From Caen, I went east toward Mont St. Michel, camping in the municipal campground of Vire. The next day was my longest day of riding going past an ethereal Mont St. Michel and stopping at the small village of Le Vivier sur Mer, which is right on the Baie Mont St. Michel. I had a great ride around the St. Malo peninsula and ended the short day at a converted hotel in Plouer sur Rance, where I spent two lovely nights with my host Olivier.

From Plouer sur Rance, I started moving south. I spent a night in a very old house in Vitre with a lovely family with three cute kids. Then it was a long, rainy ride to Angers where I partied until midnight and then slept in a deserted flat. I got off late the next day as I waited for a break in the rain. I spent the night in the tiny village of Saint-Paul du Bois after the only hotel in Vihiers turned out to be full.

The next day's ride to Niort had periods of rain so heavy that I had to take shelter under trees along the way. But, during the ride, I crossed path with two older bikers who turned out to be twin brothers. One of them invited over to his place for lunch. Even though he and his wife spoke minimal English, we managed to have interesting conversations over lunch. All this time spent not riding made the ride to Niort long and late. But Maxime, my host in Niort, was so nice that he didn't mind. He even let me stay another day at his flat, even though we hadn't discussed it before hand.

I left Noirt early on May 19. Maxime had to leave on a business trip by 7:30am so I had to get up and out by then. I followed a main road for quite a while and then headed off into the countryside. This was the first time I saw my favorite wildflower, the red poppy, on the side of the road. I took many "roadside flower" pictures. The countryside was mostly farmland and I took even more pictures of fields of flowering peas. I went in and out of small forests and followed a few streams. My destination for the day, Angouleme, is on the La Charente river and I followed it has it meandered toward the city. I crossed numerous ponds and bridges that were too pretty not to photograph repeatedly. Unfortunately, on my way into town, I tried to go up a French curb cut and both me and the bike went down hard. I cracked several ribs, needed stitches in my elbow and had a huge hematoma on my hip. I had to see a doctor and was in severe pain in the side of my chest. Coughing was hellish. Little did I realize that the fall was the start of a two-day Kafka novel.

Due to the accident, I spent a rest day in Angouleme. It got so bizarre, that at 9pm I left my host's house and, in major pain, coasted down the cobblestone roads to find a hotel. None were available. My bike and I had to take a taxi to the nearest hotel, where I greatfully spent a restless night.

I had no idea if I could ride my bike or not. I managed to get on the bike and discovered that, in fact, I felt much better on the bike than off it. I had trouble actually getting on and off the bike, but once I was pedalling, I didn't hurt too much. I managed 35 miles. It was a hard, but sunny day that ended in a nice hotel in the quaint small town of Saint Severin.

Every day, I was feeling a bit less pain and getting more confidence. My goal for this day was to reach the Dordogne River. Since I didn't know if I could make it, I left my destination open. In the afternoon, I found a wallet on the highway and stopped at the tourist information office to turn it in and get some suggestions on where to spend the night. I decided to get a reservation for Limeuil, a village on the Dordogne river and managed to arrive about dinner time for a day total of 65 miles.

Now that I knew I could do a "normal" touring day, I wanted to take a day of rest. I planned a "short," 30-mile day. However, I didn't realize it involved a good deal of climbing in light, but steady rain. Nonetheless, I found a very nice two-star hotel in Sarlat, where I would spend two nights.

Saturday is Sarlat's main market day and I wondered around in the rain buying all kinds of vegetables for the meals I planned to eat for lunch and dinner. I greatly enjoyed wondering around the old streets of Sarlat, looking at the booths, tasting a few things, and doing a lot of smiling. Of all the places I would be on my trip, Sarlat is the only place I had been to previously; a memory that prompted the return stay.

On Sunday, I took the bike path out of Sarlat and road along the Dordogne River for the entire day. It was threatening weather all day and it rained hard for the last two hours of my 60-mile ride into St. Cere. I was cold and wet when I finally found a hotel in St. Cere's main square.

I had planned another "short" 30-mile day over the hills of the Dordogne River valley toward the Lot River valley. While this route was hard uphill for 23 miles, the valleys and views it afforded were simply stunning. I ended the day in Figeac, just as a major storm started.

I had been told to get the stitches in my elbow out in 8 days. The TI has found be an English-speaking doctor and made me an appointment for the next day. The doctor didn't take out the stitches and insisted I have an X-ray, which required a trip to the hospital and 56 Euros. The exam was negative and I left Figeac in the driving rain about 1pm. My goal was to get to the Lot River and to ride along it as far as I could. In addition to spending time under bus shelters and trees, Figeac is in a bowl where all roads out are up. I made slow progress and when lightening flashed right above me, decided to quit for the day after only biking 12 miles. I spent the night in a pilgrim's dormitory.

The next day started with sunshine and I made my way to the Lot River, which was a raging, brown torrent, and rode along it all day. My goal for the day was Espalion, but I got there early enough to go further. I spent the night at Saint Geniez d'Ort.

I had to leave my hotel by 8:30am for some reason and was quickly climbing the hills outside Saint-Geniez d'Ort. It was a mostly up and down day. I rode through some beautiful scenery to the top of the Gorges du Tarn, which was magical. When I arrived at the head of the gorge, Sainte-Enimie, it was 4pm and I decided to ride through the gorge then, instead of waiting until the next day. It was a ride for the ages! I spent the night at Le Rozier.

I knew this would be a tough day as I had to get up and over two 1000 meter cols. But, first I rode through the gorge of the La Jonte river. It was wonderful but in a different way than the Gorges du Tarn. Climbing out of this gorge was all up with rain as I approached the top of the pass. I went down into some sun and then had to climb up to the Corniche des Cevennes. It was more than I could do in a heavy rain and I had to walk the last mile or so, soaking wet. I ended the day far down the way in St-Jean du Gard.

This was the last day of my bike tour. For the most part, it was a flat ride through farm fields. Toward the end of the ride, I had to get over some deserted hills that were a final reminder of what bike touring is all about. I arrived in Avignon about 6pm.