August 6, 2023
Paray-le-Monial to Bourbon-Lancy
The campsite was a hive of activity when James and I surfaced for our coffee with all the tents coming down and everyone heading off. It seemed like there was no one around yesterday, but today they all were.
It was another rough getaway. The cold, wind, and intermittent showers are not helping anyone's mood. We thought we had it sorted with Tobias riding out of the campground himself, but then it started raining and he lost it because his bike was getting wet. A still-warm pain au chocolat from the boulangerie down the road fixed that and surprisingly we made it 12km along the canal to Digoin before we stopped for lunch. The wind was cold and unpleasant so we didn't stop for too long before getting on the road again. Tobias wasn't quite ready to go to sleep, but quite happy in the trailer so it was a good way to cover the ground.
We joined onto the EuroVelo 6 today so our route was pretty simple along a canal. Maybe we are just suckers for punishment but I actually found it a bit boring. The strong headwind didn't help, and the moody skies made the shut up factories a bit creepy. Give us sunshine and clear days and perhaps I'd see it differently. In any case it was nice to just ride for a few hours and get lost in my thoughts for a while without having to entertain anyone or think about navigation. We have less than a month before we fly to NZ to start our lives up there again, and essentially only 2 weeks of riding left.
So it didn't really seem to take to long to cover the 40km until we had to turn off up the hill to Bourbon-Lancy. To our surprise we ran into the French couple from the campground last night. One of them had blown up a bit after their big day yesterday and they altered their plans and were checking into a hotel tonight. James shared some of the lollies from his handlebar bag and we wished them a good sleep in a proper bed!
We were the second cyclists to set up in the cyclists field at the campground tonight, though we were joined by 4 more groups before we got our tent up. Our big tunnel tent feels a bit vulnerable in this wind, but it's well pegged in so should be fine. James and Tobias went to watch the men's world championship road race in the common room while I finished up. I got talking with our neighbour who happens to be from Alexandra (near us) in New Zealand and we later worked out that she knows James' cousins and uncle well. Its a small world.
It was still early so we went for a ride round the lake to the playground at the other side before cooking dinner. Keri joined us and we chatted about our route so far. She set out from Paris only 3 days ago and is heading to lots of the same areas as we've been.
We're dealing with annoying but normal 2 year old behaviour at the moment where Tobias has decided he doesn't want to go to bed at night anymore. For at least a year he's just gone to sleep when we put him down and leave the room, but he's recently decided that that's not for him. Its a bit annoying to deal with in a campground and when we are all tired from a long day of cycling so I hope he grows out of it soon.
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Today's ride: 45 km (28 miles)
Total: 2,709 km (1,682 miles)
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