3 - LeHavre - Louviers

May 23
130 km

Today we began cycling. We started with a trip to the beach for a wheel dip and photo opportunity. Al got a bit close and "dipped" his feet in an especially ambitious wave.

We stopped at a boulangerie to pick up some breakfast and lunch, and then hit the road. Unfortunately, the maps I have are not very good with city street details, and we rode in circles for about half an hour. Eventually, Al decided that we should just head East to get out of the city, and figure things out from there. This worked perfectly, and we rode along on some unknown road for several hours. (We knew the direction was right by the small town we passed.)

The weather was great: sunny and 75F. Terrain was pretty flat and no wind. Lovely. The scenery wasn't great because we were mostly on industrial-type sideroads. I miss the perfect routes that Bike Adventures always seemed to find the last time I rode with them across France. But route finding is fun too. The system that works is to steer yourself from little town to little town.

Our accommodation had bunk beds tonight. Al is open about his desire to "be cheap" on the trip, so we looked several places before finding a good deal. The only restaurant nearby was "Buffalo Bills3. As you might guess, its not exactly fine French food. Al and I are getting along well. I do the navigating and ride in front (which I like). The only trouble is the Al is riding a bit slower than me so far...especially on any uphills. Partly its because he has a heavier bike. But I suspect its mostly because he did not train at all (not one ride) before coming to France! He did get here a week early and went out 4 times, but I think he still has not found his legs. The result is that we were on the road from 10am to 8pm...and my butt was not too happy with that. Lets see how the legs feel tomorrow.