dogs.  And we were really chuffed that they could see everything we’d done and appreciated all our hard work!  I then went back to my weeding and Daz went back to chop a few more trees down that had been marked for felling.  By lunchtime we were famished and unfortunately Sandy’s first words as we tipped up for lunch were, “this is the worst soup I’ve ever made!”… Fortunately she was wrong, and along with the homemade bread, and French cheeses we had a lovely lunch.  We are both really appreciative that they both cook great meals for us at lunch and dinner, especially considering some of the other workaway hosts’ ideas of feeding us.  This is the best by far  and makes us tres jolie (French for very happy!).  

Before rushing out after lunch we offer to bathe Hermione, who is a ‘proper stinky dog’ after rolling in something dead, rotting and with a vile stench.

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In the afternoon we tidy the garden around the bonfire and other areas before calling it quits and then take Puskin and Dixi for a walk.  Daz is cooking tonight as we said we would do deluxe macaroni cheese.   So we’ve been here nearly 2 weeks and it’s been a productive and enjoyable time.  There’s been a change in the weather since Saturday and it’s been much colder and now we can see loads of snow up on the Pyrenees.  We are looking forward to getting up there in the near future and hiring some skis.  

 

After lunch I rake the area and cut back numerous acacia plants that are snagging my strimmer.  Then more strimming.  Meanwhile Daz works with Mike, who is in the process of building a timber frame for a new porch and wants to try out his new chain morticer.  They have all the beams out and mostly measured, and need to cut alot of mortice and tenon joints.  The new machine will make it alot quicker, but is quite techical and at one point they even get out the instructions AND do 3 practice cuts before even thinking of moving to the proper joints!!  But all the messing about means it’ s the end of the day, so they will have to wait until tomorrow for its first use in anger!!  Once we’re done and have tidied up we take the other 2 huskies for their walk and find a trail through the woodland.  The track is quite good unless you’re in shorts and crocs – poor Daz.  I think we’ll try this track again tomorrow

 

Tuesday 17th November

We start the day with a dog walk and again try the track through the wood.  Last night we turned up early through the wood, to the large field and from there we made it to the main ridgeway.  Today we follow the track until there’s a T- junction.  We take the right and this brings us further along the large field, which we cut across to the main bridleway.  We’re hoping to find a nice circular route but this won’t work because we’re cutting across the farmers plowed and sown field.

Back at the house Daz continues on the porch whilst Sandy and I walk around, and we discuss more jobs that need doing and I also mark the trees they want cut down.  Once that’s done I prune a tree, using the long handled pruning shears and the bow saw.  The foliage is so dense it’s hard to get to the various branches and it’s tough work and I end up scratched to ribbons.  Once the tree is trimmed I start weeding a large flower bed by the pool.  For the last hour of the day I strim and rake the bank I was working on yesterday.

Daz and Mike have also been busy.  They have finished all the joints and put together the end section of the porch, they then glue it and use ratchets to keep it tight and square.  Once the glue is set they will drill the joints and pin it with dowel, no need for any metal screws.

We’re just finishing for the day, when Debbie and Tim, friends of Sandy and Mike, arrive.  We all have tea and cake then we take the 2 huskies for a walk.  

Debbie and Tim eventually stay for supper and we all have a lively evening.

 

Wednesday 18th November

We start the day with the dog walk and again try the new track.  This time at the T-junction it’s left and immediately right.  This path soon becomes single track, so not so good for my 2 dogs who can’t walk side by side, so the 3 of us are tied into single file.   Not good since I can’t see the ground infront of my feet, just dog’s arse, so I keep tripping and falling in holes.  Eventually it leads to the large field, arghhh.  Only one more route choice to try!

I start weeding but Mike asks me to cut the grass.  He shows me how to use the sit-on mower but not only do I have to cut the grass, avoid the trees, deal with some drains and tree stumps, I’m also supposed to coral the leaves into more manageable piles.  I’m a bit worried because my grass cutting technique has always been criticised as random and more like hoovering than mowing, so I don’t think I’ll manage the technicalities of this job.  But it goes OK with a bit of expert advice from Daz.  Daz has been working on the porch all morning but after lunch he gives me a hand to finish the lawn and rake up some leaves.  Once that’s done I return to weeding and he returns to the porch.  We’re a bit pooped today and late finishing, so skip the evening dog walk.

 

Thursday 19th November

Today I start the day with a French lesson with Sandy’s French tutor, Odile.  The lesson lasts an hour and a half.  I’m not sure what I think of the lesson.  We spend time using dialogues from a book about shopping at a bakery and a grocer’s.  It’s a firm reminder that I need to be listening to my French lessons and practising more!

After my lesson Daz has his lesson.  He’s on the patio and I can hear him whilst I’m weeding.  He seems to be  speaking a lot of French.  After his lesson Sandy has her lesson and then we all have lunch.  After lunch I move from weeding to cutting down 2 thickets that Sandy has pointed out that need raising to the ground so I go at them with a vengeance and my pruning shears.  And that’s about it for me.  Daz has been working with Mike on the porch again. They finally put the side up against the house so they can confirm the angle of the roof pitch and although it takes them all day they get the front sections all cut, glued and pinned together.  Mike and Sandy are going away for the weekend tomorrow and leaving us in charge of the dogs and house, so there’s no more woodworking scheduled until next week.  However there is a list of jobs that need doing whilst they are away so we won’t be sitting about doing nothing!   Sandy said we can take our days off when they get back, but after speaking with Debbie and Tim the other night we think we might save it for December and go skiing.

 

Friday 20th November

Today Mike and Sandy are leaving us in charge whilst they go up to Rochelle to visit friends.  This is their first break from the dogs in over 18months.  Wow what a commitment these huskies are!! They leave about 10ish and Daz and I cut down trees, clear up the debris and I continue to trim back the thicket.  By lunch time we’ve almost finished cutting and clearing 2 large ivy covered trees.  We use the quad and trailer to clear up which is quicker than the wheelbarrow but still hard work. After lunch Daz takes down 5 bay boughs and a birch but he’s pretty tired so he calls it a day.  Later we take 3 huskies out for a walk.  Then we move our essential gear from the gite to the main house.  Sandy doesn’t think we’ll hear the dogs from the gite so she wants us to move into the house.  However we sleep like the dead so we probably won’t hear them from the house either!  Daz puts the huskies up the paddock whilst he cleans their kennel.   Then they go into their cages in the van where they get the dinner I’ve prepared for them.   They’ll stay in their cages for a couple of hours before being returned to their kennel.  Dog chores done, we settle down to watch The Apprentice, SAS, who dares wins and then a movie.  We miss the end of the movie because we both fall asleep.

 

Saturday 21st November

We’ve set the alarm for 7am so we can let Hermione out for a wee.  It’s not nice today, torrential rain outside.  We let Hermione out and then at 8ish I put the huskies up the paddock and clean their kennel and give them fresh water.  Then they come down from the paddock and I put them in their cages in the van.  After our breakfast we put them back in their kennel and then we go to Lammazan to visit the market but discover there isn’t one on a Saturday… Doh!!! We have a look around town which has a lot more shops, bars etc than Boulogne sur Gesse but it’s a bit miserable in the rain.  We go in search of a supermarche and buy some provisions for the weekend.  Then we head back home in more rain.  Back at the house we light the fire and have a ‘duvet day’  (well afternoon), watching movies.  In the evening we deal with the huskies’ feeding regime and then have our own dinner.   Sandy rings to check we are managing OK.

 

Sunday 22nd November

Another early start to let Hermione out for a wee.  Then later we deal with the huskies’ morning regime and then take 2 of them for a walk.  After our walk, we remember to deal with the chickens and after feeding them it takes us about 30 minutes to work out why there’s no charge in the electric fence; it’s earthing out on a tree stump.  Once that’s done I pollard some trees and Daz continues with his tree husbandry programme – cutting down more trees that Sandy doesn’t want.  We get a lot done but once again we’re absolutely shattered – did we work this hard in Sweden?  Were we were always knackered then; our elbows ache, as does my lower back, my forearms and my knuckles!

 

Monday 23rd November

Another early start but hopefully our last. I’m out doing husky chores and then go to check the chickens to see if there are any fresh eggs for breakfast but there aren’t.  Instead there’s something earthing our electric fence. I go round to check what it is expecting more leaves but it’s a hedgehog, stuck underneath the bottom of the fence and jolting with every pulse through the fence.  I turn the fence off and fetch Darren.  He has to unstick the hedgehog from the mesh and then puts him somewhere warm.   We’re not sure how he is between being electrocuted and frozen in the frost. After breakfast we pollard our last tree.  I’ve removed most of the foliage but it’s painful work, wielding the long handled shears overhead and cutting the branches.  For me it’s like a stress position.  Daz has a different technique; he just gets onto the tree. Once the tree is finished we take 3 dogs for their walk.  Finally we’ve found a circular route.  But this track gets the dogs really excited, it must be all the new smells.   And excited dogs = being pulled extra hard in the harness which is really tough when we come to some steep, slippery downhills.  If this is just a standard walk, I’m dreading the day they actually spot something they really want to chase.  I’m not sure I’ll be able to control them.  After the dog walking and a cuppa, we start clearing up the leaves and branches from pollarding and tree cutting.   I’m hoping for an early finish but this disappears as we try and get a bonfire going under all our tree rubbish.  But it doesn’t seem to want to burn.  Finally we have a really pathetic bonfire and we’ve cleared all our rubbish and swept up the leaves on the terrace, on the steps and around the pool.   It all looks really tidy if only the bonfire would BURN!!!   Daz goes in to prepare Zanzibar fish soup and I do the doggie chores.   Sandy and Mike are making the most of this break and won’t be home until later.

 

Tuesday 24th November

Yesterday we waited until Sandy and Mike got back, gave them a quick debrief and then like the tired bunnies we were, snuggled up under the duvet and promptly fell asleep.  We told them that we would probably have a lie in, but when we woke again at 7am that pretty much put paid to our late start. We managed to snooze for a while but by 9am we were up, breakfasted, teeth brushed and out working.  First task of the day, sort out the bonfire! It was still smoldering from yesterday, but with lots of unburnt wood and green branches on top, plus all the piles of wood we didn’t even attempt to get on the fire.  Daz decided to pull off all the unburnt stuff, reset, this time cutting everything into much smaller pieces and making sure the base fire was going well before chucking more on… Long story short we spent the next two hours feeding the blazing fire, even the green ivy was sizzling and burning down in no time.  A much better job.   During this process both Mike and Sandy came down separately to extol the work we had done in their absence.   They didn’t expect us to get so much done and look aftef the dogs.  And we were really chuffed that they could see everything we’d done and appreciated all our hard work!  I then went back to my weeding and Daz went back to chop a few more trees down that had been marked for felling.  By lunchtime we were famished and unfortunately Sandy’s first words as we tipped up for lunch were, “this is the worst soup I’ve ever made!”… Fortunately she was wrong, and along with the homemade bread, and French cheeses we had a lovely lunch.  We are both really appreciative that they both cook great meals for us at lunch and dinner, especially considering some of the other workaway hosts’ ideas of feeding us.  This is the best by far  and makes us tres jolie (French for very happy!) In the afternoon we tidy the garden around the bonfire and other areas before calling it quits and then take Puskin and Dixi for a walk.  Daz is cooking tonight as we said we would do deluxe macaroni cheese.   So we’ve been here nearly 2 weeks and it’s been a productive and enjoyable time.  There’s been a change in the weather since Saturday and it’s been much colder and now we can see loads of snow up on the Pyrenees.  We are looking forward to getting up there in the near future and hiring some skis.  

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Bordeaux to Boulogne sur Gesse – 6 Nov to 11 Nov

Friday 6th November – Bordeaux more sightseeing

A really slow start this morning.  We’re not out the door until gone 11am but in our defence we heard the rain earlier and we’ve been waiting for the skies to clear.  

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We cycle to the food market, which we missed yesterday because it closes in the afternoon.   After the early rain it’s turned into another beautiful day and it’s so lovely to be cycling the streets of Bordeaux; it has so many little sidestreets and some beautiful shops.   The French all seem beautifully dressed and we see some of them looking at our crocs with contempt!  

The food market is very busy and we look around all stalls.

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  Then we decide we should try the seafood platter, so that I can experience oysters.  I haven’t tried them before and didn’t expect to enjoy them but they were rather nice although a bit gritty and far less hassle than the prawns, crab claws and sea snails.  

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We also have the plate of assorted meats, which is less fiddly for sure.  There seems to be a lot of Americans here today, must be a bus tour on!!

From here we wander around and then decide we must get the blog done.  We tried to do it last night but the WiFi in the apartment just wasn’t up to it and in 4 hours I only got 2 days of photos uploaded.  So we find a WiFi cafe but it still takes over 3 hours to upload all the photos into the blog.  (if there are any nerds reading this – should it really take this long to upload the photos into the narrative in wordpress from quick reduce?  It takes 3-4 hours; 5 mins to copy and paste the narrative, the remainder to move around 200 photos )

Once it’s done, Daz does the FB update.  Admin done.  Hurrah.  Then we go to pick up the bike.  He’s put on a new tyre, repaired the broken spokes, trued both wheels and made some spare spokes for us and he charges us €80.  

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We are so grateful that it’s done after the run around we had Wednesday evening. We cycle along the river and it’s lovely to be riding unladen.  It’s like a completely different beast.  

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We head up the river to look at the bridge with huge support pylons – very impressive, then we head back to the apartment.  We watch the videos Richard recommended about tuning spokes and then Daz goes to do the tuning.  He’s back in 5 minutes, he’s just found another broken spoke in the front wheel.  This is very bad news and we have to assume it’s happened in the 4km we’ve cycled since leaving the shop.  So he has to replace the broken spoke and tune them all.  Whilst he’s working on the bike Naomi (Megan’s flatmate) comes home and takes some photos;  she seems really impressed with our bike demo.  

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Once the bike is done we head into town.  It’s our last night in Bordeaux.  We have a lovely walk and sit on the theatre steps opposite the Grand Hotel de Bordeaux watching people meet up for their Friday evening.

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 Then we head off and end up in the Place du Parlement in a pub called ‘The Houses of Parliament’, listening to a reggae band, watching Derby County (Daz’s team) lose to Nottingham Forest.  Then we head home, chips on the way back sustain us enough until we can get the tram.  It takes us a while to work out the ticket machine, but in the end we manage and arrive home safe.  But it’s midnight and we need to be up early to cycle tomorrow!!  Oopps!!

 

Saturday 7th November – Bordeaux to La Reole/ Marmande

101.3 km completed

54.1 kmph max speed

16.3 kmph average

Total 780.87km

 

Today we’re leaving Bordeaux.   We’re up by 8ish and we’re ready for the off just after 9am with Naomi to wave us off.  We follow the river Garonne south out of Bordeaux along the cycle path.  It really is easy cycling, we then leave the river at Latresne and head out on the Piste Cyclable Roger Lapébie which runs along an old train line from Bordeaux to Sauveterre de Guyenne.  

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We pass fields of vines as we cycle along in the blazing sunshine and later wine making cooperatives (which in France are called caves) .  When we’ve been going for about 30mins, we stop for a spoke check (Daz visually checks and runs his hands over them), so far so good.   At Creon, after about 25km, we stop for coffee.

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Daz has had a message from our warmhost who we thought would be hosting us tonight.  Unfortunately he’s away for the weekend and forgot to let us know.  So we need to find a bed for tonight.  Bugger!!!   After coffee Daz does another spoke check.  This time we completely unload the bike and Daz checks the tuning of each spoke and changing their tension if the ‘twang’ seems out of tune.

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He adjusts some in the rear wheel and then we’re off again.  We cycle on to Sauveterre de Guyenne.  The cycle path we’re following is great and we’re passing through beautiful countryside and there are many other cyclists and runners out, so unlike the eurovelo 1 we were using the other day which was really boring, this is fabulous.

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At Sauveterre we stop for lunch.  It’s gone 2pm and we’ve already done 60km.  Fortunately, the cafe has WiFi and we find a cheap Ibis Budget in Marmande which is further than LaReole where we had planned to stop tonight.

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After a tasty lunch we get going.  From Sauveterre to La Reole we’re back on the road and our first hills today, which are pretty tough at this stage of the day but from La Reole we cross back over the river Garonne and then we join the Canal du Garonne on the cyclepath and it’s fantastic.  So beautiful!  The track is paved and the canal, which is at least twice as wide as the UK equivalent is lined with magestic trees.  

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The leaves are falling and covering the path and canal, and we stop to take some great pics of the trees reflected in the water and of the locks we pass.

After following the canal for about 20km we turn off and head towards Marmande.  We end up on a little country lane with barely any traffic.  It’s nearly 6pm and the light is fading.  We pass a farm on our left and we hear dogs barking.  I look and see a dog but he’s on a chain.  But then I see another one charging across the yard, barking – no chain.  Daz hasn’t seen this but he can hear the barking.  I try to warn him but all I can manage to say in my fear is “Dog!  Dog!  Dog!”  And then there it is alongside us barking and looking none too friendly and then veering in towards my right leg.  Fortunately we out bike him.  Thank God!  Daz says he’s broken out in goosebumps due to the adrenalin (fear) rush!  Another couple of kms and we’re at the Ibis.  We’ve broken the 100km mark for the first time on this trip and we’re both really chuffed but very tired.  It’s an adventure of extremes from the ridiculous to the sublime; our last biking day was horrendous and we considered (well I did) never cycling the tandem again.  And today – fabulous.  Beautiful weather, beautiful scenery, great cycling and fantastic mileage.  But I’ll sleep well tonight!

Sunday 8th November – Marmande to Agen

71.16 km completed

42.1 kmph max speed

16.5 kmph average

Total 852.03km

 

Today it’s a relaxed start.  Well it’s a very achey and slow start.  We both had really sore legs last night, and in my case achey arse and back!  And even lying in bed was painful.

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 I don’t even wake until gone 8am.  And finally we wander down to breakfast at 9.30am.   It’s eat as much as you can want.  So we do!  Then Daz does a spoke check.  It’s about 10.30am before we’re finally ready to make a move.   We take our bags down and discover another cycle tourer, with their bike, in reception just loading up.  This is cause for much excitement and discussion;  where are you from, where are you going, bike comparison and kit comparison;  I think it’s the biking equivalent of dogs sniffing each other’s bums!  Anyway the other tourer is Kimberley from Australia.  She’s been cycling since early October and has cycled through Holland and Belgium, has done the Loire Valley and is currently heading for Montpellier and then to Rome.  

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We decide we should cycle together because we’re all heading to Agen.  So that’s what we do. And together we cycle out of Marmande,  south and then along the Canal de Garonne.  It’s another beautiful day only marred by a nasty head wind.   

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We take the lead allowing Kimberley to draught which works well once we tie up our long flag which has been flapping her in the face but she was too polite to say.  The cycling is fairly easy and the scenery is lovely.

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 We stop for a quick coffee at Villeton and then push on to Buzet sur Baise,  where Daz wants to visit Les Vignerons de Buzet; a wine tasting establishment.  It’s a short detour from our cycle route,  which would be fine if it wasn’t all uphill.  But we get there and it’s shut!  So we head back down the hill into the village.  We stop at a restaurant but they say they are full and suggest that at 2pm on a Sunday in November we’re unlikely to find anywhere open but that there is another restaurant in the village we could try.  Off we cycle.  The restaurant is open but their ‘menu du jour’ is €26 not the typical €12-15 we’ve been seeing.  But there’s been nothing else open for miles and we’re with new friends so we go for it.  

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 And a very nice 4 course meal it was too.  Unfortunately the restaurant is very busy and the service a bit slow and by the end of lunch (over 2 hours) we’ve all seized up and getting started again with stuffed bellies is particularly tough.  We head out towards the canal when a posh, new 4×4 goes to overtake us but seems to dither, deciding they want the same right turn as us.  The problem is they’re still alongside Daz, who finds himself with less and less road.  But Daz is braver than most (well he said it’s bravery) so he continues to cycle and when the gap is sufficiently small so he can reach, he slams his hand hard on the side of the car.  (Brilliant, I can see the dint he’s just created in the shiny, black car!)  This is not the first motor vehicle he’s taken on.  He’s most adverse to stopping unnecessarily especially if he thinks he’s in the right.  I’m waiting to see if Mr Frenchman will take exception to Daz’s behaviour and get out of his car armed with a baseball bat.  Is this a reasonable expectation or have I watched to many Tarantino movies?  But this time we get away with it.  

From here it’s about 25km to Agen.  A pleasant afternoon and I even spot a Kingfisher.

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In Agen we say farewell to Kimberley and set off for our warmshower hosts Dianick and Dominique.  They are a retired couple, postal and bank worker, now enjoying their lives cycling and travelling the world, with long experience cycling around Europe, USA and elsewhere. They are very involved in everything ‘biking’.  Dianick has a tandem that he uses to take blind people out on so they can experience cycling. As we chat and get cleaned up they prepare a lovely meal for us and share some of their favourite wine.  

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It’s great hearing their stories and sharing some of our experiences.  They once cycled down the west coast of America doing over 100 km per day. And the route along the Pacific is very hilly – great effort!  With full bellies we are soon feeling tired and we trundle off to a very comfortable bed for the night. Dianick’s parting shot as we go is that if we ever need any help on the road he is only a telephone call away to assist however possible… these guys are great

 

Monday 9 th November – Agen to Auch

 

71.53 km completed

50.8 kmph max speed

16.5  kmph average

Total 923.56 km

Today we get up and have a lovely breakfast. Our hosts make us some baguettes for lunch with some apples.  Amazing hospitality, thanks again guys.  And then we are on the road, straight south out of town.  The traffic is not as bad as we feared , and as we leave the town and enter the countryside we get into the grind again as we know most of today is going to be uphill.  It’s a foggy day so we have all the lights on, but everyone gives us plenty of space.  In the foggy quiet we see many birds of prey scouring the fields for food, we see plenty of roadkill, and one hawk drops from a signpost nearly into an outcoming truck, but manages to pull up just in time.

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We stop in Lectoure for coffee and even in the fog it is very beautiful. As we cycle out we go through the rest of the village and as we turn the corner we see the countryside drop away to the right and in front of us and the old ramparts are towering on our left. We spin the pedals easily then freewheel as we swoop downhill.  The sun is now burning through and we cycle 8km to yet another pretty village, Fleurance, where we sit and eat the lunch given to us by Dianick and Dominique.  

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There is a huge building in the middle of the town square that sits on huge arches.  This is the Hotel de Ville, we have seen a few of these now and all are impressive buildings.  However most look as if they are now used as municipal buildings, certainly the one in Bordeaux was used as the Mayor’s residence and offices.

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We cycle on and we are soon approaching the outskirts of Auch, we can see the huge cathedral standing proud on the hillside. A white van with lots of stickers on the rear passes us with a gentle toot of the horn (as opposed to a great big toot that normally makes us jump out of our skin!!) and we see the driver pull over and jump out to take pictures as we cycle past, waving and shouting greetings to him. This has happened before.  Last time a guy in Spain had a huge zoom camera and passed us twice to get 2 photo shoots!!  Finally we enter the outskirts of Auch . We are supposed to be camping tonight in a warmshower host’s garden.  Unfortunately one of us has a “problème avec les toilettes” and rather than worry we stop at a cheap budget hotel and play it safe!

 

Tuesday 10th November – Auch to Boulogne sur Gesse

60.31 km completed

50.8 kmph max speed

15.1  kmph average

Total 983.87 km

 

Today should be our last day of cycling for sometime if things go to plan.  Bizarrely I have slept really well, despite sleeping for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon when we got to the Ibis.  I felt really off colour yesterday afternoon and felt desperately tired.  But this morning I feel good and we have breakfast in the Ibis before heading off to explore Auch.  

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Auch is known for its Renaissance Cathédrale Sainte-Marie with its magnificent organ, carved stalls and rose stained-glass windows, La Tour d’Armagnac – a 14th-century prison, as well as a statue of d’Artagnan who was based on the real life person, Charles de Batz, Comte d’Artagnan born nearby in the château de Castelmore, and written about by Alexandre Dumas.

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It really is a beautiful city and I wish i’d seen it at night, all lit up, instead of shrouded by mist.  This is the 3rd day we’ve had mist which often doesn’t burn off until midday.   We visit the cathedral which sits on the hill overlooking the river Gers.  But to get to it we have a very steep climb, tough when it’s so early in our day.  However it was well worth it.  Behind the cathedral are the some huge steps that lead all the way down to the river, and the statue of D’Artagnan, he of ‘the three musketeers’ fame.

Once we’ve seen the main sites we leave, navigating a number of tight switchbacks and steep descents we turn right at the river and cycle out of Auch. As the rest of the day progresses we cycle through a lovely flat area, with little villages and we stop at one, Saisson, for coffee and a rest.

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In the distance to the south we can see the mountains of the Pyrenees, even what we think is snow, gorgeous! In the early afternoon the sun has burnt through and is now blazing down again, just as we turn left towards the hills of the midi pyrenees!!   

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We realise that we should probably have stopped a little earlier to have lunch as now we are climbing in the heat and even though we are fitter than before we are still beaten on one hill and have to stop to put the tandem into granny gear at the front! But with the villages now either closed for lunch or too small to have a shop we have to persevere.   After a particularly tough uphill we can see our next stop, Boulogne sur Gesse, across a valley.  So we know there’s going to be another hillclimb, but first the descent, which is long and very fast.  Fortunately I’m distracted from my speed fear by seeing several herons and a couple of birds of prey.  Wonderful.  I’d like to tell Daz but noway am I distracting him at this speed!

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 Finally we arrive in Boulogne Sur Gesse, our home village for the next few weeks, and guess what? It’s shut!! But thankfully it opens about 10 minutes after we arrive and we pop into an artisan boulangerie for food and a little vegetable and wine shop (I know… weird!) for a refreshing drink. We then circle the village having asked directions to the ‘supermarche’ but not understanding too much French it takes us a 3 asks to finally get it right.  But at least we now know where the firebrigade, the local petanque court and the funeral directors home is!!

We leave town and head for Blajan and between Blajan and Nizan Gesse we expect to spot the signpost for our hosts.  It’s out in the countryside.  We see the right turn we want but the lane is straight uphill.  By the time we’ve slowed for the turn, we’ve lost all momentum and have to stop and start again in lowest gear.   We give it another go before grinding to a halt.. … boy that’s steep!!  We push for a bit and then we can remount and grind up the last couple hundred metres to their house.

And we’ve finally arrived.  Only several months late but I’m so glad they allowed us to delay because this place is gorgeous.   Sandy and Mike come out to greet us and then we go in for tea and cake ( just what the doctor ordered).  After a nice chat they show us around their fabulous house and gardens.   They have the most amazing views both east and south over 2 valleys.  They also have a swimming pool and a gite, which will be our home whilst we’re here.  

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It’s the most luxurious accommodation we’ve ever had on a workaway.  Then we get a tour of their house which has vaulted ceilings with all the beams on display, a large farmhouse kitchen and open fireplaces.  Finally we go to meet their 5 huskies and let them out into the paddock.  They also have a rescue Griffon, Emilon, as the family pet (it’s a hunting dog, not some sort of Welsh dragon).  After the tour we unpack the bike, park it in the pool room and take everything into the gite to sort out.  1 huge pile hidden behind 2 armchairs of biking stuff, camping stuff and empty pannier bags and the remainder into a chest of drawers.  I’ve just put all the clothes I own into one drawer – once that would’ve only be sufficient for my socks.  We drink tea, tidy up and shower.  Sandy has given us provisions  so we can make breakfast in the gite.  For our other meals we’ll eat in the main house and we’re to hang out wherever we want – house or gite.  Nice!  It’s 6.30pm and we’re in the house enjoying the log fire in their kitchen enjoying a glass of red wine.  Sometimes you’ve just got to lurve workaway

 

Cycling

It has taken us 20 days to get from Marlborough to Boulogne sur Gesse cycling 983.87km.  For this achievement alone we are incredibly chuffed, although it’s been tough.  We’ve had some bike problems but fortunately we had a couple of bike shops that came to our rescue and of course Richard (Cresswell)  who explained the error of our ways and sent us loads of spares!   Thank you Richard!  

Our budget – well there hasn’t been one;  we’ve enjoyed some lovely meals and had to pay for a number of hotels and bike repairs and a few beers of course.  So we’ve spent loads ( to be precise, we’ve spent everything we earn, and the contingency fund I envisaged nestling away, doesn’t exist!).  We’re lucky we had the warmshower hosts we did but for that I sent about 50 warmshower emails and a dozen to couchsurfing, which is very time consuming.  Over a longer period of biking we couldn’t afford to sustain this type of travel but I wanted a gentle introduction and with campsites shut, the alternative was dirty camping and this was a step too far for me at this stage especially at this time of year.  As a result we’ve carried a tent and chairs that we’ve only used once and a campstove that still hasn’t seen the light of day!!!

And what have we leant?  That I hate the following:

 

White paint on roads

Fast Downhills

Righthand bends on a fast downhill

Leaves on the road especially wet leaves.

Tram and train lines in the road

Headwinds

The sound of “ping” (broken spoke)

Slow speed wobble

High speed wobble

Puncture wobble

Fxxked wheel wobble

And any other sort of wobble

Sand

Grit on road

Manhole covers

Pedestrians

Rain

Hot sun

Potholes

 

I am sure the list will morph and change as I grow accustomed to some and find new ones  to worry about!  And Daz he’s afraid of nothing!!!

 

Wednesday 11th November – 1st day of workaway

 

We wake around 0730hrs and it’s going to be another beautiful day.  We look out of our French doors over the valley, and next to our gite we can see blue tits flying from tree to tree.  We read and have a leisurely breakfast of cereal before heading to the main house around 9am to get our washing on.  Sandy and Mike are just having their coffee, and Mike needs to go shopping.  So our first chore is to take the huskies out for a walk.  We use hip harnesses like we used previously in Finland and Daz takes Kale and I take 2 bitches, Ruska and Taiga.  

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Daz has the toughest job because Kale is pulling constantly.  We take a path up through the woods and it’s a lovely walk.  Emilon comes too but she’s allowed out without a lead so she has the run of the place.  Back at the kennels we take the other 2, Pushkin and Dixie, but for a shorter walk in the other direction.  

That’s the dogs walked.  Then Mike shows us how to use the pool hoover to suck up the large leaves on the bottom of the pool.  Sandy then takes us on a detailed tour showing us things that need doing; there’s weeding, trees to cut down and saw into logs; a compost bin to make and more logging work up in the woodland.  She also shows us where the tools are.

Once that’s done and we have an understanding of the jobs we can do, I start weeding and Daz finishes hoovering the pool.  We’ve only been at it a short while and it’s lunchtime.  We sit on the terrace eating lunch of pea soup and crusty bread and cheeses, with the sun shining and enjoying the most incredible views.  

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After lunch Daz and Mike go off to collect some pallets to use for building a 3 bay compost station.  Later he tells me he collected them from a nearby village with spectacular views along the range of the pyrenees. Whilst they are out I return to my weeding, but Sandy wants a hand to bathe Emilon.  She’s just come back from some jaunt and has clearly been up to her chest in stinking mud.  We put her in the bath and give her a good shampooing and then take her onto the terrace where she’s groomed and has her ears cleaned out.  I’ve never cleaned a dogs ears and Sandy says it’s especially important in dogs with floppy ears because inside is dark and moist, a good environment for something nasty to thrive – even ear mites – yuck!  A dog with ear problems will keep shaking their head.  Sandy puts an ear ointment deep into the ear, rubs it around and the uses cotton wool pads to remove the gunk.  

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After the dog grooming, I return to weeding. Daz and Mike return and it’s time for a quick cuppa and then Daz and I do some more work on the flower beds before calling it a day.

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This has been our first day of workaway for over 2 months but it’s just been such a lovely day, we don’t even see it as work.

 

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Deba to Bordeaux – 29th Oct to 5th November

Thursday 29th October – Deba to San Sebastian

51.39 km completed

47.5 kmph max speed

12.9 kmph average

Total 390.7km

We’re off to a slow start.   After sharing our room with our wet tent and ground sheet, we have that to repack, but at least it’s dry now. Then we cycle past the huge church we looked in on last night to the main square in Deba for brekkie.   Question of today – do we really need the tent and ancillaries?  It’s OK because we’re getting used to carrying all this stuff but at some point (probably not until we’re in Spain again, in 2016, cycling the eastern coast), we need to decide how many nights camping out of 7, make the tent worthwhile!!!

Uneventful day today.  We’re both tired but we soon settle into the rhythm of the steady grind uphill. It takes us an hour to cycle 5km uphill from Deba, (it’s amazing how fast the downhills go after all that effort) but strangely we settle into the mindless monotony of these longhills and then there’s some beautiful sea views in Zumaia but we keep going and stop for lunch at Getaria, which seems to be quite a touristy stop with quaint narrow streets leading down to the harbour,where we just love watching the locals.  There seems to be a big eating and drinking culture here; at lunchtime all the cafe bars have huge displays of tapas, well we think it’s called pintxos, it’s a slice of baguette with a topping (a Basque speciality) In the bar in Getaria there must’ve been 10 types to choose from.  

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So we go to the bar, order our drinks, ask for a plate and then help ourselves.  No one wants money from us yet and no one seems to take note of what we take.  Once we’re done we order coffee, continue to people watch and when I can’t procrastinate further, we pay the bill and move on. We discover, from our warmshowers host, that pintxos should just be a snack at 11am or perhaps mid afternoon, not a whole plate full for lunch as we’ve been eating it.   But they are so tasty we can’t resist!  We go down to the church and the sea front and harbour before we head off for the rest of the journey.  

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 We then cycle through Zarautz, which is only of interest because it’s the halfway point.  From here the traffic gets heavier and the scenery / route kinda dull.  We’re about 8km from our destination when there’s a loud snapping noise as the chain comes off the front chainring for the 3rd time today.  We get off and see that one of the teeth on the chain ring has snapped off – not a little chip but almost the entire tooth gone.   I’m pretty pissed – we’ve only been cycling 8 days and in that time we’ve had a broken stand, snapped spoke and now a damaged chainring.  We haven’t done that many miles either but we did use the bike in 2014 where we cycled to work on it most days as well as doing our training weekends.  

From here it’s to the suburbs of San Sebastian and our warmshowers host, Fernando, his wife and his daughter Naroa.   It’s too early, he’s not due home until 5pm, so we abandon the bike by his backgate and stroll to the nearest cafe bar, where we sit in a nice courtyard for some refreshments.   Fernando arrives at the cafe just after 5pm and takes us to his house.  He and his wife are keen cyclist and he knows all the routes we’re planning to use to Boulogne sur Gesse and apparently, after Bayonne it should be pretty easy going.  He has the most fabulous house with views out over San Sebastian and to the sea.

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 He’s only been on warm showers 2 weeks and we’re his second guests.  The first were a French family on Haze Pino bikes, who were taking a year out and travelling with their 6 and 8 year olds.  They got as far as San Sebastian and realised the hills would be too tough to Bilbao and also had bike problems,so instead of a night, stayed a week.

After a lovely home cooked meal, it’s bedtime for us.  This biking malarkey is so tiring.

 

Friday 30th October – San Sebastian to Biarritz

63 km completed

59.8 kmph max speed

12.9 kmph average

Total 453.7km

I’ve had a great night’s sleep, but Daz was suffering from twitching leg, which he seems to get when he’s over tired. We’re up and packed, and help ourselves to the breakfast they’ve kindly left out for us and at 9am Noroa comes home from her first lecture to let us out.  She is in her 5th year of 6 to be a doctor (and even then will need another year to specialise), but over dinner last night was telling us how hard it will be to get a job in Spain, even though the government is trying to entice older doctors and healthcare workers into early retirement.  She says that the youth of Spain are finding it hard to get jobs anywhere and that’s why we see so many in London working as waiters and house staff in hotels, not just for the money, but just to be doing something with their lives rather than living at home with no job in Spain.

We wave goodbye and cycle down the hill (yes!!) into San Sebastian, which is very beautiful with a massive sea front and beach which we cycle along for a while, at one point having to retrace our steps as the only way forward is a lift back down to a lower level and the bike doesn’t fit… trust us we tried!!

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It definitely deserves far more time to explore it properly, but after a coffee in a square in the old part of town, we head out.  To begin with, as we go through the suburbs of San Sebastian and then follow a relatively quiet road, handrailing the GI636, it’s all quite pleasant.  But then our route finder takes us onto the GI636 and suddenly things aren’t so pleasant.  The traffic is heavy and these guys, unlike on previous days, ain’t giving us much space, especially as the traffic gets heavier towards the border.  But there’s nothing we can do so we persevere.  We’re heading to Irun, the Spanish town on the border.  We see a 1km border sign for France but never actually spot the border.  

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The border is marked by a river and on the French side is Hendaye and we cycle through the centre, until we find a restaurant.  We have menu of the day for €12; chef’s salad with bacon and blue cheese, grilled salmon and veg and floating islands for pud.  

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Delicious, except we’re so stuffed now, we could do with a siesta, but we’re in France now and that’s a Spanish thing and if I sleep I don’t think I’ll get on the bike again today.   Even better I think the waitresses understood my French, and me theirs.  There’s hope for me yet.

From dinner we head to the tourist office and realise there’s a huge, beautiful beach and everyone’s enjoying the sun and the sea.  There are surfers here and paddle boarders also surfing the waves, which looks pretty cool.  

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We get some info from the tourist office and then we’re off.  We follow the coast road out of Hendaye and eventually come to St Jean de Luz. Again the beach is packed with people enjoying a Friday afternoon of late Autumn sun.   It’s 28 degrees – fabulous although Daz is dripping sweat and think it’s too hot – can’t wait to see how he copes in the summer!!   The road isn’t too hilly and the scenery of the coast is fabulous and this is probably one of the best day’s cycling so far.  

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We stop for a last breather at St Jean de Luz

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and then it’s the final push to the outskirts of Biarritz.  This is tough going; busy traffic, too many hills and we’re both tired.  But finally we arrive.  So we’re 4 km from Biarritz near the airport.  We’re staying in a cabin with no electricity, but a couple of solar lights, a dry toilet and a shower that’s on the back wall of the main house.  It reminds us of the Finland farm but so much warmer.  

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This somewhat unusual arrangement is the result of a warmshower request. Unfortunately the recipient Carole is in Japan but she suggested we email Olivier, which we did.  He was also away but said we we were welcome to the cabin and told us where the keys were etc.  So we have just arrived and got the bags off and parked the bike, when a car pulls in.  It’s Olivier and his wife, Bernadette and they live in the main house.  And Carole is their daughter. She’s currently using warmshowers in Japan and their son is cycling in California, also using warm showers.  We’re hoping to stay 3 nights to rest up a bit and explore Biarritz. In the evening we enjoy a walk through the secluded estate to a small area of shops and buy some “provisions” which we enjoy whilst sitting in the semi dark of the cabin, chatting about our experience so far. Very peaceful but somewhat bizarre – who would predict that our rest days would be spent in a rural cabin in the suburbs of Biarritz?

 

Saturday 31th October – Biarritz sightseeing

12.7 km completed

Total 466.4 km

We awake and the sun is shining.

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We have our breakfast on the cabin’s deck and catch up with some reading and watch the birds and the bees.   There’s a pair of tits, bluetits of course, flying from tree to tree and the shrub directly in front of us seems to be a mecca for bees.  There’s also lemon trees and a jasmine bush.  There’s no WiFi to distract us which makes a pleasant change.  Our plan is to take our week’s worth of washing (one set of clothes!) with us and go sightsee in Biarritz and get our laundry done too!

(Biarritz, an elegant seaside town on southwestern France’s Basque coast, has been a popular resort since European royalty began visiting in the 1800s. It’s also a major surfing destination, and its beaches host surf schools and an annual international competition. A busy nightlife scene encompasses late-night bars, clubs and a grand beachside casino, the Barrière)

After some considerable debate, Daz capitulates agrees, and we cycle in.  It’s only 4km.  Near the town centre we stop at the Jardin publique because it’s decorated for Halloween.

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 There are pumpkins, cobwebs and even a couple of skeletons.  There’s a party here later and I hope Daz will let me come back to watch the festivities.  We find a launderette and after setting our wash in motion ( disappointingly there was no service wash) we head further into town and abandon the bike and walk to the ‘big beach’ where a surf competition is in progress.  We watch for a while and then return to the launderette to put our clothes in the drier and whilst our clothes are drying we wait in a cafe.   I only intended to have a coffee but the waitress spots us as an easy target and we end up ordering lunch; cheese, ham and egg crepe for me and mussels in cider with chips for Daz.   His is the much better choice.  

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After lunch and collecting the washing we return to the beach and walk in the surf.  We can’t believe it’s such a beautiful day this late in the year.  We walk around the fishing harbour and watch as the tide has turned and the empty harbour begins to fill with water.  

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Then we walk along to the Virgin statue.  Daz wants to visit the aquarium so we go in there for a couple of hours.   

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When we come out we have a drink watching the young lifeguards having a training session.   It looks really tough and I’m tired just watching.  

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We head back through town which is heaving with people.  All the kids from the Halloween Park have come into town for trick or treating.  All the shops and bars have bowls of sweets for the kids. The children are all dressed up but so are many of the adults.  It’s such a great atmosphere.  There’s also the rugby final on today: New Zealand v Australia and when we catch it, NZ are well in the lead at half time

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It’s getting dark and late so we return to the bike which we had left tied to a tree at the beach and cycle out of town, stopping at the public Halloween party, which is now packed with children and their parents.  There’s a disco and disco lights and some of the children are dancing.

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 We enjoy the atmosphere and then head for a bar on the street corner, where we can have a beer and watch the park and the people in fancy dress.  We even see a 7ft werewolf.  He’s at the bar when Daz orders a beer and then he heads for the park.  Just before heading home we do one more circuit of the park and see the werewolf posing for photos.  

 

Sunday 1st November- Biarritz

Today it’s a day for relaxation, no cycling.  We get up late and have our breakfast.   Finally at about 11am we head to the local shops.  

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We buy enough for dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow and then we head to the station where we saw a busy cafe yesterday.  Unfortunately it’s shut but we find a restaurant and have the menu of the day.  For me it’s a buffet salad;  grilled hake and chorizo and then a cherry icecream pudding.  Daz has the same except his main is vension stew.

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 We were only planning to have a light lunch but it’s a shame not to experiment and enjoy the local cuisine.   From here we head home for a quiet afternoon and some bike maintenance.  But when we get back to the cabin, the sun is shining our bellies are full and we both fall asleep… siesta time!!

 

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Later Daz gets up and does some maintenance, and after a while I have to assist as the bike is very cumbersome to hold and work on at the same time, especially as it doesn’t sit upside down like a normal bike would.  In the process Daz checks all the nuts and bolts are tight, checks the tyres, wheels and brakes, cleans the chain and relubricates.  We find another broken spoke, but Daz is able to swap it out without too much hassle. It makes me nervous that more are going to keep breaking… we may need to stock up on more spares.  In the evening I cook chicken fajitas for us both and Daz seems to be coming down with a cold… not good, so he takes some paracetamol and relaxes whilst I do the dishes… devious man!!

 

Monday 2nd November- Biarritz to Léon

75.53 km completed

41.4 kmph max speed

16.3 kmph average

541.93 Total  km

Daz has been coughing and sneezing through the night.  I fear it might be man-flu (God help me), so as a show of sympathy I get up first and make the tea! (yes, my generosity knows no bounds but Daz says that since I’m dumb enough to be part of this foolish tandem adventure, I don’t need to do mundane chores like making tea or cooking dinner!)

Anyway whilst Daz packs the bags etc, I clean the cabin.  I’ve really enjoyed our time here and it’s probably a blessing to be without electricity and WiFi,  it’s meant hours of just lying on the sofa reading and spending some quality time with our book heroes of the moment – mine is John Milton ex SAS, Daz’s is DI Helen Grace of Southampton Central police Major Incident Team.

We’re on the road by 0930hrs and after a short sharp climb to let us know we are back on the bike we enjoy a nice downhill to our first stop which is Bayonne, where we enjoy a walk around the cathedral and its cloisters.  

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Bayonne Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Gothic cathedral. It is the seat of the former Bishops of Bayonne, now the Bishops of Bayonne, Lescar and Oloron.  Twin towers rise from this hilltop Gothic cathedral with medieval cloisters, completed in the 1500s.  

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We also stop for a quick coffee in a pretty little square before heading out on the Eurovelo 1 – the Atlantic coast route. Stretching the length of the continent, from Scandinavia to the Algarve, the Atlantic Coast Route connects some of the world’s most beautiful seascapes. Expect dramatic fjords, sun-kissed beaches and bustling port towns. Well that’s what the website states, our little bit today was through some forest, some more pine forest, and at the side of some sand dunes which blocked my view of the sea… but in the main it was flat, tarmac and erm… going to use the ‘B’ Word… boring!!

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We stop at Cap Breton for a lovely lunch; well mine is lovely, fish tart and salad but Daz’s choice is pretty grim.  

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We were really struggling to understand their French and Daz chose carrot tart – seriously unpleasant!  

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We finish our day in Léon.  We really struggled to find accommodation here; all the campsites were shut, warmshower hosts weren’t available and we couldn’t get an answer from TripAdvisor hotels so we’ve ended up in one of those places where you’d really rather not be.   If he charges €58 for this dump, I’ll be less than impressed unless the breakfast is particularly good, but having met the proprietor (a man, and a German to boot.   Could it get any worse?) I fear this is unlikely!  For dinner we spend €6.91 on a baguette, blue cheese, salami and some multivitamin juice as Daz needs his vitamins!!

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Tuesday 3rd November-  Léon to Parentis en Born

87.64 km completed

36.2  kmph max speed

16.9 kmph average

629.57 Total  km

Stupidly I asked for breakfast at 8am and as a result I’ve been worrying that we’ll oversleep and instead I’ve been awake for ages.  Breakfast is served in the ‘annex’ – questionable description for a shed.  There’s fresh croissants and baguette but no butter

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We’ve pretty much finished when the proprietor arrives with the butter but at least he tells us to take the rest of the baguette for our lunch, which goes someway to making up for the price here of €58 but he lets us off €3.  Worse, we (or I) allow him to persuade us to take the Eurovelo instead of sticking to the road, which was the plan last night.  The result km after km of forests.  We detour briefly to see the sea at St Girons Plage but it’s merely a deserted holiday village,  then beach and sea.

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That’s our excitement over for the day.  Also the weather isn’t the sunny day we were promised.  It’s been drizzling on and off since we left the B&B, which adds to the tedium.  Back to the track through the forests.  Finally we’re overwhelmed by the tedium and divert to the road only to discover this is almost as boring.  We think the problem might be that France is shut for the winter.  I wish someone had told Daz.  After a long morning and high mileage (55km) we stop in Mimizan for coffee and cake and some recovery time for our numb arses

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Sadly there’s not any improvement in the afternoon.  The rain which had abated mid morning has started again.  We only have about 28km to do but we’re both suffering from numb arses and we’re not sure why.  I always slip down in my seat and this might me worse because I’m wearing the slippery waterproof.  We might try moving my seat so I’m more upright. We finally arrive in Parentis en Born which is around 4 km from our warmshowers stop, and after circling for a while looking for the elusive office de tourisme so we can get a local map and then getting stopped by the gendarmes to ask if we are “Galoise”…  Yes that’s what the flag says, and off they go all smiles (think the recent rugby world cup has reminded people of the flag) we stop in a bar for a well deserved glass of vin rouge and sit by the warm log fire to dry out. But soon it’s time to remount and we cycle the last little bit to our hosts for the night, Andre and Bernadette. It’s dark, the roads are busy, and we’ve had wine… doh!! Never mind,we arrive safe and our hosts greet us and show us to a lovely room with ensuite.  

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Bliss, it’s been a long slog today, and we are looking forward to a meal with our hosts. Our warmshower hosts this evening are Bernadette and Andre.   Great room, great shower and dinner too.  Very nice.

Wednesday 4th November – Parentis en Born to Bordeaux

50 km completed

29 kmph max speed

16.3 kmph average

679.57 Total  km

We have breakfast and Bernadette shows us her chickens and their very impressive garden.  It must be a lot of work for the 2 of them.   Neither of them are cyclists but host on warmshowers so they can meet people.

We start at 9am and all is well for the first hour.  Today we’ve decided to take the shorter route, the road,  into Bordeaux and not the Eurovelo route.  We’re cycling well and we’ve done about 20km by 10am.   But when we stop for traffic lights we can feel the back wheel wobbling. We stop and realise we have another broken spoke.  But also there’s a bulge in the tyre wall.  Daz replaces the broken spoke and then spots another.   So that’s 4 broken spokes in 2 weeks.  He deflates and reinflates the tyre hoping that the bulge will disappear.  It doesn’t.  There isn’t a cycle shop in this town and we no longer have any short spokes for the rear wheel.

We continue cycling but the wobble is still there.  It’s particularly noticeable at slow speeds, freewheeling and downhills.  We carry on for another 18km and another town, Mios.  We check the wheel and the bulge is getting bigger.  We stop for lunch.

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 Thank God we came this route, if we’d followed the Eurovelo we’d be in the middle of nowhere and without any likelihood of finding help!!! We need to head to Marcheprime, another 12km from Mios, and Bordeaux is still 48km away.  We leave our lunch spot and I can hear a tinny noise.  I suspect another broken spoke.  Depressingly I’m right, but in the front wheel.  This is really bad news since this has significantly less weight on it than the rear.  We now have problems with both wheels.  But we continue on our way.  I’m expecting the rear wheel to fail at any time but we make it to Marcheprime and at last we’re near a train line.  We’re going to try and get a train into Bordeaux.  

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We’re hoping they’ll let us on with the tandem without breaking it into 2.   While we’ve been waiting with the unloaded bike we’ve realised there’s another broken spoke in the front wheel and that the rear tyre is failing and splitting away in a number of  places.  The rear tyre is fxxked and it’s only 2 weeks old!!!

So we have all our baggage ready and fortunately we get on.   Thirty minutes later we’re in Bordeaux.  We’re heading for a cycle shop that’s near to our Airbnb hosts and we cycle through Bordeaux and along the river.  Bordeaux is beautiful.  We get to the bike shop; we need a new tyre  and ideally we’d like a rebuild of both wheels.  The first bike shop say they can’t help but give us details of another shop.  We’re only a couple of blocks from our hosts, so we go there first, meet Megan, check out their fabulous apartment, dump our bags and head to bike shop number 2.   Thank goodness we decided on Airbnb for Bordeaux.  We sent many emails to warmshowers but couldn’t get a host.   There are 2 campsites in Bordeaux which are actually open.  But they’re both 10km out of town and cost €22 a night and Airbnb is a similar price and in town I don’t think we’d have coped with the bike saga and then found our campsite!!! Bike shop 2 can’t help us – no one has the spokes for our 20” wheel.  They make a phone call and send us to bike shop number 3.  Despite the phone call, we discover bike shop 3 can’t help either.  They don’t have the spokes.  If we can get the spokes, they can rebuild the wheels.  Brilliant.  

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We go back to bike shop number 2.  This is not going well.  We have a bike that is unrideable and no one can fix it.  Back at bike shop number 2, another phone call and another bike shop.  At least we’re already seeing most of Bordeaux. Bike shop number 4 can help.  He makes his own spokes but he can’t make enough to rebuild both wheels. Instead he will replace the 2 spokes in the front, replace the rear tyre and true both wheels.   He has no explanation for the failed tyre or the large number of broken spokes except to suggest the bike is carrying too much weight.   This is worrying indeed since we can’t significantly reduce our load.  

At least we have someone who can help.  That’s such a relief.  We leave the bike with him.  It’s nearly 7pm and we’ve been in Bordeaux since 4pm.  So we’ve spent 3 hours cycling from one bike shop to another.  We decide that after the traumatic day we’ve had, a glass of red wine is in order.  Whilst having a drink we try and decide what we should do.  Are we happy to keep cycling when we’re having so many problems.  Do we FedEx some of our gear to Boulogne sur Gesse to lighten the load? Do we take the train?  It’s tough when we’re losing confidence in the bike.  I’d like to just bin the tandem, and start again on new bikes – obviously the most expensive option. ‘ Fuck, Fuck Fuck!’ – that’s how we feel.  Poor Daz is in a complete funk. He’s depressed and blames himself for the terrible day we’ve had.  I try to be positive but when bike shop number 3 tell us there’s nothing he can do to help or suggest anything helpful, I could cry!

Finally we stroll back to the apartment stopping off for some provisions. Back at the apartment we send a couple of emails about the bike – one to Richard (it’s creator) and one to Downham Cycles (where Daz did his bike course).  We chat to Megan and her flatmate.  They’re both doing their masters, one in advertising and one in business.  They’re not cyclists which is great because if we were with cyclists I fear there would be further analysis of our bike failure.  Finally we go to bed!

 

Thursday 5th November – Bordeaux

Today it’s a late start.  We planned to spend a couple of days here which is fortunate since our bike won’t be ready until Friday.   We’ve had an email from Richard and Daz has been googling ‘broken spokes’.  The consensus is because we haven’t been checking the tension on the spokes since we started cycling laden, some are probably under more tension than others.   Result – broken spokes.  Apparently Richard uses something metallic, like a spoon, to twang against each spoke and checks that the tone of each twang is the same.  If not, tighten or loosen spoke, as necessary.  Unfortunately we haven’t been doing this and whilst we will check in future there is a danger that we’ve weakened our remaining spokes by failing to keep all spokes under the same tension.  The tyre damage remains a mystery.  Daz rings Richard and they chat about spokes and which supplier Richard uses for this illusive product.  Bless him though he’s going to send us some spokes, he has boxes of them sitting in his garage, and he’s also sending us a spare tyre.  All the spares are going to Boulogne sur Gesse.   Once the bike issues are resolved we head out to see what Bordeaux has to offer.

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We visit the Hôtel de ville ( the Mayor’s house), Place du la Victoire, the Jardin Public, which has a lovely lake and the botanical gardens,  Place du Parlement, 2 or 3 old churches, the river and its mirror pool which is only an inch deep and gives a great mirror image for photographs.

 

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We walk or cycle on city bikes around this beautiful place. In the afternoon it starts to rain and we sit under the umbrellas at the Grand Cafe du Castan and enjoy a drink and some galettes

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