Today is the day. I'm finally off on my own in a different country with no nipping into home on the way , no girlfriend for support and no being able to speak the language. A very slow pack up today. I'm leaving things of no use with Maddy and taking things off her that might be more use to me. Eventually ship out of the campsite about 1:30 and wobble off to Gare du Nord via a map shop and a battery charger shop as the camera battery charger has packed up. Find the maps but not the charger. Will have to get busy with the broken one and see what I can do.
When we arrive at the Station the unhelpful assistant tells us we will have to pack the bike up, not only that but its miles away from the check in desk. Fortunately Maddy is prepared for this sort of thing and has got us to the station nearly two hours before lift off. We eventually find the bike bit and are told that the luggage cant go with the bike. All of this info would be nice to know before you travel, are you listening Eurostar. We pack all Mads stuff on to my bike and her arms. And trot back to check in. I kiss my darling goodbye. I'm so proud she made it, its the most miles she has ever done and the most wild camping. So big up to Mountain Goat. Happy Birthday, see you in October.
Paris like a lot of cities but not really any in the UK has a habit of having all the hoover shops or hairdressers or pc shops or fancy dress shops all on the same road or in the same area. Finding the battery charger road proves more than difficult but of course it lies on my route out of Paris. Unfortunately they want 22 euro for it and I have two sat at home doing nothing so I resist. Off out of Paris I go but me being me I refused to buy a detailed large map of Paris as I only had a few kms to go before I started on my next map. The tourist map has served us well but has now run out and the photocopy of the europe road atlas has nearly all of France on two pages, not exactly detailed.
I head out on Avenue Damusenil and through the Vincennes Bois and through to Fontenay. All my Paris boxes are now ticked. The boulevards are wide the sun is shining and I'm feeling up for it. People are exercising and taking in the evening air and before long I'm leaving Paris Behind and heading South East towards Provins. Unfortunately there are no sign posts to town Richie is going to and the map is not much help so I just follow the compass in a vein hope I find a road I can see on the map.
Fuelled with fresh figs and broken biscuits that somebody at the campsite didn't have room for I march on regardless until I come across Bossy-St Leger, I recognise the name and the road is on the map. As I pass out of the town I see the race course and realise why I have heard of it. This makes two French race course I have seen, Longchamps being the other which was just behind the campsite. I'm now going in the right direction and stop for water at a petrol station. My gps is able to tell me what time sunset is and I decide to see how far I can get before dark. I eventually wind down a farmers track which intersects a bike path running along an old railway line between two towns. I find a decent bush and make camp behind / in it and wait for darkness to descend.I'm hot and sticky and don't bother with dinner. I have a face wipe wash and retire.
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