Aug 26 - more on the ride

I suppose that with the list of Controls beside me it would be easier to write things in order but random thoughts come to mind as I'm sitting / driving / walking.

Seen on the road -- with so many people riding, it's hard to believe that you'd see anyone, however there were some chance encounters ... mostly people who had started with the 90 hour 6pm groups (left between 6 and 8 pm), catching up to them along the way.

Tim Bol -- we saw him after one Control on the way out. Tim's a 50.something hour rider normally but he had committed to riding with some newbies and getting them through.

Jim Solanick / Paul-on-the-fixie -- I saw them when they were still outbound as I was heading back. They'd left with the 6am 84 hour group. They did not see me. They are both from south Florida.

Alain & Vita -- we did see them a number of times, having caught up to them at Loudeac. They started at 5:30 p.m. with the "special" bikes, since they have the tandem.

Phil Creel -- saw him at an early Control. Phil is from SC and I've seen him at each Shenandoah

Pete Dusel -- early on as well, rode with him for a few minutes and we chatted. Pete is the one who runs the Brevets out of Ontario NY.

Marcia -- don't know her last name, Pete's support driver -- saw her at the second- to-last Control (control before the end). It was a large room and I was eating my breakfast, looking around to see if I recognized any faces and there she was a few rows over. I went over and joined her and her companion. They were tracking around the course with Pete.

One thing about the ride that made it interesting is that the hills are not so steep that it eliminates tandems and recumbents from consideration. They would blow by me heading downhill or on the flat and then I'd overtake and pass them heading uphill.
There's more ... but time is passing. What I need to do is carry something on which to make notes -- have Blackberry handy perhaps.

Oh yes, one thing worth mentioning -- coming into Villains au Jouel (sp?) as we turned the corner there were hundreds and hundreds of people having a street party welcoming the riders. Dancing, announcements, music, with the bikers path cordoned off like the Tour de France. Also like the TdF there was one of the big over-the-road arches. When I turned the corner and saw this I immediately thought-- what, am I finished ?

All in all it was a great experience. Sandy asked if I'd do it again ... perhaps. The next time I might focus on completion time since this is definitely one ride where a lone rider can do that.

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We're back in a Mercedes Class A. The Europcar agency didn't have the car that I'd rented so we're back in this car. He did give us another car, since the lighter / power jack didn't work in ours and I'm using our NAV and need to keep cell phone etc charged.

We left STQ around noon, heading for Dijon or thereabouts. It was raining and rained throughout the day and into the evening. We stopped along the road to have lunch at one of the service centers, which are extremely well equipped. The French eat practically gourmet-style on the road ! Wonderful sandwiches, espresso/capuccino, salads, grilled foods etc. -- no Subway for us this trip !

We drove the first while on the A6 Autoroute, paid our toll and then set the NAV to "avoid tolls" to drive country roads. We chose Nuits St. George as our destination and drove on roads not much wider than the car -- much more interesting than the high speed highways. I can drive highways at home, and do.

We found a hotel right in the center of town which upon entering, Sandy said "I won't stay in a one-star" to which I replied - since we walked through the rain to get here, let's at least look at the room. Well, it was fine and we took it. Sparsely equipped but clean and cute, it was perfect.

Also perfect was the restaurant that we found just down the street. Our day was done.

Onward !