Tonight I am in Reims, capital of the Champagne. Choosing an aperitif was a no-brainer. Reims has a stunningly beautiful cathedral and stupidly constructed cyclelanes, not to mention a hair-raising busy provincial road leading into town: only two lanes, no shoulder to ride on and lots of trucks. One would think that a country that hosts the world's biggest bikerace (and I rode part of a stage in opposite direction today) would take better care of its cyclists. Bonne nuit!

Today's route hadn't made it to my gps and I wasn't feeling up to 155 km anyway so I decided to reroute myself to Sens. Made sense to me...It was very cold and cloudy to start, but once the engine got going after about 30 k, I started feeling surprisingly strong. In the place I had lunch the owner's son was wearing a shirt from the Selecção and I took this as a sign to push on beyond Sens. Bit of a slog at the end but I made it to Nogent-sur-Seine and rode the distance I did not feel up to. The upside of not planning where you sleep in advance...

A ride through a forgettable, rural, part of France. After the bigger hills (still did about 800 m) my friend the wind - cue Demis Roussos - was in my face again. So much for thinking that after the hills things will get easy. After 136 km and almost 6h on the bike I ended up in Cosne Cours sur Loire. Tomorrow morning the temp will be in the 10C range - I've already laid out the kneewarmers! Best!

A great day on the bike...

Yesterday afternoon/evening I wasn't feeling too strong. The effort of the climbing had gotten to me, and I had made a mistake in taking a lunch that was a bit too light, followed by a late afternoon binge on crisps, a banana and a liter of fruit juice before dinner. I decided to follow the advice of Joop Zoetemelk, that the Tour is won in bed, went to bed early and slept for about 9.5 hours. This morning I felt good and set off early after breakfast. It was cold (I could see my breath as condensation) and so I donned extra sleeves and a windvest and set off. Of course I immediately had to climb, but it was a nice climb and I reached the highest point I will reach in France, at 746 m above sea-level. No sign or anything, just a line on the road with markings for the TL (tour de Limousin?) that I have seen a lot over the past two days. At least someone recognized it as a climb ;-)
Even though there was some tiredness in the upper legs the rest of the day went great. The sleeves came off at some point but the vest stayed on for the descents and before I knew it I was in Chambon sur Voueize, where I had lunch in the restaurant of a lovely hotel called Les Estonnieres. I talked to a French (f)-Italian (m) couple who offered me a glass of wine from their bottle which I kindly refused - Dutch courage is not something I need on the bike. They divided their time between Le Creuse and Charleroi in Belgium, where he (had) worked. She was a languages professor and an Esperanto enthousiast. It would be nice if it caught on - but I think it won't - as I have some difficulty juggling languages on the trip. The conversation was in French by the way.
The last 27 k to Montluçon posed no big problems (like French drivers returning home after sunday lunch with a little bit too much wine) and I finished feeling good after 109 km and over 1100 m of climbing (with a net descent over today's ride).
Checked in at the hotel; washed my cycling clothes and myself and had a quick lie-down on the bed. Not exactly the pro lifestyle as there is no-one to do the laundry for me, or wash my bike, or give me a massage, but then again I can stop whenever I feel like it and am not subjected to gruelling stages and the risk of pile-ups etc...Now it's time for some quick sight-seeing, dinner and another early night - recovery is something I take very seriously.

Today I had to climb. A lot. I'm not 100% sure but I think the 1540 m was a record for the trip. The French have been kind enough to just now repave some of the roads with tarmac with a gravel topping. A lot of loose gravel makes for harder climbing and outright terrifying descending. Again beautiful views, and the temperature has dropped to a level more befitting excercise. Stopped in Peyrat le Chateau. No chateau in sight, but a beautiful lake surrounded by hills. One of which I undoubtedly have to climb tomorrow...

Today I spotted the first Dutch cars on the road. This area, Lot and Dordogne is very popular with tourists and I can't blame them. Beautiful countryside. Of course that means hilly, but most climbs were long, steady and gentle. Tomorrow may be different as I will be heading into the Massif Central. For those of you following me on a map: i'm in Brive la Gaillarde. Take care!

Back on the road. After some relaxing days in Toulouse thanks to JC and Anita, and Pierre and Petra, I had a relaxed flat first 70 km with a bit of tailwind. The last 40 k were harder which was basically my own fault - a lot of food during lunch on a very warm day is not a good idea. I'm now heading north, today's stop is in Cahors.