I always wake up at six forty five, fifteen minutes before the alarm goes off, difficult to get rid of the working days rythm. after a basic breakfast we set out again along the same canal, though now for some reason it’s called Canal du Centre, through a grey foggy day with a light drizzle. it should be a bit warmer today, but I’m sticking with my four layers of merino and the rain jacket to keep dry. the canal here is wider than yesterday, bordered by trees and fields full of the famous Charolais cows.
after Paray-le-Monial the tow path turns into a D road with regular traffic, though we’re still able to cycle next to each other most of the time. the wind is pushing our backs and it gets warm enough to take of a layer (though not dry enough to take of the rain jacket) before lunch. we don’t encounter any open bars or restaurants, so we deviate a little to a bakery. we buy two chicken sandwiches and a brownie to share, finding a nice spot along a lake to picnic. sitting still in the wind is pretty cold, there is no sun out, so we only hang around for twenty minutes or so before setting of again.
in the afternoon the clouds slowly dissipate and we get some sun again, raising the temperature to about 15 degrees. we follow the D road by the side of the canal most of the way to Montchanin, there are no hills but even so we’re a bit slower than the days before, I guess we’re still adapting to the high kilometer count. we spot nutria swimming twice, about ten blue herons and dozens of birds of prey, additionally to the usual batch of small song birds and swallows flitting around.
- total distance: 365,6 km
- distance today: 69,9 km
- cycling hours today: 4:50 h
- average speed: 14,5 km/h
Febe writes 