28 June 2025 (sunny and extremely hot) 12km

Today is the eighth anniversary of mum's death. Some would say "passing" as if she's just flitted off somewhere, soon to return.

When she died I almost wanted some kind of "after death" connection or a sign so I knew she was still around in some way. But to no avail.

Funny really because it's not like I need that, to think of her often, which I do, but the relationship we had was and always will be special and the same applies to my Dad, who fortunately is still with us at ninety two. 

As I've aged, especially since the kids have grown, I've appreciated even more what my parents did for myself and brother Dave.

We never had everything handed to us, both mum and dad were very much working class, but we were always loved and enjoyed great childhoods.

So, thank you Dad for all you've done for us and here's to you mum, wherever you are.

Know that I love you now as much as I ever did, but miss your smile and our hugs and you'll forever be with me. 

Had a sleep in til 7am, then called Dave, who was with San at the New Plymouth club, watching the warriors get thrashed.

Great to chat, even with a poor connection.

We cycled past Pall Mall and Vine Street on our way to the Intermarche.

Into the village 4 kms away to buy our days supplies as we are staying put today, then moving on to Albertville tomorrow. 

Have you ever seen hydrangeas look this good? I guess it's because there's been no rain to ruin the blooms.

Julia really does an amazing job on mapping our routes.

Years ago, we just took main roads, but they are so busy nowadays and not enjoyable at all, as you are so busy concentrating on the traffic, that you see nothing of what you are here for.

We are travelling on country roads, gravel tracks and cycle paths. Sometimes, using Mapy, we get sent down a road to nowhere, but generally it's great. 

So now a shout out to Julia. I can't think of anyone else I know who would plan, map and travel as we do. After nearly thirty eight years of marriage, we still find it enjoyable being out in the open air together, taking photographs, seeing and having new adventures everyday. 

Breakfasted by the lake with a "just cool enough" breeze to keep us at a good temperature, whilst we ate our food.

Then we cycled around the small lake taking shots before going in for a swim.

Perfect.

Great way to round off the morning. 

And finally, to end my morning of reflection.

To our friends, some of whom are family, including our children.

You will never know just how important you are in our lives.

Yet you are the most important aspect of it.

We love you.

Some of you we may not see much, for all sorts of reasons, usually distance, but we still think of you.

Those we are fortunate to catch up with on a regular basis, don't ever underestimate what it means to have you in our lives. 

That for me ends my blog for the day.

See you tomorrow.😀

Ju here: A well deserved day off today. Had a fantastic day yesterday but realized we hadn't had a day off for two weeks and this current camp is awesome. So a chance to relax and catch up on washing and bike maintenance.

As we sit in the shade, enjoying the strong breeze off the lake, I noticed a small fin-shaped silhouette moving across the water and jokingly say, “Ooh look, it's a shark.”

Pete looks up from his breakfast and goes, “It's a bloody snake!” trying hard to put the kibosh on the lake swim I'm anticipating after breakfast.

We jump up for a closer look as it's moving more swiftly now, with a bit of red on it's head, glinting in the sun. 

I'm thinking I'm glad I didn't know this lake had snakes in it before I dived in yesterday!

We've got our cameras zoomed in on it's head to see if we can get a good look at it, but it's coming closer and closer to shore anyway.

That's because the wind is blowing it this way. Because it's not a snake. It's a green leaf with a scrunched dead brown leaf on top. 

Seeing as we have the day off and have spent the past three and a half weeks in France, it seems like a good time to reflect on what we've experienced in this country.

TOILETS: Well there is incredible variety here. You've got the old starting block squatters still around, especially in the villages. Then we have the classic bowl, but they don't want you to get too comfy as usually there's no seat. Also, don't wait until you're fit to burst to go to the toilet, especially public ones as they are often a) locked b) disused, no water c) too dirty to set foot in or d) no toilet paper. Often even campgrounds don't supply toilet paper in their toilets, like the one we are currently at. However we have discovered the disabled are usually provided for and so is the case at our current campground so the disabled toilet is our preference.

LANGUAGE: Not as big a stumbling block as it used to be, especially with the youngsters. We have only got the “nose in the air” attitude from a few older French folk. Often, as soon as we establish we are from NZ, we get a whole different attitude.

GROCERIES: a similar price to NZ really except beer and wine which is noticeably cheaper in the supermarkets. Unfortunately as we never know if a camp will have a fridge or not, we usually don't buy any alcohol from the supermarket. A cold one at the camps is usually $7 for a small bottle of beer and the same for a glass of wine. Last night though we got an entire bottle of wine for $12 and stuck two thirds in the fridge. It's no Church Road though!

ROADS and CYCLE PATHS: there are so many roads to choose from that we have barely had to use a main road at all. Most main roads also have a cycle path alongside. A lot of Frenchmen commute by bicycle, not so many French women do. Same with cycling as a sport, which they take very seriously. All the proper cyclists have ALL the gear to go with it. Just about every French cyclist is in a big hurry. Occasionally we will see a young woman on a city bike with a basket on the front with her shopping or beach bag. Older men also use their bikes to get the shopping.

FRENCH STYLE: A lot of French people do have an undeniable sense of style. I have been observing and wondering, how do they always look so good? Well, I have noticed not many women cycle, for starters. And if you do get them on a bike, they often don't wear a helmet, unless they are on a road bike. And then with their helmet and sunglasses on, nobody can recognize who it is getting sweaty and unstylish. 

When it comes to cooling off in hot weather, air conditioning is the method of choice. Then you can wear your cute clothes and not mess up your hair. If you are swimming, the head does not go under. Usually the hat and sunglasses stay on as well.

So there is a price to pay to look stylish, and as usual for this Dutch kiwi, it's too high a price for moi!

So after a relaxing afternoon, alternating between laying in the shade on the poolside loungers and cooling off in the pool, we were anticipating a chilled out evening. I had two thirds of a bottle of wine to finish and I was hoping to see some other cycle tourers roll up to share it with. Failing that, anybody who speaks English would do!

So about 6pm, we saunter back to the tent and while I'm collecting my now dry washing off the bushes, Pete starts cleaning the bikes? I know, it's an affliction. But I figure if I just let him get on with it, one day it will run it's course.

We love it when we come across campgrounds with these sloping washboards. Often they are stainless steel and ridged, but this one was a slightly roughened stone that you can rub your clothes on to get rid of ingrained dirt. And they work a treat, as you can see by the colour of the water.

Washing folded and I start stitching his front bag, which will no longer be waterproof after puncturing it with a needle several times, but hopefully it will at least hold it together for the rest of the trip. I figured my thread might not be robust enough for the job so used dental floss. We'll see how long it lasts.

Once I started, I realized the seams were splitting in three different places! Anyway, we're industriously working away when Pete says,

“I don't bloody well believe it! I've got a puncture!” 

Trying to look on the bright side, I pointed out it was lucky it happened at camp and not in the middle of nowhere with no shade. Apparently there is never a good time to have a puncture.

We got out our repaired tube and noticed the patch hadn't stuck down too well so we set about repairing both tubes while we were at it.

Of course these things always take longer than you think they will, so we didn't get dinner until 9pm.

It was delicious, as was the very welcome wine and beer. Had a chat with Dave and wrote the blog and then it was bed for us in preparation for setting off tomorrow.