Day 2: Rochefort to La Tremblade (25 miles, 325 ft)
Today has been a good day.
The weather brightened (compared to yesterday) and although overcast, cycling was far more enjoyable – we even removed our waterproof coats for part of the day.
We started our morning with a wander into Rochefort with our hosts to visit the local market. They are so different in France to markets in the UK, and such a difference in price from one stall to the next. We decided it would be nice to have some melon with lunch, so after looking at various vendors selling melons priced €5 for 3, we finally found some that were less than €1 each. Bizarrely, after carrying them with us all day we still haven’t eaten them.
The ride itself went without any major issues today. Last night’s hosts had been very helpful in discussing our route for today and offering some alternatives, which saved us around 7 miles and included a very short trip on a ferry to cross a major river. He even got on his bike and led the way like a velo tourism guide. Maisey had some fun with a certain part of cycle track that seemed to stick entirely to her wheels and then fly off, pelting her with twigs and gravel for a couple of miles, but she survived the ordeal.
Just before our lunch stop (a beautiful town that we would have totally missed if our host had not suggested we make a slight detour to check it out) I noticed that my bike gears were not as smooth as they had been yesterday. I quickly realised that my rear derailleur had been knocked off centre as I had lowered the bike onto the ferry earlier on. It wasn’t hard to get straight so the problem was quickly (almost) solved.
Lunch was great (baguettes and cheese – surprisingly) and we were joined by a friendly dog who was VERY keen to eat with us, but was sadly turned away.
A few more miles and we were nearly in La Tremblade. Just one big bridge to get across first – and what a climb. This was definitely the hardest part of our route so far, but thanks to all our training we managed to get over the (very high, very windy) bridge without needing to stop.
And finally we reached our accommodation for tonight – a nice static caravan just outside of the main town. The hosts met us and showed us round. A very spacious place. We unloaded, drank 2 cups of coffee each (very small cups) and then left the kids while Lara and I did quick ride to a nearby supermarket to buy pizzas and treats for tonight.
Although today was only 26 miles, it actually felt like quite a long day. Partly because the route was quite off road and gravelly so we all needed to pay far more attention to the surface we were cycling on. A few nice herons along the way and a new, unexpected town to visit along the way.
I’m excited to see what tomorrow holds (especially the promise of our first sunshine since we got on our bikes.