September 20, 2021
Bordeaux to Paulliac (Médoc)
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Today we are moving on after three days where Bordeaux showed us her best.
Steve had discovered a broken back spoke -the cassette side of course- on his bike so our first order of business was to have it repaired. The shop around the corner opened at 10am Mondays and Steve was at their door as it opened. The heavily tattooed, bearded and pleasant young man there had lived in Montreal so after chatting about the pros and cons of cycling in Quebec and France, he promised to have the spoke replaced in one hour, tops. If you find yourself in need of bike repair in Bordeaux, we recommend le Repair and Run!
With the bike fixed, we were able to load up and just catch the 12:30 train. Our plan was to skip the suburbs and get back into the vineyards, this time in the Médoc region on our way to the coast. An hour later we got off at Paulliac. After a visit to the tourist bureau, quick lunch and tent set-up we headed out pannier-free (yeah) on a self-directed chateau and vineyard ride. Just to be clear, we were going for the scenery, not the wine tasting as we had not made any tour reservations as are necessary during the week. The route was certainly not what the tour companies would use as it started us on bumpy roads through a run-down part of town with nasty, barking dogs running to the edge of their fenced in yards filled with derelict vehicles. Then we climbed a hill, rounded a corner and arrived in picture-perfect wine country! The rest of the three hour ride was wonderful. For the final section back to Paulliac, the setting sun came out from behind clouds, the light was magical, the wind was pushing us home and this was the area with the most opulent chateaux. Full marks to the tour planner for the finish!
Another delightful day ended with dinner at the campsite where our pitch had the best view of the Gironde Estuary. The full moon rose over the water as we watched the ships heading for the sea.
Today's ride: 35 km (22 miles)
Total: 753 km (468 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 8 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 2 |
nice to think we shared it all these miles apart
hugs
J,K and B
2 years ago
2 years ago
x
J
2 years ago