Not so hot today, but extremely windy.  I was so cold starting my ride just before 9:00 that I stopped to put on my rain jacket as a wind-breaker.

I had a pretty ambitious route planned, going north/northwest to Ligne, then Charme, then east/southeast to Lonnes.  I was already getting tired as it seemed that no matter which direction I was riding I was facing a fierce head-wind, or at the least a cross-wind.  

I took a short-cut down to Fontenille, bypassing Juilie, then decided not to continue east to Bayer and Aunac but headed south instead, meeting the road that goes back to Chateaurenaud, right across the river from St Groux.

I still rode over 30 km – not as far as I’d planned but due to the wind it felt like twice that.  The scenery was, of course, beautiful – pretty villages, fields of sunflowers, barley, corn – the usual.  

I had volunteered to gut the sardines we’re having for dinner – I used to be a pretty good trout gutter, and I always bought whole kalamari for my greek feasts so the idea didn’t make me squeamish.  There were 14 of the little things – each about 5 or 6 inches long, and I used the same technique Dad had taught me when I was young. Sharp knife under the gill – off with the head, then point of the knife at the end of the belly down near the tail – slice all the way up and scoop out the guts with my fingers.  I also removed the bones as they came out easily attached to the spine.

Neil manned the BBQ once again and we enjoyed a really nice sardine dinner with greek salad, fresh baguette and a fairly decent tzatziki (not my home-made, but tasty none-the-less).

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