Starting off on a gravel path from Arville to Angers it wasn’t long before we crossed the Loire river but not before Murray showed an amazing trick of having every light turn to amber as he approached it meaning only him, me and Vicky ever got through.

We had a bigger group today and we stopped to look at chateaux, churches and what might have once been a windmill.

The morning brew stop was right on the banks of the Loire and, as usual, there was a good range of snacks to keep a bunch of hungry cyclists going.

From the brew stop we set off at a good lick and soon had our fastest 5 mile section of the trip so far. This wasn’t to last long though as it was broken in the afternoon once Martin got going on the front.

The climb to the chateau at Saumur was a proper climb. First time using the 36 cog on the cassette (which Martin made use everyone in a 100m radius knew about).

Once past Saumur we were back to rolling road past vineyards and isolated farm houses. The last 20km to Richelieu were along a gravel bike path with occasional barriers on either the left or the right or sometimes both, like a chicane.

The day finished with beers in the local square before dinner.

A dry start to the day was a much better way to start riding compared to yesterday. My legs felt a bit tired, a similar feeling to after a cafe stop but they soon warmed up and get used to the idea that I was riding my bike for the 2nd day running. The 4 of us were keeping up a nice pace, not too fast but not idling either. The brew stop soon came around and I ditched the arm warmers for sunscreen; if this wasn’t going to bring on the rain then nothing would.

The whole day was one of rolling hills and long straight roads with the 4 of us cruising along chatting. The picnic lunch felt like more of a picnic, it was in a park and the sun was shining.

The hotel appeared sooner than we thought and we rolled in after a very pleasant day on the bike. The weather had been a lot nicer and this definitely made the day seem like less of an effort.

After yesterday’s lovely weather today started wet and windy and would stay wet and windy for the whole day. The traditional photo in our jerseys was hilarious as Rad gave us a countdown for us to unzip our rain jackets, he took the photo and we all zipped them up again.

We’d barely got going and my saddle height felt wrong. After stopping to reset it I found it quite a chase to get back to the group. I thought the group was a bit too big so pushed on and then found myself out the front on my own as none of Martin, Jasmine or Vicky had gone with me. Best laid plans etc…

The brew stop should have given us a good view of Mont St Michel but it was a vague shape in the dank grey sky.

After the respite of the brew stop it was back into the rain and wind to the picnic lunch. I am sure this would have been lovely on a nice day but in persistent rain it was more of a fueling stop than a picnic. My bike was filthy which is never good in my eyes.

Finally we arrived at the hotel. A hose was supplied to wash our bikes and I settled into the ritual of kit washing, showing and finding out where the bar is.

The weather was awful but it was a good day as I was finally starting the trip to Nice, I was riding my bike with friends I’ve not seen for ages and that made up for the rain and wind.

The overnight ferry from Portsmouth was the travel choice and I met Martin and Jasmine at the check-in/departure lounge. After a quick bite to eat we settled in the bar and let the others in the group know where we are. This resulted in meeting Colin and David as we left Portsmouth and headed out into the English Channel.

Although the cabins on the ferry were pretty comfortable I didn’t sleep particularly well whereas everyone else seemed to have slept like the proverbial log.

The crossing was smooth and then we had a day to kill in St Malo. Breakfast was followed by a gentle wander around until we could finally check in at 3pm.