Day 6

Thursday, May 4
Chateaudin to Bracieux
82km

Short, flat day today...which was nice.  Lovely hot sunny weather.

I was a bit congested last night.  I think that I might be allergic to all of the rape-seed that grows in the fields out here.  It doesn't bother me much while I'm riding, luckily.  I'm hoping that the crops will change as we continue to head South.

We crossed the Loire river, the longest of France's four large rivers.  The river itsself was nothing special, but the Loire valley's warm micro-climate inspired wealthy Frenchmen to build glorious chateaus along the river.  We went by 3 or 4 of the today, including "Le chateau ...", which is one of the largest.  It looked almost like a castle, with grey stone walls and tall round turrets.  Unlike a castle, there were lots of windows and very ornate details around the roofline.  We all stopped for an icecream at the chateau, and ate it on the lawn in the shade.  Lovely.

The rest of the short ride was similar to the last few days.  Lots of vast open fields broken up by some little towns.  The towns today were a bit larger, and we had good luck finding places to stop and get food.  I picked up a big slice of pizza, an apple turnover, an apple and a banna in the first town.  A bit later on I had some Flan, an orangina and a perrier.  I'm trying to force myself to drink more enroute because I feel a bit dehidrated.  Wine with dinner every night probably doesn't help.

Today's accomodation is very nice.  Big rooms with proper showers.  I'm been shaving every few days on this trip.  The lumberjack beard seemed appropriate in the Canadian Rockies, but not in France.  Perhaps a little musketeer goatee would work.

I've also done some more sink laundry today.  Hopefully all will be dry by morning.  With the bright sun and light breeze right now, it shouldn't be a problem.  We're al sitting outside by the hotel pool.  Several people have commented that we actually look like we're on vacation...instead of at boot camp.

Steve is sitting beside me, and has asked me to briefly describe his day today:

"I exploded out of bed this morning, grabbing a baguette and a coffee on the way to my bike.  As the local villagers cheered, I did a victory lap around Chateaudin's main square, before charging out of the valley...leaving my fellow cyclists in my wake.  With the wind in my hair and the sun on my back, I kept my head down for the next four hours as my mightly legs pumped away madly."

It's worth explaining that our "victory lap" this morning was caused by a navigational error.  Also, our leggs only really "pumped away madly" twice: once as Steve tried to catch us after he stopped for a pee break, and once when Steve, John and I chased after a tractor.  In the first case, John managed to catch us as we realized we'd gone past the proper turning.  Add in about 5 boulangerie stops, and Steve's version is basically right.