At one point in the night it rained so hard it was almost as if someone had turned a tap on, but by the time I got up it had slackened. I actually thought it had stopped but when I took Missy out for a little walk I found that it was coming down almost sideways as a very fine mist.

We found out that the route for the men’s race has been changed because of the amount of water at the bottom of two of the planned climbs, so to make up part of the missing 50 km they’re now going to do nine circuits of the last 14 km instead of seven. The race will be a little shorter than the original route, but we get to see them nine times!

The rain started in earnest again as we ate breakfast, so I’m not planning any long walks today. The campervan is snug and warm – the only thing we’re missing is the tv as we’re close to trees and the satellite can’t find anything. We do get updated commentary from cyclingnews online, and Anthony next door has a tiny tv in his vw van that gets a signal via an aerial rather than a dish.

Because of the unrelenting rain we decided not to put the flags up, with the exception of my maple leaf – I improvised and attached it to the bike rack with some clothes pegs.

We have more than one course marshall with us to warn the riders of the upcoming steep downhill and sharp corners.

One of them had forgotten his whistle so I went inside the campervan and retrieved mine – Colin had gotten it for me last year and it’s now attached to a Tour de France ribbon.

The rain never did quit so to avoid getting my camera wet Colin held the umbrella so I could stay dry while taking photos. The first couple of times the racers came around there was a breakaway that included Canadian Hugo Houle.

Each time the race by came there were fewer riders, as more and more gave up when they passed through Harrogate. At one point my camera stopped working – I wondered if the battery had died, but I had just put a fully charged one in so that couldn’t be the problem – actually the memory card was full! I’ve taken so many photos this trip I’ve filled up a card – luckily Colin had an extra one that works for my Canon, so I was ok.

After the shrunken group had passed for the ninth and last time we all crowded around Anthony’s van to watch the end on tv. Sagan had left it too late and a young Dane, Pederson ended up winning. Of the 197 riders that started the day in Leeds only 46 finished the race – a very brutal world championships!

Rather than waiting until the roads reopened and fighting the extra traffic we had already decided to spend another night in our little pullout and get an early start home in the morning.

It rained off and on all night, and at one point a bird (or something) tried to peck its way inside but gave up after awhile. And we now have a pet spider in the bathroom and I decided to let him live – he’s just under the mirror and mostly is staying in a corner so for now at least he’s safe.

After our usual morning tea I had a bit to eat then took a walk down the hill from where we’re parked. Right before the bottom there’s a sharp left bend, then a narrow stone bridge before a sharp right bend – perhaps a good spot to take photos from.

The elite women race today and will be covering the circuit three times, with the elite men tomorrow doing seven rounds.

The english bloke in the vw van next to us needed Colin’s battery jumper to get his van started – he thinks his fridge ran his battery out. We’re very fortunate that Colin’s van has not only two solar panels but also gas for the fridge.

Our friendly neighbour is a very keen cycling fan, especially the british teams including the dreaded team Ineos (formerly Sky) – I kept my mouth shut for once and didn’t even mention jiffey bags or huffy-puffies.

For a few hours the men’s teams were going by on practice runs – some of them three or four times around. I took a walk up the road just before noon – we’re not that far down from the extortionist cricket club grounds.

Just past the grounds is a sharp corner that the racers will be coming around, and straight ahead is the side road that leads to the village of Beckwithshaw. There were course marshalls there who told me that there was an nice little pub right across from the church and they do an excellent Sunday lunch, although you should book ahead as it’s very popular.

They closed the road to traffic right at noon, even though the race isn’t expected to arrive for the first round until at least 2:30. The sun was trying very hard to overcome the clouds and I’m optomistic that the race won’t be done all in the rain, although it is very windy.

I have been wearing my winter coat, and glad of it – I even had my icelandic wool hat on in the morning, although I’ve managed without gloves or boots. After we’d both had lunch we got our cameras and things together, said goodbye to Mo who had to stay behind in the campervan, and headed down the hill.

We intended to get to the stone bridge, but were thwarted by overly zealous course marshalls who told us it was an ‘exclusion’ area and we couldn’t go any further. We ignored them and continued on down the hill to the first corner right before the bridge.

We were then told by another marshall that we would be ok as long as we stayed just before the corner, but shortly after that another even more zealous marshall made us move. We ended up following another fan around the corner and across the bridge, which was where we had really wanted to be to begin with. We once again saw the photographer with the big hair that we’ve seen several times now going back to last year’s Vuelta a Burgos.

We found a nice spot just after the bridge and settled in, along with a nice british couple that had run the same marshall gauntlet as we had. We had a short wait before the first racer reached us – a lone Dutch rider quite a ways in front of the rest, with her lead growing each time they came by.

After the last rider passed we hoofed it back up the hill to the campervan and Colin struck up a long conversation with another brit – it turned out that they knew a lot of the same people and they had a good chat while I warmed up inside with Mo.

We had a lovely dinner of salmon, mashed potatoes and sugar snap peas, then another early night.

We had a few fairly quiet days, going out for one nice ride to Droitwich. We took what was supposed to be a back road that turned out to be quite a bit busier than expected due to roadworks on another route.

We ended up at a nice coffee shop in one of the main squares, sitting and visiting at an outside table with a friend of Colin’s. When I went inside to order our cappuccinos I was shocked by the cost – they were very large, but we’re not used to paying nearly so much.

Riding back I split off to ride the canal while Colin and Mo continued along the roads.

We had planned to leave on Tuesday morning to go up to Yorkshire in time for Wednesday’s men’s ITT at the world championships in Harrogate, but Colin started to feel poorly – he must have picked up a stomach bug or something.

We’ve contented ourselves with watching most of the races on tv, and I haven’t been for any more bike rides because of the intermittent rain. Mo’s feet seem to be almost all better – she no longer minces her steps when she walks, thanks again to Nova Scotia Fisherman’s Rescue Balm.

We got up fairly early on Friday and packed up, but at the last minute decided not to bring the bikes. There’s nothing but rain forecast for Yorkshire so we likely won’t be riding anyway.

I had a very good map of the race route for Sunday – all of the road races are using the same finishing circuit that ends in Harrogate, they just do it a different number of times. We followed part of the circuit, saw a couple of likely places to park, then went to find a store – which wasn’t easy.

Harrogate looks like a lovely town, but there was no where for us to park and half of the roads were closed for the races. We ended up going to the nearby town of Knaresborough where I spotted a Lidl’s out of the corner of my eye so we were able to stock up on supplies. We also took the time to have lunch in their parking lot before heading the few miles back to Harrogate.

Getting back the the area we’d chosen wasn’t easy as the gps kept trying to take us right through the town centre with all of its closed roads, so we eventually just headed south a bit towards Leeds before making our way back to the circuit.

We arrived to find the road still closed – we even saw the last few Under-23 racers pass. The course marshall wasn’t able to open the road for almost 45 minutes, and by then there was quite a lineup of increasingly impatient drivers behind us.

Finally we were let through and went straight to the cricket club that was right around the next bend. They were letting campervans park in their field but when we heard the price they were asking we turned around and went further down the road.

The was a small pullout area next to an old stone wall in front of a farmer’s field and with only one VW van there we had lots of room.

After a very refreshing sleep and a lovely hot shower we headed to Droitwich so I could see Colin’s dentist about my ‘fang’. Luckily the root was intact and nothing had abscessed so she was able to just go ahead and repair it. It took about half an hour and she didn’t even have to use any freezing.

Originally Colin was going to give me a gyrocopter ride in France for my birthday but I chose instead to get my tooth fixed. It looks beautiful and I no longer need to be self conscious about the gap.

Leaving Droitwich we drove up to Solihull to meet Colin’s friend Kay for lunch. I’d met her last year in Italy so it was nice to see her again. We had a bit of a time finding parking for the campervan so ended up using the Morrison’s parking lot.

We went to a lovely Italian restaurant, Carluccio’s, and it was a good choice, and because the dentist hadn’t used any freezing I could do more than just eat soup with a droopy lip. I started with the tomato bruschetta and it was delicious – piles of red and yellow cherry tomatoes on crispy garlic toast topped with a piquant vinaigrette. For my main course I got the Chicken Milanese, which was very lightly breaded and fried to a crisp golden brown. Both dishes were excellent, and were washed down with a lovely Sicilian red.

After lunch Kay showed us where the Apple store was, then took her leave. The place was super crowded, and there was a lineup down the mall of people waiting to get a new iphone 11. Luckily we didn’t have to wait in that line, and there were lots of young geeks to assist us.

Colin already kind of knew what he wanted, so came away with an iphone – not the new 11 – and an ipad. The ipad is small, but not quite a mini. I was looking for a new keyboard case but had no such luck.

We stopped on the way home at a large ‘pc world’ but they didn’t have keyboard cases at all, and the fellow wasn’t really very helpful.

The next morning I rode my new bike for the first time and was it ever great! A friend’s little boy had a soccer game and we rode over – with Mo in tow – to watch. There were only a couple of small hills on the way but I tested the motor out and when it kicks in – wow – what a difference.

I can see myself in the Alps just racing up the Stelvio or the Galibier….well, maybe not, but at least I’ll be able to keep up with Colin and Mo now.

The soccer game was fun – they were playing a team that was one year ahead of them so Colin’s friend’s son, being his team’s goalie, got lots of action.

I got quite a few shots of him jumping, diving and lunging for the ball – he’s pretty good and directs his defencemen with confidence.

When we left the field I chose to get onto the canal path that is accessible right by the fields, while Colin took Mo back along a different route.

Oh! – the canal – how I’ve missed riding along it! There weren’t that many people to dodge, although I do wish we’d taken the time to put my bell on. I used the motor again at each lock, even though I could have done without it – it’s so easy to engage, or change the power. You can ride without using the motor, of course, but if you do use it there are four different levels of power.

In the afternoon we went out in the mini, leaving Mo at home watching a car race. First we went to another computer place in Worcester, that once again didn’t have any keyboard cases for either of us, although the fellow was quite helpful and checked with the closest other branch they had and told us they had some that would fit Colin’s new ipad but not mine.

We drove to the other store and Colin was successful, but as now expected I went away empty handed. Returning home Colin dropped me off while he went on to get some groceries and I went in to check on Mo as she’d been alone for awhile. She hadn’t been a happy little girl, and we’re a bit concerned that her tummy might be upset again.

We had a delicious salmon dinner with new potatoes and salad. No good movies or anything on so another fairly early night.

Another nice breakfast with Tony and Helen, with more fresh croissants from town, then we were on our way again just after 10:00.

Heading northeast we once again took our time, stopping for a bite to eat along the way and passing through the town that William the Conqueror was from.

We arrived in Dieppe around 3:30 and walked along the promenade to a nice looking cafe where we stopped for a drink in the sun.

After lunch we parked along the seashore and I took a little walk to look at some of the memorials.

They love Canada here and the memorials are very moving – once again I cried like a baby before drying my tears and and taking some photos.

We left for the ferry just as the sun was setting.

Our ship left right on time at ten minutes to midnight, and was half empty. The food in the cafe actually looked quite good, but we each only got a small salad and a few fries. After eating we settled into the lounge chairs to try to get a bit of sleep but I knew it would be fruitless.

The chairs only reclined about two inches, and they didn’t ever turn off the lights. There also was a group of people sitting in some other chairs in the next section and they talked very loudly and excitedly the entire voyage.

We docked right on time – 4:00 UK time, which meant it was a five hour journey. As we were waiting for the door to open to the car decks I noticed a stack of forms that non-EU residents need to fill out so I quickly grabbed one so I’d be ready, and it was a good thing. The border fellow asked me a few questions, such as how long would I be in england and where did I fly into and when, but then said ok, handed my passport back and let us go.

We decided to get going right away to our next destination of Farnham, rather than get a bit of sleep first. It was a good decision as they were doing roadworks everywhere and it took us longer than expected.

We still arrived a couple of hours before our appointment so I tried to get a little sleep – I feel a bit zombie-ish. The bike shop opened at 9 but our appointment wasn’t until 10 so we still had to wait.

Right at ten we buzzed the door and Martin showed us in and took us upstairs. Colin had done research and had already picked the bike so we asked a bunch of questions and Martin made sure they had one in stock. It’s a beautiful Cube electric bike with a Bosch motor – so I can keep up with Colin and the Mobile, ha ha! We joke that it’s my christmas present for the next ten years, but seriously it’s incredibly kind and generous of Colin and I love it already even though I haven’t ridden it yet. It looks a lot like my Cannondale in size, shape and colour, and has fenders, a rat-trap and back panier holders.

It was going to take an hour ot two to put the bike together for me so Martin gave us a map of the area and we headed out to find a place to have lunch. Mo was still being carried most of the time, although the Rescue Balm seems to be doing wonders healing her foot pads.

Just after we finished eating the bike shop called – my new bike was ready! We hustled back to the shop and I got a little lesson on the workings of it from another young fellow, then we packed it into the campervan. We also took an empty bike box so I can pack up my beautiful Cannondale and take it home when I go back.

When we got to Worcester we were both quite tired, but we unloaded the campervan and plugged my new bike in to complete charging. Colin took a quick drive to the Bull and brought back some fish and chips for dinner. I was hungry and did enjoy the food, but was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open – early night.

We woke in time for a nice cup of tea in the campervan before Colin walked with Mo into the town to get fresh croissants for breakfast. We took the croissants into the house and had a lovely breakfast with Tony and Helen, complete with yogurt, homemade jams and homemade bread.

Shortly after breakfast we all got into our riding and gear and prepared to go for a ride. Just as we were getting on our bikes the rain started – very fine, more like a heavy mist than rain.

We ended up on the trail, that actually runs all the way from Caen in the north to Mont St Michele in the west, then down south to La Rochelle, all along an old rail bed. The trail is very nice to ride on – smooth and wide, unlike the bear trail in Spain. And as long as you watch out for the odd pile of horse shit it’s great.

Poor little Mo had a mishap along the way – she somehow got under the front cover of her chariot and ended up on the trail trying to run along behind the bike. She was still tethered in so couldn’t just stop running and it was a few minutes before Tony noticed and shouted at Colin to stop. Helen and I were quite a ways behind and hadn’t seen anything until we caught up and Mo was back in her chariot with her poor feet torn and bleeding a bit.

We kept riding on our way, generally slightly uphill, to the town of Neufbourg where we had lunch. We chose an outside table and it was a bit chilly but at least we were dry. We all got one of the daily specials – I had eggs mayonnaise as my starter, followed by a main course of roast pork with fries. It was tender and very delicious.

The rain had stopped and the ride back was mostly downhill. Mo didn’t seem too bothered by her torn feet, although she did walk very gingerly. I put some of my Nova Scotia Fisherman’s Rescue Balm on them and it didn’t bother her at all.

Since it was still pretty early Colin and I took a walk into the town, with Mo being carried to spare her hurt feet. There was a big boules (petanque) tournament going on – it had started in the morning and was getting down to the last few teams.

We walked around the town a bit then sat down at an outside table at a nice little bar where we had a refreshing beverage – or two.

Since we’d had such a large lunch we had a simple dinner back at Tony and Helen’s – carrot slices, cheese, more of Helen’s delicious homemade bread and a couple of other small things.

We didn’t stay quite so long as last evening and had a pretty early night.

We got going at a really good time – it was just after 9:30 when we hit the road. Since we weren’t in any great rush we avoided the main roads and had a nice relaxed drive, arriving at Tony and Helen’s house in Sourdeval well before dinner.

Since we had time Colin, Helen and I took Mo for a nice walk along the trail behind their house and into the town.

There are lovely flower baskets and arrangements everywhere – the town is very pretty.

There’s an exhibit on in front of the city hall with photos from the war – the town was liberated by the Americans a couple of months after D-Day, and had suffered great damage, as did all of the towns in the area.

Dinner was excellent – roast chicken legs with home made fries, and we stayed afterwards for hours visiting. Mo was not happy, however, because since Tony and Helen have a cat Mo had to stay in the campervan by herself – we could hear her barking as soon as we left the house.

The mornings have been beautiful – sunny but not terribly hot. Colin and Neil went for a couple of bike rides while Mo and I stayed home and did yoga and several loads of laundry. We also got to work cleaning out the campervan – stripping beds, rearranging the Mobile so it’s now underneath, sweeping, etc.

Over the days we visited both bars for coffee, etc, and enjoyed Friday night meal at the Penalty bar. The portions of steak were huge so I’m glad I had the help of three dogs or I never would have finished mine.

We watched the Vuelta each afternoon – it looks like young Roglic from Slovenia might actually pull it off.

The local campground, run now by Cassandra’s brother Laurent, is staying open an extra two weeks since the weather is so nice and they’re still busy, both in the campground and in the restaurant/bar. We chatted for a bit with Laurent’s girlfriend, who is british, and she told us that after the campground closes they go to the Alps where she manages three chalets and Laurent runs a nightclub.

One night we had another one of Neil’s excellent bbq’s featuring burgers with cheese, mushrooms and onions, and a nice side salad – all washed down with some of our last rioja.

One day I went in the morning to request a rotisserie chicken from the new shop on the main street but was told ‘no – they are all reserved’. Apparently if you want one on the weekend you have to ask for it at least a few days ahead of time. The place always seems to be busy and I’m very happy for them – next time we’ll plan ahead better.

We got up and going very early after a very rainy night. Little Mo, after seeming to have recovered from her tummy upset, is now scratching fleas that she picked up in the farmer’s field. The first evening here Colin got over 10 off of her, and now the count is up to about 40!

We headed north towards the coast, most of the way in pouring rain, then east, noticing we’d crossed into France only because the road signs were different. We didn’t go very far after that, stopping at the lovely little campground just outside Souraide that we’ve stayed at a couple of times now.

I had a very nice hot shower while the wind started to pick up, making it back to the campervan before the rain started.

We had a really good dinner of salad with fried chicken strips, then turned in early after the long drive.

It rained off and on during the night but we weren’t in such a hurry to get on the road as yesterday, leaving around 9:30.

We took the motorway up to Bordeaux, managing to skirt the city right around noon without much slowing down.

We arrived back to Mansle in the early afternoon, and it turns out that Neil Sr. had also returned from his trip. We started a couple loads of laundry and relaxed a bit, then ended up going to Tony and Joyce’s (Neil’s ex-inlaws) for bbq dinner.

I’ve met them several times already, and we’d brought back a couple of cases of Rioja for them from Spain. They’re always nice to visit with, and dinner was lovely – pork chops, sausages, fries and salad, all washed down with an excellent beaujolais. And the best part was dessert – rather than sorbet I opted for the fresh figs in amaretto – a bit sweet but totally delicious.

Even with the duvet on top of my sleeping bag I was a bit chilly in the early morning. It hadn’t rained but everything needed a bit of drying out. Luckily we weren’t in a hurry to leave, and even watched the day’s stage on tv at the campground’s bar. There was actually a bit of a crowd watching with us – the owner was kept busy.

Once the race on tv was over we headed out, going east a bit, then north to get on a side road. Traffic marshalls were already out controlling who could go where up the one road – we were directed to parking area 8, which is a farmer’s field several km up the mountain.

We were happy to pull in and pay the small fee, and after getting settled we walked back down the road a few hundred meters to the cafe/bar we’d passed. They had an excellent Rioja that went down very smoothly.

Scrambled eggs with bacon and onion for dinner, then an early night.

The morning was a bit grey, but it hadn’t rained. After our morning tea and a bit of breakfast we walked down to the little village again, and someone hailed us. It was a fellow that had been at the same lovely campground we’d been at near Foz last week! It really is a small world – he and his wife live in a house right up the hill from the bar.

We sat down at an outside table at the Casa Angel bar/restaurant and soaked in the sun and the atmosphere. As the afternoon progressed it became more and more busy, and cyclists by the dozens were going by us up the mountain.

At some point we decided to just stay put for the race – it was so nice where we were, and the gathering crowd was great. They had the race on tv in the bar so we knew the exact progress and when they were getting near.

There was no caravan today, as I don’t think there’s any room for them to park at the top, which is about 23 km of brutal climbing above us.

The small breakaway reached us at 4:48, followed by another small group, then the peloton. A few stragglers passed just after 5:00.

Once the riders had all passed the crowd moved indoors to watch the last bit on tv . The bar was extremely crowded so we checked out the restaurant, which had much more room – we even got a table.

I must say that the bar staff was just excellent – I’m not sure they realized quite how busy they would get, but they and the kitchen staff hustled their butts off and it was great. I think that several of the locals also pitched in from time to time when things were especially hectic so it was really nice to see.

We didn’t stay too long afterwards, but went back to the now deserted farmer’s field and had hamburgers for dinner. Not wanting to drive down the narrow road at night we were the only ones left in the field until morning.