100 miler

The stats from yesterday:
Distance travelled: 88.5 miles
Time in saddle: 7hrs 32 mins
Overall distance travelled: 4719 miles.

Eight days to go.
Distance travelled: 103 miles
Time in saddle: 8hrs 35 mins
Overall distance travelled: 4822.4 miles

It was a beautiful day when I got up this morning. I slept with the window open and the sun greeted me nice and early……it’s like poetry isn’t it? I am getting nearer to home and as one guy said to me “once the horse smells it’s stable it runs faster” that is certainly the case with me. As I was cycling along I came across a beautiful meadow. I had to have a photo taken with me sat in the meadow, it felt like the Cadbury’s Flake advert…..you have to be a certain age….What do you think? I am completely besotted with the French countryside. I know I keep writing about it but I can’t help it, it is beautiful. There are some fantastic houses….brilliant.
I wanted to do one hundred miles today, which I did. I need to get near to the coast then I might have a day off, perhaps book onto a campsite or something. They are really nice.
I stopped in a few places to have snacks and a few drinks….coke only. The roads are fine but some of them have no cycle path, which is only to be expected. I know it sound really mad but I love it when the big trucks get really close because they carry you along in their slipstream…..there is a fine line between them being helpful and scary but I’ll live with it. I have been climbing long rolling hills all day. To be honest I don’t mind the hills. It makes me stand on my pedals to cycles up them and it gives my bum a rest. I eventually stopped at a town called Seamur…or something like that. My pronunciation of the French towns is really funny. I sound like that policeman out of Hello Hello. When I ask for directions I have to say at least four or five versions of the name so that they know what I am taking about.
I had my hair cut today…all off. The guy’s name was Ricard, I think. He didn’t speak English but we communicated. Called himself a hairdresser he didn’t even ask me if I had been away on holiday….what’s going on? When I was a hairdresser we could bullshit and believe it too….those were the days.
Seamur is beautiful. The camp site is quite nice, a bit more expensive that the other day but I’m not complaining…you can’t take it with you as they say….I suppose it depends where you are going.
Mike, my friend phoned today and his girlfriend is called O’Brien….how weird is that, we’re everywhere. It was great to hear from him as always. I love getting messages and phone calls from the UK. It cheers me up no end.
I’ve only got about 200 miles to go before the channel…then home. I keep getting emotional when I think about riding into the barracks in Warrington. I’ve lost some weight and I’m tanned but you will be able to recognise me because I will be the blubbering wreck full of snot and tears riding on the bike…easy really. I just hope I hold it together and don’t embarrass myself or anyone else….I can only try.