Stage 1 completed!

So we have made it to Bayonne safely, 895 miles since leaving home, 2 punctures and some interesting (I use the word advisedly) navigation. The hardest part, since struggling to find the hotel in La Rochelle after 80 miles, was getting into Bayonne - so the Mechanic was suitably impressed when I managed to lead us, not just safely into the centre of town but straight to the hotel. I was pretty impressed myself! We had a final day of quiet bike trails, but noticed the irritating French habit of putting direction signs just out of view of the junction you are approaching - always assuming they put any out at all. We had a several roundabouts / junctions where we had to make a quick decision about which way to go, only to find a sign cunningly placed just far enough from the junction that you can't see it until you have made the turn. On occasions this means you had to try all the possibilities until you found the correct one - which worked well except where there was no sign at all!

As we only had 47 miles to do today we got up a bit later than usual and by the time we had cleaned and tidied the apartment it was 9.00am. The weather was dry but overcast to start so the paths near the beaches were reasonably quiet, although got busier as the morning wore on. I am interested to learn the secret of French family cycling, so any light you can shed on the situations we have been witnessing would be appreciated. French family with 3 small children, one so small that it is on a seat behind Mum, the other two on their own (small) bikes while Dad tours a double child buggy which is empty. I assume the buggy is for when the kids get tired - but what do they do with the bikes in that case. I have visions of Dad strapping one on his back and handing the other to the child in the child seat to carry. Nothing would surprise me over here.........

An interesting phenomenon we have witnessed is the small local business at lunchtime - in these times of economic hardship you would expect them to welcome any customers prepared to spend money, but we have watched as they practically beat people off with a stick to get the door closed at 12.30 so they can have their 2/3 hour lunch. We have been in a fast food place (the Belgian speciality chip shop) where they have closed the door at precisely 8.00pm while we were only half way through our lasagne and then stand and watch us with a belligerent look as we felt obliged to bolt it down.

The hotel we are staying in is incredible, real old fashioned place, with a lift straight from the 1920s. I won't use it as it is so small it makes me claustrophobic. The maximum load is 3 people, 220 kg, but I don't reckon you could place 6 feet in the space available. I have a good photo, but yet again the portrait shots will not download, so you will have to wait.

Photos tonight include the Mechanic doing some housework, me surveying a bike for next year's trip, one of the signs we were trying to follow and the view from the hotel window

Now off to eat with a few of the CTC people who, like us, have arrived a day early