Our host provided a nice breakfast and more conversation. She was British but had been in France for 15 years. She rode her horses all around the area.
It was cold when we started out. The sun was trying to come out and when it did and the wind let up it was pleasant for a few minutes. I put another layer on and kept it on until after lunch.
We rolled through farmland with a few ups and downs. After a few longish climbs we had some long fast descents. In Montbron we stopped at a bar for a cafe and chocolat. The locals were drinking cafe but a few already had beer.
After a little climb out of town we had a long downhill to the river. The town at the bottom had a pizzeria so we had lunch there.
The rest of the day we were on railroad trails - it must have been a tiny train based on the little tunnel we went through. We also went through a lot of suburban villages. The route got quite twisty.
Aidan got a flat which I quickly patched sitting in a bus shelter. Two patches on that tube now.
Then we were in Angouleme's industrial area and outskirts. The road got bigger and the traffic got faster. Mostly there was a bike lane but it vanished sometimes.
One thing I have not mentioned for fear of jinxing us is the tire situation. Two days ago we had several flats and an exploding inner tube. We rode all of yesterday and most of today on patched tubes. My rear tire has held its patch for over two days and Aidan's front tire now has two patches.
I mention it now because I now have extra inner tubes. As we came into town I sent Aidan on to the hotel and I made a side trip to a bike store. We now have the Michelen neither of us wants to try and two new ones. I also got a glue patch kit. My postage stamp patches are holding but they are more likely to fail.
Before dinner we walked around and the cafes that had any sun were packed. The French want to be out on the streets but you can tell by the shivering they expect it to be warmer right now.
Dinner started with a massive appetizer we split. We could have skipped dinner after it but we took our two hours and finished. Aidan even had dessert. I think we have been spending 3-4 hour a day at meals.
We have a plan to do a few extra kilometers tomorrow. Aidan is going to catch a train to the next town. We have 3 riding days left to get to Bordeaux. From here it is 200km by the EV3 route. There are trains available for the first 30km tomorrow and the last 50km into Bordeaux. That means Aidan needs to ride 40km each day. This is doable.
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