Cognac to Thiviers
My campsite was right on the Flow Vélo, and I knew for a fact that at least that stretch was gravel. I was determined not to set foot — or rather tyre — on gravel again after yesterday’s ride; my quads were still sore from absorbing all those shocks. Today I used various roads. Sometimes those roads coincided with the Flow Vélo. There was also a mysterious route 1617 Angoulême–Cognac that I followed; at times both routes were one and the same. I also had a GPX track downloaded from the official website. I’d used it yesterday. Today it frequently contradicted the signs on the road. Bizarre. In short, La Flow Vélo isn’t flowing for me.
I have a friend who lives in Angoulême. We met at a café and chatted for over an hour. In the process I consumed two large chocolate cakes and a couple of coffees.
I had considered staying in Angoulême but decided to push on to the next town Flow Vélo suggested — Marthon. No campsites. So I continued to the one after — Nontron. On the way I passed the scene of a motorbike accident; it didn’t look good: they were giving him CPR. Only ten minutes or so later I saw an ambulance heading that way — I hope they made it in time. It sucks to go down on a small road in the middle of nowhere.
When I reached Nontron, there were only 30 km left to Thiviers, the final stop on the Flow Vélo. It was probably the cakes and coffee talking, but I carried on. For no reason at all I decided to make it there by 5pm – just the kind of arbitrary deadline the sugar-addled mind invents to keep itself occupied.. I pushed hard. Almost made it — arrived at 5:06. The last 7 kilometres were all uphill, otherwise I’d have done it.
By the time I arrived it was too late for sightseeing — not that there’s much to see anyway.
Tomorrow: one day left, a beeline home.
Today in Numbers:
143 km — distance cycled
3rd — largest comics festival in the world (after Lucca, Italy and Comiket, Japan), held annually in Angoulême