Grumpy Old Men On Bikes

We are now in Spain but there is one more point to make about France......jeez fuel is expensive now!!!! The French will protest about just about anything at the drop of a hat but the 'Les Gilets Jaunes' finally have a point.  if you pick the wrong motorway service station you can pay an eye-watering 1.7 Euros for a litre of diesel.  This is a scandal!!!! However, it has just occurred to me that, given the nature of their grievance, throwing petrol bombs isn't the most fiscally prudent form of protest. Anyway....on to Spain.   Having burnt about ten million euros worth of diesel we crossed into Spain mid-afternoon and arrived at our hotel shortly before 6pm.  We got into our jimjams and set the alarm for 2am and snuggled down.  When the alarm went off we quickly dressed and headed down for dinner.  We were till the first people in the place.  Luckily we were soon joined by a large and very elderly coach party who REALLY helped improve

The French have many failings. Don't worry, I'm not going to have another rant about the toilets but we all know about the armpit hair, shrugging and generally deplorable personal hygiene.  There are, however, some areas where the French have something to offer and motorways is one. We are on the main motorway running from Rouen to Bordeaux and it is the middle of the rush hour. There isn't a single vehicle in front of us and nothing behind us either. We have our own private road. Furthermore, the French accept what all right-minded people know.....that modern cars driven on modern motorways can exceed 70mph without immediate wholesale death and destruction. We have our cruise control set to 80 and are progressing smoothly, safely and legally. Today we have a mere 685 miles to do and this should deliver us to Bergos by about 6pm. Of course, since Bergos is in Spain, that will be about 5 hours before the first restaurant opens. I wonder

It is time to get some sunny cyling done before the legs wither and fade into pipe cleaners.  For the last couple of years I have organised a 1 week trip for friends.....exact membership of the group fluctuates but is based around some guys I used to work with and the Chard Massive.  This year we are heading to Portugal for an 'end to end'.  Plum and I are driving the support vehicle (aka 'Plum's van') down to meet the rest of the gang in Porto on Saturday.  We have bread pudding and Plum has brought both his CDs so the time should fly by!! Tonight we will stop in Rouen, where we will transform the electric beer fridge into a thing of loveliness.  Watch this space.