Day fourteen

 

I leave the campsite near Vienne at 09:30. It's an easy and enjoyable ride all along the River Rhone for most of the way to Valence. I even pick up the EV17 on occasions, which will eventually take me all the way to my destination in Spain. I hope to find a campsite outside Valence towards Montelimar but Google search produces only questionable campsites, one has very bad reviews and none were on my route. I carry on through Valence in the belief there must be something the other side but the long straight road out of town is just a line of industrial buildings and I am squeezed between a main road (N7, which I think I am on) a high speed railway track, an auto-route and the River Rhone. I curse the fact that it seems impossible to find a simple B&B these days or even a small hotel. The 19:00 deadline passes when most campsites seem to shut in France so I start looking for a place to wild camp. I have enough water but as usual my batteries are low and it would mean that by midday tomorrow I would no longer be able to navigate easily and would have to rely on signs and the sun. Wild camping also does not look too promising in this region. Ahead I see a large pizzeria and a hotel sign and decide to check in. 

One reason for checking in to a hotel this evening was that yesterday my feet and ankles were very swollen. The previous campsite had a small swimming pool and I decided to cool my legs off in it. However swimming costumes were mandatory and I had no trunks with me. I asked the receptionist if I could just sit on the edge and dangle my feet in after taking a shower. Oh no that was not possible and that after I had paid the highest fees so far for their campsite and eaten their crap fish and chips. Had I had my wits about me (which is rarely the case) I could have detached the lower half legs of my trousers and said it was my swimming costume and she would have been none the wiser. I only thought of that in bed later and considered doing it in the morning. Meanwhile I decided to take a cold shower to cool my legs but that was also not possible as they only had hot showers. In the end I risked the outrage of other caravan campers by sticking my feet in the washing sink. However as all campers know the water only last a few seconds and I was soon at risk of becoming the camp ogre.

Next morning I could not be bothered with the hassle and even omitted my usual shower, allowing me to leave earlier than usual. I had at least managed to wash my trousers and cycling shorts. However my cycling shorts were still not dry this morning so I left wearing my undies. By mid afternoon I was really suffering but by now my cycling shorts were dry so I looked for somewhere to change. I finally managed to change while hidden down the Rhone river embankment. Oh boy and what a relief! Never do a tour like this without cycling shorts. I would not have been able to ride tomorrow in undies that much I do know.

In the end I managed a record 80km today so a hotel seemed like a reasonable reward for a successful day.

A bridge over the river Rhone but I forget where this was and a few interesting feathers collected along the way to add to my collection at home.