John and Ann arrived on Wednesday, flying in on Ryan Air from Stansted to La Rochelle.  It’s a tiny airport where you can see passengers disembarking from the plane on the apron.

We spent a few hours looking round the town and having lunch before heading out to the airport – it was a lovely sunny day so we sat outside at the cafe (moules frites for Derek and goat’s cheese salad for me), did the town walk suggested by the nice young man at the Office de Tourisme and ended up sitting by the harbour with chocolate ice cream.

We drove home and had hors d’oeuvres on the patio followed by several more courses indoors.  Derek provided lemon sorbet and Limoncello!

Today is a public holiday (May 1st Labour Day).  Local people sell bunches of Lily of the Valley so we bought some – they smell fantastic.  Derek cycled round to the boulangerie for baguettes and croissants and then we set off for a walk in the Mervent forest.  It was a bit muddy in places and showery but we made it back to the car for sandwiches and tea.

A quiet afternoon – lots of tea, a stroll around the village and supper at home.  Derek and John are planning a bike ride tomorrow.

We are back in The Vendee and are really glad to be staying put for four weeks after so much travelling around.  It was absolutely brilliant seeing Blandine and David again – catching up, going for walks with Indy and enjoying Blandine’s cooking.  After lunch, we set off for the final four hour drive to La Grange – the barn conversion we stayed in throughout November.  It was an easy journey on the peage via Bourges, Tours, Poitiers and Niort.

It’s ten degrees cooler than we’ve been used to lately and a bit rainy but Derek is still optimistically in his shorts.  We’re unpacking, catching up with admin and off to the supermarket this afternoon.

The drive from Beziers north to Nevers was a stop-start journey.  First we branched off the main road to look at Les Trois Oliviers, the villa we are renting later in the year.  In Pezenas we filled the car with diesel and bought croissants, jam, quiches and sandwiches from the boulangerie.  An hour or so of climbing and rainy weather brought us to the Millau viaduct where we stopped for photos and a look in the visitors’ centre.  The road to Clermont Ferrand was quite difficult driving – bends, changes of altitude, lots of lorries, cloud and rain.  It was a two lane motorway but not a toll road so easy on the purse but not relaxing.

Both the weather and the road improved further north and the last hour took us on country roads through pretty villages until we arrived at Blandine and David’s lakeside house at 5pm in the sunshine.  We think it is 20 years since we last saw them so we did lots of catching up over a delicious supper.

We also really enjoyed the company of their one year old Dalmatian, Indy, who we have so far taken for two walks and who is a lovely fella. Lunch was, according to Blandine, “nothing special”.  After aperitifs, we had a starter of pink and yellow grape fruits with avocado and crab, a main course of pork cutlet with roasted tomatoes and potatoes with thyme followed by  coulommiers cheese and fresh pineapple!!

We plan to do a bike ride if the weather allows before we set off tomorrow for St Valerien in The Vendee where we can unpack the car and settle in.

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We are overnighting in Beziers tonight having done two long days of travelling.  We did eight hours on the ferry yesterday – we spent most of it on the top deck in the sunshine – Barb kept sea- sickness at bay but got a bit sunburned in the process.  A couple of delays:  the ferry had to wait for the Denia pilot to take it into port and then the cleaner at the villa had tidied away the keys Julian had left out for us so it took a while to retrieve our luggage.  We called in at Masymas to buy some supper – cold chicken, salad and beer – and drove on to our hotel at Valencia, arriving about 8pm.

Today we have driven about 400 miles, over the border into France and up to Beziers.  We did it in three stages, stopping for drinks, snacks and wees.  Both nights we’ve stayed in Ibis hotels which are Derek’s favourites – they’re great value for one night stopovers – close to motorways, easy to find, plenty of safe parking, wifi, restaurant, bar and comfy bed.  No tea making facilities though so we had to use our own stove and kettle etc.  It’s been easy driving on the toll motorways (about 75 euros) in the sunshine – we’ve pretty much exhausted our supply of Radio 4 podcasts and Murray Mints.

We’ve another 5 hours’ driving to do tomorrow heading north to reach Cours les Barres near Nevers.

I’m writing this in the hotel bar – Chelsea v Athletico Madrid is on the telly and David Moyes has been sacked. We’ve had an early supper – the menu dell dia at Tiberi – because we’ve got to get up at 5am to drive to Palma to catch the 8am ferry back to mainland Spain. The bikes are loaded onto the back of the car, the IMac is in its box and we’ve got snacks, magazines and downloaded movies to help pass the 8 hour crossing.
Yesterday was a big cycling day – they did 80 miles! Today, Derek decided his legs needed a gentle walk and a massage so he led the non- cyclists along a sometimes steep and stony path to Cala San Vincinc. We had coffee and cake and a paddle before heading back for lunch.

This afternoon we’ve been packing up – sad to be leaving, another lovely section of our trip has flown by. On the walk back from supper, a young couple asked us to take their photo so we got them to do one of us – it turned out well.

We should arrive in Denia at 4pm tomorrow. We’ll drive to Benidoleig to pick up our roof box from the villa and then have an hour’s drive to Valencia. On Thursday, we’re driving into the south of France, overnighting in Beziers. A third day’s travelling will take us into central France – looking forward to meeting up with Blandine and David!

We cycled into Pollensa today as Sunday was market day and spent a lovely morning looking at the stalls, having coffee and cake and meeting up with Rob, Liz, Jackie and Jo who had come in by bus.  The town was buzzing with people, there was live music and guns being fired and the whole place looked beautiful in the sunshine.  The fruit, veg and flowers on the market stalls were a real tonic to see and we bought strawberries, plums, kiwis, almonds and honey.

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We went back to the cafe for lunch and our salads (which eventually arrived with lots of apologies) were so yummy that we wrote down the ingredients so we can replicate them at home.  Pollensa is not an easy place to find your way out of but we eventually spotted the path and cycled back fairly easily, most of it downhill or really flat.

Not wanting to miss a day’s serious cycling, Derek set off at 3.30 with Jackie for an afternoon ride to the caves at Campernet.  They stopped for coffee on the garden terrace, with fabulous views that make you feel you’re on top of the world.  It was a bit windy but behind them on the way back – always a good thing.

Walked down to Port de Pollensa to watch some time trials going from Tolos.  No celebrity riders around so we set off to Cala Picafort and Muro – a 35 mile round trip, promising to be back at the apartments for lunchtime.  A lovely, smooth ride, mostly flat with the group working well together.  Stopped for coffee and cake at Muro, having found the well hidden cafe and were rewarded with free oranges!

The group split with a few doing a longer stint to Inca and back via Campenet while the main bunch headed back to Pollensa in search of the Rapha pop-up shop.  Mostly flat, apart from the 18% lump near Pollensa golf course.  The Rapha shop remained elusive!  Lunch by the pool and a session on the sun loungers left us ready to do the short, sharp climb to Formentor at 5pm.

Meanwhile, Barb spent the morning in Port de Pollensa having coffee and brownie by the harbour, getting a haircut, buying some fruit and doing a circular walk back for lunch and poolside lounging.  Exhausting!

In the evening we all walked into town and found a table for 12 sitting outside at Tiberi.  It got a little chilly as the evening went on but the food was brilliant.  I had Mallorcan style fish – perch with spinach (a vegetable!!), tomatoes, raisins and potatoes.  Derek had pork loin with sobrasada wrapped in cabbage.

Friday 18th (Good Friday)

The plan is to meet at 9.00 when the bikes are delivered, get them set up and head off at 10.00 – no chance!! The bikes are not delivered and everyone has to walk to the shop to pick them up! Fortunately I’m on my Trek and can show them the way.

Eventually, everyone is set up and after numerous photo calls we head to Alcudia – the Garmins have other ideas however and we go around in circles for a while until Andy takes over and leads the charge. The Guardia at the roundabout looked on in bewilderment as we went past them for a second time searching for the route.

The ride to Pollensa is lovely however and we arrive at Cala St Vicenc ready for coffee, cake, lunch, whatever. It is quickly decided we don’t want to head back yet and Chris suggests a run to Campernet.

Several miles further on, more coffee and cake and a quick detour by the girls, we are all heading back to Port de Pollensa at a rapid rate of knots – eventually getting back to the hotel at 5.30. So much for a short gentle ride to get used to the roads!!

A quiet evening eating hot dogs and creme eggs, catching up with work, talking to Danny and planning the next few days.

Thursday 17th

Decide it is time to stop putting off a big climb and head for Lluc. A nice easy ride to Pollensa and the first part of the road to the Coll de Femenia and then the climb begins – 7.7Km with an average gradient of 5.5%. Not horrendous but a bit of a challenge.

It’s not the climb that gets you, nor the gradual aching of the thighs but the sheer relentlessness of the climb. On and on it goes with more accomplished cyclists zipping past. You round every bend thinking – “is this the last?” and it never is – and then suddenly there are lots of people on bikes taking photographs of a brown sign!!

Having got to the top – there is only one way to go and that’s down. I scoot down the other side – 7km of winding descent and watch hundreds, possibly thousands of poor buggers coming up the other way. Some look like they’ll never make it while others are chatting and smiling as they cruise up an 8% gradient.

A lovely run back to Porto Pollensa (glimpsing the bearded Wiggins on his way out) – 45 miles of great cycling and meet up with the Shipston crew who have just flown in from UK.

We meet at reception at 5.30 – head to Tolos for supper and a good catch up and then home for  sleep. Another long day of riding beckons tomorrow!

More cycling news – Shipston Cycling arrive tomorrow and long days in the saddle will begin on Friday. With that in mind we decide to do a gentle ride through the quiet roads and head for Pollenca – the old town. It’s an easy 4 mile cycle, mostly flat, through fields and well tended villas. After a short detour along the main road we find our way into the town and are not disappointed The centre of Pollenca is a warren of narrow streets, twists and turns and open squares.

A good selection of coffee!

Cafés and posh shops everywhere and tourists wandering about or sitting with coffee, beer or wine. We arrive just after 11.00 so find a spot and order dos cafe con leche. After a good spell people watching, we stroll through the streets and join the masses. The big attraction is the steps – hundreds of them – climbing up high to the church at the top.

We take the climb slowly. It’s hot but the views are spectacular. Coming down is much easier. All this effort – it must be time for lunch so back to the cafe. A long pizza lunch over, we persuade ourselves to get back on the bikes and head home. Can we found ours amongst all this lot – there are bikes, bikes and more bikes!

Again, an easy ride back but the tyres need some air so I expend a little more energy with the pump. All that effort means we have to settle by the pool for a while to recover!! I think I’d better do a another ride this evening?

A lovely walk into town

P.S. Did 2 big climbs this evening – rode to Formantor. Nice and steady with some great views. After supper we walk into the town and along the beach – it’s a long walk so now feel quite virtuous. A lot of exercise again today.

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