Day 4 - Extended Epic

 

Well, after 3 nights of trying I finally landed at a campsite with a restaurant and a bar. So that precluded the evening cultural experience wandering the streets. So if you’re into that sort of thing, Parthenay dates back to medieval times with some of the original fortifications still intact. It sits above the river Thouet. 

I took in most of this when I came through last night although I was a little weary for photos. 

Speaking of weary, after a plate of barbecue chicken & pork with salad & chips, followed by a tarte & ice cream and the obligatory local vin rouge, I headed to bed. Hard work this cycling lark, and I was conscious that Day 4 was similar to Day 3, but potentially tougher. Sleep was in order.

After a fitful nights sleep I awoke to another blue sky. The forecast suggests that this may not last so I was grateful, even though it likely meant another day of water hunting. Part of me has to admire a nation which has more places to get your hair cut than it does places to buy water. The other part of me is becoming a tad infuriated with it.. 

After a pastry packed breakfast I got on the bike and once more headed south under a cloudless sky. It was already warm and only a little after 9am. My grumbling legs needed to warm up though so I wasn’t complaining - yet.

Despite the uphill start I soon made good progress through some beautiful quiet and rural scenery. I had planned to stop at the village of Lusignan however there was nothing doing for those who wanted more than a haircut. I made the decision to try to press on to L’Isle Jourdain which theoretically was 50km away. 

Stopping at Gencay for a water top up I continued making good progress until I realised that my route had taken me south of L’Isle de Jourdain. Following instinct I turned left and followed the road down to the river Vienne. It was around 1:30pm so on the cusp of being out of luck on the food front - having ridden 105km already I was in no mood to leave empty handed! I found a beautiful restaurant overlooking the river and tried my luck.

“Fini” said the lovely lady

“Sad face” went I

“Chicken and chips?” Said the lady

“Happy face” went I

And it was fantastic.

The detour had been well worthwhile although retracing my steps for 6km back up the hill made me question my own sanity. 

Once back on the route, the general plan was to follow the Vienne upstream. I say “general plan” since although the route followed the general path of the river, it by no means hugged its banks. This meant hills. Lots of hills. No sooner had I dashed down, I was back up the other side. With the temperatures in the mid 20’s again, and with little breeze to cool things down it was cooler to keep going than to stop. The scenery was much the same as the morning but with the obvious ingredient of undulation. I think I was flirting with the Massive Central, and it was ominous. How I wished for the relative serenity of the Loire.

After 40km I arrived at the end of the day’s stage. It was just before 5 and the campsite and town looked a little small. I’d ridden over 150km by this stage and wanted to be assured of a cold beer and a big plate of food. Fearing there may be neither, I consulted the guide book and did the only sensible thing: ploughed on for another 15km to Rochechouart, where I was assured of a 4 star campsite. Immediately I was into a (Garmin) classified climb. A yellow one, which I’m calling a Cat 4. Shortly afterwards, another one. I was beginning to question whether this was a good idea, but I knew that Rochechouart was on the river, and with now 6km left the road had to go downhill at some point. 

Sure enough, I eventually rolled into Camping de la Meteorite (there is a reason for the name) a broken man. I couldn’t tell you how much my pitch costs, I stopped listening when I spotted the beer fridge. The chap on reception kindly booked my into the restaurant across the road and left me to find a pitch. 

What a day. 

Still wondering about the Meteorite? 200 million years ago, one of the biggest meteorites ever to hit the earth landed 4km west of Rochechouart. It was 1.5km in diameter, weighed 6 million tonnes and travelled at a speed of 20km per second. Although the 20km meteor which it created has since eroded, the moonlike rock has been used in the construction of many local buildings, including the château. So there you are. 

Tomorrow - the Dordogne. Thunder storms are forecast.