It was raining when we left the room to go to the motel restaurant for coffee and a croissant. It wasn't raining hard but drops were coming down. As we drank our cafe and chocolate we watched the rain in the parking lot. It looked like it was giving up. We got another late start after 10:30 but it wasn't raining when we left, just wet.
The area we were in was very suburban but going back to the route took us through some of the much nicer old town. We stopped for a pastry where we met the route.
The ground started drying out. There were lots of puddles and some soggy sections for the rest of the day, but no rain. It was cool enough I rode with my jacket until we stopped for lunch.
Mostly the route is along the river but it detours slightly to take you into these older downtown areas above river level so you can get food and coffee.
It was a mix of roads along the river with large houses on one side and walking/bike trail. The road surfaces varied a lot and often. Forest path, groomed trails, roads - the worst to the best. There were also a lot of car barriers and some required a full stop and a walking shuffle to get around. We started noticing EuroVelo 3 route signs and began to realize those were better to follow than the computer route.
We raced boats on the water and lost to large barges but did beat one rower. Sure he was a kid of 14 but we passed him.
The route detoured into a town just as we were ready for lunch and 2 blocks off the route we found some sort of an Asian fusion/French place. The sun was out and it was warming up.
At one point we tried using a rope from my bike to Aidan to get a little extra speed. It sort of worked but every time the road type changed or we got to some rough road we had problems. On a long, good surface it could work well. Without a lot of effort I can up the speed from 12 to 20 km/h.
Around 3:30 Aidan was getting tired and it was time to figure out a place to stay. The nearest hotel was about 20km and he wanted a little closer. We found a little apartment about only 10km and booked that.
As we rode into the town of Samois-sur Seine up a bit of a hill we realized this was quite a cute town. Our little apartment was 50m from the main square. It also has a washing machine which is great.
After cleaning up we went to the square. There were two restaurants and a bakery. We ate at the Italian one and it was quite good but we ordered too much food.
Aidan ordered Teramissu for dessert. It was quite good and he enjoyed it until he finished it and he started having an allergic reaction. He has some food allergies - most strongly nuts. Desserts are often a problem because they will use almond shavings as a garnish on cheesecake and that is not listed in the menu. The reaction passed so he didn't think it was nuts. Looking up some Teramissu recipes it was probably raw eggs. The yolks will give him a mild reaction that passes
As soon as I was sure he wasn't going to go into anaphylactic shock (he never has, he just barfs) I went to bed.
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