Well the cycle-touring had to come to this - the last day.
The weather is pretty threatening today. Quite cool and storms. The sky looks blue, the direction we are not going and very dark grey the way we have to head.
Getting out of Libourne was much easier than getting in and soon we were out amongst the vineyards. Actually were were still within Libourne when we can the the first Chateau!
Being Sunday morning it was pretty quiet in the roads so the riding was good. We soon realised that we were going to pass just behind the storm in front, so our spirits were high.
We were not sure how we would go for food today as it was a Sunday and we were only going through small villages, so our plan was to stock at the first place we saw open. At St-Sulpice-de-Faleyrens we stopped and bought a few pastries to put in our bag and thought we'd chance our luck one more time for lunch. This paid off. As we came down to the Dordogne, for the last time, we came to a great little town of Branne. We spotted a contemporary looking patisserie so we were a bit nervous - funny how 'modern' just did not seem to be 'French' anymore. However, it turned out to be a great little shop. Fantastic macaroons. One of them was like a cake, about 30 cms in diameter. Coffee'd and caked we headed off to the next boulangerie (about 200 metres away) to get some baguette sandwiches to take with us. This place was really alive for a Sunday morning. There was a stall set up with the weekly seafood and lots of locals around.
Oh yes, back to the riding. Up the hill and we were heading towards the bike path into Bordeaux. This is a rail trail converted to a cycling path. The piste cyclable Roger Lapebie. It starts in Sauveterre-de-Guyenne and finishes in Bordeaux about 59 kms away. You can still see the stations as you pass. Some have been converted to restaurants and other uses. At La Sauve the station has been converted to the Office de Tourisme and a cycling depo (Point relais vélo).
Roger Lapebie was a legendary French cyclist who won the Tour de France in 1937 when he controversially used bike with a derailleur to change gears (they had not been used before).
After cycling over 2000km in France and about 24 km from the finish, we got our one and only puncture. As we got it fixed and were getting back on the bike we got hit by a rain squall and wind. It was sprinting (as much as you can on a fully loaded tandem) for about 1km and we were back in front of the shower.
Bordeaux loomed, and after one minor navigation correction we were crossing the bridge into Bordeaux just as another rain squall hit. These showers came with quite a bit of wind. We headed to the station - Saint Jean, for end of ride photos and celebrations.
It's been a great adventure
Now it's bike packing and the TGV back to Paris for two more nights and the LONG return home.
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