Day 1 - Bordeaux to Villandraut

Sunday, September 6th

Route Map and Elevation Profile

The Ibis Styles hotel isn't five star, and isn't in an upmarket part of Bordeaux but it's well situated for a quick and safe exit from Bordeaux.

Everyone is keen to get riding, and most are ready to go well before the planned briefing and start time.

John is telling everyone about the ride in general, and the day in particular. Almost everyone else seems to be checking their emails, or Garmins, or both.

The group photo opportunity takes place outside the nearby main railway station - a better choice than I thought it might have been.

Then we're off - but first a photo of a nearby cafe brightly lit by the early morning sun. It's late summer, the sun rises late, and the air is crisp.

Someone says "follow the Australians" (because they know what they're doing (?!) and Tony D heads off in the wrong direction. That blows our reputation...

The first 40km of the day is on a rail trail so Bill can probably claim his expenses against his tax. The rest of us enjoy the very flat ride and the several restaurants and cafes that use former station buildings.

Our first stop, for coffee, is in Creon - the sun is shining and the square is lovely. This is the Mairie (Town Hall) and some of the group enjoying their coffee outdoors.

Tony D has tea instead, served in a pot that functions as both pot and cup at the same time. Is this a French invention? Sacre Bleu!

And why wouldn't you have tea in a Salon the The? Next door (out of site) is a bar setting up for a Sunday lunch of oysters and wine. Why couldn't we have arrived a few hours later?

The rail trail continues; Graham is delayed by our first flat tire.

The "designated" lunch stop (25km later) is Cadillac (yes, of American car fame). Apparently, there's an annual Cadillac car concourse in the town square.

Here! This is a multi-function building - Mairie above, market below, car fair beside...

If you ride through France and don't look left or right, you miss a lot...the owners of this mansion were probably still on holiday somewhere on the Cote d'Azure.

This is Bordeaux and there are vineyards everywhere. Sometime in the middle ages a castle protected the peasants who farmed these fields.

Every town has its church, and being Sunday afternoon, every time is almost empty. But that's what makes France so good for cycling - quiet, but high quality roads.

But not every town has an object quite like this on its outskirts. This is the entrance to a hotel, and we're about to arrive at our first overnight stop in the very small town of Villandraut.

Which also has its own medieval protection.

Our hotel - the only hotel in town, and the only restaurant in town...oh, and the only bar in town.

Every room is themed, rather than numbered, for some reason - this makes it very difficult to find your room. I got "African" with leopard skin bedspread and lion photo on the wall. They must have know I'm a Leo. Too bad they couldn't get the "free" WiFi to work - oh, that's why it's free...

No bar, but the local bric-a-brac fair has a pop-up beer hall. Eat you heart out Canberra.

The fair is everywhere, including right outside my window.

Ronald, the hotel owner, finally open the bar and we're happy, at last.

Ronald also cooks dinner for 17, being the only restaurant in town, and we're all happy...well, almost all.

It was a good start to a hopefully great ride.