The final leg, Bordeaux to Angers!

Angers!

The ten day forecast called for: Two days partly cloudy, One day heavy rain, One day thunderstorms, Four days rain, Two days rain with strong wind.  As you could imagine I was syked to be about to bike through all of it.  The one good thing coming from the storm front was that it was coming from the west creating a south, southwest wind that would aid me along the way. 

Day 14: Bordeaux to Mirambeau (74km)

 It was Saturday the 17th, and as I sat in the breakfast area of the little hotel in Bordeaux sipping on my coffee, contemplating the weather forecast, I decided to ask the owner what he thought of it all.  “Today, it won’t rain today,” responding in a way that would make a non-believer believe, not even showing a sign of doubt in what he said.  I listened to what he said as I watched the live feed images of the storm front hitting the western coast of France, and all I could do is hope he was right.  Finishing my coffee I slowly loaded up my bike and made my way out the front door.  As I had found in Barcelona, the hardest part of such a bike tour is biking out of a large city.  An hour and a half later, and many wrong turns, I was finally on my way out of the city.  Once out of the city the coast was clear, though the always-present storm clouds were looming off to the west.  As they got closer and closer I rolled the hotel owners words over and over in my head, it won’t rain to day I said to myself, trying to give myself some sort of reassurance. About two hours in I took a turn slightly to the east and it was as though I had sprouted wings, picking up the full force of the southwest winds.  This wind that I did not calculate into my time travel cut so much time off that days biking, that it actually put me in Mirambeau three hours before my accommodation was even open.  As I sat reading under the shelter of an awning, with the light sprinkle of rain coming down, I reminisced the words of the hotel owner, and was happy that his forecast was more accurate than the one presented from the use of millions of dollars of equipment.

 Day 15:  Mirambeau to Saintes (45km)

Day two of part three of my trip would set the precedence for all the days to follow…. Waking up to the sound of rain.  As I opened my eyes I heard a refreshing sound, as drops of rain broke against the window.  Then I thought, well, not so refreshing knowing that I will be biking through this all day long.  It was a short leg that day, so I looked at it as a good chance to test out the new biking rain poncho I had bought in Bordeaux.  To my surprise the rain only lasted for an hour or so and then turned to scattered clouds and light winds, not bad considering the consistency of the rain I had awoken to.  I rolled into Saintes, a small historical town, early, around 1:30pm or so, leaving me once again to wait outside for the youth hostel to open up at 6pm.  While I was waiting, I experienced an absolute torrential downpour, five minutes of nothing but rain as an over loaded cloud passed by.  I was happy when 6pm rolled around and I could unload into the shelter of the hostel room.  I set out my equipment to air out and then checked to forecast for the 19^th… Heavy rain, Strong wind…

Day 16:  Saintes to Niort (70km)

 I woke up on the 19^th and to my surprise I heard nothing, it was absolutely calm, no rain against the window, no wind battering against the side of the building.  I immediately jumped out of bed and rechecked the weather forecast for the day.  The forecast had not changed, but as I looked out the window I could make out patches in the clouds where the sun was trying to break through.  The night before I had decided I would spend an extra day in Saintes to wait for the weather to blow by, but looking at the promising conditions out my window I decided to load up and hit the road.  I knew my weather window was small, and that I would have to really peddle hard in order to try and beat the oncoming storm.  I made it almost 30km before the first set of rain clouds finally ran me down.  Due to the fact that the clouds were mainly moving from west to east, I thought I could get out in front of them, just to the north, but as luck would have it, the wind changed coming from a more southern direction pushing them right on top of me.  Day three was a full day of come and go rain clouds, which all in all was not as bad as what I thought I was in for.

 Day 17:  Niort to Bressuire (62km)

 Another day of morning rain and scattered clouds.  The ride was not hard, but I definitely noticed the slow decline in strength that was creeping up on me.  The rain, wind, and January temperatures were slowly getting the best of my body and wearing me down, bit by bit.  Once in Bressuire I was only two days from my goal, and was starting to see that all so glorious light at the end of the tunnel.

 Day 18:  Bressuire to  Doue-la-Fountaine (46km)

 I woke up to believe that I was in for yet another day of constant drizzle and wind, but to prove me wrong the weather took a turn for the better.  As I got up I could see that it was raining outside, but by the time I had my bike loaded and was on the road the rain had passed and the sky’s had open up.  I could not believe it but it was actually warm enough to ride in just my winter biking bib and a long sleeve jersey, absolutely incredible.  I knew I did not have far to bike so I slowed down my pace and soaked in the incredible sunny winter conditions I was experiencing.  I rolled into Doue-la-Fountaine nice and relaxed after such an enjoyable day on the saddle.

 Day 19:  Doue-la-Fountaine to Angers! Last day (40km)

The date was January 22^nd, the final day of my first solo bike tour, and winter bike tour to boot.  Needless to say I was ready to bike in whatever conditions I woke up to.  Due to such glorious weather the day before, I think Mother Nature wanted to have one last go at me, so she threw a day of rain my way for me to finish off my voyage.  At this point the rain was no bother, it did make navigating a bit difficult due to the fact that I had to keep stopping to clear the lenses on my glasses, and I did get lost for just a short bit on the outskirts of Angers.  But, as I rolled into Angers stopping at the cities entrance sign, an overwhelming sense of accomplishment overcame me.  There I was, alone, after traveling over 1,000km solo on bike, and I could not help but shout with joy.  I was not shouting anything in particular, or to anyone, and I’m sure all the people around looked at me as though I were crazy, but I had to release all the emotion I had inside, and all I could do was shout out with enjoyment.  Barcelona, Spain, to Angers, France, I had done it.  It has been an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.  Along the way I have met many wonderful and interesting people, whose stories I shall not forget, nor the kindness that they have shown me.

 Thank you to all those who have supported me throughout this trip, your words of encouragement not only helped me along my way, but fueled my heart and soul.

Praying to the weather gods.

Two days to go...

Outside a chateau in Bressuire.

 

Gotta love it when the sun comes out.  The second to last day of the tour, just outside of Doue-la-Fountaine.