Côtes, côtes, côtes

We were not the only riders out today

The dog

Limestone (sorry, I could have framed it better by getting off the bike and crossing the road but we needed to crack on)

Not sure what this is but it seems like a fitting flower to say "thank you" to Anna, my nearest and dearest, for all the support and encouragement from back home

The way I see it a côte is just like a col but with none of the glory. All the same sweating, crunching down the gears, frantic spinning of pedals but at the top there is no sign and no appealing gap between two mountains to ride through. Think 'hill', like the ones back home but much bigger 😞.  Today we have done no less than 11 côtes but not a single col. According to the captain's log we have ridden 186km and climbed 2232m.

Our route has taken us away from the big mountains and back into undulating countryside, with a mix of deciduous forest and pretty farmland. A couple of limestone gorges also featured - a particular favourite of mine.

Today's cause of mirth and merriment came this afternoon when a dog followed us into a bar. I imagine it latched onto us because it thought we smelled more interesting than another dog's private parts. I started to get the impression the bar owners thought the dog belonged to us when I was getting dirty looks each time the dog shot out of the open front of the bar, seemingly with the sole intention of causing traffic mayhem on the one way system outside. I expect by this time they were hoping we would vote for brexit and take our unruly pets with us (they had figured out we were Brit's by this time). Anyway, It wasn't long before we got a metaphorical tap on the shoulder followed by (in a French accent) "Monsieur, your dog, 'e is pissing on the flowers" . It would have been fun to play along as if the dog was ours but we quickly decided to come clean. Steve said something along the lines of he'd never come across a dog that could run 180km in a day.

Tonight we will kip (or try to) at a posh country hotel near to Mauroux.

www.justgiving.com/fundraising/100-cols-for-cancer