Fourques to Serignac, about 44 kms

Fantastic day. We spent a great night at Fourques with very hospitable hosts. Far too much to eat and drink. Set off about 8am on a bright sunny day. Trip was all along the canal. The surface is sealed(Tarmac) all the way protected from the sun by large shading plane trees. Really easy riding. We passed fields of corn, large orchards of apple trees. The canal was quiet apart from the occasional boat gently chugging by. People all very friendly with a cheery wave. Stopped for coffee at a canalside cafe and then went into a small village called Damazon. Lovely town square. Bought some pizza and pattisseries for lunch sitting on town Hall steps.
Biked onto Serignac to a lovely Hotel (Prince Noir) where Sue had a swim. Met some Kiwis who are travelling around in a barge.  Looking forward to another great dinner here.

Day one of our adventure

We got the train from Bordeaux this morning with all our luggage. 2 bikes folded in their cases and a trailer and 2 front panniers. I fetched a trolley from the station and trundled it back to the hotel to convey everthing to the station. The trip was easy wwith no difficulties getting the right train. Slightly nervous of our gear in the luggage part of the train but kept a regular eye on it. Got off at Marmande. This is really where everything that I had been planning needed to work. Got the bikes out of the bags,stowed the bags in the trailer and connected it to my bike. all the tools I brought paid off with easy connection of the hitch to the bike. Connected my Garmin etrex 20 to the handle bars and off we went. Although we were in quite heavy traffic initially once we got out of town there was an excellent bike track. We then diverted off the main road across country passing some old run down farms. Got slightly lost at one point when we went on looked like the proper road only to realise 10 minutes later that it was a dead end. Went across a dirt track to get back to the main road. We easily found Fourques and the B&B for the night. Lovely little village. The bikes and trailer all went well. Have adjusted Sue's seat for slightly morre comfort tomorrow I hope. Only a 10kms today but a great shake down for tomorrow when the real journey begins.

Arrived in Bordeaux

Flew to Bordeaux today and have had time to wander around the city. Very impressive with lots of history.

Trip to the Thames

A couple of days ago I cycled to the Thames with my sister. She then swam for an hour up and down the Thames as part of her training for swimming the Channel.
The bike ride was the first good ride  on the Brompton with about 40kms covered. My legs were aching a bit at the end. No real problems though, so it was a good workout.

The set-up

Here is my new bike with trailer attached. Looks good. Look forward to a trial ride tomorrow.

The journey begins

Just landed in LosAngeles. The Air New Zealnd plane looks pretty cool. Lovely day. Looking froward to getting through the next 12 hours.

Training session

Sunday morning, 38kms to red shed and back. Cool winters morning, so we are well wrapped up. 

 The training is not going that well with only about 2 weeks before our France tour. Our 5 day tour from Marmande to Toulouse is self-supporting so we are carrying our own gear. The first job is to keep it light but with conferences at both ends it could be difficult.
The maximum distance is on day 3 with 53kms from Serignac-sur-Garonne to Moissac. With all day to do it hopefully shouldn't be too bad.