Jour huite – Le singe et dans l’arbre.
Given we arrived so early at Rocamadour, our midway point, courtesy of missing out Brantome the day before (very pretty but I’ve been there before and the other two have seen pictures now!) we have almost an entire afternoon to relax, recuperate and partake of or our tipple of choice which is now routinely Leffe Triple. It feels good to be off the bikes even for a short while.
As you saw we had a fantastic and self congratulatory evening overlooking the medieval city of Rocamadour and then turned in around 9ish (we are just too cool for school aren’t we!). The campsite we are staying in (fortunately at the very top of the city not the bottom!) is in a place called “Le foret des singes” (yes real singes in the middle of the Dordogne….who knew!) and it’s ok but probably only a 6/10 in the shower department which is the all important overriding consideration when you are cycling from London to Monte Carlo. So over dinner we have a discussion about whether or not we should use our rest day to actually take some more miles.
Every church bell in Rocamadour rings (loudly) at 7am and so even though we are awake from then on there is a proper frost on the ground for the first time so it’s a good while before we actually emerge and start the day. I do manage to get out and take some early morning photos of Rocamadour ….
….and I pop into the shop to buy breakfast. It is an indication of how tired I am that it’s not until I get back to camp that I realise I have brought four pain au chocalat, an extra one for some unknown ghostly cyclist? Who knows.
Yes it is this cold…..
Anyway first job of the day once we are up and showered is a weeks worth of very stinky washing….
Whilst the washing dries we take a stroll down the hill into the city for a coffee….
…where we decide that once the washing is dry we should head off and find a campsite with higher rated showers.
We fill up on ham and cheese baguettes and head off (on our rest day just to remind you!!) towards Gramat and Figeac. We stick to main roads but the scenery is no less beautiful….
When we arrive in Figeac we find the touriste information and ask about local campsites. Unfortunately most appear to be closed and the nearest one is another 15 miles away!
We make a quick stop at the supermarket (Carrefour this time, we like to mix it up a little from time to time) and then press on.
By the way if you are interested to know what a trois hommes shop looks like, feast your eyes….….it’s a lot of extra weight!
At somewhere around 1800 and having covered 42 miles (yes, I am going to say it again… “ON OUR REST DAY”!) we arrive at Camping Roquelongue which is a 2/10 from me but I have to concede the showers are a very welcome 9/10.
Over our pasta dinner we talk about whether or not we might try and take a day out of the schedule tomorrow and get all the way to Mende (our planned day 10 stop not day nine). It will be a big ask but we all agree to give it a go….let’s see how we get on!
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Ps….we had to wish a sad farewell to a valued member of our team today…..goodbye red spork, we salute you.
