We left La Rochelle by train to Poiters a TER train so very reasonable price and a lot more room than the TGV for us and our bikes. We cycled out of Poitiers on country roads which were reasonably quiet being Sunday and very picturesque complete with rolling small hills .Although the heat had dropped the humidity was still high so we were glad we had planned shorter days. This area is full of cycle routes and quiet country lanes. We did think lunch wasn’t going to be forthcoming so we stopped at a Charcuterie in Dissay and chose a lovely assortment of salads.Dissay has an impressive chateau complete with a spa where you can stay for about 200 euros a night, a little out of our budget.A park bench provided us with a great lunch spot.

We peddled on through small villages and stopped in St Cyr, yes we could have had our 3 course lunch here. We stopped for tea and coffee anyway, although we were too full to eat anything else. Our destination of the day was the tiny hamlet of Le Pireau where the owners had spent over 10 years renovating a huge house which had lain empty for 20 years.These large houses are subject to very heavy government taxes but if you run a business from them you get a 50% tax discount. A beautiful typical french garden surrounded the house with large tall trees even better in tne garden was a swimming pool.So it was a swim and a relaxing evening.

Another scenic day followed although we were crossing three rivers so it was constantly up or downhill and then over a small river. Quite sad seeing a lot of roadkill I suspect animals trying to make it to the river after all the unusually hot June weather.One huge badger looked such a magnificent creature.We had lunch at Roche-Posay , no afternoon passes to the spa alas. So we had to give partaking of the famed therapeutic waters a miss. The spring waters here are full of selenium which is meant to be good for skin conditions. L’Oreal is also moving to this town to use the waters in its products aswell. That night was at another grande house turned bed and breakfast again with a very welcome swimming pool. It was 8kms to a restaurant as the local one was closed so the owner rustled me up a salad and hubby a grande sandwich and we ate out in the garden, so beautiful. There was an old watermill in the grounds and a lake full of frogs and waterlillies.We cycled some of today on eurovelo route 3, the pilgrims route from Norway to Spain and did actually see a group of french cyclists en route to bordeaux.

Our last day of cycling was very short over to the village where we were meeting up with my sister and my brother in law.It was a very scenic ride with plenty of wildlife weasels popping up families of pheasants crossing the road, and rolling undulating hills.This area of France the indre-Loire is a cyclists paradise just full of quiet country roads.After a few days chilling it was a train from Loches via Tours to Paris to catch Eurostar back to London.Our cycling tour for this year 2019 is over.

Highs and Lows

• Too many to list, but Esterzgom in Hungary was an incredible surprise bobbing around in the thermal lake at Heviz was heavenly, the Italian city of Mantova…

• From Italy I miss their orzo and ginseng lattes, the squatting toilets…a great stretch for the hips and knees after cycling and when you got a good Italian meal it was fantastic. Does take bravery to cycle amongst the Italians though!

• Bratislavia the capital of Slovakia was also a pleasant surprise full of history and very walkable.

• At times the May mud was a bit much for me and my poor bike.
• Unable to navigate out of Szert….because we couldnt think straight after our 105km day before, but then after that the Hungarian ancient train was such an experience it made up for the earlier lows of the day.

• The hungarian people were so helpful and friendly,even in the depths of the countryside it was wonderful.

• Slovenia has so much natural countryside still preserved that we will definitely return.70% of the country is natural forest.

• France gives you a real sense of freedom on a bike just you and the countryside and the odd car driver takes great care to avoid you.

• And Germany its cycle routes so well signposted its a pleasure to just follow the signs.They are so polite to cyclists you can’t stop near the edge of a road for any reason as they will stop for you to cross even if there is no crossing.

• Croatia is making an effort to build more cycle routes but most of them are only for mountain bikes at the moment.Similarly many of Hungarian bike routes are tracks between farmers fields.

• Meeting people along the way, sharing a few weeks with Mick an old school friend of Tims, making new friends hope to see Willie and Gail in Perth later this year.Family catch ups as city breaks were also great. Even today in Paris we met a couple heading off to Switzerland to cycle the Rhine route and another cyclist chatted to us just in the street , he had cycled to Kazakhstan and back!
• Having had all the May rain through all of Europe all 3 rivers;Danube, Po and Rhone were flowing in their full glory in full spate, we were very lucky to see them like this after the sorry state of the Elbe last year.

• GEAR

Gear failures -my very expensive Gripgrab summer gloves are threadbare, the gel did work though and minimal numb hands. Very small sizing, took a while for the large womens size to stretch.

Hubbys disc brake pads are in desperate need of replacement, I hope we get through London in one piece.

Hubbys bike racks are now held together with cable ties.

Katmandu raincoats kept us dry but the zips are as hard to use as the first day we bought them.

The riva specialised womans saddle has caused no problems at all after issues last year with a brookes and a sellia saddle for me.

Very expensive bike shorts prevented any problems at all this year for me, (thank you to my girlfriend effie for buying the wrong size, after following sizing guidelines and donated them to me, the company sent her a new pair) hubby suffered a bit with chafing so he will be buying a better brand for next year, with a very good fit stopping any movement of the nether region.

The reversable dress was great, increased my wardrobe dramatically, well done Katmandu.(tad on the short side for slovenia however)

My other gear failure was my underwear its going in the bin when I reach London , undies and bras are about to disintegrate..

Lost:socks, undies and hubbys waistcoat jacket

Postage of winter clothes and maps back from Slovenia and Hungary worked well both parcels have arrived!!

So till next year.Happy Pedalling.