June 19, 2023
Day 3: Monday 19 June 2023 - Meaux to Nogent-sur-Seine
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route planned 95km https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42604213
Slept fairly well and woke to rain overnight, but dry all day, getting increasingly warm and sunny.
I met Kathy and Dave at 6:45 for breakfast and got away around 745. The day had two or three significant climbs the first of which started 3 km after the beginning and extremely steep, although not very long.
I have somewhat forgotten the scenery, but plenty of fields and country lanes, and very little traffic from the excellently planned route. Stopped for a particularly fantastic strawberry tart after around 20 km. Then the aches and pains start to set in. I tend to sit slightly wonkily on the bike, which affects all sorts of different muscles and locations.
One of the downsides of following the Garmin track that has been planned for us is that I do not really notice the place names! But we stopped at just over the halfway mark around midday for a large sandwich as a bakery and got a table where we could sit down for an hour or so to relax and rest.
The afternoon dragged on somewhat and my aches and pains got more of a challenge. Not sure whether they are a knock on effect of my various ailments, or just that I haven't done as much training as I should've done due to my bad knee. Although the bad knee has not been too bad! Once I'm off the bike most of the aches and pains disappear.
Eventually, around the 88 km mark. We reached a very steep and long descent, which was great, arriving at the hotel about 4:30 pm. Compared with last night's slightly tired motel, what a fantastic comparison, a small privately run hotel with a very switched on manager, a lovely pool in the courtyard.
Somehow, I need to find a way to take better advantage of the gaps in the schedule, but mainly I seem to spend time, washing clothes, and tidying up my messy suitcase!
Out for dinner at 7 pm with the whole team, which made a nice change, but also demonstrated the complexity of trying to organise a big group!
Plan of action for tomorrow, Tuesday, at 6:45 breakfast and depart around 730, so we get plenty of time on the road if we need it. Although the day looks relatively short, and not a huge amount of climbing.
Today's ride: 95 km (59 miles)
Total: 333 km (207 miles)
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1 year ago