It rained last night, I didn't get wet but my cycling clothes that I left outside to dry did. It was also a cold start to the day so there's nothing like putting on cold wet clothes to start your day! I had a friendly bit of company for breakfast in the shape of a meerkat who wriggled himself into my tent and just sat and watched me eat the rest of my cheese and ham sandwiches.
My ride started with a steep hill climb and then evened off into a nice rolling road for as far as the eye could see. When the road is a good as this and the weather slowly warms as the day progresses, thoughts have normally turned to finishing and what I may feel like. Today though, and yesterday for that matter, I haven't thought about finishing at all. It seems the closer I'm getting, the more focused I'm getting on not making any mistakes and so thoughts of finishing haven't been able to creep in and distract me.
The road and the hills got a bit more aggressive which I much prefer as targets that i set myself are closer and you can complete them more regularly. I had a very unglamorous stop for lunch at a petrol station. If you're thinking that this cycle touring lark attracts all the good looking ladies out of their places of work to stand on the roadside, throw underwear and cheer me on then you are very much mistaken! Today I sat on the floor next to a smelly bin and ate sausage and chips from a "fast food" joint inside a Shell garage because they didn't have any benches to sit on.
After lunch the road got a bit harder, the cycle section ceased to exist and the material of the road was a lot more coarse. As I battled uphill against a headwind a car pulled up in front of me and a man got out and leant up against his boot and waited for me to cycle up to him. Jacques waved me down because he was a keen cyclist and he just wanted a chat. I didn't mind as it broke up the hill and we stood for about 10 minutes talking. He gave me his card and said if I got into any trouble at all I could ring him as he didn't live far from the area. After that he got in his car and drove away. I absolutely love stuff like that, I have to be honest and always think initially, here we go, what's going on here then! But I always leave the conversation happy and pleased they stopped.
I carried on just another 10 miles to my planned destination of Colligny where I couldn't find anywhere to stay. I saw a signpost for Colligny Hotel but cycled along the main street (looked like the set of a Western film) and couldn't see anything, not even a guest house. I cycled out the otherside and asked a man cutting the lawn outside the church for directions to a place to stay. He directed me further down the road to a campsite around 5km away. I knew I had to turn right at Colligny and so if I was going to cycle to this campsite, I would be going further out of my way. I wasn't keen on that. I turned around and cycled back down the main street to see if I could see a sign for the hotel. Sure enough I did, there was only one sign facing one way and I stumbled upon what was arguably the best hotel room of my whole ride!
The place was pricey but it was the only place in town and the room, sorry rooms, were amazing! I had a twin room with a partitioned seating room and a separate en suite! High ceilings, sparkling bathroom with shampoo and body wash dispensers and every TV channel known to man made the perfect end to a previously standard day.
If the room was like this, then I literally couldn't wait to see what the breakfast was like tomorrow. 4 days to go and I was still getting surprises and excited feelings as if I had just begun!
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